 Barry c. 1851 | |
| Born | (1795-05-23)23 May 1795 Westminster, London, England |
| Died | 12 May 1860(1860-05-12) (aged 64) London, England |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Spouse | Sarah Rowsell |
| Children | Charles Barry Jr. |
| Awards | Royal Gold Medal (1850) |
| Buildings | Palace of Westminster |
| Resting place | Westminster Abbey |
Sir Charles BarryFRSRA (23 May 1795 – 12 May 1860) was a British architect, best known for his role in the rebuilding of thePalace of Westminster (also known as theHouses of Parliament) in London during the mid-19th century, but also responsible for numerous other buildings and gardens. He is known for his major contribution to the use ofItalianate architecture in Britain,[1] especially the use of thePalazzo as basis for the design of country houses, city mansions and public buildings. He also developed theItalian Renaissance garden style for the many gardens he designed around country houses.[2]
Born on 23 May 1795[3] in Bridge Street,Westminster (opposite the future site of theClock Tower of the Palace of Westminster), he was the fourth son of Walter Edward Barry (died 1805),a stationer, and Frances Barry (née Maybank; died 1798). He wasbaptised atSt Margaret's, Westminster, into theChurch of England, of which he was a lifelong member. His father remarried shortly after Frances died and Barry's stepmother Sarah would bring him up.[3]
He was educated at private schools inHomerton and thenAspley Guise,[4] before being apprenticed to Middleton & Bailey,[5]Lambeth architects and surveyors, at the age of 15. Barry exhibited drawings at theRoyal Academy annually from 1812 to 1815.[6] Upon the death of his father, Barry inherited a sum of money that allowed him, aftercoming of age, to undertake an extensiveGrand Tour around the Mediterranean andMiddle East, from 28 June 1817 to August 1820.[7]
He visited France and, while in Paris, spent several days at theMusée du Louvre. In Rome, he sketched antiquities, sculptures and paintings at theVatican Museums and other galleries,[8] before carrying on toNaples,Pompeii,Bari and thenCorfu. While in Italy, Barry metCharles Lock Eastlake, an architect, William Kinnaird andFrancis Johnson (later a professor atHaileybury and Imperial Service College) andThomas Leverton Donaldson.[9][10]
With these gentlemen he visited Greece, where their itinerary coveredAthens, which they left on 25 June 1818,Mount Parnassus,Delphi,Aegina, then theCyclades, includingDelos, thenSmyrna[11] andTurkey, where Barry greatly admired the magnificence ofHagia Sophia. FromConstantinople he visited theTroad,Assos,Pergamon and back to Smyrna.[12] InAthens, he met David Baillie, who was taken with Barry's sketches and offered to pay him £200 a year plus any expenses to accompany him toEgypt,Palestine andSyria in return for Barry's drawings of the countries they visited.[13] Middle East sites they visited includedDendera, theTemple of Edfu andPhilae[14] – it was at the last of these three that he met his future client,William John Bankes, on 13 January 1819[15] – thenThebes,Luxor andKarnak. Then, back toCairo andGiza with its pyramids.[16]
Continuing through the Middle East, the major sites and cities visited wereJaffa, theDead Sea,Jerusalem, including theChurch of the Holy Sepulchre, thenBethlehem,[16]Baalbek,Jerash,Beirut,Damascus andPalmyra,[17] then on toHoms.[18]
On 18 June 1819, Barry parted from Baillie atTripoli, Lebanon. Over this time, Barry created more than 500 sketches.[19] Barry then travelled on toCyprus,Rhodes,Halicarnassus,Ephesus andSmyrna from where he sailed on 16 August 1819 forMalta.[20]
Barry then sailed from Malta toSyracuse, Sicily,[20] then Italy and back through France. His travels in Italy exposed him toRenaissance architecture and after arriving in Rome in January 1820, he met architectJohn Lewis Wolfe,[21] who inspired Barry himself to become an architect. Their friendship continued until Barry died. The building that inspired Barry's admiration for Italian architecture was thePalazzo Farnese. Over the following months, he and Wolfe together studied the architecture ofVicenza, Venice,Verona andFlorence, where thePalazzo Strozzi greatly impressed him.[22]
While in Rome he had metHenry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne, through whom he metHenry Vassall-Fox, 3rd Baron Holland, and his wife,Elizabeth Fox, Baroness Holland. Their London home,Holland House,[23] was the centre of theWhig Party. Barry remained a lifelong supporter of theLiberal Party,[24] the successor to the Whig Party. Barry was invited to the gatherings at the house, and there met many of the prominent members of the group; this led to many of his subsequent commissions. Barry set up his home and office inEly Place in 1821.[5] In 1827 he moved to 27 Foley Place, then in 1842 he moved to 32 Great George Street and finally to The Elms, Clapham Common.[25] Now 29 Clapham Common Northside, the Georgian house of five bays and three stories[26] was designed bySamuel Pepys Cockerell as his own home.[27]
Probably thanks to his fiancée's friendship withJohn Soane,[28] Barry was recommended to theChurch Building Commissioners, and was able to obtain his first major commissions building churches for them. These were in theGothic Revival architecture style, including two inLancashire, St Matthew, Campfield,Manchester (1821–22), andAll Saints' Church, Whitefield (or Stand) (1822–25).[29] Barry designed three churches for the Commissioners inIslington: Holy Trinity,[30] St John's[31] and St Paul's,[32] all in the Gothic style and built between 1826 and 1828.
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Two further Gothic churches in Lancashire, not for the Commissioners followed in 1824:St Saviour's Church, Ringley, partially rebuilt in 1851–54, and Barry's neglectedWelsh Baptist Chapel, on Upper Brook Street (1837–39)[33] in Manchester (and owned by the City Council), long open to the elements and at serious risk after its roof was removed in late 2005, the building was converted to private apartments in 2014–17. His final church for the Commissioners' was the GothicSt Peter's Church, Brighton (1824–28),[34] which he won in a design competition on 4 August 1823 and was his first building to win acclaim.[35]
The next church he designed wasSt Andrew'sHove, East Sussex,[36] in Waterloo Street, Brunswick, (1827–28); the plan of the building is in line withGeorgian architecture, though stylistically theItalianate style was used, the only classical church Barry designed that was actually built. The GothicHurstpierpoint church[37] (1843–45), with its tower andspire, unlike his earlier churches was much closer to theCambridge Camden Society's approach to church design. According to his son Alfred,[38] Barry later disowned these early church designs of the 1820s and wished he could destroy them.
His first major civil commission came when he won a competition to design the newRoyal Manchester Institution[39] (1824–1835) for the promotion of literature, science and arts (now part of theManchester Art Gallery), inGreek revival style, the only public building by Barry in that style. Also in north-west England, he designed Buile Hill House[40] (1825) inSalford this is the only known house where Barry used Greek revival architecture. TheRoyal Sussex County Hospital[41] was erected to Barry's design (1828) in a very plain classical style.
Thomas Attree'svilla,Queen's Park, Brighton,[42] the only one to be built of a series of villas designed for the area by Barry andthe Pepper Pot (1830), whose original function was awater tower for the development. In 1831, he entered the competition for the design ofBirmingham Town Hall,[43] the design was based on anAncient Greek temple of the Doric order, but it failed to win the competition.
The marked preference for Italian architecture, which he acquired during his travels showed itself in various important undertakings of his earlier years, the first significant example being theTravellers Club,[44] inPall Mall, built in 1832, as with all his urban commissions in this style the design wasastylar. He designed the GothicKing Edward's School,[45]New Street, Birmingham (1833–37), demolished 1936, it was during the erection of the school that Barry first metAugustus Welby Northmore Pugin,[46] he helped Barry design the interiors of the building.
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His last work in Manchester was the Italianate Manchester Athenaeum (1837–39),[47] this is now part of Manchester Art Gallery. From 1835–37, he rebuiltRoyal College of Surgeons of England,[48] in Lincoln's Inn Fields, Westminster, he preserved the Ionic portico from the earlier building (1806–13) designed byGeorge Dance the Younger, the building has been further extended (1887–88) and (1937). In 1837, he won the competition to design theReform Club,[49] Pall Mall, London, which is one of his finest Italianate public buildings, notable for its double height central saloon with glazed roof. His favourite building in Rome, the Farnese Palace, influenced the design.[citation needed]
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A major focus of his career was the remodelling of oldercountry houses. His first major commission was the transformation ofHenry Holland'sTrentham Hall[50] inStaffordshire, between 1834 and 1840. It was remodelled in the Italianate style with a large tower (a feature Barry often included in his country houses). Barry also designed the Italianate gardens,[2] withparterres and fountains. Largely demolished in 1912, only a small portion of the house, consisting of theporte-cochère with a curving corridor, and the stables, are still standing, although the gardens are undergoing a restoration. Additionally, thebelvedere from the top of the tower survives as a folly atSandon Hall.[51]
Between 1834 and 1838, atBowood House,[52]Wiltshire, owned byHenry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne, Barry added the tower, made alterations to the gardens, and designed the Italianate entrance lodge. For the same client, he designed theLansdowne Monument in 1845.[53] Walton House inWalton-on-Thames[54] followed in 1835–39. Again Barry used the Italianate style, with a three-storey tower over the entrance porte-cochère (which was demolished 1973). Then, from 1835 to 1838, he remodelled SirRoger Pratt'sKingston Lacy, with the exterior being re-clad in stone. The interiors were also Barry's work.
Highclere Castle,[55] Hampshire, with its large tower, was remodelled between about 1842 and 1850, inElizabethan style, forHenry Herbert, 3rd Earl of Carnarvon. The building was completely altered externally, with the plain Georgian structure being virtually rebuilt. However, little of the interior is by Barry, because his patron died in 1849 andThomas Allom completed the work in 1861. AtDuncombe Park,[56] Yorkshire, Barry designed new wings, which were added between in 1843 and 1846 in theEnglish Baroque style of the main block. AtHarewood House[57] he remodelled theJohn Carr exterior between 1843 and 1850, adding an extra floor to the end pavilions, and replacing the portico on the south front withCorinthian pilasters. Some of theRobert Adam interiors were remodelled, with the dining room being entirely by Barry, and he created the formal terraces andparterres surrounding the house.
Between 1844 and 1848, Barry remodelledDunrobin Castle,[58]Sutherland, Scotland, inScots Baronial Style, forGeorge Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 2nd Duke of Sutherland for whom he had remodelled Trentham Hall. Due to a fire in the early 20th century, little of Barry's interiors survive at Dunrobin, but the gardens, with their fountains and parterres, are also by Barry.Canford Manor,[59] Dorset, was extended in aTudor Gothic style between 1848 and 1852, including a large entrance tower. The most unusual interior is theNineveh porch, built to houseAssyrian sculptures from the eponymous palace, decorated with Assyrian motifs.
James Paine'sShrubland Park[60] was remodelled between 1849 and 1854, including an Italianate tower and entrance porch, a lower hall with Corinthian columns and glass domes, and impressive formal gardens based onItalian Renaissance gardens. The gardens included a 70-foot (21 m)-high series of terraces linked by a grand flight of steps, with an open temple structure at the top. Originally there were cascades of water either side of the staircase. The main terrace is at the centre of a string of gardens nearly 1 mile (1,600 m) in length.[61]
Between 1850 and 1852, Barry remodelledGawthorpe Hall,[62] anElizabethan house situated south-east of the small town ofPadiham, in the borough ofBurnley, Lancashire. It was originally apele tower, built in the 14th century as a defence against the invading Scots. Around 1600, aJacobean mansion had been dovetailed around the pele, but today's hall is re-design of the house, using the original Elizabethan style.
Barry's last major remodelling work wasCliveden House,[63] which had been the seat of the Earl of Orkney from 1696 till 1824. Barry's remodelling was again on behalf of the 2nd Duke ofSutherland. After the previous building was burnt down (1850–51), Barry built a new central block in the Italianate Style, rising to three floors, the lowest of which have arch headed windows, and the upper two floors have giantIonicpilasters. He also designed the parterres below the house.[64] Little of Barry's interior design survived later remodelling.
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Barry remodelledTrafalgar Square (1840–45) he designed the north terrace with the steps at either end, and the sloping walls on the east and west of the square, the two fountain basins are also to Barry's design, althoughEdwin Lutyens re-designed the actual fountains (1939).[65]
Barry was commissioned to design (1840–42) the facade ofPentonville prison, that was designed byJoshua Jebb, he added astuccoed Italianate pilastered frontage to Caledonian Road.[66] The (Old) Treasury (NowCabinet Office)Whitehall byJohn Soane, built (1824–26) was virtually rebuilt[65] by Barry (1844–47). It consists of 23 bays with a giant Corinthian order over arusticated ground floor, the five bays at each end project slightly from the facade.
Bridgewater House, Westminster,[67] London (1845–64) forFrancis Egerton, 1st Earl of Ellesmere, in a grand Italianate style. The structure was complete by 1848, but interior decoration was only finished by 1864. The main (south) front is 144 feet long, of nine bays in more massive version of his earlier Reform Club, the garden (west) front is of seven bays. The interiors are intact apart from the north wing which was bombed inThe Blitz. The main interior is the central Saloon, a roofed courtyard of two storeys, of three by five bays of arches on each floor, the walls are lined withscagliola, the coved ceiling is glazed and the centre has three glazed saucer domes. The decoration of the major rooms is not the work of Barry.
The last major commission of Barry's wasHalifax Town Hall[68] (1859–62), in a North ItalianCinquecento style, and a grand tower with spire, the interior includes a central hall similar to that at Bridgewater House, the building was completed after Barry's death by his sonEdward Middleton Barry.
Completed after Barry's death in 1863 was the classical,Guest Memorial Reading Room and Library[69] inDowlais, Wales.
The most significant of Barry's designs that were not carried out included, his proposed Law Courts (1840–41), that if built would have coveredLincoln's Inn Fields with a largeGreek Revival building, this rectangular building would have been over three hundred by four hundred feet, in a Greek Doric style, there would have been octastyle porticoes in the middle of the shorter sides and hexastyle porticoes on the longer sides, leading to a large central hall that would have been surrounded by twelve court rooms that in turn were surrounded by the ancillary facilities.[70] Later was his General Scheme of Metropolitan Improvements, that were exhibited in 1857.[71] This comprehensive scheme was for the redevelopment of much ofWhitehall,Horse Guards Parade, the embankment of theRiver Thames on both sides of the river in the areas to the north and south of the Palace of Westminster, this would eventual be partially realised as theVictoria Embankment andAlbert Embankment, three new bridges across the Thames, a vast Hotel whereCharing Cross railway station was later built, the enlargement of theNational Gallery (Barry's son Edward would later extend the Gallery) and new buildings around Trafalgar Square and along the new embankments and the recently created Victoria Street. There were also several new roads proposed on both sides of the Thames. The largest of the proposed buildings would have been even larger than the Palace of Westminster, this was the Government Offices, this vast building would have covered the area stretching from horse Guards Parade acrossDowning Street and the sites of the futureForeign and Commonwealth Office and theHM Treasury on Whitehall up toParliament Square.[72] It would have had a vast glass-roofed hall, 320 by 150 feet, at the centre of the building. The plan was to house all government departments apart from the Admiralty in the building. The building would have been in a Classical style incorporating Barry's existing Treasury building.
Following thedestruction by fire of the old Houses of Parliament on 16 October 1834, a competition was held to find a suitable design, for which there were 97 entries.[73] Barry's entry, number 64,[74] for whichAugustus Pugin helped prepare the competition drawings,[75] won the commission in January 1836 to design the new Palace of Westminster. His collaboration with Pugin, who designed furniture, stained glass, sculpture, wallpaper, decorative floor tiles and mosaic work, was not renewed until June 1844,[76] and then continued until Pugin's mental breakdown and death in 1852. The TudorGothic architectural style was chosen to complement theHenry VII Lady Chapel[77] opposite. The design had to incorporate those parts of the building that escaped destruction, most notablyWestminster Hall, the adjoining double-storey cloisters of St Stephen's court and the crypt ofSt Stephen's Chapel. Barry's design was parallel to theRiver Thames, but the surviving buildings were at a slight angle to the river, so Barry had to incorporate the awkwardly different axes into the design. Although the design included most of the elements of the finished building, including the two towers at either end of the building, it would undergo significant redesign. The winning design was only about 650 feet (200 m) in length, about two-thirds the size of the finished building.[78] The central lobby and tower were later additions, as was the extensive royal suite at the southern end of the building. The amended design on which construction commenced was approximately the same size as the finished building, although both theVictoria Tower and Clock Tower were considerably taller in the finished building, and the Central Tower was not yet part of the design.[79]
Before construction could commence, the site had to beembanked and cleared of the remains of the previous buildings, and varioussewers needed to be diverted.[80] On 1 September 1837, work started on building a 920-foot (280 m) longcoffer-dam to enclose the building site along the river.[81] The construction of the embankment started on New Year's Day 1839.[82] The first work consisted of the construction of a vast concrete raft to serve as the building's foundation. After the space had been excavated by hand,[82] 70,000 cubic yards (54,000 m3) of concrete were laid.[82] The site of the Victoria Tower was found to consist ofquicksand, necessitating the use ofpiles.[82] The stone selected for the exterior of the building was quarried atAnston in Yorkshire,[82] with the core of the walls being laid in brick.[82] To make the building as fire-proof as possible, wood was only used decoratively, rather than structurally,[82] and extensive use was made ofcast iron. The roofs of the building consist of cast iron girders covered by sheets of iron,[83] cast iron beams were also used asjoists to support the floors[84] and extensively in the internal structures of both the clock tower and Victoria tower.[85]
Barry and his engineerAlfred Meeson were responsible for designingscaffolding,hoists andcranes used in the construction.[86] One of their most innovative developments was the scaffolding used to construct the three main towers. For the central tower they designed an inner rotating scaffold, surrounded by timbercentring to support the masonry vault of the Central Lobby, that spans 57 feet 2 inches (17.42 m), and an external timber tower.[87] A portablesteam engine was used to lift stone and brick to the upper parts of the tower.[88] When it came to building the Victoria and Clock towers, it was decided to dispense with external scaffolding and lift building materials up through the towers by an internal scaffolding that travelled up the structure as it was built. The scaffold and cranes were powered by steam engines.[88]
Work on the actual building began with the laying of a foundation stone on 27 April 1840 by Barry's wife Sarah, near the north-east corner of the building.[89] A major problem for Barry came with the appointment on 1 April 1840 of the ventilation expert DrDavid Boswell Reid.[90] Reid, whom Barry said was "...not profess to be thoroughly acquainted with the practical details of building and machinery...",[91] would make increasing demands that affected the building's design, leading to delays in construction. By 1845, Barry was refusing to communicate with Reid except in writing. A direct result of Reid's demands was the addition of the Central Tower, designed to act as a giant chimney to draw fresh air through the building.[91]
TheHouse of Lords was completed in April 1847[92] in the form of a double cube measuring 90 ft × 45 ft × 45 ft (27 m × 14 m × 14 m).[92] TheHouse of Commons was finished in 1852, where later Barry would be created aKnight Bachelor. TheElizabeth Tower, which houses the great clock and bells includingBig Ben, is 316 feet (96 m) tall and was completed in 1858.[93] The Victoria Tower is 323 feet (98 m) tall and was completed in 1860.[94] The iron flagpole on the Victoria Tower tapers from 2 feet 9 inches (840 mm) in diameter and the iron crown on top is 3 feet 6 inches (1,070 mm) in diameter and 395 feet (120 m) above ground.[95] The central tower is 261 feet (80 m) high.[96] The building is 940 feet (290 m) long, covers about 8 acres (3 hectares) of land, and has over 1000 rooms. The east Thames façade is 873 feet (266 m) in length.[97] Pugin later dismissed the building, saying "All Grecian, Sir, Tudor details on a classic body",[98] the essentially symmetrical plan and river front being offensive to Pugin's taste formedieval Gothic buildings.
The plan[99] of the finished building is built around two major axes. At the southern end of Westminster Hall, St. Stephen's porch was created as a major entrance to the building. This involved inserting a great arch with a grand staircase at the southern end of Westminster hall, which leads to the first floor where the major rooms are located. To the east of St. Stephens porch is St. Stephen's Hall, built on the surviving undercroft of St. Stephen's Chapel. To the east of this the octagonal Central Lobby (above which is the central tower), the centre of the building. North of the Central Lobby is the Commons' Corridor which leads into the square Commons' Lobby, north of which is theHouse of Commons.
There are various offices and corridors to the north of the House of Commons with the clock tower terminating the northern axis of the building. South of the Central Lobby is the Peers' Corridor leading to the Peers' Lobby, south of which lies theHouse of Lords. South of the House of Lords in sequence are the Prince's Chamber, Royal Gallery, and Queen's Robing Room. To the north-west of the Queen's Robing Chamber is the Norman Porch, to the west of which the Royal Staircase leads down to the Royal Entrance located immediately beneath the Victoria Tower. East of the Central Lobby is the East Corridor leading to the Lower Waiting Hall, to the east of which is the Members Dining Room located in the very centre of the east front. To the north of the Members Dining Room lies theHouse of Commons Library, and at the northern end of the east front is the projecting Speaker's House, home of theSpeaker of the House of Commons. To the south of the Members Dining Room lies various committee rooms followed byHouse of Lords Library. Projecting from the southern end of the facade is the Lord Chancellor's House, home of TheLord Chancellor.
Although Parliament gave Barry a prestigious name in architecture, it nearly finished him off. Completion of the building was very overdue; Barry had estimated it would take six years[100] and cost £724,986[101] (excluding the cost of the site, embankment and furnishings). However, construction actually took 26 years, and it was also well over budget; by July 1854 the estimated cost was £2,166,846.[102] Those pressures left Barry tired and stressed. The full Barry design was never completed; it would have enclosedNew Palace Yard as an internal courtyard, and the clock tower would have been in the north-east corner, with a great gateway in the north-west corner surmounted by the Albert Tower, continuing south along the west front of Westminster Hall.[103]
Barry was appointed architect to theDulwich College estate in 1830, an appointment that last until 1858.[5] Barry attended the inaugural meeting of theRoyal Institute of British Architects on 3 December 1834[104] he became a fellow of the R.I.B.A. and later served as vice-president of the institute, in 1859 he turned down the Presidency of the R.I.B.A.[5]In 1845 he awarded the commission in the competition forNew College, Edinburgh toWilliam Henry Playfair.[105] Barry also served on the Royal Commission (learned committee) developing plans for theGreat Exhibition of 1851;[106] also in 1851, he was a co-founder of what became theRoyal Architectural Museum.[107] In 1852 he was an assessor on the committee that selectedCuthbert Brodrick's design in the competition to designLeeds Town Hall.[105] In 1853 Barry was consulted byAlbert, Prince Consort on his plans for creation of what became known asAlbertopolis.[108] Barry spent two months in Paris in 1855 representing, along with his friend and fellow architectCharles Robert Cockerell, English architecture on the juries of theExposition Universelle.[109]
Barry was an active fellow of theRoyal Academy, and he was involved in revising the architectural curriculum in 1856.[110] In 1858 Barry was appointed to the St. Paul's Committee, whose function was to oversee the maintenance of the Special Evening Service inSt Paul's Cathedral and carry out redecoration of the cathedral.[111]
Several architects received their training in Barry's office, including:John Hayward,John Gibson,George Somers Leigh Clarke,J. A. Chatwin and his sons Charles Barry and Edward Middleton Barry.[28] Additionally Barry had several assistants who worked for him at various times, includingRobert Richardson Banks,Thomas Allom,Peter Kerr andIngress Bell.
Barry disliked being away from London. Not liking life in the country, he preferred the bustle and society of the city.[25] He was an early riser, usually between four and six o'clock in the morning;[25] he only needed four or five hours sleep.[118] He preferred to do his thinking and designing in the morning, but was happy to have company while at work, liking to read to or join in conversation.[119] He had a dislike of public display, considering it hollow and lacking in conviction.[120] His general disposition wassanguine, though he had a quick temper.[120] He preferred science to literature,[24] he frequently attended the Friday night lectures held at theRoyal Institution.[121]
Barry was engaged to Sarah Rowsell (1798–1882) in 1817, they married on 7 December 1822[122] and had seven children together.
Four of Sir Charles Barry's five sons[123] followed in his career footsteps. Eldest sonCharles Barry (junior) (1823–1900) designedDulwich College andpark in south London and rebuilt Burlington House (home of theRoyal Academy) in central London'sPiccadilly;Edward Middleton Barry (1830–1880) completed the Parliament buildings and designed theRoyal Opera House inCovent Garden; Godfrey Walter Barry (1833–1868) became asurveyor; SirJohn Wolfe-Barry (1836–1918) was the engineer forTower Bridge andBlackfriars Railway Bridge. Edward and Charles also collaborated on the design of the Great Eastern Hotel at London'sLiverpool Street station.
His second son, Rev.Alfred Barry (1826–1910), became a noted clergyman. He was headmaster ofLeeds Grammar School from 1854 to 1862 and ofCheltenham College from 1862 to 1868. He later became the thirdBishop of Sydney, Australia. He wrote a 400-page biography of his father,The Life and Times of Sir Charles Barry, R.A., F.R.S., that was published in 1867.
Barry's daughters were Emily Barry (1828–1886) and Adelaide Sarah Barry (1841–1907).
Sir Charles' relativeJohn Hayward designed several buildings including, The Hall, Chapel QuadPembroke College, Oxford.[124]
Two of Barry's grandsons continued in the profession, Charles Edward Barry (1855–1937) architect and assistant to his father, and his brother Lt ColArthur John Barry CBE, TD, MICE (1859–1943), civil engineer and architect, son ofCharles Barry Jr. and pupil and later partner of SirJohn Wolfe-Barry. He was the author ofRailway Expansion in China and the Influence of Foreign Powers in Its Development (London, 1910) and is noted for significant infrastructure projects inIndia, China,Thailand andEgypt.[125] He was the final generation of the Barry architectural and engineering dynasty.
| Members of the Barry Family in Practice | Dates | Profession |
|---|---|---|
| Sir Charles Barry | 1795–1860 | Architect |
| Charles Barry Jr. | 1823–1900 | Architect |
| Edward Middleton Barry | 1830–1880 | Architect |
| Godfrey Walter Barry | 1833–1868 | Surveyor |
| SirJohn Wolfe-Barry | 1836–1918 | Civil Engineer |
| Charles Edward Barry | 1855–1937 | Architect |
| Lt ColArthur John Barry | 1859–1943 | Civil Engineer |
From onward 1837 Barry suffered from sudden bouts of illness,[126] one of the most severe being in 1858. On 12 May 1860 after an afternoon atthe Crystal Palace with Lady Barry, at his homeThe Elms,Clapham Common, he was seized at eleven o'clock at night with difficulty in breathing and was in pain from a heart attack and died shortly after.[127]
His funeral and interment took place at one o'clock on 22 May inWestminster Abbey,[128] the cortège formed atVauxhall Bridge,[128] there were eightpall-bearers:Sir Charles Eastlake;William Cowper-Temple, 1st Baron Mount Temple;George Parker Bidder;Sir Edward Cust, 1st Baronet;Alexander Beresford Hope; The Dean of St. Paul'sHenry Hart Milman;Charles Robert Cockerell and SirWilliam Tite.[129] There were several hundred mourners at the funeral service,[128] including his five sons, (it was against custom for women to attend, so neither his widow or daughters were present), his friend Mr Wolfe, numerous members of the House of Commons and Lords, attended, several who were his former clients, about 150 members of the R.I.B.A., including:Decimus Burton,Thomas Leverton Donaldson,Benjamin Ferrey,Charles Fowler,George Godwin,Owen Jones,Henry Edward Kendall,John Norton,Joseph Paxton,James Pennethorne,Anthony Salvin,Sydney Smirke,Lewis Vulliamy,Matthew Digby Wyatt andThomas Henry Wyatt. Various members of the Royal Society, Royal Academy,Institution of Civil Engineers, Society for the Encouragement of Fine Art and Society of Antiquaries were present.[130] The funeral service was taken by the Dean of Westminster AbbeyRichard Chenevix Trench.[131]
Hardman & Co. made themonumental brass marking Barry's tomb in the nave at Westminster Abbey[132] shows the Victoria Tower and Plan of the Palace of Westminster flanking a largeChristian cross bearing representations of thePaschal Lamb and thefour Evangelists and on the stem are roses, leaves, a portcullis and the letter B., beneath is this inscription:
Sacred to the memory of Sir Charles Barry, Knight R.A. F.R.S. & c. Architect of the New Palace of Westminster and other buildings who died the 12th May A.D. 1860 aged 64 years and lies buried beneath this brass.
The brass has this inscription running around its edge:
Whatsoever ye do do it heartily as to the Lord and not unto Men for ye serve the Lord Christ. Col.Colossians III.23.24.
The following tribute was paid by the R.I.B.A.:
The Royal Institute of British Architects impressed with the loss which the profession and the country have sustained through the decease of Sir Charles Barry, whose genius has conferred great lustre upon this age, hereby record their profound sympathy with the affliction which has fallen upon the widow and family of their lamented friend.[133]
Following Barry's death a life size white-marble sculpture (1861–65) of him was carved byJohn Henry Foley and was set up as a memorial to him at the foot of the Committee Stairs in the Palace of Westminster.[134]
Barry designed:
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