Matthew Digby Wyatt (1820-77) was a Victorian figure with wide-ranging accomplishments as an architect, administrator, designer, artist, writer and connoisseur. He was a member of the distinguished Wyatt family of architects and artists. He worked with some of the leading figures of his day, including I. K. Brunel, George Gilbert Scott, Herbert Minton and Henry Cole, whilst Owen Jones was a lifelong friend.
From the crucial role he played in project managing the Great Exhibition of 1851 to advising the South Kensington Museum on its collections at the end of his career, Wyatt was at the heart of mid-Victorian developments in architecture, design and museum display.
This latest monography in the Society’s Victorian Architects Series is the first full-length study of Wyatt’s work. Robert Thorne’s study of this multi-talented figure ranges from an in-depth discussion of his work at the Crystal Palace (in Hyde Park and at Sydenham), at Paddington Station, and in the design of the India Office in Whitehall which is now part of the Grade I listed Foreign Office. Working with George Gilbert Scott he designed a building which more than any other embodies the Victorian world outlook. The author also examines Wyatt’s writing and book design. Wyatt’s work took place against the backdrop of the shifting energies and debates of his age, to which he made a notable and lasting contribution.
The volume is densely illustrated with excellent new photography by Laura O’Callaghan, alongside sketches, drawings and plans.
The title is published in partnership with Liverpool University Press and Historic England.
Author Robert Thorne is a Historian and Consultant at Alan Baxter Ltd. He is an authority on Victorian architecture and construction, especially the building of the Crystal Palace and its influence. Robert studied history at university and then lectured for Stanford University, California. His career in building conservation has taken him from the Greater London Council to English Heritage, he is an expert on 19th century iron architecture and terracotta, and was the editor of Construction History Journal for 20 years. Robert, a long-term admirer of railways and train stations, is a member of the Liverpool Street Station Campaign Committee. He is the co-author of Change at King’s Cross (with Michael Hunter, 1990) and St.Pancras Station (with Jack Simmons, 2012). As a building conservationist he has been closely involved in the renewal of St.Pancras Station and the King’s Cross area, the Elizabeth Line, and with works to landmarks such as the Hackney Empire, the Grand Theatre Leeds, the National Gallery and Paddington Station.
The book is available to pre-order from the online Vic Soc Shop here.
The Society’s series of ground-breaking monographs includes:
AWN Pugin by David Frazer Lewis
John Francis Bentley by Peter Howell
Edwin Rickards by Tim Caitlin Brittain
G E Street by Geoff Brandwood, Peter Howell, Peter C. W. Taylor
The Rogue Goths by Edmund Harris
All the monographs are available from the online Vic Soc Shop here.
