Robert Dennis Chantrell (14 January 1793 – 4 January 1872) was an English

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

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 ...

, best-known today for designing Leeds Parish Church, now

Leeds Minster Leeds Minster, also known as the Minster and Parish Church of Saint Peter-at-Leeds (formerly Leeds Parish Church), is the minster church of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It stands on the site of the oldest church in the city and is of architec ...

Early life

Chantrell was born in Newington,

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 ...

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 ...

. His father, Robert (1765-1840) had interests in a range of businesses that took the family to Europe, settling in

Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...

in 1808. He was a pupil in the office of Sir

John Soane Sir John Soane (; né Soan; 10 September 1753 – 20 January 1837) was an English architect who specialised in the Neoclassical architecture, Neo-Classical style. The son of a bricklayer, he rose to the top of his profession, becoming professor ...

from 1807 to 1814, where he learnt the principles of

Classical architecture Classical architecture typically refers to architecture consciously derived from the principles of Ancient Greek architecture, Greek and Ancient Roman architecture, Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or more specifically, from ''De archit ...

. In 1816, Chantrell moved to Halifax where he assisted the architect William Bradley. In March 1819, Chantrell won the competition to build the Leeds Public Baths and he opened a practice in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

Career

At the beginning of his career Chantrell designed a string of classical buildings. The Public Baths were single storey with double columns flanking the main door. In May 1819, Chantrell won the competition to design a new hall for the Leeds Philosophical Society, also in a classical design. He went on to design the South Market which included a Neo-classical temple. However, by 1825 he fell out of favour with prominent townsmen. After a few years, Chantrell reinvented himself as a pioneering Gothic specialist to meet the huge demand of the times for additional church accommodation. He became one of the most accomplished specialists in this area of practice and numerous remaining buildings testify his original skills. The crowning of his career was the building of Leeds Parish Church (1837–1841), the biggest church in England since

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 ...

St Paul's St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

and, on a national level, the most important church of the age. After he moved to London, Chantrell started a second career as surveyor of church constructions. He also became a respected antiquary, writer, lecturer and member of several prestigious London committees.

Architectural work

Surviving buildings by Chantrell include: *alterations to the

Leeds Library The Leeds Library is the oldest surviving subscription library of its type in the UK. It was founded in 1768, following an advertisement placed in the ''Leeds Intelligencer'' earlier that year. The first secretary was Joseph Priestley. In 177 ...

, including galleries (1821–36) *completion of Rudding Park House (c.1824) *alterations to St Mary-the-Virgin,

Hunslet Hunslet () is an inner-city area in south Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is southeast of the Leeds city centre, city centre and has an industrial past. It is situated in the Hunslet and Riverside (ward), Hunslet and Riverside ward of Lee ...

(1826) * St Stephen's Church, Kirkstall (1828–9) *Emmanuel Church, Lockwood (1828–29) *All Saints,

Netherthong Netherthong is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Holme Valley, and the metropolitan borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. The village is near the town of Holmfirth, and on the B6107 road to Meltham from the main ...

(1828–9) *St Peter, Morley (1829–30) *St Matthew,

Holbeck Holbeck is an inner city area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It begins on the southern edge of Leeds city centre and mainly lies in the LS11 postcode district. The M1 and M621 motorways used to end/begin in Holbeck. Now the M621 is t ...

(1829–32) *partial reconstruction of All Saints,

Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district in West Yorkshire, England. It lies to the east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the ...

(1832–33) *St Peter-at-Leeds or Leeds Parish Church (now

) (1837–41) *Christ Church,

Skipton Skipton (also known as Skipton-in-Craven) is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the East Division of Staincliffe Wapentake in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is on the River Aire and the Leeds ...

(1837–39) *

Christ Church, Lothersdale Christ Church is the parish church of Lothersdale, a village in North Yorkshire, in England. Lothersdale was historically in the parishes of St Mary's Church, Carleton-in-Craven and St Andrew's Church, Kildwick. William Cavendish donated an ...

(1838) *St Wilfred,

Pool-in-Wharfedale Pool-in-Wharfedale or Pool in Wharfedale, usually abbreviated to Pool, is a village and civil parish in Lower Wharfedale, West Yorkshire, England, north of Leeds city centre, north-east of Bradford, and east of Otley. It is in the City of Le ...

(1839) *the

steeple In architecture, a steeple is a tall tower on a building, topped by a spire and often incorporating a belfry and other components. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a relig ...

of Holy Trinity, Boar Lane, Leeds (1839) *the neo-roman tower of the St. Salvator's Cathedral in

, (

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

) (1839) *the neo-Norman bellcote of St John the Baptist, Adel (1839) *St David,

Holmbridge Holmbridge is a small village on the A6024 to the southwest of Holmfirth and south of Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, England. It is in the parish of Holme Valley and the metropolitan borough of Kirklees. Four Inns Walk started at St. David' ...

(1839–40) *St Lucius,

Farnley Tyas Farnley Tyas is a village in the parish of Kirkburton, in the Kirklees district, in the county of West Yorkshire, England south east of Huddersfield. It is located on a hilltop between Almondbury, Castle Hill, Thurstonland and Honley. It is ...

(1840) *Holy Trinity,

Batley Carr Batley Carr is a district which includes parts of Dewsbury and Batley in West Yorkshire, England. Batley Carr housed workers from the mills of Dewsbury and Batley. As the settlement expanded with the growth of the textile industry, it gained i ...

(1841–42) *St Paul,

Shadwell Shadwell is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London, England. It also forms part of the city's East End of London, East End. Shadwell is on the north bank of the River Thames between Wapping (to the west) and Ratcliff and ...

(1841–42) *St Mary,

Honley __NOTOC__ Honley is a village in the Holme Valley civil parish in Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated near to Holmfirth and Huddersfield, and on the banks of the River Holme. Acc ...

(1843) *Holy Trinity, Leven (1843) *St Paul, Denholme Gate (1843–46, with Thomas Shaw) *All Saints, Roberttown (1844–46, with Thomas Shaw) * Holy Trinity Church, Cowling (1845) * St Mary the Virgin's Church, Middleton, Leeds (1846–52) *the tower of St Paul, Halifax (1847) *St Andrew,

Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford, n ...

(1847–48) *St Paul, Armitage Bridge (1848) *St George's,

New Mills New Mills is a small town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England, south-east of Stockport and from Manchester at the confluence of the River Goyt and River Sett, Sett. It is close to the border with Cheshire and above the Torrs, a ...

(1829–30) Surviving buildings restored by Chantrell include: *St Catherine,

Barmby Moor Barmby Moor is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately west of the market town of Pocklington and 12.5 miles (20 km) east-southeast of the city of York. ...

, East Yorkshire (1852) Note: restoration mistakenly attributed to J.B. Atkinson by Historic England

Gallery

File:St Peter, Leeds Parish Church - Chancel - geograph.org.uk - 1333338.jpg, Minster and Parish Church of Saint Peter-at-Leeds File:ID29716-Brugge Sint-Salvatorskathedraal-PM 62174.jpg, Upper part of the tower by Chantrell of the St. Salvator's Cathedral in

, (

) File:Parish Church of St Wilfrid, Pool-in-Wharfedale - geograph.org.uk - 722456.jpg, Church of St Wilfrid in

Sources and literature

* Howard COLVIN, ''Biographical Dictionary of English Architects 1660–1840'', John Murray, London, 1954 * Nikolaus PEVSNER & Enid RADCLIFFE ''Yorkshire: The West Riding'', 1959, 2nd edition 1967, Penguin Books, London * Derek LINSTRUM, ''West Yorkshire Architects and Architecture'', Lund Humphries Publishers, London, 1979, * Andries VAN DEN ABEELE & Christopher WEBSTER, ''Architect Robert D. Chantrell en de kathedraal van Brugge'', 1987, Bruges * Christopher WEBSTER, ''R.D. Chantrell, architect: his life and work in Leeds 1818–1847,'' Leeds, 1992 * Christopher WEBSTER & Andries VAN DEN ABEELE, ''A portentous mass of bastard romanesque frippery: an early ecclesiological export'', Leeds, 1999. *Susan WRATHMELL, & John MINNIS, ''Leeds'', Pevsner Architectural Guides, Yale University Press, New Haven, CT, 2005, * Christopher WEBSTER, ''R. D. Chantrell (1793–1872) and the architecture of a lost generation'', Reading, Spire Books, 2010, .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chantrell, Robert Dennis 19th-century English architects People from Newington, London Architects from London 1793 births 1872 deaths