Matthew Banckes was an eminent English master carpenter, who was Master Carpenter in the royal Office of Works

Office of Works

The Office of Works was established in the English Royal household in 1378 to oversee the building of the royal castles and residences. In 1832 it became the Works Department within the Office of Woods, Forests, Land Revenues, Works and Buildings...

 from 1683 and Master of the Worshipful Company of Carpenters

Worshipful Company of Carpenters

The Worshipful Company of Carpenters is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The Carpenters were traditionally different from a fellow wood-crafting company, the Joiners' and Ceilers' Company, in that the Carpenters utilised nails while the Joiners used adhesives to attach wood.The...

 from 1698. Banckes worked under Sir Christopher 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...

 at numerous projects, including six of Wren's City Churches, for which he supplied the carpentry, and at Trinity College Library, Cambridge

Trinity College, Cambridge

Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...

, where he produced the elaborately trussed flooring that supported the weighty collection of books.

At 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"....

 he acted as surveyor and on occasion as architect. In 1693 the third Duke of Hamilton

Duke of Hamilton

Duke of Hamilton is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in 1643. It is the senior dukedom in that Peerage , and as such its holder is the Premier Peer of Scotland, as well as being head of both the House of Hamilton and the House of Douglas...

 consulted him about Hamilton Palace

Hamilton Palace

Hamilton Palace was a large country house located north-east of Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The former seat of the Dukes of Hamilton, it was built in 1695 and subsequently much enlarged. The house was demolished in 1921 due to ground subsidence despite inadequate evidence for that...

. He rebuilt Petersham Lodge, at Petersham

Petersham

Petersham is a place in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames on the east of the bend in the River Thames south of Richmond, which it shares with neighbouring Ham. It provides the foreground of the scenic view from Richmond Hill across Petersham Meadows, with Ham House further along the River...

 in Richmond, Surrey, for Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester

Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester

Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester KG PC was an English statesman and writer. He was originally a supporter of James II but later supported the Glorious Revolution in 1688.-Early life:...

 in 1791-2. He was the master carpenter at Winslow Hall

Winslow Hall

Winslow Hall is a country house, now in the centre of the small town of Winslow, Buckinghamshire, England, built in 1700; its site at the edge of the village was a common one for a house of the gentry, with a public front facing the high street and a garden front that still commanded in 2007...

, Winslow, Buckinghamshire, (1700) where he was probably working to Wren's designs.

His apprentice John James had a successful career as architect, having spent ten years in Banckes' employ. Bancks's son Henry was a stonemason by trade, with contracts at Blenheim Palace

Blenheim Palace

Blenheim Palace  is a monumental country house situated in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England, residence of the dukes of Marlborough. It is the only non-royal non-episcopal country house in England to hold the title of palace. The palace, one of England's largest houses, was built between...

, Marlborough House

Marlborough House

Marlborough House is a mansion in Westminster, London, in Pall Mall just east of St James's Palace. It was built for Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, the favourite and confidante of Queen Anne. The Duchess wanted her new house to be "strong, plain and convenient and good"...

, London, and Cannons.

His son Matthew was responsible for much of the carpentry at Blenheim, and for the centering of the arch of the Palladian Bridge there. His daughters' marriages are examples of the network of family ties at the top ranks of the building trades: to Charles Hopson, Master Joiner

Joiner

A joiner differs from a carpenter in that joiners cut and fit joints in wood that do not use nails. Joiners usually work in a workshop since the formation of various joints generally requires non-portable machinery. A carpenter normally works on site...

 to the Office of Works, to John Churchill, master carpenter, and to Henry Wise, gardener, the partner of George London

George London (landscape architect)

George London was an English nurseryman and garden designer. He aspired to the baroque style and worked on the gardens at Hampton Court, Melbourne Hall and Wimpole Hall....

.