Anthony Salvin

Anthony Salvin, architect, was born on 17 October 1799 at Sunderland Bridge, Durham, County Durham. After an education at Durham School, Salvin was placed as a pupil with John Paterson of Edinburgh during the latter's restoration work on Brancepeth Castle. In 1821 he moved to London and entered the office of John Nash (1752-1835).

Salvin's first major commission was Mamhead Park, Devon (1825-38) which began in 1826. His most important early domestic work was at Harlaxton Manor, Lincolnshire. The design began in 1831, but a revised design was planned in 1832. The plan featured baroque-inspired interiors which are likely to have been the result of a trip to Germany in 1835.

It is clear that Salvin had a reputation as an expert on medieval buildings early on in his career, shown by his election to the Society of Antiquaries. This expertise probably led to his many commissions relating to castles. His work was, however, spread throughout a wide area and covered a considerable variety of building types.

Salvin re-faced Norwich Castle, Norfolk (1835), and repaired the ruins of Newark Castle, Nottinghamshire (1844). His country house work was often in the Tudor style, such as Keele Hall, Staffordshire (1854-60).

In 1836 Salvin, who produced designs for nearby Harlaxton, designed the Easton Gatehouse and Stables that were built in 1841. It is thought he was likley responsible for the designs of the Tool House and the Apple Store and lodges in the walled enclosure west of the river.

Salvin also repaired and re-ordered a high number of churches. His work often involved returning them back to a previous ideal state. The work at Holy Sepulchre, Cambridge (1841-4), for example, involved the rebuilding of the south aisle, the removal of the upper stage of the central tower and the construction of a conical roof.

Salvin suffered a stroke in 1857 while working on Warwick Castle, and he returned to London in 1858, where he rented 11 Hanover Terrace, Regent's Park. In 1879 he retired from formal practice and died two years later in Hawksford, Fernhurst, Sussex, on 17 December 1881.

Bibliography

Holder, R., ‘Salvin, Anthony (1799–1881)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004) <http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/24585> [accessed 11 Oct 2007]