Sir Samuel Swinton Jacob, (14 January 1841 – 4 December 1917), known as Sir Swinton Jacob, was a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer and colonial engineer, architect and writer, best known for the numerous Indian public buildings he designed in the

Indo-Saracenic Indo-Saracenic architecture (also known as Indo-Gothic, Mughal-Gothic, Neo-Mughal) was a Revivalism (architecture), revivalist architectural style mostly used by British architects in India in the later 19th century, especially in public and gov ...

style.

Early life and education

Jacob was born in 1841 to Colonel William Jacob (of the

Bombay Artillery The Bombay Army was the army of the Bombay Presidency, one of the three presidencies of British India within the British Empire. It was established in 1668 and governed by the East India Company until the Government of India Act 1858 transferre ...

and a member of a distinguished military family) and Jane Swinton, granddaughter of Captain Samuel Swinton RN, who was the inspiration for the story of ''The Scarlet Pimpernel''. He was educated at

Cheam School Cheam School is a mixed preparatory school located in Headley, in the civil parish of Ashford Hill with Headley in Hampshire. Originally a boys school, Cheam was founded in 1645 by George Aldrich. History The school started in Cheam, Surre ...

and then at the East India Company Military College at

Addiscombe Addiscombe is an area of south London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon. It is located south of Charing Cross, and is situated north of Coombe and Selsdon, east of Croydon town centre, south of Woodside, and west of Shirley. ...

where he was one of the last cohort of graduates in 1858 before the college was taken over by the government.

Career

Jacob was commissioned into the

in 1858, qualifying five years later as a surveyor and engineer. After initial service with the Bombay Staff Corps in the Public Works Department, and a brief spell with the Aden Field Force in 1865–6, he was appointed in 1867 as chief engineer of the state of

Jaipur Jaipur (; , ) is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the List of cities and towns in Rajasthan, largest city of the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had ...

in Rajasthan, India. He was to spend the remainder of his working life in this position until he retired at the age of 71. At the time he became chief engineer and took charge of the Public Works Department of Jaipur, it had only been in existence for seven years, having been founded in 1860. He was promoted to lieutenant-colonel on 6 February 1885, and to colonel on 26 February 1889. During the summer of 1902, he accompanied the Maharaja of Jaipur as a political officer during a visit to the United Kingdom to attend the

Coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra The coronation of the British monarch, coronation of Edward VII and his wife, Alexandra of Denmark, Alexandra, as King of the United Kingdom, king and List of British royal consorts, queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, ...

. The coronation was originally scheduled for late June, but was postponed until 16 August 1902 when the King fell ill, prolonging their stay in London.

Later career

Among his honours were the

Kaisar-i-Hind Gold Medal The Kaisar-i-Hind Medal for Public Service in India was a medal awarded by the Emperor/Empress of India between 1900 and 1947, to "any person without distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex ... who shall have distinguished himself (o ...

for Public Service on 9 November 1901. In the

1902 Coronation Honours The 1902 Coronation Honours were announced on 26 June 1902, the date originally set for the coronation of King Edward VII. The coronation was postponed because the King had been taken ill two days before, but he ordered that the honours list shou ...

list published on 26 June 1902 (the original date for the subsequently postponed coronation of King Edward VII), Jacob was made a

Knight Commander of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander (:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire, ...

(KCIE). He had no sooner retired to England in 1911 then he was recruited by the secretary of state for India to assist

Edwin Lutyens Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens ( ; 29 March 1869 – 1 January 1944) was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. He designed many English country houses, war memorials ...

and

Herbert Baker Sir Herbert Baker (9 June 1862 – 4 February 1946) was an English architect remembered as the dominant force in South African architecture for two decades, and a major designer of some of New Delhi's most notable government structures. He was ...

in the design of New Delhi. Failing health soon forced him to withdraw from the assignment. He died at

Weybridge Weybridge () is a town in the Borough of Elmbridge, Elmbridge district in Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. The settlement is recorded as ''Waigebrugge'' and ''Weibrugge'' in the 7th century and the name derives from a cro ...

on 4 December 1917 and was buried in

Brookwood Cemetery Brookwood Cemetery, also known as the London Necropolis, is a burial ground in Brookwood, Surrey, England. It is the largest cemetery in the United Kingdom and one of the largest in Europe. The cemetery is listed a Grade I site in the Regist ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

Personal life

He was married to Mary Brown (daughter of Robert Brown of Edinburgh) from 1874 until his death.

Style

Jacob's department was responsible for the construction of everything in the state of Jaipur ranging from walls, outhouses, guard houses, roads, canals to major public buildings. Compared with many British officials in India he was noted for his respect for local building traditions and skills, which led to his incorporating many Indian architectural features into his building designs. As a result, he became – with F. S. Growse,

Robert Fellowes Chisholm Robert Fellowes Chisholm (11 January 1840 – 28 May 1915) was a British architect who pioneered the Indo-Saracenic style of architecture in Madras. Early life Chisholm was born in London on 11 January 1840 (or on 3 November 1838, according ...

, Charles Mant,

Henry Irwin Henry Irwin (24 January 1841 – 5 August 1922) was an architect of British India. He is mainly known for his works in Indo-Saracenic style of architecture. He was a member of the Institution of Engineers (India), Institution of Engineers. He ...

, William Emerson,

George Wittet George Wittet (1878–1926) was a Scottish architect who worked mostly in Mumbai, India. Biography George Wittet was born in Blair Atholl, Scotland in 1878. He studied architecture with a Mr. Heiton of Perth, Scotland, and worked in Edinburg ...

and Frederick Stevens – a pioneer of the

style of architecture. For the benefit of other contemporary architects, Jacob published from 1890 to 1913 the ''Jeypore Portfolio of Architectural Details'', containing numerous drawings, in 12 volumes.

Notable buildings

*All Saint's Church,

. Designed by Jacob and opened for worship at Christmas 1876. *

Albert Hall Museum The Albert Hall Museum in Jaipur is the oldest museum of the state and functions as the state museum of Rajasthan, India. The building is situated in Ram Niwas Garden, Ram Niwas garden outside the city wall opposite New gate and is a fine examp ...

, Jaipur. Also called the Government Central Museum. Located on

Ram Niwas Bagh Ram Niwas Garden is a garden situated in Jaipur city in Indian state of Rajasthan, built by Maharaja Sawai Ram Singh of Jaipur in 1868. Overview The historical garden is located in the heart of the city and covers an area of , and was built by ...

, it was built between 1880 and 1887 after the original design by

Frederick de Fabeck Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Given name Nobility = Anhalt-Harzgerode = *Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) = Austria = * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from ...

, for which the then

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

had laid the

foundation stone A cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry Foundation (engineering), foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entir ...

in 1876, was abandoned. Maharaja Ram Singh initially wanted the building to be a town hall, but his successor, Sawai Madho Singh, decided it should be a museum for the art of Jaipur. *Jaipur Gate, 1886 (with

Thomas Holbein Hendley Colonel Thomas Holbein Hendley (21 April 1847 – 2 February 1917) was a British medical officer in the Indian Medical Service and an amateur authority on Indian art. He studied at St. Bartholomew's Hospital in London, where he was the gold med ...

). The "exotic" structure of Indian teak was carved in

Shekhawati Shekhawati is a region in the northern part of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan, comprising the districts of Sikar, Jhunjhunu, and Churu district, Churu. The language of this region is also called Shekhawat ...

and transported to London for an exhibition. In 1926 it was moved to

Hove Hove ( ) is a seaside resort in East Sussex, England. Alongside Brighton, it is one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove. Originally a fishing village surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th century in respon ...

, East Sussex, where it still stands outside Hove Museum of Creativity. *Jubilee Buildings,

Jodhpur Jodhpur () is the second-largest city of the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, after its capital Jaipur. As of 2023, the city has a population of 1.83 million. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Jodhpur district and ...

, 1887–96. *The Delhi State Election Commission's Office on Lothian Road near Kashmiri Gate in Delhi. Built 1890 to 1891, two-storey building housed St. Stephen's College, Delhi from 1891 till 1941, when it shifted to its present campus. * Bikaner House,

Mount Abu Mount Abu (), known as Arbudgiri in Jain tradition, is a hill station in the Aravalli Range in the Sirohi district of the state of Rajasthan in western India. Here, the mountain forms a rocky plateau 22 km long by 9 km wide. It is ref ...

. Built 1893 as a summer residence for the Maharaja of

Bikaner Bikaner () is a city in the northwest of the States and territories of India, state of Rajasthan, India. It is located northwest of the state capital, Jaipur. It is the administrative headquarters of Bikaner District and Bikaner division. Fo ...

. It has now been converted into the Palace Hotel. *

Laxmi Niwas Palace Lalgarh Palace is a palace and heritage hotel in Bikaner, in the Indian state of Rajasthan, built for Sir Ganga Singh, Maharaja of Bikaner (princely state), Bikaner, between 1902 and 1926. Laxmi Niwas Palace is a part of Lalgarh Palace but it ha ...

. Built 1896–1902 and then extended from 1902 until 1926 into the

Lalgarh Palace Lalgarh Palace is a palace and heritage hotel in Bikaner, in the Indian state of Rajasthan, built for Sir Ganga Singh, Maharaja of Bikaner, between 1902 and 1926. Laxmi Niwas Palace is a part of Lalgarh Palace but it has been given on lease and ...

. * Umed Bhawan Palace, Kota. Built in 1904. Now houses a WelcomHeritage hotel. *

King George Medical College King George's Medical University is a medical university located in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. The medical school was raised to a university by an act passed by the government of Uttar Pradesh on 16 September 2002. It is the only government ...

Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...

. Built 1905. Now called the King George Medical University. *

Peshawar Museum The Peshawar Museum (''(colloquial)''; پشاور عجائب گھر ''(official)'') is a museum located in Peshawar, capital of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The museum houses a collection of Buddhist artwork from the ancient Gandhar ...

Peshawar Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...

. Built 1907 as Victoria Memorial Hall. *

Rambagh Palace The Rambagh Palace in Jaipur, Rajasthan is the former residence of the Maharaja of Jaipur located outside the walls of the city of Jaipur on Bhawani Singh Road. History The first building on the site was a garden house built in 1835 for th ...

, designed by Jacob in 1905, built 1909–16 by Chiman Lal and Bhola Nath.Sachdev/Tillotson, "Building Jaipur the Making of an Indian City" p. 126 s. *

Daly College The Daly College is a group of institutions consisting of a co-educational Private school, private boarding school, boarding, day school, a private junior school, an undergraduate management school and a postgraduate business school, located in ...

Indore Indore (; ISO 15919, ISO: , ) is the largest and most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The commercial capital of the state, it has been declared as the List of cleanest cities in India, cleanest city of In ...

, 1912.

Gallery

File:Rajasthan-Jaipur-Albert-Hall-Museum-cupola-towers-Apr-2004-00.JPG, Albert Hall Museum, Jaipur File:Laxmi Niwas Palace.jpg, Laxmi Niwas Palace, Bikaner File:Lalgarh palace bikaner2.jpg, Lalgarh Palace, Bikaner File:Daly College, Indore.jpg, Daly College, Indore File:Umed Bhawan Palace cour interieure.jpg, Umed Bhawan Palace, Kota, Rajasthan File:Jaipur Gate at Hove Museum and Art Gallery (IoE Code 365600).JPG, Jaipur Gate,

File:Gorton castle Shimla.jpg, Gorton Castle, Shimla