- Rickman, Thomas
- SUBJECT AREA: Architecture and building[br]b. 8 June 1776 Maidenhead, Englandd. 4 January 1841 Birmingham, England[br]English architect who published the first serious study of the development of the styles of medieval architecture.[br]Thomas Rickman trained first in medicine and then, after practising for a short while, became an insurance clerk. During his thirties, having taught himself draughtsmanship, he travelled the country drawing, and recording some 3,000 medieval churches. He became deeply interested in and knowledgeable about ecclesiastical medieval architecture and in 1817 he began architectural practice. Rickman was responsible for a great deal of collegiate and ecclesiastical building. His understanding of true medieval materials and construction was much greater than that of his contemporaries, but like them he saw nothing incongruous about using modern materials such as plaster and cast iron for vault supports and tracery, so changing the structural proportions from medieval precepts. Characteristic of his work was St George Edgbaston (1819–22; demolished 1960) and Hartlebury Church (1836–7). Rickman is known primarily for his book An Attempt to Discriminate the Styles of English Architecture from the Conquest to the Reformation, in which he suggested classifying periods of architecture as Norman, Early English, Decorated and Perpendicular. These terms are still largely accepted even today.[br]Further ReadingH.Colvin, 1978, A Biographical Dictionary of English Architects 1600–1840, John Murray.DY
Biographical history of technology. - Taylor & Francis e-Librar. Lance Day and Ian McNeil. 2005.
