Francis Smith of Warwick

Francis Smith of Warwick (1672-1738) was an English master-builder and architect, much involved in the construction of country houses in the Midland counties of England. Smith of Warwick may refer also to his brothers, or his son.

The architectural work

The county town of Warwick had been devastated by a fire in September 1694, and the projects involved in its rebuilding gave the Smith brothers their first prominence, which they retained for decades by a universal reputation for scrupulous honesty and competence. Howard Colvin, plotting their known commissions on a map, remarked that nearly all of them lay within a fifty-mile radius of their mason's yard, the "Marble House" in Warwick.

The antiquary the Hon. Daines Barrington noted in 1784, after viewing several Smith of Warwick houses, found "all of them convenient and handsome" despite changes in taste, but that "there is a great sameness in the plans, which proves he had but little Invention." [Quoted in Colvin 1995.] Colvin summarised the elements by which a Smith house is easily recognizable: three storeys, with the central three bays emphasized by a slight projection or recession; uniform fenestration with exterior detail confined to keystones, architraves, quoins and a balustraded parapet, which was the most significant modernisation of a formula derived in essence from the late seventeenth-century model typified by Belton House. In the plans there was invariably a hall backed by a saloon in the centre, with a staircase set to one side. In spite of some splendid effects achieved by plasterwork and joinery, Colvin noted that "the spatial effects are simple and unenterprising". [olvin 1995.]

Four exceptional houses did not conform to these conventions. They were Kedleston (demolished and replaced by the celebrated Robert Adam house; Chicheley Hall with William Kent, doubtless in part the design of its owner Sir John Chester, and his "virtuosi" friends; [Colvin 1995.] Stoneleigh Abbey, "a somewhat inept attempt to use a giant order in the grand baroque manner" (Colvin) and Sutton Scarsdale (stripped of its interiors in the 1920s), where Colvin, comparing its assurance with Sutton Scarsdale's "gauche" crowded windows and "leggy pilasters", suspected some intervention by James Gibbs.

Family

William Smith of Warwick (1661-1724), master-builder trained as a brick-layer, was his brother: ['Newcastle-under-Lyme: Churches', A History of the County of Stafford: Volume 8 (1963), pp. 16-24. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=53357. Date accessed: 10 April 2008.] the brothers, who often worked in partnership and with the third brother Richard, were sons of a brick-layer and master builder, Francis Smith, of The Wergs, near Tettenhall, Staffordshire. By the time of William's death in 1724 they had become the most prominent designers and builders of houses in the Midlands [Colvin 1995.] .

William Smith of Warwick (1705-1747) was the next generation in the firm, son of Francis [From: 'Thame : Topography, m, anors and estates', A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 7: Dorchester and Thame hundreds (1962), pp. 160-178. URL: https://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=63775. Date accessed: 10 April 2008.] . The business passed to William and David Hiorn [From: 'The borough of Warwick: Economic and social history, 1545-1835', A History of the County of Warwick: Volume 8: The City of Coventry and Borough of Warwick (1969), pp. 504-514. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=16055. Date accessed: 10 April 2008.] .

Craftsmen

He was a major employer, and some of his craftsmen were individually credited on a lead plaque formerly at Sutton Scarsdale:

*Thomas Eborall, joiner
*Joshua Needham, plasterer
*Edward Poynton of Nottingham, stone carver [John Newman, Nikolaus Pevsner, "Shropshire" (2006), p. 146.]
*John Wilkes, door furniture

Buildings (designed or worked on)

*Aston Hall, 1735, attributed [ [http://www.astonontrenthistory.org.uk/pages/29-bighouses.html AOTLHG: The Big Houses ] ]
*Buntingsdale Hall, c.1721, attributed to John Prince and Smith [ [http://www.discovershropshire.org.uk/html/search/verb/GetRecord/CCS:MSA4019 Welcome to Discovering Shropshire's History ] ]
*Calke Abbey, 1727 with James Gibbs [Nikolaus Pevsner, Elizabeth Williamson, "Derbyshire" (1978), p. 119.]
*Chicheley Hall with William Kent, 1719-1723 [ [http://www.bridgeman.co.uk/search/r_results.asp?Location=Chicheley+Hall+Buckinghamshire+UK&view=2&page=1 Bridgeman Art Library - Image Search ] ] [ [http://www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/archaeology/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=16441 MK Council - Archaeology - MKWeb ] ]
*Chillington Hall [ [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=53395 Brewood - Introduction, manors and agriculture | British History Online ] ]
*Cottesbrooke Hall, attributed [ [http://www.touruk.co.uk/houses/housenorthants_cottesbrooke_hall.htm Cottesbrooke Hall & Gardens Northamptonshire ] ] [ [http://castlelady.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!F29367B89E011214!2674.entry Evelyn Wallace-The Castle Lady Do you love castles?: Noble Northamptonshire ] ]
*Derby Cathedral, with James Gibbs, 1723-1725 [Nikolaus Pevsner, Elizabeth Williamson, "Derbyshire" (1978), p. 168.] [ [http://www.derby-guide.co.uk/derby_attractions.html Derby | The Derby Guide | Attractions in Derby ] ]
*Dudmaston Hall, 1695-1701 [ [http://www.touruk.co.uk/houses/houses_shropshire_dudmaston_hall.htm Dudmaston Hall Shropshire ] ]
*Fawsley Hall
*Hereford Cathedral
*Heythrop Hall, 1707-1713 [Andor Gomme, "Smith and Rossi", Architectural History, Vol. 35, (1992), pp. 183-191.]
*Kelmarsh Hall with James Gibbs, 1732 [ [http://www.aboutbritain.com/KelmarshHallandGardens.htm Kelmarsh Hall and Gardens on AboutBritain.com ] ] [ [http://www.statelyhomes.com/areas/details.asp?HID=1124&ID=1638&path=12,3095,45,1638 Kelmarsh Hall, Kelmarsh, Northampton, NN6 9LY - www.statelyhomes.com ] ]
*Kirtlington House [ [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=63741 Parishes - Kirtlington | British History Online ] ]
*Lamport Hall c.1732 [ [http://www.hha.org.uk/HHA/Property.aspx?id=247&vw=0 Historic Houses Association ] ] [ [http://www.touruk.co.uk/houses/housenorthants_lamport_hall.htm Lamport Hall Northamptonshire ] ]
*Locko Park, 1725-1730 [ [http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/mss/collections/family-estate/collections/drurylowe/biog_family.phtml Drury-Lowe family history - Family and Estate Resources - Manuscripts & Special Collections - The University of Nottingham ] ]
*Mawley Hall, 1730 [ [http://mawley.co.uk/The_House/the_house.html Mawley Hall - occupier Rupert Galliers-Pratt ] ]
*Melbourne Hall [ [http://www.youandyesterday.co.uk/articles/Melbourne_Hall Melbourne Hall - You and Yesterday | You and Yesterday ] ]
*Ombersley Court [Nikolaus Pevsner, Alan Brooks, "Worcestershire" (2007), p. 508.]
*Preston-on-the-Weald Moors Hospital, 1720-1726, attributed [John Newman, Nikolaus Pevsner, "Shropshire" (2006), p. 54.]
*Shardeloes [ [http://www.francisfrith.com/pageloader.asp?page=/shop/books/bookcontent.asp&isbn=1-85937-340-2 Shopping ] ]
*St Mary's Church, Monmouth, 1732 [ [http://www.monmouth.org.uk/History/placesInterest.aspx Welcome to the Monmouth Web Site, Monmouth, Monmouthshire, Gwent, The Wye Valley, Wales and the UK ] ]
*St Modwen's New Church, Burton-upon-Trent [From: 'Burton-upon-Trent: Established church', A History of the County of Stafford: Volume 9: Burton-upon-Trent (2003), pp. 107-130. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=12339. Date accessed: 10 April 2008.]
*Stanford Hall
*Stoneleigh Abbey, 1714-1728 [Joan Thirsk, Peter J. Bowden, Christopher Clay, M. W. Barley, John Chartres, "Chapters from the Agrarian history of England and Wales, 1500-1750" (1989), p. 123.] [ [https://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=57135 Parishes - Stoneleigh | British History Online ] ]
*Sutton Scarsdale House, Derbyshire [ [http://www.genealogy.com/users/r/i/c/Randal-Richardson/FILE/0023page.html McCrea, Kenneth D ] ]
*Warwick Court House [ [http://www.warwicksociety.org.uk/CurrentConcerns.htm Current Concerns ] ] [ [http://www.andrewspages.dial.pipex.com/dby/wolley/places_s-t.htm The Wolley Manuscripts, Derbyshire : Documents and Deeds ] ]

References

*Howard Colvin, "A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1600-1840", 3rd ed. (Yale University Press) 1995, "s.v." "Smith, Francis".
*Andor Gomme (2000), "Smith of Warwick. Francis Smith, Architect and Master-Builder"

Notes

External links

* [http://www.artandarchitecture.org.uk/images/conway/095252b6.html Posthumous bust] by Michael Rysbrack, 1741, from the Radcliffe Camera.