Richard Munday (c.1685-1739) was a prominent colonial American architect and builder in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

. Munday built several notable public buildings in Newport between 1720 and 1739 helping to modernize the city.

Christopher Wren Sir Christopher Wren FRS (; – ) was an English architect, astronomer, mathematician and physicist who was one of the most highly acclaimed architects in the history of England. Known for his work in the English Baroque style, he was ac ...

's church of St. James at Piccadilly in

London, England 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 ...

, and

Old North Church The Old North Church (officially Christ Church in the City of Boston) is an Episcopal mission church located in the North End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The church, which was built in 1723, is the oldest standing church building ...

in Boston, are believed to have greatly influenced Munday's

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

style. Munday also built many

Georgian houses Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarchs of the House of Han ...

in Newport and was a parishioner at Trinity Church. Few details about his life have survived.

Works by Munday

Old Colony House The Old Colony House, also known as Old State House or Newport Colony House, is located at the east end of Washington Square in the city of Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It is a brick Georgian-style building completed in 1741, and wa ...

, 1739, a U.S. National Historic Landmark (NHL) *Sabbatarian Meeting House (currently home of the

Newport Historical Society The Newport Historical Society is a historical society in Newport, Rhode Island that was chartered in 1854 to collect and preserve books, manuscripts, and objects pertaining to Newport's history. History of the society Although the society w ...

), 172

* Trinity Church (Newport, Rhode Island), Trinity Church, Newport, 1725, also an NHL *Daniel Ayrault house, Newport, 1739-40 (built with Benjamin Wyatt) *

Malbone Castle and Estate Malbone is one of the oldest mansions in Newport, Rhode Island. The original mid-18th century estate was the country residence of Col. Godfrey Malbone of Virginia and Connecticut. The main house burned down during a dinner party in 1766 and t ...

, 1739-40 (resembled Colony House, destroyed in 1766 fire) *Malbone town house, 1729 (demolished) *Jahleel Brent House, (possible contributor) *John Gidley House, (possible contributor)

External links and references

*James D. Kornwolf, Georgiana Wallis Kornwolf, ''Architecture and Town Planning in Colonial North America,'' (JHU Press, 2002), pg. 102
Preservation Society pictures of Munday's works
*Antoinette F. Downing, ''Early Homes of Rhode Island'' (Richmond, VA: Gt: 1937) *A. F. Downing & V.J.Scully, The Architectural Heritage of Newport Rhode Island 1640-1915 (NY: Bramhill, 1967) *Henry Russell Hitchcock, ''Rhode Island Architecture'', (Providence: Mus. Pres., 1939) 1680s births 1739 deaths Architects from Newport, Rhode Island People from colonial Rhode Island 18th-century American architects 18th-century American male artists {{US-architect-stub