Barry, Sir Charles

SUBJECT AREA: Architecture and building

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b. 23 May 1795 Westminster, London, England

d. 12 May 1860 Clapham, London, England

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English architect who was a leader in the field between the years 1830 and 1860.

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Barry was typical of the outstanding architects of this time. His work was eclectic, and he suited the style—whether Gothic or classical—to the commission and utilized the then-traditional materials and methods of construction. He is best known as architect of the new Palace of Westminster; he won the competition to rebuild it after the disastrous fire of the old palace in 1834. Bearing this in mind in the rebuilding, Barry utilized that characteristic nineteenth-century material, iron for joists and roofing plates.

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Principal Honours and Distinctions

Knighted 1852. Member of the Royal Academy; the Royal Society; the Academies of St Luke, Rome; St Petersburg (and others); and the American Institute of Architects. RIBA Gold Medal 1850.

Further Reading

Marcus Whiffen, The Architecture of Sir Charles Barry in Manchester and Neighbourhood, Royal Manchester Institution.

H.M.Port (ed.), 1976, The Houses of Parliament, Yale University Press.

H.M.Colvin (ed.), The History of the King's Works, Vol. 6, HMSO.

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