John Wykeham Archer was born at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in 1808. In 1820 he came to London, and became a pupil of John Scott, the celebrated engraver of animals. In 1827 he produced in Newcastle a series of large etchings of Fountains Abbey

Fountains Abbey

Fountains Abbey is near to Aldfield, approximately two miles southwest of Ripon in North Yorkshire, England. It is a ruined Cistercian monastery, founded in 1132. Fountains Abbey is one of the largest and best preserved Cistercian houses in England. It is a Grade I listed building and owned by the...

 in Yorkshire

Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

, and etchings of the Abbey Church

Hexham Abbey

Hexham Abbey is a place of Christian worship dedicated to St Andrew and located in the town of Hexham, Northumberland, in northeast England. Since the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1537, the Abbey has been the parish church of Hexham.-History:...

, and Abbot's Tower at Hexham

Hexham

Hexham is a market town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, located south of the River Tyne, and was the administrative centre for the Tynedale district from 1974 to 2009. The three major towns in Tynedale were Hexham, Prudhoe and Haltwhistle, although in terms of population, Prudhoe was...

. He then removed to Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

, where he made a collection of drawings of the ancient edifices and streets of that town, after which he returned to London, and entered the studio of Messrs. W. and E. Finden

William Finden

William Finden was an English line engraver.He served his apprenticeship to one James Mitan, but appears to have owed far more to the influence of James Heath, whose works he privately and earnestly studied...

, in order to improve himself in engraving upon steel. Having been elected a member of the New Society of Painters in Water Colours

Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours

The Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours , initially called the New Society of Painters in Water Colours, , is one of the societies in the Federation of British Artists, based in the Mall Galleries in London.-History:In 1831 the society was founded as the New Society of Painters in Water...

, he produced a series of drawings of St. Mary Overy

Southwark Cathedral

Southwark Cathedral or The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, Southwark, London, lies on the south bank of the River Thames close to London Bridge....

, previous to its restoration, and of Lambeth Palace

Lambeth Palace

Lambeth Palace is the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury in England. It is located in Lambeth, on the south bank of the River Thames a short distance upstream of the Palace of Westminster on the opposite shore. It was acquired by the archbishopric around 1200...

 in all its parts. Archer was the author of 'Vestiges of Old London,' a large quarto volume, illustrated by etchings; likewise of a series of papers in Douglas Jerrold

Douglas William Jerrold

Douglas William Jerrold was an English dramatist and writer.-Biography:Jerrold was born in London. His father, Samuel Jerrold, was an actor and lessee of the little theatre of Wilsby near Cranbrook in Kent. In 1807 Douglass moved to Sheerness, where he spent his childhood...

's Magazine, entitled 'The Recreations of Mr. Zigzag the Elder,' and of numerous contributions to different journals. His principal drawings are a series, some hundreds in number, of the ancient remains of London and its vicinity, in the possession of Mr. William Twopenny, and a series of the antiquities of his native county of Northumberland

Northumberland

Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...

, in the collection at Alnwick Castle

Alnwick Castle

Alnwick Castle is a castle and stately home in the town of the same name in the English county of Northumberland. It is the residence of the Duke of Northumberland, built following the Norman conquest, and renovated and remodelled a number of times. It is a Grade I listed building.-History:Alnwick...

. He also claimed to have revived the ancient practice of engraving on monumental brass, and produced several large monuments of this description from his own designs. He likewise painted a few works in oil. He died May 25, 1864.