Edward Lapidge
Encyclopedia
Edward Lapidge was an English architect, who held the post of County Surveyor of Surrey and designed Kingston Bridge
.
and one-time assistant of Lancelot "Capability" Brown
He built Esher Place
for John Spicer; a brick house, stuccoed in imitation of stone, with an Ionic portico on each side. Lapidge showed a view of the garden front of the house at the Royal Academy in 1808. At Norbiton Place he carried out considerable additions and alterations for its owner, Charles Nicholas Pallmer, including a dairy in the style of an Indian temple.
In 1807, he built Hildersham Hall in Cambridgeshire for Thomas Fassett (formerly of Surbiton Hall, Surrey); a stuccoed villa incorporating a former farmhouse in one wing. He showed a drawing for it at the Royal Academy in 1814. In 1811 he was engaged by the Rev. John Kirby of Mayfield, Sussex, to rebuild the vicarage there.
Lapidge was appointed surveyor to the County of Surrey in 1824. The next year he was given the job of replacing the bridge at Kingston-upon-Thames, after the Kingston corporation dropped its plan to build a cast iron structure. Lapidge designed a five-arched stone bridge in the classical style, which was opened in 1828.
He designed a number of churches: St John, Hampton Wick
(1829–30), St Mary, Hampton, and St Andrew, Ham Common (1830-1) all of brick, in the Gothic style, and St Peter's, Hammersmith
in the Grecian Ionic style, in brick finished with Bath stone dressings. The Gentleman's Magazine described St Peter's as " a very fair specimen of modern Grecian architecture. The tower has considerable merit. The design is novel and pleasing, and the proportions are harmonious. The interior is however chaste and formal, displaying even a presbyterian nakedness". Lapidge himself donated the site of the church at Hampton Wick.
In 1830, he was invited by the Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University, William Chafy, to design a new botanic garden for the university. The expense of acquiring the necessary land caused the plan to be shelved, and Lapidge waited for more than ten years for his bill to be paid. The gardens were eventually laid out in the mid-1840s, but not under his supervision.
He entered designs for the competitions for a new range of buildings for Kings College, Cambridge in 1824, in which he came third;. for the new Houses of Parliament in 1836; and for the Fitzwilliam Museum
at Cambridge in 1837, proposing a domed building, ornamented with sculpture.
In 1836–7 he made considerable alterations to St. Mary's Church, Putney
, repairing the tower and rebuilding the body of the church in yellow brick with stone dressings and perpendicular windows, and in 1839–40 restored All Saints' Church
at Fulham.
In 1840, he designed the Surrey County Lunatic Asylum
,(now Springfield Hospital), a grand Tudor-style composition, enclosing a large courtyard, in red-brick with stone dressings.
In 1846 he paid for the patenting of a new type of suspension bridge, invented by his pupil Henry Heathcote Russell.
Lapidge was a elected a fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects
in 1838.
He died early in March 1860.
Kingston Bridge
Kingston Bridge may refer to:*Kingston Bridge, Glasgow, a bridge across the River Clyde in Glasgow, Scotland*Kingston Bridge, London, a bridge across the River Thames in Kingston upon Thames, England...
.
Life
Edward Lapidge was the eldest son of Samuel Lapidge, the head gardener at Hampton Court PalaceHampton Court Palace
Hampton Court Palace is a royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, Greater London; it has not been inhabited by the British royal family since the 18th century. The palace is located south west of Charing Cross and upstream of Central London on the River Thames...
and one-time assistant of Lancelot "Capability" Brown
He built Esher Place
Esher Place
Esher Place is a Grade-II listed country house, now used as a college by the trade union Unite, in Esher, Surrey, United Kingdom. The current building is at least the fourth on the site.-History:...
for John Spicer; a brick house, stuccoed in imitation of stone, with an Ionic portico on each side. Lapidge showed a view of the garden front of the house at the Royal Academy in 1808. At Norbiton Place he carried out considerable additions and alterations for its owner, Charles Nicholas Pallmer, including a dairy in the style of an Indian temple.
In 1807, he built Hildersham Hall in Cambridgeshire for Thomas Fassett (formerly of Surbiton Hall, Surrey); a stuccoed villa incorporating a former farmhouse in one wing. He showed a drawing for it at the Royal Academy in 1814. In 1811 he was engaged by the Rev. John Kirby of Mayfield, Sussex, to rebuild the vicarage there.
Lapidge was appointed surveyor to the County of Surrey in 1824. The next year he was given the job of replacing the bridge at Kingston-upon-Thames, after the Kingston corporation dropped its plan to build a cast iron structure. Lapidge designed a five-arched stone bridge in the classical style, which was opened in 1828.
He designed a number of churches: St John, Hampton Wick
Hampton Wick
Hampton Wick is a Thames-side area, formerly a village, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in London, England.Famous for its market gardens until well into the twentieth century, it is now commuter-belt territory, housing developments having been built on these areas...
(1829–30), St Mary, Hampton, and St Andrew, Ham Common (1830-1) all of brick, in the Gothic style, and St Peter's, Hammersmith
St Peter's Church, Hammersmith
St Peter's Church, Hammersmith is Anglican church, situated on Black Lion Lane and is the oldest church in Hammersmith.-History:When the church was built in the village of Hammersmith in 1829, all that surrounded it was meadows, market gardens and smallholdings...
in the Grecian Ionic style, in brick finished with Bath stone dressings. The Gentleman's Magazine described St Peter's as " a very fair specimen of modern Grecian architecture. The tower has considerable merit. The design is novel and pleasing, and the proportions are harmonious. The interior is however chaste and formal, displaying even a presbyterian nakedness". Lapidge himself donated the site of the church at Hampton Wick.
In 1830, he was invited by the Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University, William Chafy, to design a new botanic garden for the university. The expense of acquiring the necessary land caused the plan to be shelved, and Lapidge waited for more than ten years for his bill to be paid. The gardens were eventually laid out in the mid-1840s, but not under his supervision.
He entered designs for the competitions for a new range of buildings for Kings College, Cambridge in 1824, in which he came third;. for the new Houses of Parliament in 1836; and for the Fitzwilliam Museum
Fitzwilliam Museum
The Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities museum of the University of Cambridge, located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge, England. It receives around 300,000 visitors annually. Admission is free....
at Cambridge in 1837, proposing a domed building, ornamented with sculpture.
In 1836–7 he made considerable alterations to St. Mary's Church, Putney
St. Mary's Church, Putney
St. Mary's Church , Putney is an Anglican church in Putney, London sited next to the river Thames, beside the southern approach to Putney Bridge. There has been a centre of Christian worship on this site from at least the 13th century, and the church is still very active today...
, repairing the tower and rebuilding the body of the church in yellow brick with stone dressings and perpendicular windows, and in 1839–40 restored All Saints' Church
All Saints Church, Fulham
All Saints Church, Fulham is an Anglican Church in Fulham, London sited close to the river Thames, beside the northern approach to Putney Bridge.-History:...
at Fulham.
In 1840, he designed the Surrey County Lunatic Asylum
Springfield Hospital
Springfield University Hospital is a psychiatric hospital in Tooting, South London and also the headquarters of the South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust....
,(now Springfield Hospital), a grand Tudor-style composition, enclosing a large courtyard, in red-brick with stone dressings.
In 1846 he paid for the patenting of a new type of suspension bridge, invented by his pupil Henry Heathcote Russell.
Lapidge was a elected a fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects
Royal Institute of British Architects
The Royal Institute of British Architects is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally.-History:...
in 1838.
He died early in March 1860.