Sir Edward Lovett Pearce | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1699 |
| Died | 7 December 1733(1733-12-07) (aged 34) |
| Resting place | Donnybrook Cemetery |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Parent(s) | Edward Pearce (father) Frances Lovett (mother) |
| Relatives | John Vanbrugh (cousin) Thomas Pearce (uncle) Frances (sister) Christopher Lovett (grandfather) |
| Buildings | Castletown House Bellamont House Parliament House 9 & 10 Henrietta Street Desart Court Cashel Palace Summerhill House |
Edward Lovett Pearce (1699 – 7 December 1733) was an Irish architect, and the chief exponent ofPalladianism in Ireland. He is thought to have initially studied as an architect under his father's first cousin, SirJohn Vanbrugh. He is best known for theIrish Houses of Parliament in Dublin, and his work onCastletown House. The architectural concepts he employed on both civic and private buildings were to change the face of architecture in Ireland. He could be described as the father of IrishPalladian architecture andGeorgian Dublin.
Edward Lovett Pearce was born about 1699 inCounty Meath and was the only child of General Edward Pearce fromWhitlingham,Norfolk, afirst cousin of the architect SirJohn Vanbrugh, and Frances, daughter of Christopher Lovett,Lord Mayor of Dublin 1676–77 and previously a merchant in Turkey. In that same year Vanbrugh was beginning work on his first great architectural commission ofCastle Howard which was the first trulybaroque house in England, ironically Vanbrugh's new cousin was to be one of the leading architects whose designs were to overthrow the baroque fashion less than 28 years later.
In 1715 following the death of his father, Pearce became a pupil of his eminent architect cousin, it is therefore likely that Pearce would have had the opportunity to see first hand and study the plans and building ofBlenheim Palace, where work, following the death ofQueen Anne, had just restarted, and was midway through its fraught and frequently interrupted construction. It seems though, that at this age Pearce was still uncertain if he wanted an architectural career, as aged 17 he joined the army serving as acornet in thedragoons under the command of aColonel Morris.
Following his time in the army, he decided circa 1722, to return to his first career and again began to study architecture, he did this by studying the architectural masterpieces of France and Italy. However it was in theVeneto that he found the style of architecture which was to influence him most. He made detailed drawings of many of the greatvillas designed byPalladio which were to serve as the inspiration for his later work. He met in Italy theFlorentine architectAlessandro Galilei, who was working from afar on a vast grandiose mansion near Dublin –Castletown.
He spent some time inNorfolk in the 1720s, where he carried out a number of architectural commissions for local families including for the original iteration ofShadwell Court (1727–29) along with his distant relative, the amateur architect John Buxton.[1]
About 1725 Edward married Ann, his own first-cousin, daughter ofGeneral Thomas Pearce and Mary Hewes. They were to have four daughters who inherited great-grandfather Pearce's manor ofWhitlingham by Norwich, Norfolk. They were: Mary, Mrs Lewis Thomas then Mrs James Slator but mother of Major-General Lewis Thomas; Anne,Mrs Chambre Hallowes; Frances, Mrs Benjamin Lake; and Henrietta, Mrs Charles Willington. He remained a captain inColonel Clement Neville's Dragoons.[2]
By 1724, Pearce had returned to Ireland to become a practising architect in Dublin, It would appear that as the only Irish architect, at the time, to have studied in Italy, hisclassical concepts were to win him instant recognition, his architectural success seems to have been almost instantaneous; no doubt helped by his contacts and position in Irish society and even more undoubtedly by his association withWilliam Conolly andCastletown.
During the 1730s Lovett Pearce employedWilliam Halfpenny as an assistant and he used the alias Michael Hoare while travelling throughout Ireland.[3]
Castletown House is the largest and one of the most importantcountry houses in Ireland, it also claims to be the house which introduced Palladianism to Ireland. Themansion was commissioned byWilliam Conolly (1662–1729), aself-made man who had risen from humble origins through astute property dealings to become one of the wealthiest and influential men in Ireland. The original plans were drawn by Alessandro Galilei circa 1718, the new mansion was intended to reflect Conolly's political power asLord Justice of Ireland. Galilei though returned to Italy in 1719, having drawn the plans, but not waiting to see building on the Castletown site commence. In fact work was not to start until 1722. For two years, the project seems to have continued unsupervised, until in 1724, it was taken over by the twenty-five-year-old Edward Lovett Pearce. Just returned to Ireland from Italy, it is likely that Pearce had been working on the plans with Galilei there. Hence Pierce's connection with Castletown probably predates his return to Ireland. It is possible that it was to oversee the building of Castletown that provided Pearce with the impetus to return home to Ireland. Building at Castletown was to continue for the rest of Pearce's life.
It is not known precisely how much of Castletown is Galilei's work and how much Pearce's. If in Italy Pearce had been employed by Galilei and worked on the plans, then, as was the custom of the time, Pearce's work as an employee would have been credited to his master. Galilei was certainly responsible for devising the overall scheme of a principal centre mansion, flanked by colonnades leading to two service wings, in the true Palladian manner. Castletown was the first house in Ireland designed with this layout. The rigid symmetry of Castletown's classical façades, designed by Galilei was to be typical too of Pearce's later work.
The interiors and final room plans are believed to be the work of Pearce, however the long suite of reception rooms along the ground-floor garden front, are not in the strict Palladian tradition. Such a mansion as Castletown, in Italy, would have been a townPalazzo rather than a country villa. The long suite of room with a central salon, terminating with smaller rooms at the end of the enfilade is more typical of the suites ofstate rooms inEnglish country houses at the time. The central saloon at Castletown opens into the two-storey entrance hall, which is traversed by a corridor running the length of the mansion; the principal staircase is situated in an adjoining hall to the side of the great hall. In this layout of state rooms, hall and staircase Castletown is similar toBlenheim Palace, which Pearce had studied while a student of Vanbrugh. (While Pearce designed the staircase it was not actually constructed until 1760, some 28 years after his death.)
Another of Pearce's earliest commissions occurred when he was commissioned by his mother's brother-in-lawThomas Coote to buildBellamont House, also known as Bellamont Forest, on the outskirts ofCootehill in the north-east ofCounty Cavan.[4] This family connection was not unusual, as several of Pearce's clients were related to him.[5] Like Castletown, Bellamont claims to be Ireland's first Palladian house. Dates attributed to the design range from 1725 to 1730, whatever the date (1725 is probable) it is almost certain that this was the first of Ireland's many Palladian houses to be completed. The fourbays square modestly sizedmansion is clearly inspired by Palladio'sVilla Capra. The principal façade has as its ground floor a rusticated semi-basement, above which is thepiano nobile at the centre is a four columnedportico with apediment, the portico is flanked by a single highsash window on each side. The main entrance beneath the one-storey portico is reached by a single flight of broad steps. Above the piano nobile is a secondary floor with windows exactly half the size of those below. The entire façade is just four windows wide. The composition is ahybrid between the grandest of the Veneto's villas and a slightly exalted farmhouse, which ironically was the very intention of Palladio's original designs 200 years previously. While Castletown is a symbol or wealth and power, the far smaller Bellamont is the greater symbol of Palladianism and architectural perfection. Also during this period of his work Pearce redesigned the south elevation ofDrumcondra House (nowAll Hallows Campus, Dublin).
Following afamine in 1727, anObelisk atStillorgan, attributed to Pearce, was erected as a memorial to those who had perished.[6] This granite monument, over 100 feet high, contains in its base a large vaulted hall from which rises a staircase leading to a viewing platform. The attribution to Pearce is probable, although the monument is in an almostavant-garde neoclassical style, with Egyptian influences; however Pearce was living in the parish at this time in a house known as The Grove. This large house (subsequently known as Tigh Lorcain Hall) was replaced by the Stillorgan Bowling Alley in 1963.
In 1727, Pearce was electedmember of parliament in theIrish House of Commons for theRatoath in County Meath, assisted by his patron Speaker Conolly, for whom he was continuously working at Castletown. TheIrish Government had decided in that same year to replace their existing meeting place atChichester House,College Green, Dublin with a new purpose-built parliament building. It was Speaker Conolly who first suggested building the newParliament House on College Green, therefore it is unsurprising, perhaps, that it was Pearce the member of parliament (MP) and employee of Conolly who was eventually chosen to design the project.
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Thefoundation stone of the new Parliament building was laid in 1729, thePalladian design was, as intended, awe inspiring with a hugecolonnade facing onto College Green. The two legislator Houses of Parliament contained an octagonal classical temple, complete withPantheon-style dome, as itsHouse of Commons, (destroyed by fire in 1792). The public gallery here could hold up to 700 spectators, symbolising true open government; the smaller but still exquisiteHouse of Lords survives, along with its centralarcade and pediment. The building at the beginning of the 19th century was taken over by theBank of Ireland, substantial alterations have been made since, including a large extension by Gandon and Johnson. A condition of the sale to the bank was that all signs of Parliament were to be removed. However, the concepts of Pearce are still very evident in the surviving House of Lords.
As architect of the Parliament building, in 1730[7] Pearce was appointedSurveyor General of Ireland, he succeededThomas Burgh. This important position, a mere four years after his return from Italy was the seal on his success. While work was continuing on the parliament building in 1730 Pierce, now Ireland's most famed and sought after architect, was commissioned byArchbishopTheophilus Bolton to build the new bishop's palace, atCashel, inCounty Tipperary. The result was a large unostentatious red brick Palladian mansion, on two principal floors, the hipped roof hidden by a brick pediment, the main façade seven bays long had at its centre a three bayed projection, the only ornament was dressed stone double strapping indicating the ground and first floor division. On the ground floor the terminating two bays were replaced byvenetian windows. The result was a house of restrained refinement. Pearce also designed the landscaping of the grounds of the palace complete with their private path toRock of Cashel. TheCashel Palace Hotel now operates from the property.
Desart Court was constructed in 1733 for the first Lord Desart,John Cuffe. It was a five-bay 2 storey house with a basement. It was ultimately destroyed in a fire by the IRA in 1923.[8]
Among other buildings that Lovett Pearce supposedly designed are
Following the acclaim given to the new Parliament building, the structure was near enough completed in 1731 for Parliament to be held there, in 1732 Pearce wasknighted, this honour was followed by thefreedom of the city of Dublin in 1733. Sir Edward Lovett Pearce was then at the height of his success and popularity. In addition to the better known works described above Pearce worked on numerous other commissions, a vast mansion known atSummerhill House in County Meath (demolished in the 1950s) was attributed to him, although his contemporary, the architectRichard Cassels is thought to have overseen this work.
Pearce also designed smaller and more modest town houses for the wealthy andaristocratic of Dublin; two examples of his work survive inHenrietta Street (illustrated above right). His design at No.9 was for his first cousinMrs Thomas Carter.
Tragically it was to be a short period, within weeks of receiving the freedom of Dublin, he was struck down with anabscess and died ofsepticaemia 16 November 1733 at his home, The Grove,Stillorgan, aged just 34. His remains were buried on 10 December 1733 inSt Mary's Graveyard,Donnybrook. His widow and four children survived him. Ann died at her house in St Stephen's Green Dublin on 15 July 1749 and was buried at Donnybrook on 17 July 1749.
Edward Lovett Pearce's rise had been meteoric; in just six years of architectural practice he had scaled the greatest heights of both private and civic architectural practice. He had introduced Palladianism to a country which was to adopt it with a gusto unlike any other European country. At the time of his death he presided over an entire community of Palladian architects perpetuating his interpretations of Palladio's work throughout Ireland.
| Parliament of Ireland | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forRatoath 1727–1734 With:Charles Hamilton | Succeeded by |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded by | Surveyor General of Ireland 1730–1733 | Succeeded by |
