The young
Thomas Hardy joined Blomfield's practice as assistant architect in April 1862, and the writer remained friends with Blomfield. He became president of the
Architectural Association in 1861; a Fellow of the
Royal Institute of British Architects in 1867 (proposed by George Gilbert Scott, H. Brandon and J. P. Seddon); and vice-president of the RIBA in 1886.[2] In 1889, he was knighted. He was awarded the
Royal Gold Medal in 1891.
He was twice married. His first wife was Caroline Harriet Smith (1840–1882) and his second wife,
Lady Blomfield, was an author and humanitarian.[3] Two of his daughters, Mary Esther and Ellinor Blomfield, were supporters of the suffragette movement and famously made a representation to the King. Two of his sons, Charles James and Arthur Conran Blomfield, were brought up to his own profession, and of which they became distinguished representatives.[2] His nephew, Sir
Reginald Blomfield, apprenticed under him, went on to design numerous buildings, public works, and sculpture, including the
Cross of Sacrifice or War Cross, for the
Commonwealth War Graves Commission. These are in Commonwealth cemeteries in many countries.
He died at the
Royal Society in London on 30 October 1899 aged 70 and was buried on 3 November in
Broadway, Worcestershire, where he lived at Springfield House.
Blomfield designed St Peter's in Eastgate in 1870 as a replacement for a medieval church. The church as it now stands is the combined work of three eminent architects: nave and chancel by Blomfield, south aisle by
Temple Moore (1914) and the chancel decoration by
George Frederick Bodley (1884).
In 1890–7 he rebuilt the nave of St Saviour's parish church, Southwark (now
Southwark Cathedral), replacing an earlier reconstruction of 1839–40.[5] It is a notable example of his use of a
Gothic Revival style. He was highly regarded as a restorer;[2] a spokesman for the
Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings said of his 1898 restoration of
Salisbury Cathedral spire "conducted in the most conservative way possible ... I am confident that anyone who had been privileged to see the work that is being done ... would not withhold his subscriptions even though he was as ardent an anti-restorer as your obedient servant."[6]
^Hill, Robert G.
"Street, Arthur Edmund". dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org. Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada: 1800-1950. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
^Worley, George (1905).
Southwark Cathedral. Bell's Cathedrals. London: George Bell & Sons. p. 48. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
^Philip Smith (writer), An Introduction to the Architectural Heritage of County Wicklow (Dublin: Wordwell Press / Government of Ireland, Department of the Environment, Heritage, and Local Government, National Inventory of Architectural Heritage, 2004). pp. 2–3, 70–71.
The young
Thomas Hardy joined Blomfield's practice as assistant architect in April 1862, and the writer remained friends with Blomfield. He became president of the
Architectural Association in 1861; a Fellow of the
Royal Institute of British Architects in 1867 (proposed by George Gilbert Scott, H. Brandon and J. P. Seddon); and vice-president of the RIBA in 1886.[2] In 1889, he was knighted. He was awarded the
Royal Gold Medal in 1891.
He was twice married. His first wife was Caroline Harriet Smith (1840–1882) and his second wife,
Lady Blomfield, was an author and humanitarian.[3] Two of his daughters, Mary Esther and Ellinor Blomfield, were supporters of the suffragette movement and famously made a representation to the King. Two of his sons, Charles James and Arthur Conran Blomfield, were brought up to his own profession, and of which they became distinguished representatives.[2] His nephew, Sir
Reginald Blomfield, apprenticed under him, went on to design numerous buildings, public works, and sculpture, including the
Cross of Sacrifice or War Cross, for the
Commonwealth War Graves Commission. These are in Commonwealth cemeteries in many countries.
He died at the
Royal Society in London on 30 October 1899 aged 70 and was buried on 3 November in
Broadway, Worcestershire, where he lived at Springfield House.
Blomfield designed St Peter's in Eastgate in 1870 as a replacement for a medieval church. The church as it now stands is the combined work of three eminent architects: nave and chancel by Blomfield, south aisle by
Temple Moore (1914) and the chancel decoration by
George Frederick Bodley (1884).
In 1890–7 he rebuilt the nave of St Saviour's parish church, Southwark (now
Southwark Cathedral), replacing an earlier reconstruction of 1839–40.[5] It is a notable example of his use of a
Gothic Revival style. He was highly regarded as a restorer;[2] a spokesman for the
Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings said of his 1898 restoration of
Salisbury Cathedral spire "conducted in the most conservative way possible ... I am confident that anyone who had been privileged to see the work that is being done ... would not withhold his subscriptions even though he was as ardent an anti-restorer as your obedient servant."[6]
^Hill, Robert G.
"Street, Arthur Edmund". dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org. Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada: 1800-1950. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
^Worley, George (1905).
Southwark Cathedral. Bell's Cathedrals. London: George Bell & Sons. p. 48. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
^Philip Smith (writer), An Introduction to the Architectural Heritage of County Wicklow (Dublin: Wordwell Press / Government of Ireland, Department of the Environment, Heritage, and Local Government, National Inventory of Architectural Heritage, 2004). pp. 2–3, 70–71.