John Shaw Jr
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
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
of the 19th century who was complimented as a designer in the "Manner of Wren
Christopher Wren
Sir Christopher Wren FRS is one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history.He used to be accorded responsibility for rebuilding 51 churches in the City of London after the Great Fire in 1666, including his masterpiece, St. Paul's Cathedral, on Ludgate Hill, completed in 1710...
". He designed buildings in the classical Jacobean
Jacobean architecture
The Jacobean style is the second phase of Renaissance architecture in England, following the Elizabethan style. It is named after King James I of England, with whose reign it is associated.-Characteristics:...
fashion and designed some of London
London
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...
's first semi-detached
Semi-detached
Semi-detached housing consists of pairs of houses built side by side as units sharing a party wall and usually in such a way that each house's layout is a mirror image of its twin...
homes in the area close to Chalk Farm
Chalk Farm
Chalk Farm is an area of north London, England. It lies directly to the north of Camden Town and its underground station is the closest tube station to the nearby, upmarket neighbourhood of Primrose Hill....
. Shaw retired in the early 1860s and moved to Kensington
Kensington
Kensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...
where he died in 1870. He is buried with the Shaw and Hardwick families at Kensal Green
Kensal Green
Kensal Green, also referred to as Kensal Rise is an area of London, England. It is located on the southern edge of the London Borough of Brent and borders the City of Westminster to the East and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to the South....
.
Family
John Shaw Jr. was born in HolbornHolborn
Holborn is an area of Central London. Holborn is also the name of the area's principal east-west street, running as High Holborn from St Giles's High Street to Gray's Inn Road and then on to Holborn Viaduct...
, London. His father, John Shaw Sr.
John Shaw Sr.
John Shaw, Senior, was an architect related to the Shaw and Hardwick family and one of the first architects to draw up plans for semi-detached housing in London....
(1776–1832), was architect to Ramsgate
Ramsgate
Ramsgate is a seaside town in the district of Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century and is a member of the ancient confederation of Cinque Ports. It has a population of around 40,000. Ramsgate's main attraction is its coastline and its main...
Harbour and Christ's Hospital
Christ's Hospital
Christ's Hospital is an English coeducational independent day and boarding school with Royal Charter located in the Sussex countryside just south of Horsham in Horsham District, West Sussex, England...
school in London. Father and son did extensive work at both places while Shaw Senior trained his son; John Shaw Junior designed the lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
at Ramsgate.
Shaw's sister married the architect Philip Hardwick
Philip Hardwick
Philip Hardwick was an eminent English architect, particularly associated with railway stations and warehouses in London and elsewhere...
; their son, was architect Philip Charles Hardwick
Philip Charles Hardwick
-Life:Philip Charles Hardwick was a notable English architect of the 19th century who was once described as "a careful and industrious student of mediaeval art"...
was also an architect. The two families lived close together in Holborn and Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
.
Career
Following his father's death in 1832, Shaw took on the surveyor role at Christ's Hospital, keeping an office there. He also took over work on the church of St Dunstan-in-the-WestSt Dunstan-in-the-West
The Guild Church of St Dunstan-in-the-West is in Fleet Street in London, England. An octagonal-shaped building, it is dedicated to a former bishop of London and archbishop of Canterbury.-History:...
on Fleet Street
Fleet Street
Fleet Street is a street in central London, United Kingdom, named after the River Fleet, a stream that now flows underground. It was the home of the British press until the 1980s...
in London. It was completed between 1833 and 1834. A building next-door to the church, at 187 Fleet Street, built for the Law Life Assurance Society in 1834 is a typical example of Shaw's Jacobean style.
Shaw was appointed architect to Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
, Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
where he contributed the Tudor Gothic buildings. In the same year as working for Eton (1825) Shaw developed the Chalcots estate, Chalk Farm, building semi-detached villas.
Shaw was looked upon favorably by Prince Albert as an architect who could offer something different from the usual Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
Gothic revival architecture
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
. The Prince helped secure work for Shaw: the former Royal Naval School
Royal Naval School
The Royal Naval School was an English school that was established in Camberwell, London, in 1833 and then formally constituted by the Royal Naval College Act 1840. It was a charitable institution, established as a boarding school for the sons of officers in the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. Many of...
in New Cross
New Cross
New Cross is a district and ward of the London Borough of Lewisham, England. It is situated 4 miles south-east of Charing Cross. The ward covered by London post town and the SE 14 postcode district. New Cross is near St Johns, Telegraph Hill, Nunhead, Peckham, Brockley, Deptford and Greenwich...
and Wellington College in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
.
From 1844 to 1855 Shaw was one of the official referees of metropolitan buildings.