Edward Jones (1796–1835) was a Welsh-born architect and surveyor. He was a pupil of John Wallen, Architect and Principal Surveyor to London.Colvin H. 1978, A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1600–1840, London: John Murray, 467. Jones was influenced by Greek Revival Architecture.

Biography

Edward Jones was born in February 1796 in Wrexham, Denbighshire, Wales, the youngest son of John and Ann Jones. John Jones was a Wrexham carpenter who built Linen Hall, also known as Jones' Hall, in Queen Street, Wrexham.Palmer A N. 1888, The History of the Older Nonconformity of Wrexham and its Neighbourhood, Wrexham: Woodall, Minshall & Thomas, 90. By 1815, John and Anne also owned properties in Pentrefelin and in the townships of Broughton and Brombo.Will of Anne Jones of Wrexham 1815.; Palmer A N. 1888, op cit., 90.

On 1 March 1823, Edward married Sophia Edwards (1801–1880) at St Lukes, Deptford. Their marriage was witnessed by Harriet and Maria Wallen.Pallot's Marriage Index for England: 1780–1837 Edward and Sophia had four children, all born in Wrexham:Non-conformist register.RG4/4131 Chester Street Presbyterian Chapel, Wrexham, Denbighshire 1814–1837

Edward George Jones (1828–1873) Sophia Elizabeth Jones (1829–1922) Harriet Jones (1830–1832) William Jones (1832–1832)

In 1834, Edward Jones was a trustee of the Presbyterian Chapel, Chester Street, Wrexham.Palmer A.N. 1888, op cit.,90. On 1 May 1835, Edward died aged 39, at his home next to Linen Hall, Queen Street, Wrexham.Palmer A.N. 1888, op cit.; Piece 4131: Wrexham, Chester Street Chapel (Presbyterian), 1814–1837 He was buried on 8 May 1835 by Rev. John Pearce in the Dissenters' Burial Ground, Rhosddu Road, WrexhamNonconformist register; Chester Street, Wrexham; Palmer 1888 op cit.

Career

In about 1813, Edward became a pupil of architect and surveyor, John Wallen .Colvin H. 1978, op cit. 467. During his tutelage in Wallen's office he would have encountered a diverse range of architectural projectsWebster, C. 2010, "An alternative to Ecclesiology: William Wallen (1807–53)". In G. Brandwood. Seven Church Architects 1830–1930, Ecclesiology To-day. London: Ecclesiological Society including Wallen's innovative, steel-framed, commercial designs.Hitchcock, H.R. 1954, Early Victorian Architecture in Britain. New Haven: Yale University Press During 1818, he undertook the ‘Grand Tour’ of GreeceColvin H. 1978, op cit. 467. and Italy,Jones E. 1818, Ruins at Chiaravalle near Ancona, Italy, held by Yale Center for British Art, New Haven. thus complementing his architectural education.Crinson M. & Lubbock J. 1994, Architecture_Art Or Profession?: Three Hundred Years of Architectural Education in Britain, Manchester: Manchester University,24.

It can be assumed that he had returned to John Wallen's office at 10 White Lion Street, Pentonville, by 1819, because this information is attached to Edward's first recorded exhibition at the Royal Academy.Graves A. 1906, The Royal Academy of Arts: A Complete Dictionary of Contributors and Their Work from Its Foundation in 1769 to 1904, Volume 4, 262. Wallen is known to have introduced another pupil, William Beatson, to the Royal Academy;Bowman I. 2005, William Beatson, A Colonial Architect, Auckland: Balasoglou,14. therefore, it is probable that Edward was also an academy student and exposed to Ancient Greek architecture by the academy's professor of architecture, Sir John Soane.Watkins D. (Ed.) 2000, Sir John Soane: The Royal Academy Lectures, Cambridge: Cambridge Press, 27–42.

During 1823, Edward was practicing at 21–20 Providence Row, Finsbury Square, LondonWill of John Nesbitt Fox 1823, Edward Jones as Executor. and he is assumed to be the ‘Mr Jones’ who made a design for the North front and wings of Broomhall, Fife, the seat of Thomas Bruce, the 7th Earl of Elgin. His design was never executedMordaunt Crook M. 1970, Country Life, 29 January, 245-6. due to Elgin's financial embarrassment largely due to the cost of acquiring and shipping the Parthenon Marbles.Gifford J. 1988,The Buildings of Scotland, Fife, National Trust of Scotland, London: Penguin. 103.

By 1826, Edward had moved to 24 Charles Street, Bedford SquareGraves A. 1906,262. and was also listed as Architect and Surveyor, Queen Street, WrexhamPigots Directory 1928, North Wales, Wrexham. In 1830, he designed an ornamental temple, based on the Temple on the Ilissus, for Mrs. Powis of Berwick Hall on the Severn.Colvin H. 1978, op cit. ,467 By 1834, his practice had moved to 67 Great Russell Street, Bedford Square, London.Address on Art, Yale Centre for British Art. New Haven. US

Publications

Grecian Revival Architecture was originally led by Robert Smirke and William Wilkins, however, by 1820, opposition to this architectural genre was being expressed in the periodicalsSummerson J. 1993, Architecture in Britain 1530–1830. New Haven: Yale University Press, 477. and defenders of Classic and Gothic styles were initiating the Battle of Styles as it would be known during the Victorian period.Kelly J. Mays 2014, How the Victorians Un-Invented Themselves: Architecture, the Battle of the Styles, and the History of the Term Victorian, Journal of Victorian Culture, Volume 19, Issue 1, 2014; Nevertheless, the Greek Revival continued to spread throughout Britain, in part, because young London-based architects built in the provinces.Summerson J. 1993, op cit., 479.

In 1835, Edward published a folio with plates, Athenian or Grecian Villas: Being a Series of Original Designs for Villas or Country Residences to exemplify in effect its applicability to Domestic Edifices of this country, and its adaption in Plan to the modern arrangement of their usual arrangements. Price 15 shillings. Edward dedicated his work, by permission, to Sir Robert Smirke. He relied upon the “pleasing description” of temples and villas given by the earliest authors and also studies by the highly regarded author and topographer of Greece, Colonel Leake. Edward noted the discovery of several bas-reliefs depicting Grecian villas, finding they embodied the same qualities as Greek public edifices.Jones E. 1835, Athenian or Grecian Villas: Being a Series of Original Designs for Villas or Country Residences to exemplify in effect its applicability to Domestic Edifices of this country, and its adaption in Plan to the modern arrangement of their usual arrangements, Soho: John Williams, 6. Edward's 1835 designs allowed for the addition of similar sculpture, bronze statues and other art that “were invariably adjuncts to the tasteful and elegant buildings of the Greeks”.Jones E. 1835, op.cit ,8 The estimated cost of construction was attached to each design.

In November 1835, John Claudius Loudon’s Architectural Magazine attacked Edward’s publication.Loudon J.C. 1835, Conductor, The Architectural Magazine, and Journal of improvement in Architecture, Building and Furnishing and in the various arts and trades connected therewith., Volume 2, Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green & Longman: London, 299–301 In a highly critical review, Loudon suggested that Edward’s plans not only displayed the mediocrity of Grecian architecture but also violated architectural principle by marking stone sizes on masonry walls. Loudon deemed this to be an aesthetic “sin” committed by the builders of Whitehall, Somerset House and “almost every portico of the street houses of London”.Loudon J.C. 1835, op cit. 2–3; 300 The review ignored Edward's research, instead asserting that Grecian architectural simplicity, which embodies straight horizontal and vertical geometry, is inherently inferior in resources to Gothic and Roman architecture. Loudon invited Edward's reply, apparently unaware that Edward had already died.Loudon J.C. 1835, op cit. 299–301.

Art Work

Edward was an exhibitor at The Royal Academy of Arts, Liverpool Academy of Arts and The Society of British Artists in Suffolk Street.Colvin H. 1978, op cit. 467. Work by Edward Jones displayed at the Royal Academy of Arts, London.Graves A. 1906, The Royal Academy of Arts: A Complete Dictionary of Contributors and Their Work from Its Foundation in 1769 to 1904, Volume 4, 262 1819. North-west view of the Tower of Wrexham Church, North Wales. 1826. Temple of Jupiter Olympius at Athens, as it might have appeared shortly posterior to the time of Hadrian. The spectator supposed to be placed above the walls of the city, etc. 1831. Design for an ornamental temple, based on the Temple on the Ilissus, 1835. Design for an Athenian cottage.

Work by Edward Jones, now held by Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, USA.Yale Center for British Art 2015, available online, http://collections.britishart.yale.edu/vufind/Record/3646794 1818 Ruins at Chiaravalle near Ancona, Italy 1834 Design for an Athenian Villa. Front Elevation 1834 Design for an Athenian Villa. Side Elevation 1834 Design for an Athenian Villa. Transverse Section Undated Design for an Athenian Villa. 1834 Design for an Athenian Villa. Perspective View showing the principal and garden fronts.

References