Benjamin Bucknall
Encyclopedia
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
architect of the Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
in Southwest England and South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
, and then of neo-Moorish architecture
Moorish architecture
Moorish architecture is the western term used to describe the articulated Berber-Islamic architecture of North Africa and Al-Andalus.-Characteristic elements:...
in Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
. His most noted works include the uncompleted Woodchester Mansion in Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, England and his restoration of the Villa Montfeld in El Biar
El Biar
El Biar is a suburb of Algiers, Algeria. It is located in the administrative constituency of Bouzaréah in the Algiers Province. As of the 1998 census, it has a population of 52,582 inhabitants...
, Algiers.
Career
In 1851 Bucknall began work as a millwrightMillwright
A millwright is a craftsman or tradesman engaged with the construction and maintenance of machinery.Early millwrights were specialist carpenters who erected machines used in agriculture, food processing and processing lumber and paper...
, but in 1852 the architect William Leigh helped him to start work for the architect Charles Hansom
Charles Francis Hansom
Charles Francis Hansom was a prominent Roman Catholic Victorian architect who primarily designed in the Gothic Revival style.-Career:...
in Clifton, Bristol
Clifton, Bristol
Clifton is a suburb of the City of Bristol in England, and the name of both one of the city's thirty-five council wards. The Clifton ward also includes the areas of Cliftonwood and Hotwells...
. Hansom was a Roman Catholic and in 1852 Bucknall converted to Catholicism.
Bucknall admired the work of the French architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc
Eugène Viollet-le-Duc
Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc was a French architect and theorist, famous for his interpretive "restorations" of medieval buildings. Born in Paris, he was a major Gothic Revival architect.-Early years:...
, and travelled to visit him in France in 1861 and in Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
, Switzerland in 1872. Between 1874 and 1881 Bucknall translated five of Viollet-le-Duc's works into English.
Family
Bucknall was the fifth of seven sons born to Edwin and Mary Bucknall of RodboroughRodborough
Rodborough is a civil parish in the district of Stroud, Gloucestershire, in Southwest England. It is directly south of the town of Stroud, north of the town of Nailsworth and north-west of the village of Minchinhampton...
, Gloucs. In 1862 Bucknall was married to Henrietta King. After 1864 they moved to Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
where by 1869 he was living in Oystermouth
Oystermouth
Oystermouth is an electoral ward and a village in the Mumbles community and also the City and County of Swansea, Wales...
. The Bucknalls had four children: Mary, Charles (born 1864), Edgar (born 1868) and Beatrice (born 1870). Josephine became a nun at St Rose's Convent, Stroud.
Bucknall's health deteriorated and he spent the winter of 1876-77 in Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
. In 1878 he settled there permanently, leaving Henrietta and the children in Gloucestershire. The 1881 Census recorded Henrietta and Mary living at Bisley, Gloucestershire
Bisley, Gloucestershire
Bisley is a village in Gloucestershire, England, approximately east of Stroud. The parish is today united administratively with the adjoining parish of Lypiatt and the two are usually referred to as Bisley-with-Lypiatt...
. Some of their children visited Bucknall in Algiers, and Edgar died there in a boating accident in 1889.
In Algiers Bucknall changed completely to neo-Moorish architecture, in which he built villas, notably in the El Biar
El Biar
El Biar is a suburb of Algiers, Algeria. It is located in the administrative constituency of Bouzaréah in the Algiers Province. As of the 1998 census, it has a population of 52,582 inhabitants...
district of Algiers. His works include a restoration of the Villa Montfeld, which is now the residence of the US Ambassador to Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
. He died in Algiers in 1895 and is buried there. A road in Algiers was named Chemin Bucknall in his honour, but since independence it has been renamed.
Houses
- Woodchester MansionWoodchester MansionWoodchester Mansion is an unfinished, Gothic revival mansion house located in Woodchester Park near Nympsfield in Woodchester, Gloucestershire, England...
, Gloucs, circa 1858 - St Stephens, a cottage orné at NympsfieldNympsfieldNympsfield is a village and civil parish in the English county of Gloucestershire. It is located around six miles south-west of the town of Stroud. As well as Nympsfield village, the parish also contains the hamlet of Cockadilly....
, Gloucs, circa 1860 - Tocknells House, PainswickPainswickPainswick is a small town in Gloucestershire, England. Originally the town grew on the wool trade, but it is now best known for its parish church's yew trees and the local Rococo Garden. The town is mainly constructed of locally quarried Cotswold stone...
, Gloucs, circa 1860 - West Grange, Stroud, GloucsStroud, GloucestershireStroud is a market town and civil parish in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District.Situated below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills at the meeting point of the Five Valleys, the town is noted for its steep streets and cafe culture...
, 1866 - Villa Montfeld, El BiarEl BiarEl Biar is a suburb of Algiers, Algeria. It is located in the administrative constituency of Bouzaréah in the Algiers Province. As of the 1998 census, it has a population of 52,582 inhabitants...
, Algiers: restoration
Churches and monastic houses
- Our Lady and Saint Michael RC church, AbergavennyAbergavennyAbergavenny , meaning Mouth of the River Gavenny, is a market town in Monmouthshire, Wales. It is located 15 miles west of Monmouth on the A40 and A465 roads, 6 miles from the English border. Originally the site of a Roman fort, Gobannium, it became a medieval walled town within the Welsh Marches...
, MonmouthshireMonmouthshireMonmouthshire is a county in south east Wales. The name derives from the historic county of Monmouthshire which covered a much larger area. The largest town is Abergavenny. There are many castles in Monmouthshire .-Historic county:...
, 1858 - Saint George RC church, TauntonTauntonTaunton is the county town of Somerset, England. The town, including its suburbs, had an estimated population of 61,400 in 2001. It is the largest town in the shire county of Somerset....
, SomersetSomersetThe ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, 1860 - Saint Mary's RC church, MonmouthMonmouthMonmouth is a town in southeast Wales and traditional county town of the historic county of Monmouthshire. It is situated close to the border with England, where the River Monnow meets the River Wye with bridges over both....
, 1861-71 - Saint Wulfstan's RC church, Little MalvernLittle MalvernLittle Malvern is a small village and a civil parish on the lower slopes of the Malvern Hills south of Malvern Wells, near Great Malvern, the major centre of the area often referred to as The Malverns. in Worcestershire, England. It contains a Romanesque church called Little Malvern Priory, after...
, WorcestershireWorcestershireWorcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
, 1862 - Saint David's Priory RC church, Swansea, GlamorganGlamorganGlamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It was originally an early medieval kingdom of varying boundaries known as Glywysing until taken over by the Normans as a lordship. Glamorgan is latterly represented by the three...
: extension, 1864 - Saint Thomas' RC church, FairfordFairfordFairford is a small town in Gloucestershire, England. The town lies in the Cotswolds on the River Coln, about east of Cirencester, west of Lechlade and north of Swindon. Nearby are RAF Fairford and the Cotswold Water Park.-Schools:...
, Gloucestershire: presbytery, 1865 - Holy Trinity Church of EnglandChurch of EnglandThe Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
parish church, LlanegwadLlanegwadLlanegwad is a community located in Carmarthenshire, Wales.Llanegwad is built up mainly of small farms and detached homes. Most of all homes located in Llanegwad are older Victorian properties; As well as a number of more modern homes...
, CarmarthenshireCarmarthenshireCarmarthenshire is a unitary authority in the south west of Wales and one of thirteen historic counties. It is the 3rd largest in Wales. Its three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford...
, 1865-78 - Holy Trinity Church of England parish church, SladSladSlad is a village in Gloucestershire, England, located in the Slad Valley, about from the town of Stroud.Slad is famous for being the home of Laurie Lee, who based his book Cider with Rosie on his own life in the village....
, Gloucs: reconstruction, 1869 - Longworth Chapel, BartestreeBartestreeBartestree is a village in Herefordshire, England, east of Hereford on the A438 road. The name is thought to be derived from the Old English Beorhtwald's tree....
Convent, HertfordshireHertfordshireHertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
(with E.W. Pugin), 1869-70 - Saint Francis of Assisi RC Church, Baddesley ClintonBaddesley ClintonThe moated manor house of Baddesley Clinton , located just north of the historic town of Warwick in the English county of Warwickshire, was probably established sometime in the 13th century. When large areas of the Forest of Arden were cleared and eventually converted to farmland this large...
convent, WarwickshireWarwickshireWarwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
(with T.R. Donnelly), 1870 - Saint Rose of Lima Convent, Stroud, Gloucs.
- Abbotskerswell PrioryAbbotskerswell PrioryAbbotskerswell Priory, on the outskirts of the village of Abbotskerswell, near Newton Abbot, Devon, England, was the home of a community of Augustinian nuns from 1861 until 1983. It has now been converted into apartments for elderly people....
, Newton AbbotNewton AbbotNewton Abbot is a market town and civil parish in the Teignbridge District of Devon, England on the River Teign, with a population of 23,580....
, DevonDevonDevon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
: later buildings - Swansea Seamen's Church