A. F. Livesay Explained

Augustus Frederick Livesay (8 May 1808^[1]  - 24 September 1879), known professionally as A. F. Livesay, was an architect based in Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight, England.

Life and work

Livesay was born in Portsea, Portsmouth to John and Sarah Livesay.^[2] He trained in Caen, France, and was articled to James Adams (1785–1850) of Plymouth. He became a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1866.^[3]

Architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner described Livesay as 'a sensitive architect', and considered his finest work to be St Mary's Church, Andover, which was rebuilt from 1840.^[4]

Livesay's son John Gillett Livesay (d. 1898) was also an architect, as was John's son George Augustus Bligh Livesay (1867–1916). Livesay was also the uncle of architect John Payne (1849–1921).^[3]

Some buildings by A. F. Livesay

• Holy Spirit Church, Newtown, Isle of Wight, 1835
• Holy Trinity Church, Trowbridge, 1838
• St Mary's Church, Andover, 1840^[5]
• Portsea Island Union Workhouse (now St. Mary's Hospital), Portsmouth, with Thomas Ellis Owen, 1843-5
• Southsea House (later Queens Hotel (Southsea), 1861

Notes and References

1. England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975
2. 1851 England Census
3. Directory of British Architects 1834-1914: L-Z Antonia Brodie, British Architectural Library, "Livesay, Augustus Frederick, 1807 or 1808-1879", page 58.
4. The Buildings of England, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Nikolaus Pevsner and David Wharton Lloyd, pp43-4.
5. Web site: Andover, Hampshire - St Mary Church. https://web.archive.org/web/20080511163345/http://www.astoft.co.uk/andoverchurch.htm. 1 January 2020. 11 May 2008.