Benjamin Bucknall (1833 – 16 November 1895) was an English architect of the Gothic Revival in South West England and South Wales, and then of neo- Moorish architecture in Algeria. His most noted works include the uncompleted Woodchester Mansion in Gloucestershire, England ^[2] and his restoration of the Villa Montfeld in El Biar, Algiers. ^[3]

Career

In 1851 Bucknall began work as a millwright, but in 1852 William Leigh helped him to start work for the architect Charles Hansom in Clifton, Bristol. ^[2] Hansom was a Roman Catholic and in 1852 Bucknall converted to Catholicism. ^[2]

Bucknall admired the work of the French architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, and travelled to visit him in France in 1861 ^[2] and in Lausanne, Switzerland in 1872. ^[4] Between 1874 and 1881 Bucknall translated five of Viollet-le-Duc's works into English. ^[4]

Family

Bucknall was the fifth of seven sons born to Edwin and Mary Bucknall of Rodborough, Gloucs. ^[2] In 1862 Bucknall was married to Henrietta King. ^[4] After 1864 they moved to Swansea and by 1869 were living in Oystermouth. ^[4] The Bucknalls had four children: Mary, Charles (born 1864), Edgar (born 1868) and Beatrice (born 1870). ^[4]

Bucknall's health deteriorated and he spent the winter of 1876–77 in Algiers. ^[3] In 1878 he settled there permanently, leaving Henrietta and the children in Gloucestershire. ^[3] The 1881 Census recorded Henrietta and Mary living at Bisley, Gloucestershire. ^[3] Some of their children visited Bucknall in Algiers, and Edgar died there in a boating accident in 1889. ^[3]

In Algiers Bucknall changed his architectural style to neo-Moorish architecture, in which he built villas, notably in the El Biar district of Algiers. ^[3] His works include a restoration of the Villa Montfeld, now the residence of the US Ambassador to Algeria. ^[5] He died in Algiers in 1895 and is buried there. ^[3] A road in Algiers was named Chemin Bucknall in his honour, but since independence it has been renamed. ^[3]

Buildings

Houses

• Woodchester Mansion, Gloucs, circa 1858 ^[6]
• St Stephens, a cottage orné at Nympsfield, Gloucs, circa 1860 ^[7]
• Tocknells House, Painswick, Gloucs, circa 1860 ^[8]
• West Grange, Stroud, Gloucs, 1866 ^[9]
• Villa Montfeld, El Biar, Algiers: restoration ^[3]

Churches and monastic houses

• Church of Our Lady and St Michael, Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, 1858 ^[10]
• Saint George RC church, Taunton, Somerset, 1860 ^[10]
• St Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Monmouth, 1861–71 ^[10]
• St Wulstan's Roman Catholic Church, Little Malvern, Worcestershire, 1862 ^[10]
• Saint David's Priory RC church, Swansea, Glamorgan: extension, 1864 ^[4]
• Saint Thomas' RC church, Fairford, Gloucestershire: presbytery, 1865 ^[10]
• Holy Trinity Church of England parish church, Llanegwad, Carmarthenshire, 1865–78 ^[10]
• Holy Trinity Church of England parish church, Slad, Gloucs: reconstruction, 1869 ^[11]
• Longworth Chapel, Bartestree Convent, Herefordshire (with E.W. Pugin), 1869–70 ^[10]
• Saint Francis of Assisi RC Church, Baddesley Clinton convent, Warwickshire (with T.R. Donnelly), 1870 ^[4]
• Saint Rose of Lima Convent, Stroud, Gloucs. ^[10]
• Abbotskerswell Priory, Newton Abbot, Devon: later buildings ^[4]
• Swansea Seamen's Church ^[4]

Other buildings

• Swansea Grammar School ^[4]
• Imperial Hotel, Stroud ^[12]

Translations from French into English

• Viollet-le-Duc, Eugène (1874). Histoire d'une maison [How to Build a House. An Architectural Novelette]. London: Sampson Low, Marston, Low, & Searle. ^[4]
• Viollet-le-Duc, Eugène (1875). Histoire d'une forteresse [Annals of a Fortress]. London: Sampson Low, Marston, Low, & Searle. ^[4]
• Viollet-le-Duc, Eugène (1876). Histoire de l'habitation Humaine depuis les Temps Préhistoriques jusqu'à nos Jour [The Habitations of Man in All Ages]. London: Sampson Low, Marston, Low, & Rivington. ^[4]
• Viollet-le-Duc, Eugène (1877). Massif du Mont-Blanc, étude sur sa construction géodesique et géologique, sur ses transformations et sur l'état ancien et moderne de ses glaciers [Mont Blanc. A treatise on its geodesical and geological constitution; its transformations; and the ancient and recent state of its glaciers.]. London: Sampson Low, Marston, Low, & Rivington. ^[3]
• Viollet-le-Duc, Eugène (1877). Entretiens sur l'architecture [Lectures on Architecture]. Vol. 1. London: Sampson Low, Marston, Low, & Rivington. ^[4]
• Viollet-le-Duc, Eugène (1881). Entretiens sur l'architecture [Lectures on Architecture]. Vol. 2. London: Sampson Low, Marston, Low, & Rivington. ^[4]
• Godon, Julien (1879). Painted Tapestry and Its Application to Interior Decoration. Practical Lessons in Tapestry Painting with Liquid Colour. London: Lechertier, Barbe and Co. ^[3]

References

Sources

• Brodie, Antonia; Felstead, Alison; Franklin, Jonathan; Pinfield, Leslie, eds. (2001). Directory of British Architects 1834–1914, A–K. London & New York: Continuum. p.  291. ISBN  0-8264-5513-1.
• Verey, David (1970). The Buildings of England: Gloucestershire: The Cotswolds. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. p. 487. ISBN  0-14-071040-X.

External links

• "Benjamin Bucknall". Woodchester Mansion. 18 September 2008. Archived from the original on 7 January 2010. Retrieved 4 April 2010.
• Works by Benjamin Bucknall at Project Gutenberg
• Works by or about Benjamin Bucknall at Internet Archive