Samuel Lipscomb Seckham (

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

25 October 1827 – 4 February 1901) was an English Victorian architect, developer, magistrate and

brewer Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with yeast. It may be done in a brewery by a commercial brewer, ...

. He was born in

, and later became the City Surveyor. He was the original architect employed by

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its foun ...

to develop parts of

North Oxford North Oxford is a suburban part of the city of Oxford in England. It was owned for many centuries largely by St John's College, Oxford and many of the area's Victorian architecture, Victorian houses were initially sold on leasehold by the co ...

. He developed Park Town, an early and prominent estate in North Oxford. Through Seckham's efforts, the Park Town Estate Company was formed in September 1857. Such was the success of Park Town, he also worked on plans for Walton Manor and

Norham Manor The Norham Manor estate is a residential suburb in Oxford, England. It is part of central North Oxford. To the north is Park Town with its crescents, to the east is the River Cherwell, to the south are the University Parks and to the west is ...

. Seckham developed

Bletchley Park Bletchley Park is an English country house and Bletchley Park estate, estate in Bletchley, Milton Keynes (Buckinghamshire), that became the principal centre of Allies of World War II, Allied World War II cryptography, code-breaking during the S ...

, which he purchased in 1877 and sold in 1883 to Sir Herbert Samuel Leon (1850–1926), a financier and Liberal MP. Bletchley Park later became famous for the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

codebreaking effort there. In 1889, Seckham purchased and occupied Whittington Old Hall, a 16th-century mansion house at Whittington near

Lichfield Lichfield () is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated south-east of the county town of Stafford, north-east of Walsall, north-west of ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

. He became

High Sheriff of Staffordshire This is a list of the sheriffs and high sheriffs of Staffordshire. The sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. The sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities as ...

in 1890. He also held the office of Deputy Lieutenant (DL). Seckham married Kinbarra Sweene Smith and had a daughter Kinbarra Swene Seckham. There is memorial panelling for Seckham in St Giles Church at Whittington.Church Memorials Wheaton Aston-Winshill

The Staffordshire Encyclopedia
'.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seckham, Samuel Lipscomb 1827 births 1900 deaths Architects from Oxford 19th-century English architects British real estate and property developers English brewers 19th-century English judges Lord-lieutenants of Staffordshire Deputy lieutenants in England High sheriffs of Staffordshire 19th-century English businesspeople English justices of the peace