homas Cundy was a name to be reckoned with in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century architecture, especially in London, because there were three generations of architects by that name operating there during that period. The last two are sometimes differentiated as elder and younger or senior and junior, but since there were three in all, it is probably less confusing to treat them numerically.
St Barnabas.
Thomas Cundy I (1765-1825) was the surveyor of the London estates of the Earl of Grosvenor. He laid out Grosvenor Gardens and Grosvenor Place for the Earl, and trained his eldest son, Thomas Cundy II (1790-1867), who assisted him in many of his later projects. When his father died, Cundy II took over from him, notably as surveyor to the Grosvenor estates — a position he held for over four decades. Unlike his contemporary, Thomas Cubitt, Cundy II did not branch out into speculative building, but confined himself to commissioned work, building or improving a number of important houses, including the Duke of Westminster's London home and gallery in Grosvenor Street (demolished in 1927). Nothing remains either of his work on the Pantheon theatre, which was demolished in 1937. Later in his career Cundy II built some of the best-known Victorian churches in the West End, including Holy Trinity in Paddington, St. Paul's in Knightsbridge, St. Barnabas's in Sloane Square, where he was assisted by William Butterfield, and St Mark's in Hamilton Terrace, for which his son supplied the tower and spire, and other additions (the porches, lobbies and chancel) were added by Benjamin Ferrey and/or his son Edmund. The Baptistry came later too, but St Mark's was tragically burned down in January 2023.
At this stage Thomas Cundy II was living in Bromley, now a London borough but then a part of Kent, where he died on 15 July 1867.
The next in this dynasty was his third son by his wife Arabella, Thomas Cundy III (1820 or 1821-1895). Cundy III worked first with his father and succeeded him as surveyor to the Grosvenor estates, just as his father had once succeeded the first Thomas Cundy. The impressive 23-bay residential block on the corner of Buckingham Palace Road, with its mock-palace façade. was built to his design in about 1868. — Jacqueline Banerjee
Works
- St Barnabas Church, Pimlico (by Thomas Cuny II) (many views)
- St Mark's, Hamilton Terrace (exterior)
- St Mark's, Hamilton Terrace (interior)
Bibliography
""44-52, Buckingham Palace Road SW1; 23-47, Grosvenor Gardens SW1." Historic England. Web. 3 February 2023.
Allinson, Kenneth. Architects and Architecture of London. Oxford: Elsevier, 2006.
Cust, Lionel, revised by Richard John. "Cundy, Thomas, the younger (1790–1867), architect." , Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Online ed. Web. 3 February 2023.
Dixon, Roger, and Stefan Muthesius. Victorian Architecture. 2nd ed. London: Thames and Hudson, 1985.
Created 3 February 2023