Matthew Habershon was an English

English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

 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...

.

Biography

Habershon, born in 1789, came of a Yorkshire

Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

 family. In 1806 he was articled to the architect William Atkinson

William Atkinson (architect)

William Atkinson was an English architect best known for his designs for country houses in the Gothic style. He undertook almost fifty commissions, broadly distributed in the north of England and the Scottish lowlands, London and the surrounding counties, with occasional excursions to...

, with whom he remained for some years as assistant. He was an occasional exhibitor at the Royal Academy

Royal Academy

The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...

 between 1807 and 1827. He designed churches at Belper

Belper

Belper is a town and civil parish in the local government district of Amber Valley in Derbyshire, England.-Geography:Belper is situated eight miles north of Derby and is centred in the valley of the River Derwent...

 (1824), Minster, Bishop Ryders (all in Derbyshire

Derbyshire

Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...

), and at Kimberworth

Kimberworth

Kimberworth is a suburb of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. It is located in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham, about 2.2 miles north west of Rotherham town centre and 4.7 miles north-east of the City of Sheffield....

, Yorkshire. At Derby he erected the town hall, which later burnt down, the county courts, and the market. Among the many private houses designed by him were Hadsor House, near Droitwich

Droitwich Spa

Droitwich Spa is a town in northern Worcestershire, England, on the River Salwarpe.The town is situated on massive deposits of salt, and salt has been extracted there since ancient times. The natural Droitwich brine contains 2½ lbs...

, Worcestershire

Worcestershire

Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...

, for J. Howard Galton (1827).

In 1842 he visited Jerusalem on behalf of the London Society for Promoting Christianity among the Jews

Church's Ministry Among Jewish People

Church's Ministry Among Jewish People is an Anglican missionary society founded in 1809.-History:...

 to arrange for the erection of the Anglican cathedral and buildings connected with the mission. The cathedral is described in Johns's Illustrations of the Anglican Catholic Church of S. James, Mount Sion, Jerusalem (1844). On his way home in 1843 Habershon had an interview with King Frederick William IV of Prussia

Frederick William IV of Prussia

|align=right|Upon his accession, he toned down the reactionary policies enacted by his father, easing press censorship and promising to enact a constitution at some point, but he refused to enact a popular legislative assembly, preferring to work with the aristocracy through "united committees" of...

, who was associated with England in the establishment of the bishopric of Jerusalem

Anglican-German Bishopric in Jerusalem

The Anglican-German Bishopric in Jerusalem was an episcopal see founded in Jerusalem in the nineteenth century by joint agreement of the Anglican Church of England and the united Evangelical Church in Prussia.-Background:...

, and in the following year the king conferred on him the great gold medal for science and literature, to mark his appreciation of Habershon's work on The Ancient half-timbered Houses of England (1836). Habershon died in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 in 1852, and was buried in Abney Park Cemetery

Abney Park Cemetery

Abney Park in Stoke Newington, in the London Borough of Hackney, is a historic parkland originally laid out in the early 18th century by Lady Mary Abney and Dr. Isaac Watts, and the neighbouring Hartopp family. In 1840 it became a non-denominational garden cemetery, semi-public park arboretum, and...

. Two of his sons, William Gilbee and Edward, were architects.

Writings

• A Dissertation on the Prophetic Scriptures, chiefly those of a chronological character, showing their aspect on the present times, and on the destinies of the Jewish Nation (1834)
• A Guide to the Study of Chronological Prophecy, selected and abridged from … a Dissertation on the Prophetic Scriptures
• The Ancient half-timbered Houses of England (1836)
• Premillennial Hymns (1836)
• An Epitome of Prophetic Truth, containing a brief Outline of … Prominent Subjects of Prophecy(1841)
• An Historical Exposition of the Prophecies of the Revelation of St. John, showing their connection with those of Daniel, and of the Old Testament in general, particularly in their aspect on the present times
• Two remarkable Signs of the Times, viewed in connexion with Prophecy. First, Reasons for believing the Death of the Duke of Orleans to be the first Thunder; second, An Account of the West London Synagogue of British Jews.… Forming an Appendix to the third edition of "A Dissertation on the Prophetic Scriptures(1842)
• The Shadows of the Evening; or the Signs of the Lord's speedy Return(1845)

He also wrote a memoir of Charles Daubuz

Charles Daubuz

Charles Daubuz or Charles Daubus , was a Church of England clergyman and theologian.Daubuz was a French Protestant divine, who became vicar of Brotherton. In his youth, he removed to England on the revocation of the Edict of Nantes . He was the author of a few theological works, most notably of A...

, prefixed to the latter's Symbolical Dictionary (1842).