Benjamin Bucknall

Benjamin Bucknall
Born1833[1]
Rodborough, Gloucestershire[2]
Died(1895-11-16)16 November 1895[1]
Algiers
NationalityBritish
OccupationArchitect
BuildingsWoodchester Mansion
Woodchester Mansion, Gloucestershire

Benjamin Bucknall (1833 – 16 November 1895) was an English architect of the Gothic Revival in South West England and South Wales, and then of neo-Moorish architecture in Algeria. His most noted works include the uncompleted Woodchester Mansion in Gloucestershire, England[2] and his restoration of the Villa Montfeld in El Biar, Algiers.[3]

Career

In 1851 Bucknall began work as a millwright, but in 1852 William Leigh helped him to start work for the architect Charles Hansom in Clifton, Bristol.[2] Hansom was a Roman Catholic and in 1852 Bucknall converted to Catholicism.[2]

Bucknall admired the work of the French architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, and travelled to visit him in France in 1861[2] and in Lausanne, Switzerland in 1872.[4] Between 1874 and 1881 Bucknall translated five of Viollet-le-Duc's works into English.[4]

Family

Bucknall was the fifth of seven sons born to Edwin and Mary Bucknall of Rodborough, Gloucs.[2] In 1862 Bucknall was married to Henrietta King.[4] After 1864 they moved to Swansea and by 1869 were living in Oystermouth.[4] The Bucknalls had four children: Mary, Charles (born 1864), Edgar (born 1868) and Beatrice (born 1870).[4]

Bucknall's health deteriorated and he spent the winter of 1876–77 in Algiers.[3] In 1878 he settled there permanently, leaving Henrietta and the children in Gloucestershire.[3] The 1881 Census recorded Henrietta and Mary living at Bisley, Gloucestershire.[3] Some of their children visited Bucknall in Algiers, and Edgar died there in a boating accident in 1889.[3]

In Algiers Bucknall changed his architectural style to neo-Moorish architecture, in which he built villas, notably in the El Biar district of Algiers.[3] His works include a restoration of the Villa Montfeld, now the residence of the US Ambassador to Algeria.[5] He died in Algiers in 1895 and is buried there.[3] A road in Algiers was named Chemin Bucknall in his honour, but since independence it has been renamed.[3]

Buildings

Houses

Churches and monastic houses

Other buildings

Translations from French into English

  • Viollet-le-Duc, Eugène (1874). Histoire d'une maison [How to Build a House. An Architectural Novelette]. London: Sampson Low, Marston, Low, & Searle.[4]
  • Viollet-le-Duc, Eugène (1875). Histoire d'une forteresse [Annals of a Fortress]. London: Sampson Low, Marston, Low, & Searle.[4]
  • Viollet-le-Duc, Eugène (1876). Histoire de l'habitation Humaine depuis les Temps Préhistoriques jusqu'à nos Jour [The Habitations of Man in All Ages]. London: Sampson Low, Marston, Low, & Rivington.[4]
  • Viollet-le-Duc, Eugène (1877). Massif du Mont-Blanc, étude sur sa construction géodesique et géologique, sur ses transformations et sur l'état ancien et moderne de ses glaciers [Mont Blanc. A treatise on its geodesical and geological constitution; its transformations; and the ancient and recent state of its glaciers.]. London: Sampson Low, Marston, Low, & Rivington.[3]
  • Viollet-le-Duc, Eugène (1877). Entretiens sur l'architecture [Lectures on Architecture]. Vol. 1. London: Sampson Low, Marston, Low, & Rivington.[4]
  • Viollet-le-Duc, Eugène (1881). Entretiens sur l'architecture [Lectures on Architecture]. Vol. 2. London: Sampson Low, Marston, Low, & Rivington.[4]
  • Godon, Julien (1879). Painted Tapestry and Its Application to Interior Decoration. Practical Lessons in Tapestry Painting with Liquid Colour. London: Lechertier, Barbe and Co.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b Brodie, 2001, p. 291.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Woodchester Mansion website: Benjamin Bucknall, p. 1.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Woodchester Mansion website: Benjamin Bucknall, p. 4.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Woodchester Mansion website: Benjamin Bucknall, p. 3.
  5. ^ Ross, Christopher. "American Embassy Properties in Algiers - Their Origins and History" (PDF). Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  6. ^ Verey, 1970, pp. 487–488.
  7. ^ Verey, 1970, p. 347.
  8. ^ Verey, 1970, p. 366.
  9. ^ Verey, 1970, p. 430.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h Woodchester Mansion website: Benjamin Bucknall, p. 2.
  11. ^ Verey, 1970, p. 403.
  12. ^ Historic England. "Imperial Hotel (Grade II) (1477576)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 28 May 2022.

Sources