Henry Keene
Encyclopedia
Henry Keene was an English
architect, notable for designing buildings in the Gothic Revival
and Neoclassical
style.
area, and at the age of 20 became Surveyor to the Dean and Chapter of Westminster. Six years later, he was appointed Surveyor to the Fabric of Westminster Abbey
. He worked in Ireland at various times between 1752 and 1766, but nearly all his known surviving buildings are in England, especially in London and Oxford
, where he had houses, and on various country estates. While much of his work is in the neo-classical style, he was an early exponent of Strawberry Hill Gothic
, making good use of his knowledge of the Gothic details of Westminster Abbey
.
He died at his country house at Drayton Green near Ealing
.
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, notable for designing buildings in the Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
and Neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
style.
Life and work
Keene was born in the LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
area, and at the age of 20 became Surveyor to the Dean and Chapter of Westminster. Six years later, he was appointed Surveyor to the Fabric of Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
. He worked in Ireland at various times between 1752 and 1766, but nearly all his known surviving buildings are in England, especially in London and Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, where he had houses, and on various country estates. While much of his work is in the neo-classical style, he was an early exponent of Strawberry Hill Gothic
Strawberry Hill House
Strawberry Hill is the Gothic Revival villa of Horace Walpole which he built in the second half of the 18th century in what is now an affluent area of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in Twickenham, London...
, making good use of his knowledge of the Gothic details of Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
.
He died at his country house at Drayton Green near Ealing
Ealing
Ealing is a suburban area of west London, England and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Ealing. It is located west of Charing Cross and around from the City of London. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically a rural village...
.
Selected buildings still standing
- Hartlebury CastleHartlebury CastleHartlebury Castle, a Grade I listed building, in Worcestershire, central England, was built in the mid-13th century as a fortified manor house on land given to the Bishop of Worcester by King Burgred of Mercia. It lies near Stourport town in north Worcestershire. The manor of Hartlebury...
, 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...
- refitted the Chapel in the Gothic style, c. 1750 - Trinity College, DublinTrinity College, DublinTrinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
- jointly responsible for the west front, 1752-9 - HartwellHartwellHartwell is a village in central Buckinghamshire, England. It is to the south of Aylesbury, by the village of Stone.The village name is Anglo Saxon in origin, and means "spring frequented by deer". In the Domesday Book of 1086 it was recorded as Herdeuuelle and Herdewelle.The ruined Hartwell...
, BuckinghamshireBuckinghamshireBuckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
- built the church (now in ruins) in Gothic style, 1753-5 - High WycombeHigh WycombeHigh Wycombe , commonly known as Wycombe and formally called Chepping Wycombe or Chipping Wycombe until 1946,is a large town in Buckinghamshire, England. It is west-north-west of Charing Cross in London; this figure is engraved on the Corn Market building in the centre of the town...
, Bucks. - Gothicised the church, 1754; built the Guildhall, 1757 - Bowood HouseBowood HouseBowood is a grade I listed Georgian country house with interiors by Robert Adam and a garden designed by Lancelot "Capability" Brown. It is adjacent to the village of Derry Hill, halfway between Calne and Chippenham in Wiltshire, England...
, WiltshireWiltshireWiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
- stableStableA stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals...
s, 1754 - Hartwell House, Bucks. - rebuilt the east front, etc., 1759-61
- Arbury HallArbury HallArbury Hall is a Grade I listed country house in Nuneaton in Warwickshire, England, and is the ancestral home of the Newdigate family, later the Newdigate-Newdegate and Fitzroy-Newdegate families....
, 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...
- designs for Gothicising commissioned by Sir Roger NewdigateRoger NewdigateSir Roger Newdigate, 5th Baronet was an English politician and collector of antiquities.He was born in Arbury, Warwickshire, the son of Sir Richard Newdigate, 3rd Baronet and inherited the title 5th Baronet and the estates of Arbury and of Harefield in Middlesex on the early death of his brother...
, 1762 - Radcliffe ObservatoryRadcliffe ObservatoryRadcliffe Observatory was the astronomical observatory of Oxford University from 1773 until 1934, when the Radcliffe Trustees sold it and erected a new observatory in Pretoria, South Africa. It is a grade I listed building.- History :...
, Oxford - begun, 1772-6 (completed by Keene's son Theodosius, under the direction of James WyattJames WyattJames Wyatt RA , was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the neoclassical style, who far outdid Adam in his work in the neo-Gothic style.-Early classical career:...
, 1794) - Worcester College, OxfordWorcester College, OxfordWorcester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in the eighteenth century, but its predecessor on the same site had been an institution of learning since the late thirteenth century...
- Provost's Lodgings and completion of George ClarkeGeorge ClarkeGeorge Clarke , the son of Sir William Clarke, enrolled at Brasenose College, Oxford in 1676. He was elected a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford in 1680. He became Judge Advocate to the Army and was William III of England's Secretary at War from 1690 to 1704...
's Terrace, 1773-6