John Henry Chamberlain

John Henry Chamberlain

Infobox Architect



caption=Birmingham School of Art, now part of Birmingham City University's Birmingham Institute of Art and Design
name=John Henry Chamberlain
nationality=English
birth_date=birth date|1831|6|21|df=y
birth_place=Leicester, England
death_date=death date and age|1883|10|22|1831|6|21|df=y
death_place=Birmingham, England
practice_name=Martin & Chamberlain
significant_buildings=Birmingham School of Art
Highbury Hall
significant_projects=Birmingham board schools
Corporation Street
awards=|

John Henry Chamberlain (June 21, 1831October 22, 1883), generally known professionally as J H Chamberlain, was a nineteenth century English architect.

Working predominantly in the Victorian Gothic style, he was one of the earliest and foremost practical exponents of the ideas of architectural theorist John Ruskin, who selected Chamberlain as one of the trustees of his Guild of St George. Chamberlain's later work was increasingly influenced by the early Arts and Crafts movement.

The majority of Chamberlain's buildings were located in and around Birmingham, where he was a major figure in civic life and an influential friend of many of the liberal elite who dominated the city under Mayor Joseph Chamberlain (to whom he was unrelated).

Life

Chamberlain was born in Leicester on June 21, 1831, son of a Baptist minister, and received his architectural training with a local practice. After further experience in London and a period travelling in Italy he moved to Birmingham in 1853. He designed two buildings for John Eld, the business partner of his uncle. The first of these to be completed, Eld's house at 12 Ampton Road, Edgbaston (1855) survives to this day and already shows many of the features that would characterise much of Chamberlain's later work: a gothic structure in polychromatic brick with finely-crafted decoration inspired by natural and organic forms. The shop in Union Street for Eld & Chamberlain has been demolished.

Although Chamberlain continued to build in both Leicester and Birmingham (where he built the Edgbaston Waterworks whose tower would inspire the young J. R. R. Tolkien) his career failed to take off and in 1864 he considered moving to New Zealand after being offered a commission to design Christchurch Cathedral.

Instead he went into partnership with William Martin who was already established as the city's public works architect, with Chamberlain taking the lead in design matters and Martin seeing to the more practical side of running an architectural practice.

Chamberlain's belief in the value of individual craftsmanship and patterns inspired by nature (characteristic of the arts and crafts movement) together with his sense of urbanism and the civilising potential of cities (that was much less typical of a movement which generally abhorred the industrial revolution and viewed large cities as dehumanising) chimed perfectly with the progressive non-conformist ideology of Birmingham's ruling liberals, who sought to transform industrial Birmingham into a cultural centre to rival the great European capitals.

Together with Martin's contacts and business acumen this saw the partnership win a string of commissions to design civic structures throughout Birmingham, including libraries, hospitals, public utilities, major projects such as the cutting of Corporation Street and culminating in 1871 with a commission to design no fewer than 41 board schools in response to the Elementary Education Act 1870. Martin and Chamberlain's civic structures saw the introduction of exceptionally high standards of design and craftsmanship into even the most deprived areas of Birmingham and represented one of the most significant consistent sets of public buildings since Wren's City of London churches two centuries earlier.

Chamberlain also became the unofficial domestic architect to Birmingham's powerful civic leaders, designing a string of prestigious houses in upmarket districts of South Birmingham including Highbury Hall - the home of Joseph Chamberlain himself and now the official residence of Birmingham's Lord Mayor.

Chamberlain died suddenly in 1883 shortly after completing the designs for what is generally considered his finest building - the Birmingham School of Art, which was completed after his death by William Martin and his son Frederick Martin.

He is buried in Key Hill Cemetery in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter.

ignificant works

*12 Ampton Road (Shenstone House), Edgbaston - Chamberlain's first house; 'the first High Victorian house in the town'
*The Grove, Harborne, Birmingham (Demolished, one room preserved as "The Harborne Room" at the Victoria and Albert Museum. London)
*Highbury Hall, Moseley, Birmingham.
*Oozells Street Board School (now the Ikon Gallery), Brindleyplace, Birmingham City Centre.
*Shakespeare Memorial Room in Birmingham Central Library (1882).
*Birmingham School of Art, Margaret Street, Birmingham. (1881) Designed by Chamberlain but completed by William Martin on Chamberlain's death."Birmingham", Douglas Hickman, 1970 Studio Vista. p43]

References

ources

*"Pevsner Architectural Guides - Birmingham", Andy Foster, 2005, ISBN 0-300-10731-5


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Henry Chamberlain — may refer to:*Sir Henry Chamberlain, 1st Baronet (1773 ndash;1829), British diplomat **For subsequent Chamberlain baronets, see Chamberlain Baronets *John Henry Chamberlain (1831 ndash;1883), English architect (known as J H Chamberlain ) *Daniel… …   Wikipedia

  • John Henry Newman —     John Henry Newman     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► John Henry Newman     (1801 1890)     Cardinal Deacon of St. George in Velabro, divine, philosopher, man of letters, leader of the Tractarian Movement, and the most illustrious of English… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Daniel Henry Chamberlain — 76th Governor of South Carolina In office December 1, 1874 – December 14, 1876 Lieutenant Richard Howell Gleaves …   Wikipedia

  • Daniel Henry Chamberlain — (* 23. Juni 1835 in West Brookfield, Massachusetts; † 13. April 1907 in Charlottesville, Virginia) war ein US amerikanischer Politiker und von 1874 bis 1877 Gouverneur von South Carolina …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Chamberlain (surname) — Chamberlain is the surname of: Alec Chamberlain, English football player Alexander Francis Chamberlain, Canadian anthropologist Alex Oxlade Chamberlain, English Football player Ardwight Chamberlain, voice actor Austen Chamberlain (1863–1937),… …   Wikipedia

  • Chamberlain — steht für: Kämmerer in der englischen Sprache Lord Great Chamberlain (Lordkämmerer), Titel eines hochrangigen Amtsträgers der britischen Monarchie Lord Chamberlain of the Household, Titel eines weiteren Amtsträgers der britischen Monarchie… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • John Chamberlain — is the name of: John Chamberlain (golfer) (born 1987), English Golfer John Chamberlain (sculptor) (born 1927), American sculptor John Chamberlain (journalist) (1903–1995), American journalist and editor John Chamberlain (letter writer)… …   Wikipedia

  • John Chamberlain — ist der Name folgender Personen: John Chamberlain (Politiker) (1884–1953), australischer Politiker John Chamberlain (Künstler) (* 1927), US amerikanischer Künstler John Curtis Chamberlain (1772–1834), US amerikanischer Politiker John Henry… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Newman, John Henry — • Lengthy and admiring biography of Newman as a thinker, author, leader, and illustrious convert to Catholicism Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Newman, John Henry      …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Chamberlain Memorial — The Chamberlain Memorial. The Chamberlain Memorial was erected in Chamberlain Square, Birmingham, England on October 20, 1880, to commemorate the public service of Joseph Chamberlain, who was present at the inauguration ceremony. Joseph… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”