John Francis Bentley (30 January 1839 – 2 March 1902) was an English ecclesiastical architect whose most famous work is the Westminster Cathedral in London, England, built in a style heavily influenced by Byzantine architecture.[1]
Westminster Cathedral was designed by John Francis Bentley and constructed between 1895 and 1903.
Bentley was born in Doncaster. In 1839, he was associated with the firm of Holland & Hannan. He was an apt modeller and had tried his hand with success at stone carving. He studied under Henry Clutton before branching out on his own in 1868.[2]
The great opportunity of Bentley's career came in 1894, when he was commissioned to design a new Roman Catholic cathedral in Westminster, London. After deciding on a Byzantine Revival design, Bentley travelled to Italy to study some of the great early Byzantine-influenced cathedrals, such as St Mark's Basilica in Venice. Because of illness and an outbreak of cholera in Istanbul, he was unable to complete his tour with a study of the Hagia Sophia. Bentley ended his tour in Venice and returned to London to begin work on Westminster Cathedral.[6]
George Williamson describes him as a person of brusque, reserved manner, but kind and friendly to those who knew him. He had the strongest dislike to the preparation of show drawings and to the system of architectural competition and, being a man wholly lacking in self-assertion, and reticent in conversation, was never as well known in general circles as he deserved to be. His great characteristics as an architect were his careful attention to detail, his solicitude that all the fittings should be in perfect harmony with the building.[2]
In 1874 he married Margaret Annie Fleuss; they had 4 sons and 7 daughters. Their house in Clapham has a blue plaque.[7]
Bentley was awarded the gold medal of the Institute of Architects in February, 1902, but never received it, as on 1 March he was seized with paralysis and died the following morning in Clapham. He is buried at St Mary Magdalen Church, Mortlake.
Architectural workedit
Westminster Cathedral, interior looking east
Westminster Cathedral, Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament
Westminster Cathedral, The Baptistry
Westminster Cathedral, The Lady Chapel
Westminster Cathedral, The Sanctuary
Westminster Cathedral, The Shrine of the Sacred Heart and St Michael
Chapel Of The Immaculate Conception, Franciscan Convent
The interior of Church of Our Lady of the Assumption and St Gregory, Soho
Also St Francis of Assisi London W11
Notesedit
^"BENTLEY, JOHN FRANCIS". History Website for Dibdin, Aglio, Rowntree, Guise, and other Families.
^ abcWilliamson, George. "John Francis Bentley." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 5 June 2019 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^Paul Waterhouse, Bentley, John Francis (1839–1902), rev. Peter Howell, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 31 Jan 2011
^Johnson, Derrick (16 February 2018). "The Clapham Society Local History Series — 36 John Francis Bentley". The Clapham Society.
Referencesedit
Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "John Francis Bentley" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
Winefride de L'Hôpital, Westminster cathedral and its architect Volume 1 (1919) (This volume is written by Bentley's daughter and is about the design and construction of the Cathedral)
Winefride de L'Hôpital Westminster cathedral and its architect (1919) Volume 2 (This is Volume 2 of the biography written by Bentley's daughter and deals with his early life and works other than Westminster Cathedral)
April 10, 2024
john, francis, bentley, january, 1839, march, 1902, english, ecclesiastical, architect, whose, most, famous, work, westminster, cathedral, london, england, built, style, heavily, influenced, byzantine, architecture, portrait, william, christian, symons, 1902, . John Francis Bentley 30 January 1839 2 March 1902 was an English ecclesiastical architect whose most famous work is the Westminster Cathedral in London England built in a style heavily influenced by Byzantine architecture 1 Portrait of John Francis Bentley by William Christian Symons 1902 Contents 1 Life 2 Architectural work 3 Notes 4 References 5 External linksLife edit nbsp Westminster Cathedral was designed by John Francis Bentley and constructed between 1895 and 1903 Bentley was born in Doncaster In 1839 he was associated with the firm of Holland amp Hannan He was an apt modeller and had tried his hand with success at stone carving He studied under Henry Clutton before branching out on his own in 1868 2 His first important commission was from Cardinal Manning for the seminary at Hammersmith Examples of his work include Holy Rood Church Watford St John s Beaumont School Corpus Christi Church Brixton St Mary s Cadogan Street Chelsea 1879 the high altar at St Gabriel s Warwick Square 3 and St Luke s Church Chiddingstone Causeway 1897 4 and the Sacred Heart Chapel at the Jesuit Church of the Immaculate Conception Farm Street 2 Though much of his work was in the neo Gothic style he was selected to create a Byzantine Revival design for Westminster Cathedral 5 The great opportunity of Bentley s career came in 1894 when he was commissioned to design a new Roman Catholic cathedral in Westminster London After deciding on a Byzantine Revival design Bentley travelled to Italy to study some of the great early Byzantine influenced cathedrals such as St Mark s Basilica in Venice Because of illness and an outbreak of cholera in Istanbul he was unable to complete his tour with a study of the Hagia Sophia Bentley ended his tour in Venice and returned to London to begin work on Westminster Cathedral 6 George Williamson describes him as a person of brusque reserved manner but kind and friendly to those who knew him He had the strongest dislike to the preparation of show drawings and to the system of architectural competition and being a man wholly lacking in self assertion and reticent in conversation was never as well known in general circles as he deserved to be His great characteristics as an architect were his careful attention to detail his solicitude that all the fittings should be in perfect harmony with the building 2 In 1874 he married Margaret Annie Fleuss they had 4 sons and 7 daughters Their house in Clapham has a blue plaque 7 Bentley was awarded the gold medal of the Institute of Architects in February 1902 but never received it as on 1 March he was seized with paralysis and died the following morning in Clapham He is buried at St Mary Magdalen Church Mortlake Architectural work edit nbsp Westminster Cathedral interior looking east nbsp Westminster Cathedral Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament nbsp Westminster Cathedral The Baptistry nbsp Westminster Cathedral The Lady Chapel nbsp Westminster Cathedral The Sanctuary nbsp Westminster Cathedral The Shrine of the Sacred Heart and St Michael nbsp St Mary s Cadogan Street nbsp Corpus Christi Church Brixton nbsp Church of the Immaculate Conception The Sacred Heart Chapel nbsp Holy Rood Church Watford nbsp St Gabriel s Church Warwick Square Sanctuary nbsp St John s Beaumont School nbsp Chapel Of The Immaculate Conception Franciscan Convent nbsp The interior of Church of Our Lady of the Assumption and St Gregory SohoAlso St Francis of Assisi London W11Notes edit BENTLEY JOHN FRANCIS History Website for Dibdin Aglio Rowntree Guise and other Families a b c Williamson George John Francis Bentley The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol 2 New York Robert Appleton Company 1907 5 June 2019 nbsp This article incorporates text from this source which is in the public domain Historic England CHURCH OF ST GABRIEL 1357369 National Heritage List for England Retrieved 4 September 2016 Homan Roger 1984 The Victorian Churches of Kent Chichester Phillimore amp Co Ltd p 105 ISBN 0 85033 466 7 Townsend Charles Harrison 1922 Bentley John Francis Encyclopaedia Britannica 12th ed Paul Waterhouse Bentley John Francis 1839 1902 rev Peter Howell Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Oxford University Press 2004 accessed 31 Jan 2011 Johnson Derrick 16 February 2018 The Clapham Society Local History Series 36 John Francis Bentley The Clapham Society References editHerbermann Charles ed 1913 John Francis Bentley Catholic Encyclopedia New York Robert Appleton Company Philip s Encyclopedia Comprehensive Edition 2008 Octopus publishing Group 2007 p 147 ISBN 978 0 540 09151 5 External links editJohn Francis Bentley at Find a Grave Winefride de L Hopital Westminster cathedral and its architect Volume 1 1919 This volume is written by Bentley s daughter and is about the design and construction of the Cathedral Winefride de L Hopital Westminster cathedral and its architect 1919 Volume 2 This is Volume 2 of the biography written by Bentley s daughter and deals with his early life and works other than Westminster Cathedral Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John Francis Bentley amp oldid 1120937458, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
