Thomas Cooley (1740–1784) was an English-born Irish architect who came to Dublin from London after winning a competition for the design of Dublin's Royal Exchange in 1768.

Early years

Cooley was born to William and Mary Cooley in

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 ...

and began his career as a carpenter apprenticeship in 1756 with interest in architecture. Cooley worked as a draughtsman and clerk to the architect and engineer Robert Mylne (1733–1810), while the latter was building

Blackfriars Bridge Blackfriars Bridge is a road and foot traffic bridge over the River Thames in London, between Waterloo Bridge and Blackfriars Railway Bridge, carrying the A201 road. The north end is in the City of London near the Inns of Court and Temple C ...

in London, between 1761 and 1769. In 1769, he won the competition to design a new Royal Exchange in Dublin, and the building, now the

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

, was completed in 1779. The design shows the influence of Mylne's work, which in turn derived from French neoclassical architecture.

Architecture career and Ireland

Arriving in Ireland in 1768, Cooley built several public buildings in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

in the neoclassical style. Together with

James Gandon James Gandon (20 February 1743 – 24 December 1823) was an English architect best known for his work in Ireland during the late 18th century and early 19th century. His better known works include The Custom House and the surrounding Beresfor ...

(1743–1823), Cooley was part of a small school of architects influenced by

Sir William Chambers __NOTOC__ Sir William Chambers (23 February 1723 – 10 March 1796) was a Swedish-British architect. Among his best-known works are Somerset House, the Gold State Coach and the pagoda at Kew. Chambers was a founder member of the Royal Academy. ...

(1723–1796).Summerson (1993), p. 412. Cooley also designed

Newgate Prison Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey, just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, the pr ...

(demolished 1893), the Royal Hibernian Marine School, and a chapel, all in Dublin. In 1768 he began another public building in the city, but on his death at the age of 44 in Dublin, the project was handed over to Gandon, who completed it, to his own design, as the

Four Courts The Four Courts () is Ireland's most prominent courts building, located on Inns Quay in Dublin. The Four Courts is the principal seat of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the High Court and the Dublin Circuit Court. Until 2010 the build ...

. Outside Dublin, Cooley built a number of country houses including Caledon (1779), for James Alexander, later Earl of Caledon. He designed several buildings in

Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...

, including the Archbishop's Palace (now the town hall), and the public library.

List of buildings designed or built by Cooley

This is an incomplete list of buildings from Cooley: * St Patrick's Cathedral, 1769 – survey * Headfort House, 1769–1771 * Palace Demesne, Archbishop's Palace – remodelling * Royal Hibernian Marine School, 1770–1773 * Chapel at Phoenix Park,

Royal Hibernian Military School The Royal Hibernian Military School was founded in the Phoenix Park, Dublin, Ireland in 1769, to educate orphaned children of members of the British armed forces in Ireland. In 1922 the Royal Hibernian Military School moved to Shorncliffe, in F ...

, 1771 * Public Library at 43 Abbey Street, Armagh, 1771 * Ardbraccan House, 1772–1775 *

Newgate Prison, Dublin Newgate Prison () was a place of detention in Dublin, Ireland. It was initially located at Cornmarket, near Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, Christ Church Cathedral, on the south side of the River Liffey, Liffey and was originally one of the Li ...

, 1773–1781 *

The Royal School, Armagh The Royal School, Armagh is a co-educational voluntary grammar school, founded in the 17th century, in the city of Armagh in Northern Ireland. It has a boarding department with an international intake. It is a member of the Headmasters' and He ...

, 1774 * Bishop's Palace, Killaloe, 1774 *

Royal Hospital Kilmainham The Royal Hospital Kilmainham () in Kilmainham, Dublin, is a 17th-century former hospital and retirement home which is now mainly used to house the Irish Museum of Modern Art and as a concert and events venue. It is notable as being the first l ...

, 1775–1777 * The

, Inn's Quay - North and west ranges of west courtyard, 1768–1802 * Enlargement of the Linenhall, 1784 * Lisnadill church, 1772 * Armagh gaol, 1780

Personal

From 1781 Cooley remained in Ireland until the end of his life. He was survived by a son William and a daughter and was predeceased by his wife.

References

Sources

*Richardson, Albert E. (2001) ''Monumental Classic Architecture in Great Britain and Ireland''. Courier Dover Publications. *Summerson, John (1993) ''Architecture in Britain: 1530-1830'' 9th edition. Yale. *Jacqueline O'Brien with Desmond Guinness (1994), ''Dublin: A Grand Tour'', Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooley, Thomas 18th-century Irish architects 18th-century English architects 18th-century Anglo-Irish people Architects from London Architects from Dublin (city) 1740 births 1784 deaths