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John Henry Parker (writer)

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This article is about the English archaeologist. For the U.S. soldier, seeJohn Henry Parker (general).

John Henry Parker

John Henry ParkerCB(1 March 1806 – 31 January 1884) was an English archaeologist and writer on architecture and publisher.

Biography

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He was born in London, the son of John Parker, a merchant there. He was educated at Manor House School,Chiswick,and was apprenticed in 1821 to his uncle, theOxfordbookseller Joseph Parker (1774?–1850). He succeeded to his uncle's business in 1832, and ran the firm with great success, the most important of his publications being perhaps the series of theOxford pocket classics.[1][2]

Parker married Frances Mary Hoskyns on 7 February 1832, at St. Lawrence's Church,Appleton(then in Berkshire, now in Oxfordshire). She was the daughter of James Williams Hoskyns, Fellow ofMagdalen College,and Rector of Appleton from 1802 to 1844. The couple had a shared love of antiquarianism. Her father was very opposed to the marriage, though presumably eventually relented, as they married in his church. Frances died on 15 December 1854 after a short illness.[3][4]

In 1836 Parker published hisGlossary of terms used in Grecian, Roman, Italian, and Gothic architecture,which, published during theGothic Revivalin England, had considerable influence in extending the movement, and supplied valuable inspiration to young architects. In 1848 he edited the fifth edition ofThomas Rickman'sGothic architecture,and in 1849 he published a handbook based on his earlier volume entitledIntroduction to the study of Gothic architecture.The completion of Hudson Turner'sDomestic architecture of the Middle Agesnext engaged his attention, three volumes being published (1853–60). He publishedMedieval architecture of Chesterin 1858 andArchitectural antiquities of the city of Wellsin 1866.[1]

Parker was one of the chief advocates of the restoration of ecclesiastical buildings. In 1863 he and theOxford DiocesanArchitectG.E. Streetrevised plans for the restoration ofSt. Andrew's parish church, Chinnor.[5]Parker also designed the triplet oftraceriedlancet windowsin thechancelofSt. Nicholas the Confessor, Forest Hill.[6]His son James Parker (1832 or 1833–1912) also practiced as an architect.[7]

Later he devoted much attention to explorations of the history ofRomeby means of excavations, and succeeded in satisfying himself of the historical truth of much usually regarded as legendary. Two volumes of hisArchaeology of Romewere published at Oxford in 1874 and 1876.[1][2]

In recognition of his work Parker was decorated by KingVictor Emmanuel II of Italyand received a medal fromPope Pius IX.In 1869 he endowed the keepership of theAshmolean Museumwith a sum yielding £250 a year, and under the new arrangement he was appointed the first keeper. In 1871 he was nominatedCB.[1]

In Italy one of Parker's principal projects was to compose an archive collection of photographs of the city's greatest monuments from the Renaissance era onwards. Employing local photographers the collection recorded not only Rome's greatest building and works, but also detailed scenes of the late 19th century archaeological excavations. He used many of these to illustrate his books. In 1893 the entire archive perished in a fire at thePalazzo Della Porta Negroni Caffarellidepriving modern archeologists of an invaluable source of material.[8]

He died inOxford[2]and is buried inSt. Sepulchre's Cemetery.[3]

Publications

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  • A manual of gothic mouldings, and continuous ornament[9]
  • A manual of surface ornament[10]
  • A manual of gothic stone carving[11]
  • A glossary of terms used in British heraldry.Oxford, 1847
  • A Catalogue of a Series of Photographs Illustrative of the Archæology of Rome: Supplement to a catalogue...,Oxford, 1867.
  • A B C of Gothic Architecture,London, 1881.

Notes

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  1. ^abcdOne or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Parker, John Henry".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 20 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 827–828.
  2. ^abcRines, George Edwin, ed. (1920)."Parker, John Henry".Encyclopedia Americana.
  3. ^ab"John and Frances Parker: St Sepulchre's Cemetery, Oxford".www.stsepulchres.org.uk.Retrieved3 January2024.
  4. ^"TileWeb: Paving-tile Watercolours Online: Background".tileweb.ashmolean.org.Retrieved3 January2024.
  5. ^Lobel 1964,pp. 55–80
  6. ^Sherwood & Pevsner 1974,pp. 605–606
  7. ^Brodie et al. 2001,p. 318
  8. ^American Academy in RomeArchived11 July 2010 at theWayback MachineRetrieved 29 April 2010.
  9. ^Parker, John Henry (1855)."A manual of gothic mouldings, and continuous ornament".The Author.Retrieved6 August2018.
  10. ^Parker, John Henry (1855)."A manual of surface ornament".The Author.Retrieved6 August2018.
  11. ^Parker, John Henry (1855)."A manual of gothic stone carving".The Author.Retrieved6 August2018.

References

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Further reading

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