Thomas Archer (1668–1743) was an

English Baroque English Baroque is a term used to refer to modes of English architecture that paralleled Baroque architecture in continental Europe between the Great Fire of London (1666) and roughly 1720, when the flamboyant and dramatic qualities of Baroque ...

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 ...

. His buildings are important as the only ones by an English Baroque architect to show evidence of study of contemporary continental, namely Italian, architecture. It is said that his work is somewhat overshadowed by that of his contemporaries Sir John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor.

Life

Archer spent his youth at Umberslade Hall in Tanworth-in-Arden in

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

, the youngest son of Thomas Archer, a country gentleman, Parliamentary Colonel and Member of Parliament, and Ann Leigh, daughter of the London haberdasher, Richard Leigh. The exact date of Archer's birth is unknown, but can be inferred from the two documentary sources that mention his age. One is an entry in the Oxford University register recording his matriculation at Trinity College on 12 June 1686, aged 17; the other, his epitaph, survives in the parish church of Hale, Hampshire. If these records are accurate, he must have been born between 12 June 1668 and 22 May 1669. Thomas is the only one of the Archer children not to have his birth recorded in the Tamworth-in-Arden parish register, which suggests he may have been born elsewhere. He attended Trinity College, Oxford, from which he matriculated on 12 June 1686. After leaving university, he went on a Grand Tour, spending four years abroad and was influenced by the work of Bernini and Borromini.

Churches

Among Archer's churches was St John Evangelist, Westminster, suggestive of Hawksmoor's baroque influence. Its four towers were originally built to stabilise subsidence. Historians believed that was more likely than following Sir John Vanbrgh's style. Built in 1750, St Paul's, Deptford, sweeping semi-circular porticos were not copied for a century until Smirke's magnificent church at St Mary's, Bryanston Square that dominated the street. At St Philip's, Birmingham, now Birmingham Cathedral there was a strong sense of the Italianate Lombardic influences of High Baroque style of churches: ornate, high ceilings, with cupola and dome. External to St Philips is the roof balustrade quite unusual in English church architecture. St John's and St Paul's were both built for the Commission for Building Fifty New Churches. John Summerson said these two buildings "represent the most advanced Baroque style ever attempted in England". According to the minutes of the Commissioners, Archer also "improved" Hawksmoor's designs for St Alfege's at Greenwich, although the nature of the improvements, or whether they were implemented, is unknown. Downes suggests the use of the giant order of pilasters around the church may have been Archer's idea. At Hale, Hampshire, he remodelled St Mary's Church, which also contains his memorial, carved by Sir Henry Cheere to Archer's own design.

Secular works

Archer's secular works included Roehampton House, Welford Park in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

, and the Cascade House and the west front and broadly bowed pilastered north front at Chatsworth House. In 1709–11 Archer designed a Baroque garden pavilion for

Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent, Order of the Garter, KG, Privy Council of England, PC (16715 June 1740) was a British politician and courtier. None of his sons outlived him, so his new title became extinct on his death. Though the house he buil ...

at Wrest Park, Silsoe,

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...

. After 1712 Archer designed Hurstbourne Priors in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

for John Wallop (later Earl of Portsmouth). He was a founding governor of the

Foundling Hospital The Foundling Hospital (formally the Hospital for the Maintenance and Education of Exposed and Deserted Young Children) was a children's home in London, England, founded in 1739 by the philanthropy, philanthropic Captain (nautical), sea captain ...

in London in 1739, but was not involved in the construction of the resulting building, completed . The architect for that project was Theodore Jacobsen.

Documented works

* Chatsworth House, North front, Derbyshire, * Heythrop Hall,

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

, * St Philip's, Birmingham, 1708–1715 *Garden pavilion, Wrest Park,

, 1709–1711 * Roehampton House,

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 ...

, 1712 * Cliveden House, Service pavilions and the quadrant colonnades,

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

* Hurstbourne Priors,

, 1712 * St John’s, Smith Square, London, 1713–1728 * St. Paul's, Deptford, 1712–1730 * Hale Park,

, 1715, designed for himself. *St Mary’s Church, additions, Hale, Hampshire, 1717 * Harcourt House, Cavendish Square,

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 ...

, 1722

Attributed works

* Welford Park, remodelling of house,

, 1700 * Chicheley Hall,

, *Parish church, chancel, Chicheley, 1708 * Addiscombe House,

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

, * Monmouth House, Soho Square,

, 1703 * Russell House, King Street, Covent Garden,

, *Cascade House, Chatsworth House, Derbyshire, 1705 *Hill House, Cain Hill, Wrest Park,

, , demolished * Bramham Park,

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, * Kingston Maurward,

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

, 1717–1720 * Marlow Place,

, 1720 * Chettle House,

, *Monument to Susannah Thomas, Hampton Church,

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

, *Archer Memorial, St Mary’s Church, Hale,

*Thomas Archer (his father) monument, St Mary Magdalene's Church, Tanworth-in-Arden,

Gallery

File:St Johns Concert Hall.jpg, St. John's, Smith Square File:St john smith.jpg, St. John's, Smith Square File:ArcherPavilion3.jpg, Thomas Archer's garden pavilion at Wrest Park, 2007 File:St Philips Cathedral, Birmingham from the east.jpg, St. Philip's Cathedral, Birmingham File:St Phillips Cathedral -Birmingham -UK.jpg, St. Philip's Cathedral, Birmingham, west front File:St Paul Deptford4.jpg, St Paul's Deptford File:St Paul Deptford2.jpg, St Paul's Deptford, east side File:St Paul Deptford3.jpg, St Paul's Deptford, north side File:The Cascade Building Chatsworth House.jpg, Cascade House Chatsworth File:Chatsworth House 05.jpg, Chatsworth North Front File:Heythrop ParkFlip.jpg, Heythrop Hall File:Bramham Park.jpg, Bramham Park File:BranhamParkJonesViews1829.jpg, Bramham Park File:Kingston Maurward 1.jpg, Kingston Maurward House File:CliveGardenFrontVitruviusBritannicus edited.jpg, Cliveden House File:Roehampton elev Vit Brit edited.jpg, Roehampton House

Notes

References

External links

Thomas Archer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Archer, Thomas 1668 births 1743 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford 18th-century English architects English Baroque architects English ecclesiastical architects People from Tanworth-in-Arden Architects of cathedrals Thomas Archer buildings Architects from Warwickshire