__NOTOC__ Sir William Chambers (23 February 1723 – 10 March 1796) was a Swedish-born British architect. Among his best-known works are Somerset House, the Gold State Coach and the pagoda at Kew. Chambers was a founder member of the Royal Academy.
Biography William Chambers was born on 23 February 1723 in Gothenburg, Sweden, to a Scottish merchant father.William Chambers Biographypage 11, Sir William Chambers Architect to George III, John Harris and Michael Snodin, 1996, Yale University Press
Between 1740 and 1749 he was employed by the Swedish East India Company making three voyages to Chinapage 11, Sir William Chambers Architect to George III, John Harris and Michael Snodin, 1996, Yale University Press where he studied Chinese architecture and decoration. It was during his employment with the company that he befriended David af Sandeberg, director of the Swedish East India Company and nobleman, who subsequently married Chambers' sister, Maria.
Returning to Europe, he studied architecture in Paris (with J. F. Blondel) and spent five years in Italy. Then, in 1755, he moved to London, where he established an architectural practice. In 1757, through a recommendation of Lord Bute,page 59, The Architect King: George III and the Culture of the Enlightenment, David Watkin, 2004, Royal Collection Publications he was appointed architectural tutor to the Prince of Wales, later George III, and in 1766 also, along with Robert Adam, Architect to the King, (this being an unofficial title, rather than an actual salaried post with the Office of Works).page 15, The Architect King: George III and the Culture of the Enlightenment, David Watkin, 2004, Royal Collection Publications He worked for Augusta, Dowager Princess of Wales, making fanciful garden buildings at Kew, and in 1757 he published a book of Chinese designs which had a significant influence on contemporary taste. He developed his Chinese interests further with his Dissertation on Oriental Gardening (1772), a fanciful elaboration of contemporary English ideas about the naturalistic style of gardening in China.
His more serious and academic Treatise on Civil Architecture published in 1759 proved influential on builders; it went into several editions and was still being republished in 1862.A Treatise on the Decorative Parts of Civil Architecture, 1862 ed, revised and edited by W.H. Leeds It dealt with the use of the classical orders, and gave suggestions for decorative elements, rather than dealing with construction and planning; for its third edition it was retitled A Treatise on the Decorative Parts of Civil Architecture. It included ideas from the works of many 16th- and 17th-century Italian architects then still little known in Britain.Summerson 1970, p.416 His influence was also transmitted through a host of younger architects trained as pupils in his office, including Thomas Hardwick (1752–1825), who helped him build Somerset House and who wrote his biography.
He was the major rival of Adam in British Neoclassicism. Chambers was more international in outlook (his knighthood being originally a Swedish honour) and was influenced by continental neoclassicism (which he in turn influenced) when designing for British clients. A second visit to Paris in 1774 confirmed the French cast to his sober and conservative refined blend of Neoclassicism and Palladian conventions.
From around 1758 to the mid-1770s, Chambers concentrated on building houses for the nobility, beginning with one for Lord Bessborough at Roehampton.Summerson 1970, p.416 In 1766 Chambers was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. From 1761 he held the unofficial post of Joint Architect to the King,Chapter 8, The Office of Works 1761–96, Sir William Chambers Knight of the Polar Star, John Harris, 1970, A. Zwemmer Ltd he was then promoted to his first official post in the Office of Works and was from 1769–82 Comptroller of the King's Works, his final promotion put him in charge, from 1782 being Surveyor-General and Comptroller a post he kept until his death.
When a scheme to unite a number of government offices on the site of Somerset House in the Strand was projected, his position did not give him automatic authority over the construction; however when William Robinson, secretary to the board, who had been put in charge of the new building, died in 1775, Chambers became its architect. His initial plans for a great oval courtyard, connected to three smaller, narrow rectangular courts, were soon modified into a simpler rectilinear scheme.Summerson 1970, p.416
On 10 December 1768 the Royal Academy was founded. Chambers played an important role in the events that led to the Academy's foundation,Chapter 11, The Royal Academy, Sir William Chambers Knight of the Polar Star, John Harris, 1970, A. Zwemmer Ltd the Minutes of the General Assembly of the Royal Academy of 14 December 1768 record 'That some time towards the latter end of November 1768, Mr Chambers waited upon the King and informed him that many artists of reputation together with himself are very desirous of establishing a Society that should more effectively promote the Arts of Design'. He was appointed the Academy's first Treasurer.
Chambers died in London in 1796. He is buried in Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey."Anecdotes of the Late Sir William Chambers, from the European Magazine," The Annual Register, or a View of the History, Politicks and Literature of the Year (1796):366. His tombstone is inscribed:Ashton, John Rowland: Lives and Livelihoods in Little London, The Story of the British in Gothenburg (1621–2011), Warne förlag, Sävedalen 2003. (inb), p. 40.
Visits by Swedes One of Chambers friends, James Maule, wrote in his journal in August 1771: I visited the Stock Exchange and met John Wilson. I also met several Swedes at sir William Chambers. I spent the Sunday with sir William Chambers at Hampton Court, where his family lives.Ashton, John Rowland: Lives and Livelihoods in Little London, The Story of the British in Gothenburg (1621–2011), Warne förlag, Sävedalen 2003. (inb) pp. 38–39.
The orientalist Jakob Jonas Björnståhl wrote after a visit at Chambers house in London in 1775:
Writings Designs of Chinese Buildings, Furniture, Dresses, Machines, and Utensils. To which is annexed, a Description of their Temples, Houses, Gardens, &c. (London) 1757 (London) 1757 A treatise on civil architecture in which the principles of that art are laid down and illustrated by a great number of plates accurately designed and elegantly engraved by the best hands (London) 1759 Plans, Elevations, Sections and Perspective Views of the Gardens and Buildings at Kew in Surrey (London) 1763 A dissertation on oriental gardening. (London) 1772
Main works
Roehampton Villa (largely extant including interior ceilings), now called Parkstead House, for William Ponsonby, 2nd Earl of Bessborough. Also designed two garden temples (one to be re-erected by 2008), similar to those at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.Parkstead House Within Kew Gardens, some of his buildings are lost, those remaining being the ten-storey Great Pagoda, the Orangery, the Ruined Arch, the Temple of Bellona and the Temple of Aeolus.Kew Gardens web site The Temple of the Sun survived until 1916, when it was destroyed in a storm. The Pagoda, in Pagoda Gardens, Blackheath, London, is attributed to Chambers. A three-storey house built as a pavilion (c. 1775) for the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch, it features a gabled Chinese-style roof with dramatic upturned corners. Caroline of Brunswick lived here after her separation from her husband, the Prince Regent, in 1799. Somerset House in London, his most famous building, which absorbed most of his energies over a period of two decades (1776–1796) The gilded state coach that is still used at coronations. Hedsor House, Buckinghamshire, the seat of Lord Boston, equerry to George III.Historic Register of Parks and Gardens For James Caulfeild, 1st Earl of Charlemont, he designed Charlemont House and the Casino at Marino, as well as the chapel and public theatre in Trinity College, Dublin. He is also associated with Gothic additions to Milton Abbey in Dorset and the planning of the nearby rural village of Milton Abbas, sometimes considered the first planned settlement in England. This work was carried out in collaboration with landscape gardener Capability Brown in 1780 for Joseph Damer, 1st Earl of Dorchester, who wanted to relocate the existing village further away from his home at the Abbey. Wick House, Richmond Hill, commissioned in 1771 by painter Sir Joshua Reynolds. Osterley Park, remodelling work in the 1760s.
List of architectural work Source:pages 196–256, Sir William Chambers Knight of the Polar Star, John Harris, 1970, A. Zwemmer Ltd
London work Kew Gardens, Kew, Surrey, various structures: House of Confucius (1749) demolished; Frederick, Prince of Wales, Mausoleum (unexecuted); Gallery of Antiquities (1757) demolished; Orangery (1757–61); Temple of Pan (1758) demolished; Temple of Arethusa (1758) demolished; Alhambra (1758) demolished; Garden Seat (1758) demolished; Porter's Lodge (1758) demolished; Stables (1758) demolished; Temple of Victory (1759) demolished; Ruined Arch (1759); Theatre of Augusta (1760) demolished; Temple of Bellona (1760); Menagerie (1760) demolished; Exotic Garden (1760) demolished; Mosque (1761) demolished; Temple of the Sun (1761) demolished 1916 after damage in a storm; Great Pagoda (1761–62); Temple of Peace (1763) demolished; Temple of Aeolus (1763); Temple of Solitude (1763) demolished; Palladian Bridge (1763) demolished; Dairy (1773) demolished; and alterations to Kew Palace – demolished Leicester House, Leicester Square, alterations (1757) – demolished Carlton House, alterations, (1757–61), new porters lodge and remodelled entrance passage (c. 1761), later virtually rebuilt (1783–6) by Henry Holland – demolished Richmond House, Whitehall, gallery, greenhouse, gate to Privy Garden (1759–60) – demolished Parkstead House (formerly Manresa House and Bessborough House), Roehampton (1760) 47 Leicester Square, Sir Joshua Reynolds's house, new painting room and gallery (c. 1760-2) – demolished Pembroke House, Whitehall, internal decoration (1760) riding house (1773) – demolished Buckingham Palace (then Queen's House), addition of north & south wings, west and east libraries, the Octagon Library, interior decorations and riding house (1762–68) – none of this work survives Grantham House, Whitehall, alterations (1760s) – demolished 25 Grosvenor Square, internal alterations (1762) – demolished Richmond Palace, Richmond, various designs (1762, 1764, 1769, 1775) – none executed 45 Berkeley Square, internal decoration (1763–7) 13–22, 44–58 Berners Street (1764–70) Gower House, Whitehall, Chamber's largest town house (1765–74) – demolished German Lutheran Chapel, Savoy Palace, (1766) – demolished 20 Grosvenor Square, internal alterations (1767) – demolished Kew Observatory, Old Deer Park, for George III (1768) 6 Cheyne Walk, Chelsea (c. 1768) St James's Palace, internal decorations (late 1760s) 21 Arlington Street, Westminster (1769) Milton House, Park Lane, entrance gate and screen (1769–71) – demolished Bedford House, Bloomsbury, London, alterations and internal decorations (c. 1769 – c. 1772) – demolished 79 Piccadilly, alterations including addition of attic storey (1770–71) – demolished Errington House (later Warwick House), Cleveland Row (1770–71) – demolished House Knightsbridge (1770–72) – demolished Wick House, Richmond Hill (1771–72) 3 St. James's Square, internal alterations (1771) – demolished The Earl and Countess of Mountrath's tomb, St John's Chapel, Westminster Abbey (1771) Melbourne House Piccadilly, (1771–76) converted to the Albany by Henry Holland (1803–4) Marlborough House, addition of attic and internal alterations including new chimney-piece in the state drawing room (1771–74) 14 Cecil Street, interior work (c. 1772)