Edmund Sharpe

Infobox Person
name = Edmund Sharpe


caption =
birth_date = 31 October 1809
birth_place = Knutsford, Cheshire
death_date = 8 May 1877
death_place = Milan
other_names =
known_for =
occupation = Architect, engineer
nationality = English

Edmund Sharpe (31 October 1809 – 8 May 1877) was an English architect and engineer. He started his career as an architect, initially on his own, then in partnership with Edward Paley, designing mainly churches but also some secular buildings. In 1851 he resigned from his architects' practice and spent the rest of his life as an engineer, being involved mainly with the building of railways.

Early life

He was born in Knutsford, Cheshire, the only son of Francis and Martha Sharpe. He was educated at Greenwich, Sedbergh School and St John's College, Cambridge graduating B.A. in 1833 and M.A. in 1836. He gained a travelling scholarship in 1832 and visited France and Germany studying Romanesque and early Gothic architecture. He settled in Lancaster, Lancashire in 1835 where he practiced as an architect for 15 years. In 1843 he married Elizabeth Fletcher and with her had five children.O'Donoghue, F. M., rev. Geoffrey K. Brandwood, (2004) 'Sharpe, Edmund (1809-1877)', "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography", Oxford University Press [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/25228] , Retrieved on 22 January 2008.]

Career

One of his students was Edward Graham Paley who joined him as a partner in 1845. Together, as Sharpe and Paley, they designed nearly 40 new churches, including two all-terracotta churches, and some secular buildings which included Capernwray Hall, the remodelling of Hornby Castle and Ince Hall, Cheshire. He took part in civic life in Lancaster, serving as a councillor from 1841 and as mayor in 1848–49. During this time he became involved in sanitation and played an important part in implementing the first Public Health Act in Lancaster. [cite web |url=http://www.lancashirepioneers.com/sharpe/biog.asp |title=Lancashire Pioneers: Edmund Sharpe - Biography |accessdate=2008-01-25 |publisher=Lancashire County Council ]

In 1850 he purchased the Phoenix foundry in Lancaster and the following year ceased work as an architect. He had been involved in the promotion of railways since the 1830s and in 1856 he moved to live near Betws-y-Coed, Caernarvonshire. There he organised the building of the Conway-Llanrwst railway. He was appointed J.P. for Lancashire and for Denbighshire in 1859. From 1863 to 1866 Sharpe lived abroad, where he constructed a horse-drawn tramway in Geneva and the Perpignan-Prades railway in France. He acquired property and iron mines on the continent but moved back to Lancaster in 1867.

During his life Sharpe published a number of works on medieval architecture. He had become a fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1848 and was given their gold medal in 1875. He was also a member of the Archaeological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. While gathering material on the continent for further writings he died in Milan and was buried at Lancaster cemetery. A memorial to his memory is in St Paul's Church, Scotforth, which he designed in 1874, 23 years after retiring from his architectural practice. [cite web |url=http://www.lancashirechurches.co.uk/lancasterscstp.htm |title= Lancaster: Scotforth, St Paul |accessdate=2008-01-25 |last=Boughen |first=Tony |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |year=2004 |month= |format= |work=Lancashire Churches |publisher=Tony Boughen |pages= ]

Major architectural works

"This includes works by Sharpe alone and in partnership with Paley"

1830s

1850s

Publications

*"Architectural Parallels" (1848) [Pollard and Pevsner, p. 88]
*"Seven Periods of Church Architecture" (1851) London

References

Notes

Bibliography

*cite book | last =Hartwell | first =Clare | authorlink = | coauthors =Matthew Hyde, Nikolaus Pevsner | title =The Buildings of England: Lancashire: Manchester and the South-East |edition= | publisher =Yale University Press | date =2004 | location =New Haven | pages = | url = | doi = | id = | isbn =0 300 10583 5
*cite book | last =Pevsner | first =Nikolaus | authorlink =Nikolaus Pevsner | coauthors = | title =The Buildings of England: North Lancashire |edition= | publisher =Yale University Press | date =2002 | origyear=1969 | location = New Haven| pages = | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = 0 300 09617 8
*cite book | last =Pevsner | first =Nikolaus | authorlink =Nikolaus Pevsner | coauthors =Edward Hubbard | title =The Buildings of England: Cheshire |edition= | publisher =Yale University Press| date =2003| origyear=1971| location =New Haven| pages = | url = | doi = | id = | isbn =0 300 09588 0
*cite book | last =Pollard| first =Richard | authorlink = | coauthors =Nikolaus Pevsner | title =The Buildings of England: Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West |edition= | publisher =Yale University Press | date =2006 | location =New Haven & London | pages = | url = | doi = | id = | isbn =0 300 10910 5

ee also

*Sharpe, Paley and Austin