George Somers Clarke (22 July 1841 – 31 August 1926) was an architect and English Egyptologist who worked on the restoration and design of churches and at a number of sites throughout Egypt, notably in El Kab, where he built a mud brick house. He was the son of solicitor Somers C. and Sarah Blaker in Brighton, where he was born and privately educated. Clarke began as an apprentice to the law for five years before beginning work with Sir G. Gilbert Scott. He was one of the pupils of Sir Charles Barry, who was also a British architect.

As an architect he mainly worked on restoring churches. He entered the offices of Sir Gilbert Scott and later worked in partnership with John Micklethwaite from offices at 15 Dean's Yard, Westminster, London. In this partnership they accomplished numerous church restorations and repairs, for St. Martin's in Brighton, St. John the Divine Church in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, and many others.He joined the Society of Antiquaries of London 1881. Later became a fellow member of the Royal Society of Arts in 1892. In Hierakonpolis, with Green and Quibel, he helped with excavations along with exploring El Kab in 1893 with J.J. Tylor. He was Surveyor of the Fabric of St Paul's Cathedral from 1897 to 1906. He was the architect in charge of St. Paul's Cathedral, and during his time working on the conservation of the cathedral, he would write to The New York Times about the poor conditions the cathedral was in. As Surveyor of St Paul's Cathedral, he designed the new lighting, funded by a gift from Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan, and the stalls for the chapel of the Order of St. Micheal and St. George. Working alongside Sir W. B. Richmond, he organized internal decorations for the chapel and relocated, from a small side-chapel, Alfred Stevens' Monument to the Duke of Wellington. After he was done with his work at St. Paul's Cathedral, he was succeeded by Mervyn Macartney as the Surveyor of St. Paul's Cathedral in 1907. Clarke also worked with the Dean and Chapter of Chichester Cathedral as a selected architect in 1900.

After he retired in 1922, Clarke continued to live in Egypt. His interpreter, Daud Hasan of Argin, and Nubian servant lived with him in his retirement home. While in Egypt, he became an honorary member of Comite de Conservation des Monuments de l' Art Arabe and assisted in repairing several ancient temples. He occasionally participated in architectural discussions at meetings for the Council of the Society of Antiquaries as a member for 45 years and, since 1892, as a life Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He was also an original member of The Royal Musical Association. He died in Mahamid in August 1926.

Early Commissions

After completing his training with architect Sir George Gilbert Scott, Somers Clarke started his independent practice in the late 1860s, initially focusing on projects in Brighton and the surrounding areas. His early independent work focused on church design and restoration, heavily influenced by the Gothic Revival Style he learned from Sir George Gilbert Scott. His first major independent project was St. Martin's Church on Lewes Road in Brighton, built between 1874 and 1875 as a memorial to the Reverend H.M. Wagner. While the building featured a restrained brick exterior, Somers Clarke spent the next three decades designing its elaborate interior fittings, including the ornate font canopy.

In 1876, He entered a professional partnership with John Thomas Micklethwaite, a fellow former pupil of Sir George Gilbert Scott. One of their collaborations was the St. Martin's Church, Brighton, where it was the first model of one of the sides of the Church which was shown in the 1st exhibition of the Arts & Crafts Exhibition Society at the New Gallery in London in 1888. Both architects parted ways in 1892 but continued to work on later projects together like the St. Mary, Stretton, Staffordshire from 1895-1897.

Donations of his work In his will he left the British Museum's Department of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities some of his maps, books, and pamphlets. The Egyptian department of the British Museum were also gifted some of his work regarding the churches of Egypt in the form of drawings, papers, and maps. The Egyptian Exploration Fund were also gifted some his articles about Coptic lamps and clothing. He received small collections of broken pottery from the excavations of the Fostat area in Egypt and then sent them to South Kensington, UK, and other rural museums. Today, many of his architecture drawings of some of his projects can be found at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, UK.

Works, books and writings +WorksYearWorkDescription1861Merchant Seamen's Orphan AsylumDesigned by him, and it was previously a hospital chapel.1866Sackville SchoolDesigned by him, and was previously a country house.18667 Lothbury BankDesigned by him in a Venetian Gothic Style for General credit.1872–78Wyfold Court, Rotherfield Peppard, Oxfordshire1874-75St Martin's parish church, Lewes Road, Brighton (Wagner Memorial Church)The largest church in Brighton, complete except proposed saddle-back tower. Spectacular pulpit based on the Sacrament House in St. Lorenz, Nuremberg. 1875St Peter's Church, BrightonScheme for remodeling and extending (only partly achieved).1879St Nicholas parish church in Kiddington, OxfordshireVestry and organ loft; also designed several features in the church such as wood panels with tracery, choir stall detailing heads of poppy flowers, and paintings on the east and west walls. In his memory, the second beam in the east area is inscribed with his name.1885Parish church of St John The Divine, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire1885Church at Wimbledon(proposed)1889St Mary's Church, Potton, Bedfordshire1890St Peter's parish church, Marsh Baldon, OxfordshireRestoration with Micklethwaite.1891Reid's Palace Hotel, Funchal, Madeira1891-1893Church of All Saints, Merton districtWorked on it with John Thomas Micklethwaite.1893-1896Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, Deir el-BahriAssisted Edouard Naville with excavating, conserving, and recording.1892St Saviour's parish church, Folkestone, Kent1892St Nicholas' Church, BrightonDesigns for wall paintings by C.E. Kempe.1893The Frank James Memorial Hospital, East Cowes, Isle of Wight1897-1898Excavation of HierakonpolisAssisted James Edward Quibell; the University of Oxford houses their work documents. His contributions included making a plan and section of the temple.1898Temple of Amenhotep IIIPlans and elevations.1900Tomb of RenniPlans and elevations.1900-1906St Peter's parish church, BrightonNew chancel with eleven-light east window (with Micklewaite).1907The XIth Dynasty Temple at Deir el-BahariBy Edouard Naville, Harry Reginald Holland, Edward Russell Ayrton, Charles Trick Currelly, and Somers Clarke: contributed architectural descriptions1910Chichester CathedralReredosSS Philip & James parish church, OxfordReredos1965Mountains, Hildenborough, Kent +Books/WritingsYearTitleDescription1882On the Structure and History of English Churchesco-authored with J. T. Micklethwaite ; Techniques in Historical preservation emphasisOedipusby Sophocles: added critical and explanatory1912Christian Antiquities of the Nileincludes a monograph of the Red Monastery Church (Dayr Anbā Bišūy) and the White Monastery (Dayr Anbā Šinūda)1916Ancient Egyptian Frontier Fortresses1920Ancient EgyptBy Flinders Petrie; contributed two pieces: Nile Boats and Other Matters, and Georges Legrain.1920The Unrest in EgyptWrote his ideas about why the lower-class citizens of Egypt are upset.1922The Organs of St. Paul's CathedralThe Apollonicon, The Positive, and letters to the editor; included in The Organ Quarterly Review.1930Ancient Egyptian Construction and ArchitectureWith Reginold Engelbach1930Ancient Egyptian Masonry: The Building of CraftWith Reginold Engelbak.

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