Biography

Gwilt, born in Southwark

Southwark

Southwark is a district of south London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Southwark. Situated east of Charing Cross, it forms one of the oldest parts of London and fronts the River Thames to the north...

 8 May 1775, was elder son of George Gwilt

George Gwilt

George Gwilt , also sometimes known as George Gwilt the Elder, was an English architect of the late 18th and early 19th century, particularly associated with buildings in and around London....

 the elder. He was articled to his father, and succeeded him in business as an architect. He was from the first very fully employed, one of his earliest important commissions being the large warehouses erected about 1801 for the West India Dock Company, but he is not known as the author of any original works of artistic character.

Gwilt's tastes led him rather towards the study than the active practice of architecture, and he early devoted himself to archæological pursuits. He wrote many papers for the Archæologia and the Vetusta Monumenta

Vetusta Monumenta

Vetusta Monumenta is the title of a published series of illustrated antiquarian papers on ancient buildings, sites, and artefacts, mostly those of Britain, published at irregular intervals between 1718 and 1906 by the Society of Antiquaries of London...

of the Society of Antiquaries

Society of Antiquaries of London

The Society of Antiquaries of London is a learned society "charged by its Royal Charter of 1751 with 'the encouragement, advancement and furtherance of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and history of this and other countries'." It is based at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London , and is...

, of which he was elected a fellow on 14 December 1815. In 1820 he superintended the rebuilding of the tower and spire of Wren's church of St. Mary-le-Bow, Cheapside, the upper-portion of which had to be taken down in consequence of the decay of the iron cramps employed to hold the stones together. The foundations of the building were at the same time repaired, and Norman and even supposed Roman remains discovered. These are noticed in the description of the church in Britton and Pugin's Illustrations of the Public Buildings of London, to which work Gwilt also contributed. He was particularly interested in the antiquities of Southwark, and contributed to the Gentleman's Magazine of 1815 an article on the remains of Winchester Palace

Winchester Palace

Winchester Palace was a twelfth century palace, London residence of the Bishops of Winchester. It is located south of the River Thames in Southwark, near the medieval priory which today has become Southwark Cathedral.-History:...

 there.

Gwilt's most important archaeological work was the restoration of the church of St. Saviour

Southwark Cathedral

Southwark Cathedral or The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, Southwark, London, lies on the south bank of the River Thames close to London Bridge....

, Southwark, (now Southwark Cathedral) which was with him a labour of love. The tower and choir were restored 1822-1825 at a cost of £35,000, and when, through the exertions of Thomas Saunders, F.S.A., the restoration of the lady chapel was proceeded with at a cost of £3,000, raised by public subscription, Gwilt gave his services gratuitously.

Gwilt died 26 June 1856 at the age of eighty-one, and was buried, by authority of the secretary of state, in a vault of the choir of St. Saviour's, Southwark.

Family

Gwilt had three sons. The two eldest, George and Charles Edwin, were promising architects, but both died young. The latter contributed a paper on some antiquities of Southwark to the Archæologia (xxv. 604).