Edmund Beckett, 1st Baron Grimthorpe
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Edmund Beckett |
Edmund Beckett, 1st Baron Grimthorpe,
Q.C. (
May 12,
1816 -
April 29,
1905), known for most of his life as
Sir Edmund Beckett, 5th Baronet was a
lawyer, amateur
horologist, and
architect. In
1851 he designed the clock mechanism for the clock of the
Palace of Westminster, responsible for the chimes of
Big Ben.
He was also responsible for rebuilding the west face, roof, and
transept windows of
St Albans Cathedral at his own expense. Although the building had been in need of repair, popular opinion at the time held that he had changed the cathedral's character, even inspiring the creation and temporary popularity of the verb "to grimthorpe", meaning to carry out unsympathetic restorations of ancient buildings. Part of Beckett's additions included statues of the four evangelists around the western door; the statue of
St Matthew has Beckett's face. He later turned his attentions to St Peter's church in the same town.
He was born on
May 12 1816, studied at
Eton and
Trinity College, Cambridge, was made a Q.C. in
1854, and was created Baron Grimthorpe in
1886. He is sometimes known as Edmund Beckett Denison, the same name as his father; his father had taken the additional name Denison in
1816, and his son dropped it on his father's death in
1874. He married Fanny Catherine (Feb. 23, 1823 - Dec 8, 1901), daughter of John Lonsdale, Bishop of Lichfield. He died on
April 29 1905 after a fall, and is buried in the grounds of St Albans Cathedral.
* "I am the only architect with whom I have never quarrelled."
*
Photograph of his grave*
Another photo of his grave, and the inscriptions.*
The verb "to grimthorpe"*
Free ebook of Edmund Beckett, 1st Baron Grimthorpe at
Project Gutenberg
