William Wilkinson (architect)
Encyclopedia
William Wilkinson was a British Gothic Revival architect
who practised in Oxford
, England
.
in Oxfordshire. William's elder brother George Wilkinson
(1814–1890) was also an architect, as were William's nephews C.C. Rolfe (died 1907) and H.W. Moore
(1850–1915).
in Oxford, completed in 1864. He was in partnership with his nephew H.W. Moore from 1881.
, Holy Trinity at Lew, Oxfordshire
. His other work on churches included:
as architect to the local police committee. Oxfordshire County Constabulary was formed in 1857, and Wilkinson designed several buildings for the new force.
estate in 1856-57. From 1860 he laid out the Norham Manor
estate in north Oxford
. The estate was slowly developed with large villas, a number of which Wilkinson designed himself. Wilkinson also designed town houses and small country houses
elsewhere in Oxfordshire:
In 1868, Wilkinson restored Witney
Almshouses, which had been built in 1724.
, but he also built a presbytery for the Roman Catholic Church
.
. He built a number of schools, of which the largest was St Edward's School, Oxford, whose buildings he completed in phases from 1873 until 1886. His other schools include:
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
who practised in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, England
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...
.
Family
Wilkinson's father was a builder in WitneyWitney
Witney is a town on the River Windrush, west of Oxford in Oxfordshire, England.The place-name 'Witney' is first attested in a Saxon charter of 969 as 'Wyttannige'; it appears as 'Witenie' in the Domesday Book of 1086. The name means 'Witta's island'....
in Oxfordshire. William's elder brother George Wilkinson
George Wilkinson (architect)
George Wilkinson, FRIBA was a British architect who practised largely in Ireland. He was born at Witney, Oxfordshire in 1814. He was the elder brother of William Wilkinson , who practised in Oxford.-Career:...
(1814–1890) was also an architect, as were William's nephews C.C. Rolfe (died 1907) and H.W. Moore
Harry Wilkinson Moore
Harry Wilkinson Moore, FRIBA was a Victorian and Edwardian architect. He was the son of Arthur Moore and Mary Wilkinson , and a nephew of the architects George Wilkinson and William Wilkinson.-Career:...
(1850–1915).
Career
Wilkinson practiced entirely within Oxfordshire. His major works include the Randolph HotelMacdonald Randolph Hotel
Macdonald Randolph Hotel is a hotel in Oxford, England. It is in central Oxford on the south side of Beaumont Street, at the corner with Magdalen Street, opposite the Ashmolean Museum and close to the Oxford Playhouse...
in Oxford, completed in 1864. He was in partnership with his nephew H.W. Moore from 1881.
Churches
In 1841, at the age of only 22, Wilkinson designed a new Church of England parish churchChurch of England parish church
A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative region, known as a parish.-Parishes in England:...
, Holy Trinity at Lew, Oxfordshire
Lew, Oxfordshire
Lew is a small village and civil parish about southwest of Witney in West Oxfordshire.-History:Evidence of early human habitation in the parish includes a tumulus, probably Anglo-Saxon, on a high hill west of the village. The name of the village, recorded as Hlæwe in 984, means "tumulus" in Old...
. His other work on churches included:
- St. Leonard's parish church, EynshamEynshamEynsham is a village and civil parish about east of Witney in Oxfordshire, England.-History:Eynsham grew up near the historically important ford of Swinford on the River Thames flood plain...
: restoration, 1856 - Witney Cemetery: lodge and two chapels, 1857
- Witney WorkhouseWorkhouseIn England and Wales a workhouse, colloquially known as a spike, was a place where those unable to support themselves were offered accommodation and employment...
: chapel, 1860 - All Saints' parish church, Middleton CheneyMiddleton CheneyMiddleton Cheney is a civil parish and the largest village in South Northamptonshire, England. It is situated between Banbury and Brackley. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 3,753.-Local amenities:...
, NorthamptonshireNorthamptonshireNorthamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
: Horton family monument, 1866-67 - St. Andrew's parish church, HeadingtonHeadingtonHeadington is a suburb of Oxford, England. It is at the top of Headington Hill overlooking the city in the Thames Valley below. The life of the large residential area is centred upon London Road, the main road between London and Oxford.-History:...
, Oxford: added north aisle, 1880
Police buildings
Wilkinson moved to Oxford in 1856 and succeeded J.C. BucklerJohn Chessell Buckler
John Chessell Buckler was a British architect, the eldest son of the architect John Buckler. J.C. Buckler initially worked with his father before working for himself. His work included restorations of country houses and at the University of Oxford.-Career:Buckler received art lessons from the...
as architect to the local police committee. Oxfordshire County Constabulary was formed in 1857, and Wilkinson designed several buildings for the new force.
- WatlingtonWatlington, OxfordshireWatlington is a market town and civil parish about south of Thame in Oxfordshire. The parish includes the hamlets of Christmas Common and Greenfield, both of which are in the Chiltern Hills. The M40 motorway is from Watlington.-History:...
police station, 1858-59 - Witney police station, 1860
- WoodstockWoodstock, OxfordshireWoodstock is a small town northwest of Oxford in Oxfordshire, England. It is the location of Blenheim Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.Winston Churchill was born in Blenheim Palace in 1874 and is buried in the nearby village of Bladon....
police station, 1863 - Chipping Norton police station, 1864-65
- BurfordBurfordBurford is a small town on the River Windrush in the Cotswold hills in west Oxfordshire, England, about west of Oxford, southeast of Cheltenham and only from the Gloucestershire boundary...
police station, 1869 - Magistrates' room at Deddington Court House, 1874
Houses
Wilkinson built Home Farm on the Shirburn CastleShirburn Castle
Shirburn Castle is at the village of Shirburn, south of Thame, Oxfordshire.Shirburn Castle was the seat of the Earls of Macclesfield. George Parker, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield , celebrated as an astronomer, spent much time conducting astronomical observations at Shirburn Castle, which his father...
estate in 1856-57. From 1860 he laid out the Norham Manor
Norham Manor
The Norham Manor estate is a residential suburb in Oxford, England. It is part of central North Oxford. To the north is Park Town with its crescents, to the east is the River Cherwell, to the south are the University Parks and to the west is Walton Manor, on the other side of Banbury Road.The...
estate in north Oxford
North Oxford
North Oxford is a suburban part of the city of Oxford in England. It was owned for many centuries largely by St John's College, Oxford and many of the area's Victorian houses were initially sold on leasehold by the College....
. The estate was slowly developed with large villas, a number of which Wilkinson designed himself. Wilkinson also designed town houses and small country houses
English country house
The English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a London house. This allowed to them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these people, the term distinguished between town and country...
elsewhere in Oxfordshire:
- Hollybank, WoottonWootton, West OxfordshireWootton is a village and civil parish on the River Glyme about north of Woodstock, Oxfordshire. The village is sometimes referred to as Wootton-by-Woodstock to distinguish it from Wootton, Vale of White Horse, which was in Berkshire but was transferred to Oxfordshire in the 1974 local authority...
, 1862-63 - 10, Broad Street, OxfordBroad Street, OxfordBroad Street is a wide street in central Oxford, England, located just north of the old city wall.The street is known for its bookshops, including the original Blackwell's bookshop at number 50, located here due to the University...
, 1863 - WhittleburyWhittleburyWhittlebury is a village and civil parish in the south of the English county of Northamptonshire close to its border with Buckinghamshire. It is due south of the town of Towcester to which it is connected by main roads. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 586 people.Little...
, Northamptonshire: farmhouse, 1864 - The Holt, Middleton Cheney, Northamptonshire, 1864
- 60 Banbury RoadBanbury RoadBanbury Road is a major arterial road in Oxford, England, running from St Giles' at the south end, north towards Banbury through the leafy suburb of North Oxford and Summertown, with its local shopping centre. Parallel and to the west is the Woodstock Road, which it meets at the junction with St...
, Oxford, 1865-66 - Bignell House, ChestertonChesterton-Places:United Kingdom*Chesterton, Cambridge**Chesterton railway station*Chesterton, Huntingdonshire*Chesterton Rural District*Chesterton *Chesterton, Oxfordshire*Chesterton, Staffordshire*Chesterton, Warwickshire...
, 1866 (later demolished) - 23 & 24 Cornhill, BanburyBanburyBanbury is a market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in the Cherwell District of Oxfordshire. It is northwest of London, southeast of Birmingham, south of Coventry and north northwest of the county town of Oxford...
, 1866 - Astrop Park, Northamptonshire: lodge, pheasantry and cottage, 1868
- Brashfield House, CaversfieldCaversfieldCaversfield is a village and civil parish about north of the centre of Bicester. In 1844 Caversfield became part of Oxfordshire, but until then it was always an exclave of Buckinghamshire entirely surrounded by Oxfordshire.-Early history:...
, 1871-73 - Shelswell Park, ShelswellShelswellShelswell is a hamlet in Oxfordshire about south of Brackley in neighbouring Northamptonshire.-Manor:Shelswell's toponym comes from Old English and suggest's that the settlement may originally have been the well belonging to Scield, a Saxon settler. The spring that gave rise to this well is no...
, 1875 - Cowley Place (now St Hilda's College, OxfordSt Hilda's College, OxfordSt Hilda's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England.The college was founded in 1893 as a hall for women, and remained an all-women's college until 2006....
): extension, 1877-78
In 1868, Wilkinson restored Witney
Witney
Witney is a town on the River Windrush, west of Oxford in Oxfordshire, England.The place-name 'Witney' is first attested in a Saxon charter of 969 as 'Wyttannige'; it appears as 'Witenie' in the Domesday Book of 1086. The name means 'Witta's island'....
Almshouses, which had been built in 1724.
Clergy houses
A number of the houses that Wilkinson designed were for clergy. Most were for the Church of EnglandChurch of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
, but he also built a presbytery for the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
.
- RamsdenRamsden, OxfordshireRamsden is a village and civil parish about north of Witney in West Oxfordshire.-History:The course of Akeman Street Roman Road linking Cirencester with London passes through the parish, bisecting the village. It is now part of the Wychwood Way long distance path...
parsonage, 1862 - ChadlingtonChadlingtonChadlington is a village and civil parish in the Evenlode Valley about south of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, England. The village comprises five "ends" - almost individual hamlets in their own right - called Greenend, Brookend, Westend, Millend, and Eastend....
parsonage, 1863 (now Chadlington House) - Duns TewDuns TewDuns Tew is a village and civil parish about south of Banbury in Oxfordshire. With nearby Great Tew and Little Tew, Duns Tew is one of the three villages known locally as "The Tews".-Origin of the name:...
rectory, 1864 (now Priory Court) - GodingtonGodingtonGodington is a village and civil parish northeast of Bicester in Oxfordshire. The parish is bounded on all but the west side by a brook called the Birne, which at this point forms also the county boundary with Buckinghamshire.-Manor:...
parsonage, 1867 (now the Old Vicarage) - Upper HeyfordUpper HeyfordUpper Heyford may refer to:*Upper Heyford, Northamptonshire*Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire*RAF Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire...
parsonage, 1869 - St. Aloysius' presbytery, Woodstock Road, Oxford, 1877-78
- Combe vicarage and Institute (with H.W. Moore), 1892-93
Educational establishments
In 1863 Wilkinson built a library for the Oxford UnionOxford Union
The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford, Britain, whose membership is drawn primarily but not exclusively from the University of Oxford...
. He built a number of schools, of which the largest was St Edward's School, Oxford, whose buildings he completed in phases from 1873 until 1886. His other schools include:
- Minster LovellMinster LovellMinster Lovell is a village and civil parish on the River Windrush about west of Witney in Oxfordshire.Minster Lovell village has three parts: Old Minster, Little Minster and New Minster. Old Minster includes St. Kenelm's Parish Church, Minster Lovell Hall and the Old Swan Inn and Minster Mill Hotel...
School, 1870-72 - Burford Elementary School, 1875-77
- ThameThameThame is a town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, about southwest of the Buckinghamshire town of Aylesbury. It derives its toponym from the River Thame which flows past the north side of the town....
Grammar School, 1877-79 - Salesian College, Crescent Road, Cowley, 1880