PLYMOUTH |
The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |
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JAMES PIERS (or PEARSE) SAINT AUBYN (1815-1895)
James Pearse St Aubyn was born at Powick Vicarage in Worcestershire on April 6th 1815 and was the second son of seven children of the Reverend Robert Thomas St Aubyn and his wife, Frances Fleming St John. Frances's father, the Reverend John Francis Seymour St John, was the Vicar of Powick. James, or Piers as he was known, was educated at Penzance Grammar School and then went on to pursue a career as an architect. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1856 and served on its council twice, from 1858-60 and again from 1870-72. His work included the Devonport Market and several churches, while in Plymouth his work was limited to the Church of Saint James the Less. He designed the chapel at Maristow House, Roborough, as well as Marazion Church and Saint John's, Halsetown, Saint Ives, and restored many others throughout the south of England. He lost the project to build Truro Cathedral by just one vote. His most notable work was the additions to the ancestral home, Saint Michael's Mount, off Marazion in Cornwall, which he started in 1875 and completed five years later. Although that piece of work has been regarded as 'among the greatest achievements of nineteenth-centruy architecture' [quote from Nigel Nicolson's book "Great Houses of Britain"], the majority of his restorations were disliked, especially by Sir John Betjeman. Although most of his work was in Cornwall and Devon, he also designed the Middle Temple and Goldsmith Building of the Inner Temple in London. James Pearse Saint Aubyn died at his home next door to Marazion Church, Cornwall, in May 1895 at the age of 80 and is buried in the family cemetery at Saint Michael's Mount. Sources:
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