The fourth son
of Charles James Blomfield, Anglican Bishop of London, Arthur
Blomfield was articled to Philip Hardwick, architect to the Bank
of England. He became President of the Architectural Association
in 1861, Architect to the Bank of England in 1883, and
Vice-President of Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in
1886. He was elected Associate of the Royal Academy in 1888 and
knighted the following year.
According to
the Dictionary of National Biography,
Blomfield was one of the last great Gothic revivalists. He was
also a prolific architect, whose primary activity was church
building and restoration. His favourite style was English
Perpendicualr, which he considered particularly suitable for
church designs, though his variant of this style was not based on
a slavish copying of architectural precedent, or on any search
for eccentric originality. He was also open to the possibilities
offered by modern materials, especially iron, which he used
regularly.... His successful practice drew the attention of the
young Thomas Hardy (1840-1928). Hardy's training as a Gothic
draughtsman was a strong recommendation to Blomfield, in whose
office he worked on his arrival in London in 1862."
Working with
A. E. Street, Blomfield helped complete George Edmund Street's
(1824-1881) Royal Courts of Justice in London (usually known as
the Law Courts) after the architect's death in 1881. His major
buildings include the great hall for Charterhouse School at
Godalming, Surrey (1885), the law courts branch of the Bank of
England (1886-8), Queen's School and the lower chapel, Eton
College (1889-91), erection of the nave, south porch and south
transept for St Saviour's, Southwark (Southwark Cathedral)
(1890-1897), and the Royal College of Music (1894).
St Andrew's Church, Surbiton stands as one
of the best surviving examples of the churches he built.
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