John Pollard Seddon FRIBA (19 September 1827 – 1 February 1906) was a British

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

, working largely on churches.

Life

His father was a

cabinetmaker A cabinet is a case or cupboard with shelves or drawers for storing or displaying items. Some cabinets are stand alone while others are built in to a wall or are attached to it like a medicine cabinet. Cabinets are typically made of wood (solid ...

, and his brother,

Thomas Seddon : ''For the New Zealand politician see'' Tom Seddon Thomas Seddon (28 August 1821 in London – 23 November 1856 in Cairo) was an English landscape painter associated with the Pre-Raphaelite movement, who painted colourful and highly detailed s ...

(1821–1856), was a landscape painter. Born in London, he was educated at

Bedford School Bedford School is a 7–18 Single-sex education, boys Public school (United Kingdom), public school in the county town of Bedford in England. Founded in 1552, it is the oldest of four independent schools in Bedford run by the Harpur Trust. Bed ...

. He was later a pupil of

Thomas Leverton Donaldson Thomas Leverton Donaldson (19 October 1795 – 1 August 1885) was a British architect, notable as a pioneer in architectural education, as a co-founder and President of the Royal Institute of British Architects and a winner of the RIBA Royal Gol ...

, though Donaldson was a classical architect and Seddon preferred the Gothic Revivalism of

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English polymath a writer, lecturer, art historian, art critic, draughtsman and philanthropist of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as art, architecture, Critique of politic ...

. Between 1852 and 1863, Seddon formed a partnership with

John Prichard John Prichard (6 May 1817 – 13 October 1886) was a Welsh architect in the neo-Gothic style. As diocesan architect of Llandaff, he was involved in the building or restoration of many churches in south Wales. Personal history John Prichard ...

. Many of their major commissions were church restoration works, most famously for

Llandaff Cathedral Llandaff Cathedral () is a Church in Wales cathedral and parish church in Llandaff, Cardiff, Wales. It is the seat of the Bishop of Llandaff, head of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff. It is dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint Paul, and ...

. In 1871 he submitted a design in a competition for

Holloway Sanatorium Holloway Sanatorium was an institution for the treatment of those suffering temporary mental illness, situated on of aesthetically landscaped grounds near Virginia Water in Surrey, England, about south-west of Charing Cross. Its largest buildin ...

. C. F. A. Voysey was articled as a pupil of Seddon in 1873. From 1884 to 1904 he was in partnership with

John Coates Carter John Coates Carter (1859–1927) was an English architect. Born in Norwich, Carter is notable for his design and restoration to churches in South Wales, and in particular Glamorgan. He was partnered with John Pollard Seddon from 1884 to 1904 an ...

Works

In 1904 Seddon was Diocesan Architect for London and designed a gigantic Imperial Monumental Halls, with a tall tower, to be added to

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

; it was intended to restore the dominance of the abbey over the surrounding crowd of towers and monuments. However, the cost of construction was prohibitive and it remained unbuilt. His works include the

University College of Wales Aberystwyth University () is a Public university, public Research university, research university in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding member institution of the former federal University of Wales. The university has over 8,000 stude ...

building in

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth (; ) is a University town, university and seaside town and a community (Wales), community in Ceredigion, Wales. It is the largest town in Ceredigion and from Aberaeron, the county's other administrative centre. In 2021, the popula ...

; St Peter's Church,

Ayot St Peter Ayot St Peter is a village and civil parish in the Welwyn Hatfield district of Hertfordshire, England, about two miles north-west of Welwyn Garden City. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 166. At the 2011 Census the population ...

, Hertfordshire; St Nicholas Church, Great Yarmouth;

St Catherine's Church, Hoarwithy The Church of St Catherine is a Church of England parish church at Hoarwithy in the English county of Herefordshire. Alan Brooks and Nikolaus Pevsner, in the revised 2012 ''Herefordshire'' volume of the Pevsner Buildings of England series, ...

Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

; and, with Prichard, the

Church of St John, Llandenny Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

; the 1858–9 rebuild of

St Mary's Church, Aberavon St Mary's Church, Aberavon, is an Anglican church in Port Talbot, South Wales. It is part of the Rectorial Benefice of Aberavon. It has been a Grade II listed building since 31 January 2000., It had its last service on 21 April 2024 and it is inte ...

, and limited extensions to Dingestow Court, Monmouthshire, including the stables.The Buildings of Wales: Gwent/Monmouthshire, page 212 He was also a prolific designer of furniture, metalwork, stained glass, tiles and ceramics.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seddon, John Pollard 1827 births 1906 deaths People educated at Bedford School 19th-century English architects Fellows of the Royal Institute of British Architects