Francis Smith of Warwick
Encyclopedia
Francis Smith of Warwick (1672–1738) was an English
master-builder and architect, much involved in the construction of country houses in the Midland counties of England. Smith of Warwick may refer also to his brothers, or his son.
had been devastated by a fire in September 1694, and the projects involved in its rebuilding gave the Smith brothers their first prominence, which they retained for decades by a universal reputation for scrupulous honesty and competence. Howard Colvin
, plotting their known commissions on a map, remarked that nearly all of them lay within a fifty-mile radius of their mason's yard, the "Marble House" in Warwick.
The antiquary the Hon. Daines Barrington
noted in 1784, after viewing several Smith of Warwick houses, found "all of them convenient and handsome" despite changes in taste, but that "there is a great sameness in the plans, which proves he had but little Invention." Colvin summarised the elements by which a Smith house is easily recognizable: three storeys, with the central three bays emphasized by a slight projection or recession; uniform fenestration with exterior detail confined to keystone
s, architrave
s, quoins
and a balustraded parapet, which was the most significant modernisation of a formula derived in essence from the late seventeenth-century model typified by Belton House
. In the plans there was invariably a hall backed by a saloon in the centre, with a staircase set to one side. In spite of some splendid effects achieved by plasterwork and joinery, Colvin noted that "the spatial effects are simple and unenterprising".
Four exceptional houses did not conform to these conventions. They were Kedleston
(demolished and replaced by the celebrated Robert Adam
house; Chicheley Hall
with William Kent
, doubtless in part the design of its owner Sir John Chester, and his virtuosi
friends; Stoneleigh Abbey
, "a somewhat inept attempt to use a giant order in the grand baroque manner" (Colvin) and Sutton Scarsdale (stripped of its interiors in the 1920s), where Colvin, comparing its assurance with Stoneleigh's "gauche" crowded windows and "leggy pilasters", suspected some intervention by James Gibbs
.
William Smith of Warwick (1705-1747) was the next generation in the firm, son of Francis. The business passed to William and David Hiorn.
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...
master-builder and architect, much involved in the construction of country houses in the Midland counties of England. Smith of Warwick may refer also to his brothers, or his son.
The architectural work
The county town of WarwickWarwick
Warwick is the county town of Warwickshire, England. The town lies upon the River Avon, south of Coventry and just west of Leamington Spa and Whitnash with which it is conjoined. As of the 2001 United Kingdom census, it had a population of 23,350...
had been devastated by a fire in September 1694, and the projects involved in its rebuilding gave the Smith brothers their first prominence, which they retained for decades by a universal reputation for scrupulous honesty and competence. Howard Colvin
Howard Colvin
Sir Howard Montagu Colvin, CVO, CBE , was a British architectural historian who produced two of the most outstanding works of scholarship in his field.-Life and works:...
, plotting their known commissions on a map, remarked that nearly all of them lay within a fifty-mile radius of their mason's yard, the "Marble House" in Warwick.
The antiquary the Hon. Daines Barrington
Daines Barrington
Daines Barrington, FRS was an English lawyer, antiquary and naturalist.Barrington was the fourth son of the first Viscount Barrington. He was educated for the profession of the law, and after filling various posts, was appointed a Welsh judge in 1757 and afterwards second justice of Chester...
noted in 1784, after viewing several Smith of Warwick houses, found "all of them convenient and handsome" despite changes in taste, but that "there is a great sameness in the plans, which proves he had but little Invention." Colvin summarised the elements by which a Smith house is easily recognizable: three storeys, with the central three bays emphasized by a slight projection or recession; uniform fenestration with exterior detail confined to keystone
Keystone (architecture)
A keystone is the wedge-shaped stone piece at the apex of a masonry vault or arch, which is the final piece placed during construction and locks all the stones into position, allowing the arch to bear weight. This makes a keystone very important structurally...
s, architrave
Architrave
An architrave is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of the columns. It is an architectural element in Classical architecture.-Classical architecture:...
s, quoins
Quoin (architecture)
Quoins are the cornerstones of brick or stone walls. Quoins may be either structural or decorative. Architects and builders use quoins to give the impression of strength and firmness to the outline of a building...
and a balustraded parapet, which was the most significant modernisation of a formula derived in essence from the late seventeenth-century model typified by Belton House
Belton House
Belton House is a Grade I listed country house in Belton near Grantham, Lincolnshire, England. The mansion is surrounded by formal gardens and a series of avenues leading to follies within a larger wooded park...
. In the plans there was invariably a hall backed by a saloon in the centre, with a staircase set to one side. In spite of some splendid effects achieved by plasterwork and joinery, Colvin noted that "the spatial effects are simple and unenterprising".
Four exceptional houses did not conform to these conventions. They were Kedleston
Kedleston
Kedleston is a village and civil parish in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire. It lies to the north-west of Derby, and nearby places include Quarndon, Weston Underwood, Mugginton, and Kirk Langley.-History:...
(demolished and replaced by the celebrated Robert Adam
Robert Adam
Robert Adam was a Scottish neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam , Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him...
house; Chicheley Hall
Chicheley Hall
Chicheley Hall, in Chicheley, Buckinghamshire, was built in the first quarter of the 18th century in the Baroque style. It is one of the finest country houses in Buckinghamshire, described by Marcus Binney in The Times as "one of the dozen finest and loveliest English country houses that will...
with William Kent
William Kent
William Kent , born in Bridlington, Yorkshire, was an eminent English architect, landscape architect and furniture designer of the early 18th century.He was baptised as William Cant.-Education:...
, doubtless in part the design of its owner Sir John Chester, and his virtuosi
Virtuoso
A virtuoso is an individual who possesses outstanding technical ability in the fine arts, at singing or playing a musical instrument. The plural form is either virtuosi or the Anglicisation, virtuosos, and the feminine form sometimes used is virtuosa...
friends; Stoneleigh Abbey
Stoneleigh Abbey
Stoneleigh Abbey is a large country mansion situated to the southwest of the village of Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, England. It is a Grade I listed building.The Abbey was founded by the Cistercians in 1154...
, "a somewhat inept attempt to use a giant order in the grand baroque manner" (Colvin) and Sutton Scarsdale (stripped of its interiors in the 1920s), where Colvin, comparing its assurance with Stoneleigh's "gauche" crowded windows and "leggy pilasters", suspected some intervention by James Gibbs
James Gibbs
James Gibbs was one of Britain's most influential architects. Born in Scotland, he trained as an architect in Rome, and practised mainly in England...
.
Family
William Smith of Warwick (1661-1724), master builder trained as a bricklayer, was his brother: the brothers, who often worked in partnership and with the third brother Richard, were sons of a bricklayer and master builder, Francis Smith, of The Wergs, near Tettenhall, Staffordshire. By the time of William's death in 1724 they had become the most prominent designers and builders of houses in the Midlands.William Smith of Warwick (1705-1747) was the next generation in the firm, son of Francis. The business passed to William and David Hiorn.
Craftsmen
He was a major employer, and some of his craftsmen were individually credited on a lead plaque formerly at Sutton Scarsdale:- Thomas Eborall, joiner
- Joshua Needham, plasterer
- Edward Poynton of Nottingham, stone carver
- John Wilkes, door furniture
Buildings (designed or worked on)
- Aston HallAston HallAston Hall is a municipally owned Jacobean-style mansion in Aston, Birmingham, England. Washington Irving used it as the model for Bracebridge Hall in his stories in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon.-History:...
, 1735, attributed - Buntingsdale HallBuntingsdale HallBuntingsdale Hall is a historic country house in the parish of Sutton upon Tern, to the southwest of Market Drayton in Shropshire, England. It became a Grade II* listed building on 14 February 1979.-History:...
, c.1721, attributed to John Prince and Smith - Calke AbbeyCalke AbbeyCalke Abbey is a Grade I listed country house near Ticknall, Derbyshire, England, in the care of the charitable National Trust.The site was an Augustinian priory from the 12th century until its dissolution by Henry VIII...
, 1727 with James Gibbs - Chicheley HallChicheley HallChicheley Hall, in Chicheley, Buckinghamshire, was built in the first quarter of the 18th century in the Baroque style. It is one of the finest country houses in Buckinghamshire, described by Marcus Binney in The Times as "one of the dozen finest and loveliest English country houses that will...
with William KentWilliam KentWilliam Kent , born in Bridlington, Yorkshire, was an eminent English architect, landscape architect and furniture designer of the early 18th century.He was baptised as William Cant.-Education:...
, 1719-1723 - Chillington HallChillington HallChillington Hall is a Georgian country house near to Brewood, Staffordshire, four miles northwest of Wolverhampton, England. It is the residence of the Giffard family. The Grade I listed house was designed by Francis Smith in 1724 and John Soane in 1785...
- Cottesbrooke HallCottesbrooke HallCottesbrooke Hall and the Cottesbrooke estate in Northamptonshire, England is reputed to be the inspiration for Jane Austen's Mansfield Park, published 1814.-Location:...
, attributed - Derby CathedralDerby CathedralThe Cathedral of All Saints , is a cathedral church in the City of Derby, England. It is the seat of the Bishop of Derby, and with an area of around is the smallest Anglican cathedral in England.-History:...
, with James GibbsJames GibbsJames Gibbs was one of Britain's most influential architects. Born in Scotland, he trained as an architect in Rome, and practised mainly in England...
, 1723-1725 - Dudmaston HallDudmaston HallDudmaston Hall is a 17th century country house in the care of the National Trust in the Severn Valley, Shropshire, England, United Kingdom....
, 1695-1701 - Fawsley Hall
- Hereford CathedralHereford CathedralThe current Hereford Cathedral, located at Hereford in England, dates from 1079. Its most famous treasure is Mappa Mundi, a mediæval map of the world dating from the 13th century. The cathedral is a Grade I listed building.-Origins:...
- Heythrop Hall, 1707-1713
- Kelmarsh HallKelmarsh HallKelmarsh Hall in Northamptonshire, England is an elegant, 18th century country house about south of Market Harborough and miles north of Northampton....
with James GibbsJames GibbsJames Gibbs was one of Britain's most influential architects. Born in Scotland, he trained as an architect in Rome, and practised mainly in England...
, 1732 - Kirtlington House
- Lamport HallLamport HallLamport Hall in Lamport, Northamptonshire is a fine example of a Grade I Listed House. It is open to the public.Lamport Hall was the home of the Isham family from 1560 to 1976. Sir Charles Isham, 10th Baronet is credited with beginning the tradition of garden gnomes in the United Kingdom when he...
c.1732 - Locko ParkLocko ParkLocko Park is a privately owned 18th century country house, near Spondon, Derbyshire. It is a Grade II* listed building.The estate was acquired by William Gilbert from William Byrde in 1563. The oldest part of the house is the chapel of 1669. The main south facing block of the present house, built...
, 1725-1730 - Mawley HallMawley HallMawley Hall is a privately owned 18th-century country mansion near Cleobury Mortimer, Shropshire, England. It is a Grade I listed building.The Blount family of Sodington Hall, Mamble, Worcestershire, wealthy coalowners and ironfounders, acquired estates in neighbouring Shropshire. They were...
, 1730 - Melbourne HallMelbourne HallMelbourne Hall, Derbyshire, England was once the seat of the Victorian Prime Minister William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, and thus is the ultimate origin for the naming of Melbourne, Australia. The house is now the seat of Lord Ralph Kerr and Lady Kerr and is open to the public...
- Ombersley Court
- Preston-on-the-Weald Moors Hospital, 1720–1726, attributed
- ShardeloesShardeloesShardeloes is a large 18th century country house located one mile northwest of Amersham in Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom. . A previous manor house on the site was demolished and the present building constructed between 1758 and 1766 for William Drake, the Member of Parliament for Amersham.-Design...
- St Mary's Church, Monmouth, 1732
- St Modwen's New Church, Burton-upon-Trent
- Stanford Hall
- Stanwick Hall
- Stoneleigh AbbeyStoneleigh AbbeyStoneleigh Abbey is a large country mansion situated to the southwest of the village of Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, England. It is a Grade I listed building.The Abbey was founded by the Cistercians in 1154...
, 1714-1728 - Sutton Scarsdale House, Derbyshire
- Warwick Court House
External links
- Posthumous bust by Michael Rysbrack, 1741, from the Radcliffe Camera.