Benjamin Ferrey

Benjamin Ferrey
Born	1 April 1810 Christchurch, Hampshire
Died	22 August 1880 (aged 70) 5 Inverness Terrace, London
Nationality	British
Occupation	Architect

Benjamin Ferrey, FSA, FRIBA (1810 – 1880) was an English architect who worked mostly in the Gothic Revival.

Family

Benjamin Ferrey was the youngest son of Benjamin Ferrey Snr, a draper who became Mayor of Christchurch.^[1] He was educated at Wimborne Grammar School.

In 1836 Benjamin married Ann Lucas. They had two daughters, Alicia and Annie, and one son, Benjamin Edmund Ferrey. Benjamin Edmund also became an architect, studying under his father and then assisting in his work.

Career

After grammar school, Ferrey went to London to study under Augustus Charles Pugin and alongside Pugin's son Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin.

In his early twenties Ferrey toured continental Europe, then studied further in the office of William Wilkins. He started his own architectural practice in 1834, in Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London. Some of the earliest work of his practice was in the design of the new seaside resort of Bournemouth. The business grew rapidly and was very successful, with Ferrey designing and restoring or rebuilding many Church of England parish churches. Ferrey also designed private houses and public buildings, including a number of Tudor Revival ones in the earlier part of his career.^[2]

Charles Eastlake in his History of the Gothic Revival described Ferrey as "one of the earliest, ablest, and most zealous pioneers of the modern Gothic school" and said his work "possessed the rare charm of simplicity, without lacking interest".^[3]

Ferrey was twice Vice-President of the Royal Institute of British Architects and in 1870 was awarded a Royal Gold Medal. He was Diocesan Architect to the Diocese of Bath and Wells from 1841 until his death, carrying out much of the restoration work on Wells Cathedral. He was also appointed Honorary Secretary to the Architects' Committee for the Houses of Parliament.

Work

Buildings

• Tarrant Hinton, Dorset: Old Rectory, 1836^[4]
• Westover, Hampshire: estate of villas, 1836 (demolished 1906–29)^[5]
• Royal Bath Hotel, Bournemouth, Hampshire (now Dorset), 1837–38^[6]
• St. Thomas of Canterbury parish church, Compton Valence, Dorset: rebuilding of church (except tower), 1839–40^[7]
• Dorset County Hospital, Dorchester, Dorset, 1839 onwards^[8]
• Clyffe House, Tincleton, Dorset, 1842^[9]
• All Saints' parish church, Dogmersfield, Hampshire, 1843^[10]
• All Saints' parish church, High East Street, Dorchester, Dorset, (with A.D.H. Acland) 1843–45^[11]
• St James' parish church, Morpeth, Northumberland, 1843–46^[12]
• St. Nicholas' parish church, Grafton, Wiltshire, 1844^[13]
• St. Mary's parish church, Winterborne Whitchurch, Dorset: rebuilt nave, added south aisle and south transept, 1844^[14]
• St. Thomas' parish church, Keresley, Coventry, 1844–45^[15]
• St. Mary's parish church, Chilton Foliat, Wiltshire: restoration, 1845^[16]
• Holy Trinity parish church, Nuffield, Oxfordshire: restored chancel, 1845^[17]
• St. Stephen's parish church, Baughurst, Hampshire, 1845^[18]
• Christ Church parish church, Melplash, Dorset, 1845–46^[19]
• St. Swithin's parish church, Wickham, Berkshire, 1845–49: nave, chancel and upper part of bell-tower^[20]
• St. Osmund's parish church, Osmington, Dorset: reconstruction, 1846^[21]
• St. Barnabas' parish church, Swanmore, Hampshire, 1846^[22]
• St. Mary's parish church, Twyford, Berkshire, 1846^[23]
• Saints Peter and Paul chapel, Bishop's Palace, Cuddesdon, Oxfordshire, 1846^[24]
• Town Hall, Dorchester, Dorset, 1847–48^[25]
• St. Boniface' parish church, Bonchurch, Isle of Wight, 1847–48^[26]
• St Peter's College, Saltley, Birmingham, 1847–52^[27]
• St. Barnabas' parish church, Linslade, Bedfordshire, 1848^[28]
• St. John the Baptist parish church, Plush, Dorset, 1848^[29]
• Holy Trinity parish church, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, 1848^[30]
• St Mary the Virgin parish church, Stamfordham, Northumberland: restoration, 1848^[31]
• Christchurch Priory, Hampshire: pulpitum, 1848^[32]
• Stafford House, West Stafford, Dorset: west front, 1848–50^[33]
• St. Margaret's parish church, Harpsden, Oxfordshire: extended nave, added aisle and bell tower, 1848–54^[34]
• Holy Trinity parish church, Penn Street, Buckinghamshire, 1849^[35]
• St. John the Evangelist parish church, Tincleton, Dorset, 1849^[9]
• Holy Trinity parish church, Wood Green, Witney, Oxfordshire, 1849^[36]
• St. Peter's parish church, Cranbourne, Berkshire, 1849^[37]
• All Saints' parish church, Bisham, Berkshire: restoration, 1849^[38]
• All Saints' parish church, Cuddesdon, Oxfordshire: restoration, 1849^[39]
• St. Thomas' parish church, Colnbrook, Buckinghamshire, 1849–52^[40]
• Holy Trinity parish church, Grazeley, Berkshire, 1850^[41]
• St. Michael's parish church, Littlebredy, Dorset: rebuilding of church and addition of spire, 1850^[42]
• St. Botolph's parish church, Swyncombe, Oxfordshire: restoration, 1850^[43]
• St. Laurence's parish church, Upton, Slough, Buckinghamshire: south aisle, 1852^[44]
• St. Mark's parish church, Hedgerley, Buckinghamshire, 1852^[45]
• St. Mary's parish church, Kirtlington, Oxfordshire: rebuilt tower, 1853^[46]
• Holy Trinity parish church, Deanshanger, Northamptonshire, 1853^[47]
• St. Paul's parish church, Neithrop, Banbury, Oxfordshire, 1853^[48]
• Battleford Hall, Fleet, Lincolnshire. Old Rectory, 1854 for James Jerram, rector of Fleet.
• St. Mary's parish church, Fairfield, Worcestershire, 1854^[49]
• All Saints parish church, Huntsham, Devon, 1854-56^[50]

All Saints' parish church, Blackheath, built 1857–67

Ferrey's two chapels at Jumper's Cemetery, Christchurch

• St. Giles' parish church, Barlestone, Leicestershire, 1855^[51]
• St. Paul's parish church, Scropton, Derbyshire, 1855–56^[52]
• Chapels at Ocklynge cemetery, Eastbourne, East Sussex, 1857^[53]
• All Saints parish church, Blackheath, London, 1857–67^[54]
• Christ Church, Eastbourne, East Sussex, 1859^[55]
• Grammar School, Morpeth, Northumberland, 1859^[56]
• Chase Cliffe house, Crich, Derbyshire, 1859–61^[57]
• Bulstrode Park, Buckinghamshire: house, 1862^[58]
• Christchurch Priory, Hampshire: restoration including porch vaulting, 1862^[1]
• St. Mary's parish church, Eling, Hampshire: restoration, 1863–65^[59]
• St. Mary and St. Peter's parish church, Pett, East Sussex, 1864^[60]
• St. Mary's parish church, Warmington, Northamptonshire: restored chancel, 1865^[61]
• St Michael and All Angels' church, Chetwynd, Shropshire, 1865-7^[62]
• All Hallows' parish church, Whitchurch, Hampshire: restoration, 1866^[63]
• Huntsham Court, Huntsham, Devon, 1868-70^[64]
• St. Michael's parish church, Otterton, Devon: rebuilt 1869–71^[65]
• Christ Church parish church and vicarage, Colbury, Hampshire, 1870^[66]
• St. James' parish church, Birlingham, Worcestershire: rebuilt 1871–72^[67]
• St. John the Evangelist, Holdenhurst, Hampshire (now Dorset): chancel, 1873^[68]
• St. Mary's parish church, Bransgore, Hampshire: chancel, 1873^[69]
• St. Mary's parish church, Tarrant Hinton, Dorset: chancel, 1874^[70]
• St Mary's Church, Wingham 1874-1875
• Parish Church of St Luke, Burton, Christchurch, Dorset (1874-1876)^[71]
• Holy Trinity parish church, High West Street, Dorchester, Dorset, 1875–76^[72]
• Christchurch Priory, Hampshire: nave gallery^[1]
• Jumpers' Cemetery, Christchurch, Hampshire (now Dorset): arched gateway and two chapels^[73]
• Church of St Michael, Enmore, Somerset^[74]

Publications

• Ferrey, Benjamin; Brayley, E. W. (1834). The Antiquities of the Priory of Christchurch: Consisting of Plans, Elevations, Sections, Details, and Perspective Views.^[1]
• Ferrey, Benjamin (1861). Recollections of A. N. Welby Pugin and his father Augustus Pugin; with notices of their works. London: Edward Stanford.

References

1. Pevsner & Lloyd, 1967, page 169
2. Newman & Pevsner, 1972, page 55
3. Eastlake, 1872, page 220
4. Newman & Pevsner, 1972, page 418
5. Pevsner & Lloyd, 1967, page 117
6. Pevsner & Lloyd, 1967, page 130
7. Newman & Pevsner, 1972, page
8. Newman & Pevsner, 1972, page 183
9. Newman & Pevsner, 1972, page 423
10. Pevsner & Lloyd, 1967, page 191
11. Newman & Pevsner, 1972, page 179
12. Pevsner & Richmond, 1957, pages 214–215
13. Pevsner & Cherry, 1975, page 255
14. Newman & Pevsner, 1972, page 488
15. Pevsner & Wedgwood, 1966, page 326
16. Pevsner & Cherry, 1975, page 166
17. Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, page 724
18. Pevsner & Lloyd, 1967, page 94
19. Newman & Pevsner, 1972, page 282
20. Pevsner, 1966, page 266
21. Newman & Pevsner, 1972, page 308
22. Pevsner & Lloyd, 1967, page 616
23. Pevsner, 1966, page 243
24. Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, page 563
25. Newman & Pevsner, 1972, page 182
26. Pevsner & Lloyd, 1967, page 733
27. Pevsner & Wedgwood, 1966, page 201
28. Pevsner, 1960/73, page 188
29. Newman & Pevsner, 1972, page 317
30. Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, page 637
31. Pevsner & Richmond, 1957, page 292
32. Pevsner & Lloyd, 1967, page 176
33. Newman & Pevsner, 1972, page 448
34. Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, page 634
35. Pevsner, 1960/73, pages 223–224
36. Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, page 845
37. Pevsner, 1966, page 123
38. Pevsner, 1966, page 88
39. Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, page 562
40. Pevsner, 1960/73, page 100
41. Pevsner, 1966, page 147
42. Newman & Pevsner, 1972, pages 253–254
43. Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, page 801
44. Pevsner, 1960/73, page 237
45. Pevsner, 1960/73, page 160
46. Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, page 675
47. Pevsner & Cherry, 1961/73, page 176
48. Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, page 443
49. Pevsner, 1968, page 150
50. Pevsner & Cherry, 1989, page 497
51. Pevsner, 1960, page 59
52. Pevsner & Williamson, 1978, page 315
53. "Ocklynge cemetery chapel". National Heritage List for England. English Heritage. 16 April 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
54. "Blackheath, All Saints". Diocese of Southwark. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
55. Nairn & Pevsner, 1965, page 486
56. Pevsner & Richmond, 1957, page 215
57. Pevsner & Williamson, 1978, page 157
58. Pevsner, 1960/73, page 77
59. Pevsner & Lloyd, 1967, page 207
60. Elleray, 2004, page 44
61. Pevsner & Cherry, 1961/73, page 446
62. "Church of St Michael & All Angels". National Heritage List for England. English Heritage. 18 June 1959.
63. Pevsner & Lloyd, 1967, page 650
64. Pevsner & Cherry, 1989, page 497
65. Pevsner & Cherry, 1989, page 614
66. Pevsner & Lloyd, 1967, pages 180–181
67. Pevsner, 1968, page 87
68. Pevsner & Lloyd, 1967, page 295
69. Pevsner & Lloyd, 1967, page 142
70. Newman & Pevsner, 1972, page 417
71. "Parish Church of St Luke (list entry number - 1154270)". The National Heritage List for England. English Heritage. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
72. Newman & Pevsner, 1972, page 181
73. Pevsner & Lloyd, 1967, page 178
74. "Church of St Michael". National Heritage List for England. English Heritage. Retrieved 25 February 2015.

Sources

• Eastlake, Charles (1872). A History of the Gothic Revival. London: Longman, Green & Co. p. 220. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
• Elleray, D. Robert (2004). Sussex Places of Worship. Worthing, Sussex: Optimus Books. ISBN 0-9533132-7-1.
• Nairn, Ian; Pevsner, Nikolaus (1965). Sussex. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-071028-0.
• Newman, John; Pevsner, Nikolaus (1972). Dorset. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-071044-2.
• Pevsner, Nikolaus (1973) [1960]. Buckinghamshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.
• Pevsner, Nikolaus (1960). Leicestershire and Rutland. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. p. 59.
• Pevsner, Nikolaus (1966). Berkshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.
• Pevsner, Nikolaus (1968). Worcestershire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.
• Pevsner, Nikolaus; Cherry, Bridget (revision) (1989) [1952]. Devon. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-071050-7.
• Pevsner, Nikolaus; Cherry, Bridget (revision) (1973) [1961]. Northamptonshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-071022-1.
• Pevsner, Nikolaus; Cherry, Bridget (revision) (1975) [1963]. Wiltshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. ISBN 0140710264.
• Pevsner, Nikolaus; Lloyd, David (1967). Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.
• Pevsner, Nikolaus; Richmond, Ian A (1957). Northumberland. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.
• Pevsner, Nikolaus; Wedgwood, Alexandra (1966). Warwickshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-071031-0.
• Pevsner, Nikolaus; Williamson, Elizabeth (1978) [1953]. Derbyshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. pp. 157, 315. ISBN 0-14-071008-6.
• Sherwood, Jennifer; Pevsner, Nikolaus (1974). Oxfordshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-071045-0.

External links

• Works by or about Benjamin Ferrey at Internet Archive
• Benjamin Ferrey - A Biographical Note
• Brief notes on Benjamin Ferrey
•  "Ferrey, Benjamin". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.