John Middleton was an English

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...

 architect

Architect

An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...

 of the 19th century. He was born in York

York

York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...

, in August 1820.

Career

Though only 24, in August 1844 Middleton gained his first contract and was asked to design Cleveland Lodge, an impressive mansion situated directly beneath Roseberry Topping

Roseberry Topping

Roseberry Topping is a distinctive hill on the border between North Yorkshire and the borough of Redcar and Cleveland, England. It is situated near Great Ayton and Newton under Roseberry. Its summit has a distinctive half-cone shape with a jagged cliff, which has led to many comparisons with the...

. He was then employed as a retained architect for the Stockton and Darlington Railway

Stockton and Darlington Railway

The Stockton and Darlington Railway , which opened in 1825, was the world's first publicly subscribed passenger railway. It was 26 miles long, and was built in north-eastern England between Witton Park and Stockton-on-Tees via Darlington, and connected to several collieries near Shildon...

 (S&DR), and built stations and railway buildings for a number of lines, including the Wear and Derwent Junction Railway (1845), the Middlesbrough and Redcar Railway (1846) and finally the recently re-opened Weardale Railway (1847).

He moved to Cheltenham in 1859 where he designed five Anglican churches, which were All Saints', Holy Apostles, St. Mark's, St. Philip & St. James and St. Stephen's Churches. It was also Middleton's company who were contracted to build the Canterbury building at the University of Wales, Lampeter

University of Wales, Lampeter

University of Wales, Lampeter is a university in Lampeter, Wales. Founded in 1822 by royal charter, it is the oldest degree awarding institution in Wales and may be the third oldest in England and Wales after Oxford and Cambridge...

, though this was opened in 1887, and as such it is unlikely that Middleton had a great deal direct input on this building, since he died in Wales in 1885.

Personal life

Middleton married Maria Margaret Pritchett, daughter of James Pigott Pritchett

James Pigott Pritchett

James Pigott Pritchett was an architect of London and York whose practice stretched from Lincolnshire to the Scottish borders.-Personal life:...

, architect of York, and his first wife Peggy Maria Terry. Their only surviving child John Henry Middleton

John Henry Middleton

John Henry Middleton was an archaeologist and a museum director.-Early years:Born in York on 5 October 1846, John Henry Middleton was the only surviving child of John Middleton and Maria Margaret, daughter of James Pigott Pritchett and his first wife, Peggy Maria Terry. As a child he travelled to...

 (1846–1896) was appointed director of the Victoria and Albert Museum

Victoria and Albert Museum

The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...

in 1893.