John Roberts (1712/1714 – 23 May 1796) was an

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the State rel ...

architect of the 18th century, working in the Georgian style. Born in the city of

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

, he is best known for the buildings he designed in that city.

Early life

Roberts was born in

in 1712 or 1714, son of Thomas Roberts, an architect and builder. Little is known of his early life, although John Roberts may have trained in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

for a time. At 17, he

eloped Elopement is a marriage which is conducted in a sudden and secretive fashion, sometimes involving a hurried flight away from one's place of residence together with one's beloved with the intention of getting married without parental approval. A ...

with Mary Susannah Sautelle, a

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

heiress who also lived in Waterford.

Career

In 1746 John Roberts was asked by the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

(Protestant)

Bishop of Waterford and Lismore The Bishop of Waterford and Lismore is an episcopal title which takes its name after the city of Waterford and town of Lismore in Ireland. The title was used by the Church of Ireland until 1838, and is still used by the Roman Catholic Church. Hi ...

, Richard Chenevix, to complete the new Bishop's Palace. Around 1760 he designed

Mount Congreve Mount Congreve is a 17th-century Georgian estate and mansion situated near the village of Kilmeaden in County Waterford, Ireland. The architect was John Roberts, a Waterford-based architect who subsequently designed and built most of the 18th ...

, near Kilmeaden. In 1785 he built a house in Waterford for William Morris, now the Harbour Commissioners’ headquarters and the Chamber of Commerce. In 1786 he designed Newtown House, later Newtown School, a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

school. In 1787 he designed The Leper Hospital and Church of St. Stephen. Roberts also built the Assembly Rooms on Waterford's Mall in 1788, which is now the Theatre Royal and City Hall. Roberts had the unusual distinction of designing both the Protestant and Catholic cathedrals of Waterford: Christ Church Cathedral (1770s) and the Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity (1790s) respectively. Outside of Waterford, he designed

Curraghmore Curraghmore near Portlaw, County Waterford, Ireland, is a historic house and estate and the seat of the Marquess of Waterford. The estate was part of the grant of land made to Sir Roger le Puher (la Poer) by Henry II in 1177 after the Anglo-Nor ...

and

(both in County Waterford),

St Iberius' Church St. Iberius' Church ( ) is an 18th-century Protestant church in the centre of Wexford, Ireland, dedicated to Saint Ibar of Beggerin (Iberius). Designed by John Roberts (architect), John Roberts, the interior is Georgian architecture, Georgian i ...

(Wexford town) and is reputed to have designed

Tyrone House Tyrone House in County Galway is a ruined manor house, built in the 1770s on a promontory by the estuary of the Kilcolgan river, about from the village of Kilcolgan, County Galway, Ireland. The house was destroyed by the local Irish Republi ...

(County Galway),

Cappoquin House Cappoquin House also known as Belmont is an 18th-century classical-style mansion overlooking the town of Cappoquin in County Waterford, Ireland, Republic of, Ireland. The house is the seat of the Keane baronets, Keane Baronets of Belmont a ...

(County Waterford) and

Moore Hall, County Mayo Moore Hall, the house and estate of George Henry Moore and family, is situated to the south of the village Carnacon in the barony of Carra, County Mayo, Ireland in a karst limestone landscape. Named for the Irish landed gentry family who buil ...

Personal life

Roberts had between 21 and 24 children with his wife Susannah, of whom eight lived to adulthood, including the painters Thomas Roberts and Thomas Sautelle Roberts. They lived for many years in the old bishop's palace, opposite the cathedral, with a country residence at Roberts Mount. He was nicknamed "Honest John" because he paid his workers so reliably, sometimes giving half their pay directly to their wives so that it would not be wasted on

alcohol Alcohol may refer to: Common uses * Alcohol (chemistry), a class of compounds * Ethanol, one of several alcohols, commonly known as alcohol in everyday life ** Alcohol (drug), intoxicant found in alcoholic beverages ** Alcoholic beverage, an alco ...

. John Roberts died in 1796 after falling asleep on the floor of the

Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity, Waterford The Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Waterford and Lismore located in Barronstrand Street, Waterford City, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The cathedral is the oldest post-Reformation C ...

and contracting

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

. The main square in Waterford is named John Roberts Square in his honour. His son, the Reverend John Roberts became a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

and rector; the Rev. John's son was

Abraham Roberts General (United Kingdom), General Sir Abraham Roberts (11 April 1784 – 28 December 1873) was a British East India Company Army General (United Kingdom), general who served nearly 50 years in British Raj, India. Roberts had two sons, who both ...

, a general in the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

, and Abraham's son was

Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal Frederick Sleigh Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts (30 September 1832 – 14 November 1914), was a British Victorian era general who became one of the most successful British military commanders of his time. ...

, a

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

. Roberts' sons

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

and Sautelle became artists, as did his daughter, who painted scenery for the Waterford Theatre and landscapes. Another great-grandson was the architect Samuel Ussher Roberts (1821–1900).

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, John 1710s births 1796 deaths 18th-century Irish architects Irish people of Welsh descent Irish ecclesiastical architects People from Waterford (city) Architects from County Waterford