William Hosking
William Hosking FSA (November 26, 1800 - August 2, 1861) was a writer, lecturer, and architect who had an important influence on the growth and development of London in Victorian times. He became the first Professor of Architecture at King's College London, and associated this discipline in a scholarly fashion with interests in town planning, civil engineering , history and antiqities.
Early life
upbringing (Devon, Australia, Italy) and early writings
William Hosking was born at Buckfastleigh in Devon, the son of a woolen manufacturer. In 1809 he emigrated with this parents to New South Wales (which federated in 1901 to form Australia), where his father, whose business interests in Devon had been doing poorly, had accepted a government office. It was here that William Hosking's architectural career began for he was apprenticed to a surveyor and builder. This profession continued to interest William Hosking when, in 1819, he returned to England to seek further training, becoming articled to a Wesleyan Minister turned architect, the Rev. William Jenkins.
In the early 1820s William Hosking completed his articles and travelled in southern Europe, including Italy; primarily to study art and architecture with Jenkins' son John. This subsequently led to his exhibiting drawings at the Royal Academy (including 'Temple of Concord, Agrigentum’ and 'Temple of Neptune at Paestum’) and provided original material for his first book: "A Selection of Architectural and Other Ornaments, Greek, Roman and Italian drawn from the originals in various museums and buildings in Italy", published in 1827. Such scholarship led to his being elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1830. At about this date he was also commissioned by the Encyclopædia Britannica, to contribute the chapters headed Architecture and Building, later to be supplemented with a chapter concerning The Drainage of Towns.
William Hosking's interest in antiquities; in particular the scholarly observation of the architectural details of historic buildings, became reinforced by his memberhip of the fore-runner of the Royal Historical Society, the Camden Society. Indeed historical accuracy came to characterise Hosking's approach to architecture, as he sought to mix historical elements in appropriate ways. This eye for historical detail was combined with a concern for equally detailed practical improvements in construction techniques (such as fire retardation, damp proofing, and other aspects of what has become known today as a branch of civil engineering referred to as building control).
Early Architectural Work, 1830-40
early railway designs and recognition as an architect
By the early 1830s William Hosking FSA had a sufficient reputation in the arts and sciences of buildings and construction, to secure an appointment with the new Birmingham, Bristol and Thames Junction Railway Company ('The West London Railway') to design an impressive scheme for carrying a roadway over the Paddington arm of the Grand Junction Canal (now the Grand Union Canal); both of which then passed over the new railway. His success in designing this construction was much commented upon and assisted his election, in 1835, to Fellowship of the Institute of British Architects (now the Royal Institute of British Architects or RIBA).
Thereafter, William Hosking continued to develop his interest in bridge design, though more academically, and went on to develop related interests in the construction of buildings for fire resistance, avoidance of damp, etc., which led to his being recognised as having a competence in both civil engineering and architectural spheres.
Europe's first Garden Cemetery with a 'New World' Design
In 1839 William Hosking was chosen by the newly formed Abney Park Cemetery Company to design the first landscaped park cemetery to serve the metropolis of London in which all parts would be open to the burial of anyone regardless of belief or denomination. Here his brief was to complement the picturesque and historic parkland setting into which a magnificent arboretum was being established. The latter was being designed by George Loddiges to create a landscape vaguely akin to rather simplified version of John Loudon's 'gardenesque' style but also naturalistic and woodland-oriented, that dovetailed carefully with the parkland's exitsting picturesque qualities and proposals for a more natural long-term sylvan setting. The uniquely attractive result was much favoured by John Loudon as an exception to his preferred formal style of cemetery design, especially as it offered an example of an educational landscape, complete with botanical arboretum open to free public access, which he had campaigned for elsewhere.
William Hosking's clients, led by the Abney Park Cemetery company's indefatigable Secretary George Collison II, worked iteratively with him to prepare a unique design for the Stoke Newington cemetery. Collison increasingly came to the view that Hosking's layout and architectural style should meet a brief of being symbolic of the founding ideals; for here was to be the first nineteenth century garden cemetery to be neither consecrated, nor set out by Act of Parliament, giving it both a nondenominational character and also permitting inclusion of spaces and designs for wider educational and public access purposes. Unlike other cemeteries of its period, here burial was to an extent a convenient means to achieve other purposes, for the underlying motivation was to preserve and encourage interest and appreciation in the park whose very landscape spoke of the memory of Isaac Watts. The burial fees would provide the revenue to meet this romantic objective.
Although The Rosary in Norwich had begun to pioneer elements of a nondenominational approach, it had presented only a partial model (it made no progress on designing a nondenominational chapel until the late nineteenth century). Similarly, other garden cemeteries had to date only applied the term nondenominational in a partial sense. Consequently, at the date of Hosking's brief, there was no European architectural style for a wholly nondenominational cemetery nor for a nondenominational cemetery chapel, on which he could draw for inspiration. Thus Hosking's brief was both novel and ambitious. There was no similar model to base his designs on other than in the 'New World' at Mount Auburn Cemetery near Boston.
Europe's First 'Egyptian Revival' Cemetery Buildings & Frontage
To realise the visionary Abney Park project, William Hosking was commissioned to deisign a carefully scaled 'Egyptian-Revival' entrance ensemble consisting of the earliest example in European architecture of cemetery buildings in this style, and likewise the earliest example of an entire cemetery frontage. Previously elements of the 'Egyptian Revival' style had been used for a temporary gateway at Mount Auburn Cemetery and a small gate at a cemetery in Sheffield. This unusual choice of architectural style on such a large scale and on such a prominent entrance road into London, was intended to be symbolic. Hosking was briefed to work up a visually prominent design that would occupy a considerable frontage expanse, which also allowed for open, inviting, views into the park for appreciation of its botanical richness and landscape beauty, rather than the usual forbidding high walls of contemporary cemetery design. For the detail of the hieroglyphics and other Egyptian facets of the final design, Hosking was able to draw on the expertise of fellow antiquarian scholar Joseph Bonomi junior.
The presence of George Loddiges, nuseryman and scientist, on the design team, may account for the final choice of the Sacred Lotus flower for the decorative motifs at the tops of the Abney Park entrance pylons; a plant closely associated with the Nile and Egyptian religious symbolism. Botanical iconography was evidently preferred to 'sphinxes' and other populist or polychromatic Egyptian revival designs; and from Bonomi's accurate studies and drawings in Egypt, both the 'flower heads' / 'seed heads' and petals/sepals of the Sacred Lotus could be perfectly carved as pylon decorations that survive to this day (see photo).
Public fascination with Egyptology was then in vogue, and with Bonomi's help, and the Cemetery Company's close control over the brief, Hosking was able to produce 'Egyptial Revival' entrance features more perfectly and on a more complete and daringly controversial scale than at Mount Auburn Cemetery where the concept had originated, or at the small gate in Sheffield's nonconformist cemetery.
Mount Auburn Cemetery, from which Abney Park's client representative, George Collison, took his inspiration, was at the time only a temporary structure, being made of dusted wood and sand; a permanent 'Egyptian Revival' structure was not built until two years after Abney Park opened. A small-scale 'Egyptian Revival' gateway had also been built at a small cemetery for Nonconformists near Sheffield in 1836, but Abney Park was the first to employ the style for buildings and a whole frontage scheme.
Today it is hard to imagine, but the appropriate 'architectural style' for a place of burial was then a hotly debated issue, as also for public buildings in general. Not long before Hosking's commission at Abney Park, the neoclassical style, favoured in Georgian times, had been commissioned at Kensal Green Cemetery. Its use implied a greater preponderance towards Whig sympathies amongst its board of directors, rather than the emerging fashion amongst high church or Tory designers - the gothic revival style. The latter had been favoured by board members such as Augustus Pugin senior (1769-1832) and George Carden, and at Kensal Green Cemetery the board's decision to reject a gothic revivalist approach was a key reason behind George Carden's departure. Following this episode, gothic revivalists successfully persuaded Norwood Cemetery in South London to adopt their style.
In this heady climate, the decision by George Collison to instruct William Hosking to depart from both the emerging gothic revival style (that was being unreasonably promoted by some, including Pugin, as the only true 'Christian architecture'), as well as from neoclassical styles (with their Georgian and Whig associations), tempted fate. By challenging both design camps, and introducing a non-European concept for cemetery design from Africa, as was possible in the 'New World' (i.e. the 'Egyptian Revival' style) a bold step was taken. Advocates of gothic revival architecture,notably the polemicist and architect Augustus Pugin junior (1812-52) proved particularly critical of Abney Park's Cemetery's 'African' approach which was implicity sympathetic to a 'New World' outlook.
By contrast, Abney Park's daring approach resonated perfectly with those who had close ties with America, principally Congregationalists and other nonconformist groups whose relatives had left for the New World to pursue political and religious freedom. For them, the proposed Egyptian revival design symbolised adoption of an architectural tradition from part of the African continent with an association with Great Pyramids, and reflected the pioneering spirit embodied in Massachusetts' Mount Auburn Cemetery. George Collison II had first hand knowledge of the New World approach, having recently visited the first garden cemetery in North America at Mount Auburn near Boston and been greatly impressed.
Others too, were impressed with the bold design at Abney Park, and began to conclude that the 'Egyptian Revival' should be taken further. In 1939 it had been used more discretely at the entrance to the catacombs at Highgate Cemetery, but by 1842, two years after Abney Park opened, it was possible for the architect Thomas Wilson, a member of the General Cemetery Company board, to publish the most futuristic cemetery design ever in the Egyptian style. He envisaged the building of a brick and granite pyramid taller than St. Paul's Cathedral containing nearly a quarter of a million catacombs, on nearly a hundred levels, surmounting Primrose Hill, complete with a public observatory at the top !
Hosking's ability did not just shine through in his careful planning and detailing of the entrance-way design; he was also comissioned to design the cemetery's chapel. This, the Abney Park Chapel was to be the first nondenominational cemetery chapel in Europe, and whilst not detracting from the magnificence and originality of the entrance ensemble, had likewise to make its mark. As with the entrance design Hosking showed both originality, and a surprisingly wide knowledge of architecture enabling him to look well beyond British exemplars. Further information about his design can be found in the entry for Abney Park Chapel.
Academic Recognition & Town Planning Role, 1840-50
Professorship at King's College
| King's College London | |
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| Motto | Sancte et sapienter<br\>"With holiness and with wisdom" |
| Established | 1829 |
| Homepage | http://www.kcl.ac.uk |
William Hosking's work at Abney Park won important admirers, as well as critics. Its combination of architectural design so academically researched in every detail, conceptual empathy for the non-denonimational idea, and educational landscape complete with arboretum, presented the environs of London with challenging standard for future landscape and building design. In 1840, in recognition of Hosking's contribution to the advancement of architectural practice, he was offered the first Professorship of King's College in the 'Art of Construction', soon renamed 'Principles and Practice of Architecture' to better reflect this relatively new profession and its emergence as an academic discipline. William Hosking's educational approach was set out in his new book of the same title - 'Principles and Practice of Architecture' (1842).
becoming the authority on bridge design
Professor William Hosking served on the Council of the Institute of British Architects 1842-3 whilst contributing to the standard work of the period on 'The Theory, Practice and Architecture of Bridges of Stone, Iron, Timber, and Wire; with examples on the principle of suspension', 1843. This multi-volume work was the most comprehensive book of bridge construction of its period. Many of the bridges depicted no longer exist, such as the long covered bridge over the Patapsco River in Maryland. Others do, such as some of the London bridges. Today the book is a major and unique source of information. More than 50 of the steel engraving plates are fold-out, a number of them quite large, some unfolding to more than 2 feet in length.
church restoration
At about the same time as contributing to the epic bridge book, Professor William Hosking was commissioned by the Vestry of Bristol to report on the fabric of a much admired thirteenth century church, St. Mary Redcliffe, with his colleague the medievalist antiquarian John Britton. The studies were preparatory to an appeal for restoration of the church. Hosking's contribution is recorded in the Vestry's appeal publication: 'Restoration of the Church of Saint Mary, Redcliffe, Bristol: an appeal by the vicar, churchwardens, and vestry ; with an abstract of reports by Messrs. Britton and Hosking and engraved plan and views of the church', by the Rev. M.R.Whish et al., 1842.
In the early 1840s Professor William Hosking also designed the Trinity Independent Chapel east of London at Poplar (1840-1), combining Grecian and Italian Renaissance styles. Unfortunately this building is no longer standing.
pioneer in early modern town planning
In 1844 Professor William Hosking was appointed to oversee the application of new building standards embodied in the Metropolitan Building Act. In support of this role as 'Official Referee of Metropolitan Buildings', William Hosking published his own guidance ('A Guide to the Proper Regulation of Buildings in Towns', 1848) as a means of promoting and securing the Health, Comfort and safety of the Inhabitants'; reprinted under the rather briefer title of 'Healthy Homes' in 1849.
Such work led to a series of appointments on Parliamentary Inquiries, investigating the state of town planning across England, by taking evidence from local witnesses in the company of an appointed barrister. This work resulted in Parliamentary Papers or Blue Books. The term 'Parliamentary Paper' is generally taken to refer to particular groups of papers that came before the House of Commons, or, less frequently, the House of Lords, or both Houses. Such papers were printed for the use of Parliament and are also known as 'Blue Books' because in the 19th and 20th centuries the printer used a blue paper cover on many of them. Typical examples of William Hosking's 'blue book' inquiries include:
1. Sunderland Markets, Bridge, Ferries, &c. Sunderland Improvements, Markets and Bridge. Report of the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Woods, Forests, Land Revenues, Works and Buildings, enclosing the Report of the Surveying Officers appointed to make Preliminary Inquiries, 1847 - evidence 'For enlarging the Markets and providing new Markets, and for the Regulation of the Markets and Fairs within the Borough of Sunderland, and for the general Improvement of the said Borough' and 'For Paving, Lighting, Sewering, supplying with Water and improving the Borough of Sunderland, and for vesting the Management thereof and of the Markets and Bridge in the Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses ..'
2. York Lendal Bridge and Approaches. Report of the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Woods, Forests, Land Revenues, Works and Buildings, enclosing the Report of the Surveying Officers appointed to make Preliminary Inquiries, 1847 - evidence relating to a proposed 'Act for building a Bridge across the River Ouse, in the City of York .. and for widening, altering and improving certain Streets or Thoroughfares within the said City, and for other Purposes'.
3. Cockermouth Improvement. Report of the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Woods, Forests, Land Revenues, Works and Buildings, enclosing the Report of the Surveying Officers appointed to make Preliminary Inquiries, 1847 - evidence relating to a 'Bill for Paving, Lighting, Cleansing, Watching and otherwise Improving the Town of Cockermouth, in the County of Cumberland, and for the Removal and Prevention of Nuisances and Annoyances within the same'.
However the 1840s also brought bad news for William Hosking, for on 26th jan 1847 his father in law, the eminent printer William Clowes died. He is buried at Norwood cemetery.
Architectural Designs of the 1850s
contributing to the British Museum Reading Room
During the 1830s and 1840s the British Museum had been extensively re-built to designs approved by trustees and built by the architect, Sir Robert Smirke. However, as work progressed it became evident that public interest in the museum's collections and library could not be adequately accommodated within the designs that had been approved. A Royal Commission was appointed in 1848 to look into the whole question, and various schemes to convert the open inner courtyard into exhibition space were submitted during 1849, including that of Professor William Hosking for a circular gallery modeled on the Pantheon in Rome.
William Hosking's entry received professional acclaim for the concept and quality of the design; his proposal becoming illustrated in The Builder magazine during the following year. It was therefore a great surprise when he learnt that the museum was indeed commissioning a building for the quadrangle - with the dome, circular plan and other features that had distinguished his proposal - but did not envisage crediting him for the competition idea.
Only one architectural design drawn up by the Professor during the 1850s had led to a building being constructed. This was for an office for Messrs. Berens on the south side of Canon Street. Somewhat piqued, Professor Hosking set out his concerns in a book: Some observations upon the recent addition of the Reading-room to the British Museum; with plans, sections and other illustrative documents (London: Stanford, 1858) that aimed to put the record straight from his perspective. In great detail it explained why this was an obvious case of plagiarism, and why, although some modification was needed since the competition as the dome was now to be for a reading room rather than a gallery, the result was poorer than it need be: “How mean their dumpy dome-room is” Hosking opined !
Officially, the museum could not agree that Professor Hosking's original competition design had been a significant influence on their eventual approach. The credit for the original idea was being claimed by its librarian Panizzi, a man quite unqualified as an architect or indeed in librarianship but who was very well connected as a protege of the man who became Lord chancellor, Lord Braughton. Panizzi had secured the services of Sydney Smirke, the son of the museum's previous architect Sir Robert Smirke to build the domed Reading Room. Panizzi denied having seen Hosking's original domed design, though Smirke admitted this. Some while after publication of Professor Hosking's controversial book, when Panizzi and Smirke fell out publicly over what their respective contributions were to the design, Sydney Smirke wrote that Panizzi had originally proposed 'a flat, low building' and he had persuaded him of the merits of a domed circular design. Professor Hosking, thinking no doubt of the more honest approach that could have been achieved by the earlier 'open' competition, was left with his own reflections on the matter: from his perspective there was much to do to raise the standard of conduct of public life in London institutions. Faking Literature by K. K. Ruthven, Cambridge Univ. Press, published in 2001, empathises with William Hosking and looks at the long history of plagiarism.
Legacy
In his latter days, with a University Professorship and scholarly disposition, a flourishing reputation as an author, an authority on bridge design, a small but distinguished portfolio of church and cemetery design, and appointments as a professional expert for official inquiries into town planning improvements and building standards, William Hosking could afford to take a prestigious house overlooking the Thames in central London at 6 Adelphi Terrace, Charing Cross.
Nonetheless, he had never quite achieved all he set out to accomplish before he died at 23 Woburn Square on 2nd August 1861. Whilst he left a rich legacy of scholarly reports and books, making a valuable contribution to nineteenth century planning and architecture, he had taken a high moral view of public life and his crossing of swords with the gothic revivalists and ecclesiologists, coupled with his later rebuff during a foray into the world of the British Museum, had left a complex legacy for biographers to unravel. A comprehensive biography is long overdue.
Ultimately only one of William Hosking's imaginative architectural compositions may be said by general agreeement to represent a lasting legacy to his work - the exemplary non-denominational chapel and frontage buildings at Abney Park Cemetery in Stoke Newington. Today these are listed by English Heritage, and Hosking's largely gothic chapel at Abney Park described as a 'building of exceptional importance' in the English Heritage Magazine.
Recently, Hoskings' work has also become recognised by those making more casual use of the cemetery. For Londoner's walking the recently opened Capital Ring, the evocative landmark of Dr Watt's Statue with Hosking's chapel as a backcloth, will be familiar as the image chosen for the first page of the 'Introduction' to the accompanying London-wide guide book.
Nonetheless, there is much work to be undertaken to restore Abney Park Cemetery as a monument to Professor William Hosking's pioneering non-denominational architecture, and bring his buildings into a worthy condition.
Sources & Useful References
William Hosking (1848) 'The Regulation of Buildings in Towns'; Paul Joyce (1994;2nd edn) 'A Guide to Abney Park Cemetery'; George Collison (1840) 'Cemetery Interment'; Dictionary of National Biography (various editions); William Hosking (1832) 'Architecture and Building from the Encyclopaedia Britannica Seventh Edn.'; Candice Shoemaker ed. (2001) 'Encyclopaedia of Gardens: History & Design', vol 2; Doris Frances et al (2005) 'The Secret Cemetery'.