John Raphael Rodrigues Brandon Explained

John Raphael Rodrigues Brandon
Birth Date:	5 April 1817
Birth Place:	London
Death Date:	8 October 1877
Nationality:	British
Occupation:	British architect and architectural writer

John Raphael Rodrigues Brandon (5 April 1817 in London – 8 October 1877 at his chambers at 17 Clement's Inn, Strand, London) was a British Gothic Revival architect and architectural writer, much of whose work was done in collaboration with his brother Joshua, until the latter's death in 1847.

Life

Training

Raphael Brandon was the second child of the six children of Joshua de Isaac Moses Rodrigues Brandon and his wife, Sarah. He studied with an architect named Dédeau in Alençon, France, before being apprenticed to Joseph T. Parkinson in 1836.^[1]

After his apprenticeship he set up in practice with his younger brother Joshua Arthur Rodrigues Brandon at Beaufort Buildings in the Strand, London. Following Joshua's early death in 1847, Raphael Brandon went into partnership with Robert Ritchie. This partnership was formally dissolved on 10 October 1856.

Publications

Both Raphael and Joshua Brandon were keen adherents of the Neo Gothic style and they jointly produced a series of three works on Early English ecclesiastical architecture that became and remained architectural pattern books for the whole 19th century:

• Analysis of Gothic Architecture (1847) – more than 700 examples of windows, doors, windows, and other architectural details, with measurements observed at first hand, collected from parish churches
• Parish Churches (1848) – 63 churches from across England, each with perspective views, a short description in text and a plan (to the same scale for all the churches)
• Open Timber Roofs of the Middle Ages (1849) – perspective, geometric and detail drawings of 35 timber roofs from parish churches in 11 different English counties, showing their form and principle of each example, with an introduction on the topic in general. The Builder commented that the work:

serves the one useful and necessary purpose of showing practically and constructively what the builders of the middle ages really did with the materials they had at hand, and how all those materials, whatever they were, were made to harmonise.^[2]

Buildings

In the 1840s, Raphael and Joshua designed several stations and engine-houses in the style of medieval manor houses on the London and Croydon Railway, disguising chimneys as early Gothic church bell-towers. Raphael's exhibited designs at the Royal Academy between 1838 and 1874 included a design for Colchester Town Hall (1843, in his and John Blore's name – built in 1845)^[3] and in 1853, together with Robert Ritchie, a design for the interior of the Church of Christ the King, Bloomsbury for the Catholic Apostolic Church. Although the Brandons were best known for their expertise in the Gothic Style, the Colchester Town Hall, the nearby Corn Exchange^[3] and The Royal Kent Dispensary building (by Brandon & Ritchie;^[4] later part of Miller General Hospital) in Greenwich High Road are all in the Classical style.^[3] Raphael was architect of the restoration of St Martin's Church, Leicester (now Leicester Cathedral.) This included the building of the tower (completed in 1862) and spire (1867). The work on this was in the correct Early English style, although his work elsewhere in the church was in the perpendicular style. The tower and spire, described by Pevsner as "intentionally impressive" are loosely based on those of the Church of St Mary the Virgin, Ketton in Rutland.^[5]

Among the many churches Brandon built independently were the small church of St Peter's in Great Windmill Street, London, and Holy Trinity Church, Knightsbridge (1861), both of which have since been demolished. He also built, altered, and restored many other churches. They include:

• Holy Trinity Leverstock Green, Hertfordshire (1846-9).^[6]
• All Saints, Sculthorpe, Norfolk. New Chancel (1846-7).^[7]
• Christ Church, Aughnamullen, County Monaghan, Ireland (1847) Extensive rebuilding of a church of c.1820. Much rebuilt in the 1860s, but Brandon's north aisle survives.^[8]
• Holy Trinity, Stow Bardolph, Norfolk.Extensive restoration. A description of Brandon's work there was published in the Gentleman's Magazine in October 1852.^[9]
• St Bene't, Cambridge. New North aisle (1853).^[10]
• All Saints, Harston, Cambridgeshire. Chancel(1853-4). ^[11]
• St Mary, Humberstone, Leicestershire (1858). Major rebuilding leaving only the medieval tower and some fabric in the chancel.
• St Mary, Datchet.Berkshire, rebuilding in stages from 1857.^[12]
• Christ Church, Chesham (1864). Buckinghamshire
• St Andrew, Wraysbury, Berkshire
• Holy Trinity, Townshend Road, Richmond. London^[13]

However, even Brandon becoming a fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1860 failed to bring him the same success as an active architect as he had had as an author and this, the early death of his brother Joshua, and the death of his wife and child, all drove him to suicide by shooting himself in the head.

Thomas Hardy, who worked briefly for Brandon, based his description of Henry Knight's chambers in his novel A Pair of Blue Eyes on his office at Clement's Inn.^[14] Brandon also employed James Rawson Carroll, architect of the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.^{[15] [16]}

Paying tribute to Brandon shortly after his death, Charles Barry said^[17]

External links

• Book: Raphael . Brandon . Arthur . Brandon . Joshua Arthur Rodrigues Brandon . An analysis of Gothick architecture : illustrated by a series of upwards of seven hundred examples of doorways, windows, etc., and accompanied with remarks on the several details of an ecclesiastical edifice. 1849. https://archive.org/details/analysisofgothic01branuoft, from Internet Archive
• Book: Raphael . Brandon . Arthur . Brandon . Joshua Arthur Rodrigues Brandon . Parish churches; being perspective views of English ecclesiastical structures: accompanied by plans drawn to a uniform scale, and letter-press descriptions . 1848. https://archive.org/details/parishchurchesbe00branrich, from Internet Archive

Sources

• • Dictionary of National Biography
• A. Felstead, J. Franklin, and L. Pinfield, eds., Directory of British architects, 1834–1900 (1993); 2nd edn, ed. A.Brodie and others, 2 vols.(2001)
• L. D. Barnett and others, eds., Bevis Marks records: being contributions to the history of the Spanish and Portuguese Congregation in London, 5 vols. (1940–93)
• The Builder, 35 (1877), 1041, 1051–2
• The Builder, 5 (1847), 603
• E. Jamilly, ‘Anglo-Jewish architects, and architecture in the 18th and 19th centuries’, Transactions of the Jewish Historical Society of England, 18 (1953–55), 127–41, esp. 135–6
• Algernon Graves, The Royal Academy of Arts: a complete dictionary of contributors and their work from its foundation in 1769 to 1904, 8 vols.(1905–06), (1970), (1972)
• G. Stamp and C. Amery, Victorian buildings of London, 1837–1887: an illustrated guide (1980), 40–41 ·
• The architect's, engineer's, and building-trades' directory (1868)
• Catalogue of the drawings collection of the Royal Institute of British Architects, Royal Institute of British Architects, 20 vols. (1969–89)
• C. Barry, Sessional Papers of the Royal Institute of British Architects (1877–78), 10

Notes and References

1. Dictionary of National Biography
2. The Builder, 35, 1877, 1051
3. Web site: A. P. . Baggs . Beryl . Board. Philip. Crummy. Claude . Dove. Shirley. Durgan. N. R. . Goose. R. B.. Pugh. Pamela. Studd . C. C.. Thornton. 'Municipal buildings', in A History of the County of Essex: Volume 9, the Borough of Colchester, ed. Janet Cooper and C R Elrington . London. 1994. 274–277. British History Online . 11 November 2020.
4. Book: Cherry, Bridget. The Buildings of England London 2: South. Yale University Press. 1983. 270.
5. Book: Pevsner, Nikolaus. Leicestershire and Rutland. Penguin. 1984. 0-14-071018-3. Williamson. Elizabeth. Second Edition reprinted with corrections 1992. Buildings of England. London. 208.
6. Web site: Holy Trinity Church History . Benefice of Langelei . 21 November 2023.
7. Web site: CHURCH OF ST MARY AND ALL SAINTS, Sculthorpe - 1049380 Historic England . historicengland.org.uk . en.
8. Web site: Christ Church (Aghnamullen), MOYLE MORE, Aghnamullen, MONAGHAN . Buildings of Ireland.
9. Cave . Edward . The Gentleman's Magazine: Or, Monthly Intelligencer: Volume the first [-fifth], for the year 1731 [-1735] ... ]. 1852 . 364 . 21 November 2023 . Printed and sold at St John's Gate [by Edward Cave]; by F. Jefferies in Ludgate-Street . en.
10. Web site: The building of the north aisle and its furnishings . St Bene't's Church.
11. Web site: Relhan Collection : 163 Harston church. View from NE . Cambridge Digital Library.
12. Web site: St Mary's Parish Church . Datchet History . 18 November 2023.
13. Book: Cherry . Bridget . Pevsner . Nikolaus . London 2: South . 1 January 2002 . Yale University Press . 978-0-300-09651-4 . en.
14. Book: Millgate, Michael. Thomas Hardy: A Biography Revisited. illustrated. Oxford University Press. 2006. 9780199275663. 117.
15. Web site: Dictionary of Scottish Architects - DSA Architect Biography Report (September 15, 2021, 3:35 pm).
16. Web site: 1901 – Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital, Adelaide Road, Dublin. 19 February 2010.
17. Barry . Charles . Opening Address of the President . Sessional Papers Read at the Royal Institute of British Architects . 1879 . 29 . 10 . 6 November 2023.