James Picton
Sir James Allanson Picton (2 December 1805 – 15 July 1889) was an English antiquary and architect who played a large part in the public life of Liverpool. He took a particular interest in the establishment of public libraries.
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[edit] Biography
James Picton was born in Liverpool to William Picton, a joiner and timber merchant, and entered his father's business at the age of 13. He later joined the office of Daniel Stewart, an architect and surveyor, eventually taking over the business. Picton designed some important buildings in Liverpool, including the corn exchange and Richmond Buildings, an office block, now demolished.[1]
He became a member of the town council in 1849, and in 1851 a member (and later chairman) of the Wavertree local board. He started to campaign for a public library for the borough and in 1852 an Act of Parliament was obtained to allow the raising of a penny rate for a public library and museum. William Brown provided the buildings for the library and museum in 1860. In 1879 the corporation added to the library a reading room which was called the Picton Reading Room, modelled on the British Museum Reading Room. Picton was the first chairman of the library and museum committee, which was founded in 1851, and he remained in this position until his death.[1]
Picton married Sarah Pooley. Their son also James Allanson Picton eschewed his father's architectural practice and was eventually MP for Leicester.
[edit] Architectural works
Surviving listed buildings by Picton include:
- Sandy Knowe, Mill Lane, Liverpool. 1847 (designed for himself) II [2][3]
- Hargreaves Building, Chapel Street, Liverpool. 1861. II [4]
- St Batholomew's Church, Arborfield and Newland, Berkshire 1863. II [5]
- Richmond Baptist Church, Breck Road, Liverpool. 1864. II [6]
- The Temple, Dale Street, Liverpool. 1864–65. II
- Fowler's Buildings, Temple Lane, Liverpool. 1886–89. II* [7]
- Fowler's Buildings, Liverpool. 1868. II [8]
- Picton Clock Tower, Wavertree, Liverpool - Built in 1884, the Picton Clock Tower was a memorial to Picton's wife, Sarah Pooley, who died in 1879.[9][10] A grade II listed building, the clock was featured on the opening credits of Brookside.[11]
[edit] References
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b C. W. Sutton, ‘Picton, Sir James Allanson (1805–1889)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 [1], accessed 11 January 2009
- ^ Images of England: Sandy Knowe, English Heritage, http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?pid=1&id=359091, retrieved 2009-01-12
- ^ Pollard and Pevsner 2006, p. 499.
- ^ Images of England: Hargreaves Building, English Heritage, http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?pid=1&id=213871, retrieved 2009-01-12
- ^ Images of England: Church of St Bartholomew, Arborfield and Newland, English Heritage, http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?pid=1&id=41415, retrieved 2009-01-12
- ^ Images of England: Richmond Baptist Church, English Heritage, http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?pid=1&id=213784, retrieved 2009-01-12
- ^ Images of England: Union Marine Buildings, English Heritage, http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?pid=1&id=359679, retrieved 2009-01-12
- ^ Images of England: Union Marine Buildings, English Heritage, http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?pid=1&id=213984, retrieved 2009-01-12
- ^ Images of England: Clock Tower, English Heritage, http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?pid=1&id=213898, retrieved 2009-01-12
- ^ Pollard and Pevsner 2006, p. 497.
- ^ Nicholls, Robert, Curiosities of Merseyside, Sutton Publishing
[edit] Bibliography
- Pollard, Richard; Nikolaus Pevsner (2006), The Buildings of England: Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West, New Haven & London: Yale University Press, ISBN 0 300 10910 5
