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Thomas Cundy, the elder (1765 – 28 December 1825) was an English architect. Surveyor to the Grosvenor family's London estates from 1821, he was involved in the initial stages of the development of
He was the eldest son of Peter Cundy of Restowrick House, St Dennis Cornwall, and his wife Thomasine Wilcocks, and was baptised at St Dennis on 18 February 1765.
After serving an apprenticeship with a builder in Plymouth, he moved to London at the age of 21. At the age of 28 he was employed as clerk of the works at Normanton Park, under Samuel Pepys Cockerell; following Cockerell's retirement he was retained by Sir Gilbert Heathcote to complete the alterations in progress. He then set up in business as an architect and builder, and in 1821 was appointed surveyor to Earl Grosvenor's London estates, in succession to William Porden. He had previously altered two houses on the estate, in Grosvenor Square. During his tenure the basic layout of Belgravia was developed, but he died before much construction had been carried out.
Buildings which Cundy built or altered significantly include Middleton Park and Osterley for the Earl of Jersey, Tottenham Park in Wiltshire, Hawarden Castle, Burton Constable, Syon House, Northumberland House in London and Wytham in Oxfordshire. He exhibited several designs for these and other buildings at the Royal Academy.
He died 28 December. 1825. His son, Thomas Cundy the younger, took over his post with the Grosvenor estate.
‘Cundy, Thomas, the elder (1765–1825)’
rev. Annette Peach, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 3 January 2008 *''A Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland : 1500-1830'' A. W. Skempton
Belgravia
Belgravia () is a district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' during the Tudor Period, and became a dangerous pla ...
and Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...
, and also designed country house
image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire
An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...
s in a picturesque
Picturesque is an aesthetic ideal introduced into English cultural debate in 1782 by William Gilpin in ''Observations on the River Wye, and Several Parts of South Wales, etc. Relative Chiefly to Picturesque Beauty; made in the Summer of the Year ...
Gothic style.
Life
He was the eldest son of Peter Cundy of Restowrick House, St Dennis Cornwall, and his wife Thomasine Wilcocks, and was baptised at St Dennis on 18 February 1765.
After serving an apprenticeship with a builder in Plymouth, he moved to London at the age of 21. At the age of 28 he was employed as clerk of the works at Normanton Park, under Samuel Pepys Cockerell; following Cockerell's retirement he was retained by Sir Gilbert Heathcote to complete the alterations in progress. He then set up in business as an architect and builder, and in 1821 was appointed surveyor to Earl Grosvenor's London estates, in succession to William Porden. He had previously altered two houses on the estate, in Grosvenor Square. During his tenure the basic layout of Belgravia was developed, but he died before much construction had been carried out.
Buildings which Cundy built or altered significantly include Middleton Park and Osterley for the Earl of Jersey, Tottenham Park in Wiltshire, Hawarden Castle, Burton Constable, Syon House, Northumberland House in London and Wytham in Oxfordshire. He exhibited several designs for these and other buildings at the Royal Academy.
He died 28 December. 1825. His son, Thomas Cundy the younger, took over his post with the Grosvenor estate.
Family
Cundy married Mary Hubert in 1789. They had six sons: Thomas (1790–1867), also an architect; James (1793–1826, a mason); Samuel (c. 1794-1819); Joseph (1795–1875, an architect and builder); William (c. 1797-1829); and John (c. 1802-28).Works
Buildings on which Cundy worked included: *Middleton Park, Oxfordshire. Restored the house for the 5th Earl of Jersey in 1806-10. *Osterley Park (for the Earl of Jersey). *Tottenham Park, Wiltshire. *Hawarden Castle. Cundy enlarged an existing house for Sir Stephen Richard Glynne, entirely casing the building in ashlar, in a castellated Gothick style in 1809-10. *Burton Constable. *Syon House. *Northumberland House. Cundy designed a grand marble staircase, built in 1822–3. *Wytham, Oxfordshire. *Wassand House, Seaton, Yorkshire, built in 1813-19 for the Rev. Charles Constable.References
Sources
* H. M. Colvin, ''A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600–1840'' (1997) * L. H. Cust‘Cundy, Thomas, the elder (1765–1825)’
rev. Annette Peach, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 3 January 2008 *''A Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland : 1500-1830'' A. W. Skempton
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cundy, Thomas 1765 births 1825 deaths 19th-century English architects Architects from Cornwall 18th-century English people Burials at Vineyard Passage Burial Ground