Thomas Farnolls Pritchard

Thomas Farnolls Pritchard (c. 1723–23 December 1777) was an English architect and interior decorator who is best remembered for his design of the first iron bridge in the world.

Thomas Farnolls Pritchard was born in Shrewsbury, Shropshire and baptised in St Julian's Church, Shrewsbury on 11 May 1723. His father was a joiner, and Thomas also trained as a joiner but then developed a professional practice as an architect and interior designer. He specialised in the design of chimney-pieces and other items of interior decoration, and in funerary monuments,Leach, Peter, ‘Pritchard, Thomas Farnolls ("bap". 1723, "d".1798)’, "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography", Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2005 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/37866] , accessed 1 September 2008] employing coloured marbles, which are characterised by Rupert Gunnis as "school of Henry Cheere".Gunnis, "Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660-1851", rev. ed. [1968] , "s.v." "Pritchard, Thomas Farnolls".] These were usually in rococo or Gothic style, and later in neoclassical style;cite journal | quotes = | last =West | first = Veronica | authorlink = | coauthors = | date = | year = 1982 | month = | title = Broseley Hall and Thomas Farnolls Prichard | journal = Journal of the Broseley Local History Society | volume = 10 | issue = | pages = | issn = | pmid = | doi = | id = | url = http://www.broseley.org.uk/Docs/THE_NEW_WILLEY_IRONWORKS_files/Broseley%20Hall%20.htm | language = | format = | accessdate = | laysummary = | laysource = | laydate = | quote = ] they include monuments to Ann Wilkinson, 1756, at Wrexham, Denbighshire; the Rev. John Lloyd, 1758, and Mary Morhall, 1765, both at St. Mary's Shrewsbury; and Richard Corbet, at Moreton Corbet, Shropshire. His houses and churches have been described as "no more than pleasant provincial work". Such work includes the rebuilding of St Julian's Church, Shrewsbury, and Hatton Grange, Shropshire. Examples of his interior decoration include Croft Castle, Gaines in Whitbourne, Herefordshire, Shipton Hall, Shropshire, the ballroom at Powis Castle, and chimney-pieces at Broseley Hall, The Lawns, Broseley, and Benthall Hall. He also designed the rococo drawing room at Tatton Hall, Cheshire.cite web |url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/search/details.aspx?pid=1&id=58467 |title=Images of England: Tatton Hall |accessdate=2008-09-01 |publisher=English Heritage ] His monuments are in various churches, including St Mary's Church, Shrewsbury and churches at Acton Round, Ludford and Barrow. Pritchard carried out work in Ludlow, including rebuilding the Town Jail and the Hosiers Almshouses, and making alterations to the Guildhall.

In 1769 Pritchard left Shrewsbury and moved to Eyton on Severn where he took up farming as well as continuing with his architectural work. He made various designs for bridges, none of which came to fruition, until he made plans for a bridge in cast iron to cross the River Severn in Coalbrookdale, Shropshire, adapting the principles of timber bridge-building. A modified version of his design was cast at the ironworks in Coalbrookdale in 1777–79. Pritchard died before the bridge was completed, but his design of The Iron Bridge led to the building of the first iron bridge in the world. He was buried in St Julian's, Shrewsbury, where his monument also commemorates his wife, Elinor Russell, of Shrewbury (married 1751, died 1768) and three children who died young.

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Further reading

*cite book | last = Ionides | first = Julia | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Thomas Farnolls Pritchard of Shrewsbury: Architect and 'Inventor of Cast Iron Bridges' |edition= | publisher = Dog Rose Press | year = 1998 | location = | pages = | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = 978-0952836711