John Young (1797 – 23 March 1877) was an English architect and surveyor whose career spanned the grace of the

Regency period The Regency era of British history is commonly understood as the years between and 1837, although the official regency for which it is named only spanned the years 1811 to 1820. King George III first suffered debilitating illness in the late ...

and the pragmatism of the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

. While based primarily in the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

, his practice, John Young & Son, Architects, was both eclectic and wide-ranging in

South East England South East England is one of the nine official regions of England, regions of England that are in the ITL 1 statistical regions of England, top level category for Statistics, statistical purposes. It consists of the nine counties of england, ...

. He is particularly noted for his creative use of polychromatic

brickwork Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar. Typically, rows of bricks called '' courses'' are laid on top of one another to build up a structure such as a brick wall. Bricks may be differentiated from blocks by ...

whether in industrial, civic or residential contexts.

Early career

Nothing is known about his early life in Suffolk, save that he was a Catholic, until Young came to London at the age of twenty two and became assistant to the ageing William Porden. He next assisted the prolific architectural prodigy and member of Nash's circle,

Decimus Burton Decimus Burton (30 September 1800 – 14 December 1881) was one of the foremost English architects and landscapers of the 19th century. He was the foremost Victorian architect in the Roman revival, Greek revival, Georgian neoclassical and Reg ...

, by preparing in 1823 the drawings for the London Colosseum in

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the London Borough of Camden, Borough of Camden (and historical ...

and supervising the framing of the dome. A period followed in the employ of

Thomas Cubitt Thomas Cubitt (25 February 1788 – 20 December 1855) was a British master builder, notable for his employment in developing many of the historic streets and squares of London, especially in Belgravia, Pimlico and Bloomsbury. Background The s ...

creating the houses in

Eaton Square Eaton Square is a rectangular, residential garden square in London's Belgravia district. It is the largest Squares in London, square in London. It is one of the three squares built by the landowning Grosvenor family when they developed the main ...

and the

Pimlico Pimlico () is a district in Central London, in the City of Westminster, built as a southern extension to neighbouring Belgravia. It is known for its garden squares and distinctive Regency architecture. Pimlico is demarcated to the north by Lon ...

Estate. His own practice opened at 46

Clarges Street Clarges Street is a street in the City of Westminster, London. The street runs from Clarges Mews in the north to Piccadilly in the south. It is crossed by Curzon Street. History Clarges Street was built in the early 18th century and is probab ...

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, England, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road (England), A4 road that connects central London to ...

. In 1828 he published a book of 'Shopfronts, Porticos and Entrances ...', which would have served as a catalogue of the time. On 1 January 1828 he married Caroline Pettis at St. George's, Hanover Square. By 1830, the first of their nine children, John Edgar who would later join his practice, was born.

City Surveyor

He was Principal Assistant to William Montague, Clerk of the City's Works at the

Guildhall A guildhall, also known as a guild hall or guild house, is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Europe, with many surviving today in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commo ...

and on his death, appointed by the

Corporation of London The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the local authority of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United Kingdom's fi ...

''locum tenens'' Clerk. He was subsequently District Surveyor of the Eastern Division of the City for twenty five years. If not destined for celebrity status in the architectural profession, his reputation as a highly skilled and safe pair of hands, meant the Lindsay family's solicitor insisted he supervise the three architects, including

Lewis Vulliamy Lewis Vulliamy (15 March 1791 – 4 January 1871) was an English architect descended from the Vulliamy family of clockmakers. Life Lewis Vulliamy was the son of the clockmaker Benjamin Vulliamy. He was born in Pall Mall, London on 15 March 17 ...

, building their luxury residence at 10

Grosvenor Square Grosvenor Square ( ) is a large garden square in the Mayfair district of Westminster, Greater London. It is the centrepiece of the Mayfair property of the Duke of Westminster, and takes its name from the duke's surname "Grosvenor". It was deve ...

. He was, however, photographed by society photographer,

Henry Maull Henry Maull (1829–1914) was a British photographer who specialised in portraits of noted individuals. Biography Maull was born in Clerkenwell as the son of a tradesman. He married Eliza (b Islington 1831) and became a member of the Royal Ph ...

. Alongside survey work, Young moved his practice, John Young & Son, Architects to 35 King Street,

Cheapside Cheapside is a street in the City of London, the historic and modern financial centre of London, England, which forms part of the A40 road, A40 London to Fishguard road. It links St Martin's Le Grand with Poultry, London, Poultry. Near its eas ...

. Immediately prior to 1843 when Young built his family home in

Stoke Newington Stoke Newington is an area in the northwest part of the London Borough of Hackney, England. The area is northeast of Charing Cross. The Manor of Stoke Newington gave its name to Stoke Newington (parish), Stoke Newington, the ancient parish. S ...

, the family are known to have lived in

's Albion Road in North London.

Projects

By 1845 he was architect and surveyor to the City and Camden Town (Birmingham Junction) Railway Company and continued with extensive design projects: The Ebbw Vale Co. in

Dowgate Dowgate, also referred to as ''Downgate'' and ''Downegate'', is a small ward in the City of London, the historic and financial centre of London, England. The ward is bounded to the east by Swan Lane and Laurence Poutney Lane, to the south by th ...

by the Thames Docks, 1845, The Religious Tract Society's quarters at 56

Paternoster Row Paternoster Row is a street in the City of London that was a centre of the London publishing trade, with booksellers operating from the street. Paternoster Row was described as "almost synonymous" with the book trade. It was part of an area call ...

, 12 Little Britain, schools in

Cripplegate Cripplegate was a city gate, gate in the London Wall which once enclosed the City of London, England. The Cripplegate gate lent its name to the Cripplegate Wards of the City of London, ward of the City, which encompasses the area where the gat ...

Tower Hill Tower Hill is the area surrounding the Tower of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is infamous for the public execution of high status prisoners from the late 14th to the mid 18th century. The execution site on the higher gro ...

and Hackney. In the City, his striking warehouse at 23–25,

Eastcheap Eastcheap is a street in central London that is a western continuation of Great Tower Street towards Monument junction. Its name derives from ''cheap'', the Old English word for marketplace, market, with the prefix 'East' distinguishing it from ...

on the corner with Philpot Lane, in Lombardic Gothic style, survives singled out by Pevsner as 'exceptional'. He was responsible for many improvements in the City of London. Outside the City, he designed the original Cancer Hospital in

Fulham Road Fulham Road is a street in London, England, which comprises the A304 and part of the A308. Overview Fulham Road ( the A219) runs from Putney Bridge as "Fulham High Street" and then eastward to Fulham Broadway, in the London Borough of Hamm ...

in 1859.

Edward Walford Edward Walford (1823–1897) was an England, English magazine editor and a compiler of educational, biographical, genealogical and touristic works, perhaps best known for the final four volumes of ''Old and New London'' (Cassell (publisher), Cas ...

described the hospital thus: ''The building, which was founded in 1851, is constructed of plain white Suffolk bricks, relieved with bands of red bricks, and keystones and cornices of terra-cotta. The principal ground floor, approached by a flight of steps, contains the hall and a handsome stone staircase, apartments for the house surgeon and medical officers, and wards for patients.'' Down the Old Brompton Road, Young designed shops and terraced houses for the professional and working class influx in

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

, Richmond (now Empress) Place, birth place in 1876 of composer, William Hurlstone, and along the Richmond (Lillie) Road, 1863–1866, residences in

Roehampton Roehampton is an area in southwest London, sharing its SW15 postcode with neighbouring Putney and Kingston Vale, and takes up a far western strip, running north to south, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It contains a number of large counc ...

, and cottages in Pear Gardens,

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

. Among the country mansions he designed is the

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century It ...

Laughton Park in

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

for Sir James Duke,

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...

. He restored churches in his native

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

. Young's assistants included Alfred Millwood, David Mocatta and Frederick Hyde Pownall from 1862 to 1867.

Legacy

Young was widowed in 1873, however, he was still working in 1875 surveying dangerous structures in the City as is attested by the

Metropolitan Board of Works The Metropolitan Board of Works (MBW) was the upper tier of local government for London between 1856 and 1889, primarily responsible for upgrading infrastructure. It also had a parks and open spaces committee which set aside and opened up severa ...

. Apart from the strikingly ornate civic and commercial buildings he designed, Young's legacy, especially in the City of London, was to ensure in his role as surveyor, that buildings falling into disrepair would be adequately put right and on several occasions, he asked for 'substitutions' with surveyor colleagues so that he could personally superintend the repairs as an architect, notably in

Houndsditch Houndsditch is a street running through parts of the Portsoken and Bishopsgate Without wards of the City of London; areas which are also a part of the East End of London. The road follows the line of the outside edge of the ditch which once ...

and

Cannon Street Cannon Street is a road in the City of London, the historic nucleus of London and its modern financial centre. It runs roughly parallel with the River Thames, about north of it, in the north of the City. It is the site of the ancient London S ...

. John Young left a quiet token of his sense of humour in the carved mice on the parapet of a warehouse in

. He died at home in St Mary's Lodge in March 1877. He and his wife were buried in the churchyard of St. Mary Stoke Newington. His son, John, continued John Young & Son, specialising in civic and church architecture, designing churches such as St Mary and St Modwen Church, Burton-on-Trent. He was a friend of the novelist, George Thackeray and became a Fellow of the British Institute of Architects, a distinction that had eluded his energetic father. John Young Junior died in 1910 in

Brentwood, Essex Brentwood is a town in Essex, England, in the London metropolitan area, London commuter belt 20 miles (30 km) north-east of Charing Cross and close to the M25 motorway. The population of the built-up area was 55,340 in 2021. Brentwood is a t ...

.John Hinshelwood: ''Who built Friern Manor Dairy in Crouch Hill?'' 1999,

Gallery

File:Colosseum, London.png, The Colosseum, Regent's Park, London (1827–74) File:Brompton Cancer Hospital, Kensington, London; aerial view. W Wellcome V0047607.jpg, Brompton Cancer Hospital, Kensington, London; aerial view, (1859) File:Caffè Nero in Eastcheap - geograph.org.uk - 1715155.jpg, Caffè Nero at 23 Eastcheap (1861-2) File:The former no. 4 Richmond Place (1865), currently 16-18 Lillie Road, London SW6.jpg, Corner 19th c. shop building in Empress Place/

Lillie Road Lillie Road is a major street in the north of Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Named for the Peninsular War veteran, John Scott Lillie, it is a mixed residential and commercial thoroughfare, and is the westerly continuat ...

, Fulham File:Architect John Young's corner building in Richmond Place, Fulham 1868.jpg, Young's 1865 polychromatic brickwork (demolished 1938 for new 'Prince of Wales' pub, currently "The Prince") File:Empress Place, Fulham - terrace designed by John Young in 1865.jpg, Vernacular housing in Fulham (1865)

References

External links

*http://www.stmaryslodge.co.uk *http://www.londonremembers.com/subjects/john-young-son?memorial_id=4511 {{DEFAULTSORT:Young, John 1797 births 1877 deaths People from the City of London 19th-century English architects English surveyors Gothic Revival architects English ecclesiastical architects British railway architects Architects from Suffolk People from Mildenhall, Suffolk People from Stoke Newington