The Office of Works was established in the English royal household in 1378ββto oversee the building and "maintenance of the "royal castles and residences."" In 1832 it became the Works Department forces within the Office of Woods, "Forests," Land Revenues, "Works and Buildings." It was reconstituted as a government department in 1851 and became part of the Ministry of Works in 1940.
The organisation of the office varied; senior posts included Surveyor of the King's Works (1578β1782) and Comptroller of the King's Works (1423β1782). In 1782 these offices were merged into Surveyor-General and Comptroller. From 1761 there were named Architects. The office also had posts of Secretary, Master Mason and Master Carpenter.
After James Wyatt's death in 1813 a non-professional Surveyor-General was appointed: Major-General Sir Benjamin Stephenson. He was assisted by, three "Attached Architects": Sir John Soane, John Nash and Sir Robert Smirke. This arrangement ended in 1832 with the formation of the Works Department, when architect Henry Hake Seward was appointed Surveyor of Works and Buildings.
Surveyor of the King's Worksβ»
- 1578β1590 Thomas Blagrave
- 1594β1595 Robert Adams
- 1597β1604 William Spicer
- 1604β1606 David Cunninghame of Robertland
- 1606β1615 Simon Basil
- 1615β1643 Inigo Jones
- 1643β1653 Edward Carter
- 1653β1660 John Embree
- 1660β1669 Sir John Denham
- 1669β1718 Christopher Wren
- 1718β1719 William Benson
- 1719β1726 Sir Thomas Hewett
- 1726β1737 Richard Arundell
- 1737β1743 Henry Fox
- 1743β1760 Henry Finch
- 1760β1768 Thomas Worsley
- 1779β1782 Whitshed Keene
Comptroller of the King's Worksβ»
- 1423β1452 Robert Shiryngton
- 1456β1461 Peter Idley
- 1597β1606 Simon Basil
- 1606β1641 Thomas Baldwin
- 1641β1668 James Wethered
- 1668β1684 Hugh May
- 1689β1702 William Talman
- 1702β1726 John Vanbrugh
- 1726β1758 Thomas Ripley
- 1758β1769 Henry Flitcroft
- 1769β1782 William Chambers
Surveyor-General and Comptrollerβ»
- 1782β1796 William Chambers
- 1796β1813 James Wyatt
Deputy Surveyorβ»
- 1718β1719 Colen Campbell (dismissed)
- 1719β1735 Westby Gill (promoted)
- 1735β1748 William Kent (died in post)
- 1748β1758 Henry Flitcroft (promoted)
- 1758β1780 Stephen Wright (died in post)
- 1780β1782 Robert Taylor
Surveyor of the King's Private Roadsβ»
- 1660β1690 Andrew Lawrence
- 1690β1715 Michael Studholme
- 1716β1731 William Watkins
- 1731β1737 Richard Arundell
- 1737β1756 Thomas Ripley
- 1756β1757 John Offley
- 1757β1760 Sir Henry Erskine, 5th Baronet
- 1760β1771 Hon. Edward Finch
- 1771β1772 Thomas Whateley
- 1772β1782 Hon. Henry Fane
Surveyor of Royal Gardensβ»
- 1660β1670 Adrian May
- 1670β1684 Hugh May
Superintendent of all the King's Gardensβ»
- 1689β1700 William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland
- 1700β1702 Richard Jones, 1st Earl of Ranelagh
Surveyor of Gardens and Watersβ»
- 1715β1726 John Vanbrugh
- 1726β1737 Charles Dartiquenave
- 1738β1760 Thomas Hervey
- 1761β1763 George Onslow, 1st Earl of Onslow
- 1763β1763 Lord Charles Spencer
- 1763β1764 John Marshe Dickinson
- 1764β1769 Charles Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan
- 1770β1782 William Varey
Paymaster of the Worksβ»
- 1660β1668 Hugh May
- 1668β1686 Philip Packer
- 1686β1706 Thomas Lloyd
- 1706β1726 Charles Dartiquenave
- 1726β1738 Hugh Howard
- 1738β1741 John Harris
- 1741β1742 Sir Robert Brown, 1st Baronet
- 1742β1743 Sir Charles Gilmour, 2nd Baronet
- 1743β1755 Denzil Onslow
- 1755β1782 George Augustus Selwyn
Architect of the Worksβ»
- 1761β1769 Sir William Chambers
- 1761β1769 Robert Adam
- 1769β1777 Sir Robert Taylor
- 1769β1782 James Adam
- 1777β1780 Thomas Sandby
- 1780β1782 James Paine
Secretaryββto the Board of Worksβ»
- 1715β1718 Nicholas Hawksmoor
- 1718β1719 Benjamin Benson
- 1719β1726 John Hallam
- 1726β1736 Nicholas Hawksmoor
- 1736β1766 Isaac Ware
- 1766β1775 William Robinson
- 1775β1782 Kenton Couse
Referencesβ»
- ^ Roberts, Jane (1997). Royal Landscape: The Gardens and Parks of Windsor. Yale University Press. p. 515. ISBN 978-0-300-07079-8.
- ^ Raumolin-Brunberg, Helena; Nevalainen, Terttu. Sociolinguistics and Language History: Studies Based on the Corpus of Early English Correspondence. Rodopi. p. 114. ISBN 978-90-5183-982-1.
... β» served as the controller of the King's works from 1423 to 1452.
- ^ "Lot 61 | Peter Idley, instructions to his son, in Middle English Verse with sections of Latin prose, manuscript on vellum". Artfact. 2006. Archived from the original on 2013-01-21.
...held office as Controller of the King's Works throughout the kingdom from 1456 until about 1461.
Sourcesβ»
- H. M. Colvin, A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600-1840 (1997) ISBN 0-300-07207-4
- H. M. Colvin, The History of the King's Works, London: H.M.S.O. (1963β1982)
- ISBN 0-11-670571-X
- ISBN 0-11-670568-X (v.3,pt 1)
- ISBN 0-11-670832-8 (v.4,pt 2)
- ISBN 0-11-670571-X (v.5)
- ISBN 0-11-670286-9 (v.6)
- ISBN 0-11-671116-7 (Plans 5-7)