Sir John Taylor, KCB, FRIBA (15 November 1833 in

Warkworth, Northumberland Warkworth is a village in Northumberland, England. It is probably best known for its well-preserved Warkworth Castle, medieval castle, Church of St Lawrence, Warkworth, church and Warkworth Hermitage, hermitage. The population of Warkworth was ...

– 30 April 1912 in

Surbiton Surbiton is a suburban neighbourhood in South West London, within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (RBK). It is next to the River Thames, southwest of Charing Cross. Surbiton was in the Historic counties of England, historic county of ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

) 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 for the Office of Works.

Early life

The son of a

joiner Joinery is a part of woodworking that involves joining pieces of wood, engineered lumber, or synthetic substitutes (such as laminate), to produce more complex items. Some woodworking joints employ mechanical fasteners, bindings, or adhesives, ...

, Henry Tanner, revised by M. H. Port
''Taylor, Sir John''
in:

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

, published 3 January 2008 Taylor first trained in the service of the

Duke of Northumberland Duke of Northumberland is a noble title that has been created three times in English and British history, twice in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of Great Britain. The current holder of this title is Ralph Percy, 12th Duke of N ...

''Dictionary of Scottish Architects''
/ref> and under

Anthony Salvin Anthony Salvin (17 October 1799 – 17 December 1881) was an English architect. He gained a reputation as an expert on Middle Ages, medieval buildings and applied this expertise to his new buildings and his restorations, such as those of the ...

, who, from 1852, remodelled the duke's Alnwick Castle.

Office of Works

After working with the contractors George Smith & Co., Taylor entered the Office of Works in 1859. From 1866 to 1898 he served as surveyor of palaces and public building in London district. Taylor's most active period as an architect began in 1879–80 with the construction of

Bow Street Magistrates' Court Bow Street Magistrates' Court (formerly Bow Street Magistrates' court (England and Wales), Police Court) and Police Station each became one of the most famous magistrates' court (England and Wales), magistrates' courts and police stations in Eng ...

which the listing entry describes as "dignified, eclectic

Graeco-Roman The Greco-Roman world , also Greco-Roman civilization, Greco-Roman culture or Greco-Latin culture (spelled Græco-Roman or Graeco-Roman in British English), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and co ...

with some slightly Vanbrughian details, rather in the Pennethorne manner." In 1883–84 he was a judge in the competition for the Admiralty and

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

buildings in

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London, England. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It ...

, and in 1886 added a new

storey A storey (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) or story (American English), is any level part of a building with a floor that could be used by people (for living, work, storage, recreation, etc.). Plurals for the wor ...

Marlborough House Marlborough House, a Grade I listed mansion on The Mall in St James's, City of Westminster, London, is the headquarters of the Commonwealth of Nations and the seat of the Commonwealth Secretariat. It is adjacent to St James's Palace. The ...

. In the 1880s, Taylor was involved in restructuring work in a number of London's museums. He was responsible for display fittings of the new

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history scientific collection, collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleo ...

and built the White Wing of the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

from 1882 to 1884. From 1885 to 1887,National Gallery listing
Historic England Taylor designed and built the vestibule and central hall with staircase of the

National Gallery, London The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current dire ...

, for which he is best known. He was also involved in engineering projects such as the extension of the

Thames Embankment The Thames Embankment was built as part of the London Main Drainage (1859-1875) by the Metropolitan Board of Works, a pioneering Victorian civil engineering project which housed intercept sewers, roads and underground railways and embanked the ...

Millbank Millbank is an area of central London in the City of Westminster. Millbank is located by the River Thames, east of Pimlico and south of Westminster. Millbank is known as the location of major government offices, Burberry headquarters, the Mill ...

Consulting Architect

Highly regarded as a technical expert and planner of well-functioning buildings, Taylor remained attached to the Office of Works even after his retirement in 1898. As a consulting architect, he fulfilled the projects he had in hand. Due to the death of its original architect William Young in 1900, Taylor, together with Young's son Clyde Francis Young, was given the task of completing the construction of the War Office building. He resigned from his post after the building's completion in 1906 but remained a member of the advisory committee on the new public buildings.

Honours and memberships

Taylor was well respected as an architect as well as a public servant. He became a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1881, was a member of its council from 1899 to 1900 and served as vice-president 1905–06. In recognition of his service, in 1895, Taylor was made Companion, and in 1897 Knight Commander of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

Private life

Taylor was a member of the Civil Service Rifles and a good shot, winning several competitions of the

National Rifle Association The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...

. He was also a keen golfer, captain of the Royal Wimbledon Golf Club and, in 1887, a founder member of the

Royal St George's Golf Club The Royal St George's Golf Club is a golf club located in Sandwich, Kent, England. It is one of the courses on The Open Championship rota, and the only one in South East England. It has hosted 15 Open championships, the first in 1894 when it b ...

Sandwich, Kent Sandwich is a town and civil parish in the Dover District of Kent, south-east England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour and has a population of 4,985. Sandwich was one of the Cinque Ports and still has many original medieval build ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, John 1833 births 1912 deaths Architects from Northumberland Fellows of the Royal Institute of British Architects People from Amble People from Warkworth, Northumberland