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Benjamin Ferrey FSA FRIBA (1 April 1810–22 August 1880) was an English architect who worked mostly in the Gothic Revival.

Family

Benjamin Ferrey was the youngest son of Benjamin Ferrey Snr (1779–1847), a draper who became Mayor of Christchurch, then in Hampshire, and his wife Ann Pillgrem (1773–1824). He was educated at Wimborne Grammar School.

Ferrey married twice. On 26 April 1836 at Islington, he married Ann Mary (Annie) Lucas (1812–1871). They had five children: Alicia (1838–1924), Ellen (1840–41), Eleanor Mary (1842–45), Benjamin Edmund (1845–1900) and Annie (1847–1926). Benjamin Edmund or Edmund Benjamin also became an architect, studying under his father and then assisting in his work.

After the death of his first wife in 1871, he married a second time, in 1872 at Weymouth, Dorset to Emily Hopkinson (1829–1922).

Ferrey died on 22 August 1880 at his London home.

Ancestors

Career

After grammar school, Ferrey went to London to study under Augustus Charles Pugin and alongside Pugin's son Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin.

In his early twenties Ferrey toured continental Europe, then studied further in the office of William Wilkins. He started his own architectural practice in 1834, in Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London. Some of the earliest work of his practice was in the design of the new seaside resort of Bournemouth, particularly his work on Bournemouth Gardens with Decimus Burton. The business grew rapidly and was very successful, with Ferrey designing and restoring or rebuilding many Church of England parish churches. Ferrey also designed private houses and public buildings, including a number of Tudor Revival ones in the earlier part of his career.

Charles Eastlake in his History of the Gothic Revival described Ferrey as "one of the earliest, ablest, and most zealous pioneers of the modern Gothic school" and said his work "possessed the rare charm of simplicity, without lacking interest".

Ferrey was twice Vice-President of the Royal Institute of British Architects and in 1870 was awarded a Royal Gold Medal. He was Diocesan Architect to the Diocese of Bath and Wells from 1841 until his death, carrying out much of the restoration work on Wells Cathedral and the Bishop's Palace. He was also appointed Honorary Secretary to the Architects' Committee for the Houses of Parliament.

Work

Buildings

• Tarrant Hinton, Dorset: Old Rectory, 1836
• Westover, Hampshire: estate of villas, 1836 (demolished 1906–29)
• Royal Bath Hotel, Bournemouth, Hampshire (now Dorset), 1837–38
• St Thomas of Canterbury parish church, Compton Valence, Dorset: rebuilding of church (except tower), 1839–40
• Dorset County Hospital, Dorchester, Dorset, 1839 onwards
• Clyffe House, Tincleton, Dorset, 1842
• Parish church of St James, Hambridge, Somerset, 1842

• Parish church of St Nicholas, Corfe, Somerset, 1842
• All Saints' parish church, Dogmersfield, Hampshire, 1843
• All Saints' parish church, High East Street, Dorchester, Dorset, (with ADH Acland) 1843–45
• St James' parish church, Morpeth, Northumberland, 1843–46
• St John the Evangelist Church, Hale, Surrey, 1844, rare example of Romanesque rather than Gothic work

  

• St Nicholas' parish church, Grafton, Wiltshire, 1844
• St Mary's parish church, Winterborne Whitchurch, Dorset: rebuilt nave, added south aisle and south transept, 1844
• St Thomas' parish church, Keresley, Coventry, 1844–45
• St Mary's parish church, Chilton Foliat, Wiltshire: restoration, 1845
• Holy Trinity parish church, Nuffield, Oxfordshire: restored chancel, 1845
• St Stephen's parish church, Baughurst, Hampshire, 1845
• Christ Church parish church, Melplash, Dorset, 1845–46
• St Swithin's parish church, Wickham, Berkshire, 1845–49: nave, chancel and upper part of bell-tower
• Holy Trinity parish church, Yeovil, Somerset, 1843–46
• St Osmund's parish church, Osmington, Dorset: reconstruction, 1846
• St Barnabas' parish church, Swanmore, Hampshire, 1846
• St Edmund's parish church, Vobster, Somerset, 1846
• St Mary's parish church, Twyford, Berkshire, 1846
• St Peter's parish church, West Lydford, Somerset, 1846
• Saints Peter and Paul chapel, Bishop's Palace, Cuddesdon, Oxfordshire, 1846

• Market cross, Glastonbury, Somerset, 1846
• Christ Church, Henton, Somerset, 1847
• Municipal Buildings, Dorchester, Dorset, 1847–48
• St Boniface' parish church, Bonchurch, Isle of Wight, 1847–48
• St Peter's College, Saltley, Birmingham, 1847–52
• St Barnabas' parish church, Linslade, Bedfordshire, 1848
• St John the Baptist parish church, Plush, Dorset, 1848
• Holy Trinity parish church, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, 1848
• St Mary the Virgin parish church, Stamfordham, Northumberland: restoration, 1848
• Christchurch Priory, Hampshire: pulpitum, 1848
• Stafford House, West Stafford, Dorset: west front, 1848–50
• St Margaret's parish church, Harpsden, Oxfordshire: extended nave, added aisle and bell tower, 1848–54
• Holy Trinity parish church, Penn Street, Buckinghamshire, 1849
• St John the Evangelist parish church, Tincleton, Dorset, 1849
• The (Old) School House, Tincleton, Dorset, circa 1849.
• Holy Trinity parish church, Wood Green, Witney, Oxfordshire, 1849
• St Peter's parish church, Cranbourne, Berkshire, 1849
• All Saints' parish church, Bisham, Berkshire: restoration, 1849
• All Saints' parish church, Cuddesdon, Oxfordshire: restoration, 1849
• St Thomas' parish church, Colnbrook, Buckinghamshire, 1849–52
• Holy Trinity parish church, Grazeley, Berkshire, 1850
• St Michael and All Angels Church, Littlebredy, Dorset: rebuilding of church and addition of spire, 1850
• St Botolph's parish church, Swyncombe, Oxfordshire: restoration, 1850
• Christ Church, Kensington, London, 1850-51
• St Teilo's Church, Merthyr Mawr, (formerly Glamorgan), 1851
• St Laurence's parish church, Upton, Slough, Buckinghamshire: south aisle, 1852
• St Mark's parish church, Hedgerley, Buckinghamshire, 1852
• St Mary's parish church, Kirtlington, Oxfordshire: rebuilt tower, 1853
• Holy Trinity parish church, Deanshanger, Northamptonshire, 1853
• St Paul's parish church, Neithrop, Banbury, Oxfordshire, 1853
• Parish church of St Mary, Buckland St Mary, Somerset, 1853–63
• Battleford Hall, Fleet, Lincolnshire. Old Rectory, 1854
• St Mark's parish church, Fairfield, Worcestershire, 1854
• All Saints parish church, Huntsham, Devon, 1854–56
• Holy Trinity, Bengeo, Hertfordshire, 1855
• Parish church of All Saints, Castle Cary, Somerset: rebuilding, 1855
• Christ Church, Bala, Gwynedd (formerly Merionethshire), 1855.
• St Giles' parish church, Barlestone, Leicestershire, 1855
• St Paul's parish church, Scropton, Derbyshire, 1855–56
• All Saints' parish church, Curland, Somerset, 1856
• Chapels at Ocklynge cemetery, Eastbourne, East Sussex, 1857

• All Saints' Blackheath, Blackheath, London, 1857–67
• Christ Church, Eastbourne, East Sussex, 1859
• Grammar School, Morpeth, Northumberland, 1859
• Chase Cliffe house, Crich, Derbyshire, 1859–61
• St Andrew's parish church, West Hatch, Somerset, 1861
• Parish church of All Saints, Merriott, Somerset: chancel, chapels, east end of nave, 1862
• Bulstrode Park, Buckinghamshire: house, 1862
• Christchurch Priory, Dorset (formerly Hampshire): restoration including porch vaulting, 1862

• Parish church of St Mary Magdalene, Taunton, Somerset: rebuilding, with George Gilbert Scott, 1862
• Parish church of St Mary the Virgin, East Stoke, Somerset: restoration, 1862
• St Mary's parish church, Eling, Hampshire: restoration, 1863–65
• SS Mary and Peter's parish church, Pett, East Sussex, 1864
• St Mary's parish church, Warmington, Northamptonshire: restored chancel, 1865
• St Michael and All Angels' church, Chetwynd, Shropshire, 1865–67
• All Hallows' parish church, Whitchurch, Hampshire: restoration, 1866
• St Mary's parish church, East Lydford, Somerset, 1866
• Parish church of SS Peter and Paul, Lufton, Somerset, 1866
• St Giles' Church, Wrexham (formerly Denbighshire): restoration, 1867

• Huntsham Court, Huntsham, Devon, 1868–70
• Parish church of All Saints, Chipstable, Somerset, 1869
• St Michael's parish church, Otterton, Devon: rebuilt 1869–71
• Christ Church parish church and vicarage, Colbury, Hampshire, 1870
• St James' parish church, Birlingham, Worcestershire: rebuilt 1871–72
• St John the Evangelist, Holdenhurst, Hampshire (now Dorset): chancel, 1873
• St Mary's parish church, Bransgore, Hampshire: chancel, 1873
• Church of St Michael, Enmore, Somerset: restoration, new north aisle, 1873
• Church of St Mary Magdalene, Wookey Hole, Somerset, 1873–74
• St Mary's parish church, Tarrant Hinton, Dorset: chancel, 1874
• St Mary's Church, Wingham 1874–75
• Parish Church of St Luke, Burton, Christchurch, Dorset (1874–75)
• Holy Trinity parish church, High West Street, Dorchester, Dorset, 1875–76
• Parish church of the Holy Cross, Babcary, Somerset: north aisle, 1876
• Christchurch Priory, Hampshire: nave gallery
• Jumpers' Cemetery, Christchurch, Hampshire (now Dorset): arched gateway and two chapels

Buildings by Edmund Benjamin Ferrey (the son)

• Church of St Deiniol, Llanuwchllyn, Gwynedd (1873)
• St Bartholomew's Church, Burstow, Surrey (1884–95)
• Church of St Thomas a Becket, Framfield, East Sussex (1892) (Tower rebuilt)

Publications

• Ferrey, Benjamin; Brayley, E. W. (1834). The Antiquities of the Priory of Christchurch: Consisting of Plans, Elevations, Sections, Details, and Perspective Views.
• Ferrey, Benjamin (1861). Recollections of A. N. Welby Pugin and his father Augustus Pugin; with notices of their works. London: Edward Stanford.
• Ferrey, Benjamin (1864). "Some remarks upon the works of the early mediaeval architects, Gundulph, Flambard, William of Sens, and others". Papers Read at the Royal Institute of British Architects 1863-64: 127–143.
• Ferrey, Benjamin (1878). "Wrexham". Journal of the British Archaeological Association. 34 (2): 168–170. doi:10.1080/00681288.1878.11887913.

References

1. ^ Pevsner & Lloyd, 1967, page 169
2. "Edmund Benjamin Ferrey". Dictionary of Scottish Architects. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
3. "Ancestors of Benjamin Ferrey (1810–80)". Retrieved 5 January 2021.
4. Newman & Pevsner, 1972, page 55
5. Eastlake, 1872, page 220
6. Newman & Pevsner, 1972, page 418
7. Pevsner & Lloyd, 1967, page 117
8. Pevsner & Lloyd, 1967, page 130
9. Newman & Pevsner, 1972, page
10. Newman & Pevsner, 1972, page 183
11. ^ Newman & Pevsner, 1972, page 423
12. Pevsner, 1958 (South and West Somerset), page 189
13. Pevsner, 1958 (South and West Somerset), page 133
14. Pevsner & Lloyd, 1967, page 191
15. Newman & Pevsner, 1972, page 179
16. Pevsner & Richmond, 1957, pages 214–215
17. Historic England. "The Church Of St John The Evangelist. Hale (1044615)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
18. Pevsner & Cherry, 1975, page 255
19. Newman & Pevsner, 1972, page 488
20. Pevsner & Wedgwood, 1966, page 326
21. Pevsner & Cherry, 1975, page 166
22. Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, page 724
23. Pevsner & Lloyd, 1967, page 94
24. Newman & Pevsner, 1972, page 282
25. Pevsner, 1966, page 266
26. Pevsner, 1958 (South and West Somerset), page 356
27. Newman & Pevsner, 1972, page 308
28. Pevsner & Lloyd, 1967, page 616
29. Pevsner, 1958 (North Somerset and Bristol), page 273
30. Pevsner, 1966, page 243
31. Pevsner, 1958 (South and West Somerset), page 339
32. Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, page 563
33. Pevsner, 1958 (South and West Somerset), page 186
34. Pevsner, 1958 (North Somerset and Bristol), page 203
35. Newman & Pevsner, 1972, page 182
36. Pevsner & Lloyd, 1967, page 733
37. Pevsner & Wedgwood, 1966, page 201
38. Pevsner, 1960/73, page 188
39. Newman & Pevsner, 1972, page 317
40. Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, page 637
41. Pevsner & Richmond, 1957, page 292
42. Pevsner & Lloyd, 1967, page 176
43. Newman & Pevsner, 1972, page 448
44. Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, page 634
45. Pevsner, 1960/73, pages 223–224
46. Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, page 845
47. Pevsner, 1966, page 123
48. Pevsner, 1966, page 88
49. Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, page 562
50. Pevsner, 1960/73, page 100
51. Pevsner, 1966, page 147
52. Newman & Pevsner, 1972, pages 253–254
53. Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, page 801
54. Historic England. "CHRIST CHURCH (1080651)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
55. "Church of St Teilo". Full Report for Listed Buildings. Cadw. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
56. Pevsner, 1960/73, page 237
57. Pevsner, 1960/73, page 160
58. Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, page 675
59. Pevsner & Cherry, 1961/73, page 176
60. Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, page 443
61. Pevsner, 1958 (South and West Somerset), page 109
62. Pevsner & Harris, 1964, page 527
63. Pevsner, 1968, page 150
64. ^ Pevsner & Cherry, 1989, page 497
65. Historic England. "CHURCH OF HOLY TRINITY, BENGEO, Hertford (1268838)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
66. Pevsner, 1958 (South and West Somerset), page 116
67. "Christ Church". Full Report for Listed Buildings. Cadw. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
68. Pevsner, 1960, page 59
69. Pevsner & Williamson, 1978, page 315
70. Pevsner, 1958 (South and West Somerset), page 145
71. Historic England. "Ocklynge cemetery chapel (Grade II) (1412755)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
72. Pevsner, 1952, page 139
73. Nairn & Pevsner, 1965, page 486
74. Pevsner & Richmond, 1957, page 215
75. Pevsner & Williamson, 1978, page 157
76. Pevsner, 1958 (South and West Somerset), page 338
77. Pevsner, 1958 (South and West Somerset), page 235
78. Pevsner, 1960/73, page 77
79. Pevsner, 1958 (South and West Somerset), page 310
80. Pevsner, 1958 (South and West Somerset), page 303
81. Pevsner & Lloyd, 1967, page 207
82. Elleray, 2004, page 44
83. Pevsner & Cherry, 1961/73, page 446
84. Pevsner, 1958 (Shropshire), pages 97–98
85. Pevsner & Lloyd, 1967, page 650
86. Pevsner, 1958 (South and West Somerset), page 163
87. Pevsner, 1958 (South and West Somerset), page 225
88. "Parish Church of St Giles". Full Report for Listed Buildings. Cadw. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
89. Pevsner, 1958 (South and West Somerset), page 125
90. Pevsner & Cherry, 1989, page 614
91. Pevsner & Lloyd, 1967, pages 180–181
92. Pevsner, 1968, page 87
93. Pevsner & Lloyd, 1967, page 295
94. Pevsner & Lloyd, 1967, page 142
95. Pevsner, 1958 (South and West Somerset), page 166
96. The Western Gazette – Wookey Hole: Opening of the new church – 26 June 1874 – page 8
97. Newman & Pevsner, 1972, page 417
98. Pevsner & Lloyd, 1967, page 158
99. Newman & Pevsner, 1972, page 181
100. Pevsner, 1958 (South and West Somerset), page 79
101. Pevsner & Lloyd, 1967, page 178
102. Cadw. "Parish Church of St Deiniol (24688)". National Historic Assets of Wales.
103. Historic England. "Church of St Bartholomew, Church Road, Burstow (Grade I) (1204775)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
104. Historic England. "The Parish Church of St Thomas-a-Becket, Church Approach, Framfield, Wealden, East Sussex (Grade II) (1028386)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 November 2016.

Bibliography

• Eastlake, Charles (1872). A History of the Gothic Revival. London: Longman, Green & Co. p. 220. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
• Elleray, D. Robert (2004). Sussex Places of Worship. Worthing, Sussex: Optimus Books. ISBN 0-9533132-7-1.
• Nairn, Ian; Pevsner, Nikolaus (1965). Sussex. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-071028-0.
• Newman, John; Pevsner, Nikolaus (1972). Dorset. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-071044-2.
• Pevsner, Nikolaus (1952). London. The Buildings of England. Vol. 2 Except the Cities of London and Westminster. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-071006-X.
• Pevsner, Nikolaus (1958). Shropshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.
• Pevsner, Nikolaus (1958). North Somerset and Bristol. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.
• Pevsner, Nikolaus (1958). South and West Somerset. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.
• Pevsner, Nikolaus (1960). Leicestershire and Rutland. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. p. 59.
• Pevsner, Nikolaus (1966). Berkshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.
• Pevsner, Nikolaus (1968). Worcestershire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.
• Pevsner, Nikolaus (1973) . Buckinghamshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.
• Pevsner, Nikolaus; Cherry, Bridget (revision) (1989) . Devon. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-071050-7.
• Pevsner, Nikolaus; Cherry, Bridget (revision) (1973) . Northamptonshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-071022-1.
• Pevsner, Nikolaus; Cherry, Bridget (revision) (1975) . Wiltshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. ISBN 0140710264.
• Pevsner, Nikolaus; Harris, John (1964). Lincolnshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.
• Pevsner, Nikolaus; Lloyd, David (1967). Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.
• Pevsner, Nikolaus; Richmond, Ian A (1957). Northumberland. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.
• Pevsner, Nikolaus; Wedgwood, Alexandra (1966). Warwickshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-071031-0.
• Pevsner, Nikolaus; Williamson, Elizabeth (1978) . Derbyshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. pp. 157, 315. ISBN 0-14-071008-6.
• Sherwood, Jennifer; Pevsner, Nikolaus (1974). Oxfordshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-071045-0.

External links

• Works by or about Benjamin Ferrey at the Internet Archive
• Benjamin Ferrey - A Biographical Note
• "Ferrey, Benjamin" . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.

• 1810 births
• 1880 deaths
• 19th-century English architects
• Gothic Revival architects
• English ecclesiastical architects
• People from Christchurch, Dorset
• Fellows of the Royal Institute of British Architects
• Recipients of the Royal Gold Medal
• Architects of cathedrals
• People educated at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Wimborne Minster
• Architects from Hampshire