Staircase hall of the National Gallery, London

Sir John Taylor, KCB,

FRIBA The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

(15 November 1833 in

Warkworth, Northumberland Warkworth is a village in Northumberland, England. It is probably best known for its well-preserved medieval castle, church and hermitage. The population of Warkworth was 1,493 in 2001, increasing to 1,574 at the 2011 Census. The village is s ...

– 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 county of Surrey and since 1965 it h ...

, Surrey) 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 The Office of Works was established in the English royal household in 1378 to oversee the building and maintenance of the royal castles and residences. In 1832 it became the Works Department forces within the Office of Woods, Forests, Land Reve ...

Early life

The son of a

joiner A joiner is an artisan and tradesperson who builds things by Woodworking joints, joining pieces of wood, particularly lighter and more ornamental work than that done by a Carpentry, carpenter, including furniture and the "fittings" of a house, ...

, 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 British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

, 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 ...

''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 medieval buildings and applied this expertise to his new buildings and his restorations. He restored castles and country ho ...

, who, from 1852, remodelled the duke's

Alnwick Castle Alnwick Castle () is a castle and country house in Alnwick in the English county of Northumberland. It is the seat of the 12th Duke of Northumberland, built following the Norman conquest and renovated and remodelled a number of times. It is a G ...

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 became one of the most famous magistrates' court in England. Over its 266-year existence it occupied various buildings on Bow Street in Central London, immediately north-east of Covent Garden. It closed in 2006 and ...

which the listing entry describes as "dignified, eclectic

Graeco-Roman The Greco-Roman civilization (; also Greco-Roman culture; spelled Graeco-Roman in the Commonwealth), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and countries that culturally—and so historically—were dir ...

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 was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), Ministry of Defence (MoD ...

buildings in

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament ...

, and in 1886 added a new storey to

Marlborough House Marlborough House, a Grade I listed mansion in St James's, City of Westminster, London, is the headquarters of the Commonwealth of Nations and the seat of the Commonwealth Secretariat. It was built in 1711 for Sarah Churchill, Duchess of M ...

. 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 collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more ...

and built the White Wing of the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docume ...

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 over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...

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

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 Mi ...

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 Clyde may refer to: People * Clyde (given name) * Clyde (surname) Places For townships see also Clyde Township Australia * Clyde, New South Wales * Clyde, Victoria * Clyde River, New South Wales Canada * Clyde, Alberta * Clyde, Ontario, a to ...

, 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 George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as ...

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 rights lobbying organization while cont ...

. He was also a keen golfer, captain of the

Royal Wimbledon Golf Club Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ci ...

and, in 1887, a founder member of the

Royal St George's Golf Club The Royal St George's Golf Club located in Sandwich, Kent, England, is a golf club in the United Kingdom and one of the courses on The Open Championship rotation and is the only Open rota golf course to be located in South East England. It has ...

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

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