Francis Greenway

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Francis Greenway

Francis Howard Greenway (born November 20, 1777 in Mangotsfield near Bristol , † September 25, 1837 in Newcastle ) was an important architect of the early colonial era in New South Wales in Australia . He was an English convict who went to court for fraudulent accounts and fraudulent bankruptcy in 1809 and was sentenced to death in 1812. His sentence was later reduced to long-term labor in the Australian convict colony. Francis Greenway was depicted on an Australian $ 10 bill in 1966, making it believed to be the only bankrupt and convict depicted on a banknote.

Greenway designed numerous public buildings, residential and church buildings and monuments. 49 of his structures in downtown Sydney are known. He is therefore considered the most important historical architect in this city.

Life

Greenway was the son of Francis and Ann Greenway, nee Webb. The families of the greenways were stonemasons , bricklayers, and architects . Francis Greenway worked as an architect in Bristol and Bath . Of his buildings, only the Clifton Club in Bristol, formerly the Clifton Hotel , has been preserved. After Greenway's conviction, Arthur Phillip , the first New South Wales governor to retire in Bath, stood up for him. This wrote to the incumbent Governor Lachlan Macquarie with a request to stand up for him.

Francis Greenway arrived in Sydney on the General Hewitt ship in February 1814 . His wife Mary, whom he had married in 1804, followed him with three children in July 1814. Macquarie met Greenway in July 1814 and commissioned him to design the Town Hall and a courthouse in Sydney. In 1815, Greenway was commissioned by Macquarie to produce an expertise on the Rum Hospital under construction , which was heavily criticized in Sydney. In this report he described technical and design errors in this building, some of which could be repaired in 1820 and 1826. This earned him Macquarie's trust. Between 1816 and 1818, while still a convict, Greenway designed and built the Macquarie Lighthouse on South Head at the entrance to Port Jackson Harbor in Sydney. After this successful work, Macquarie appointed him architect of the colonial government in recognition of his achievement.

While still a convict, Greenway built the Female Manufacture , a large factory in Parramatta for women, and a large shelter for male convicts in Queen's Square, Sydney. Macquarie inaugurated these buildings in a big ceremony on May 20, 1819 and took the opportunity to declare Greenway a free man. Greenway initially built in the Georgian style , which is characterized by the clear geometric structure of the building, and later also in the neo-Gothic architectural style , such as the Government House in Sydney. He designed the Hyde Park Barracks (1817–1819), St Luke’s , Liverpool (1817–1824), St James’s , Sydney (1819–1822), St Matthew’s , Windsor (1819–1822). St Matthew's Church in Windsor , built by Greenway, is considered his masterpiece. The last joint construction project by Macquarie and Greenway was the Windsor Court House , built in 1822 .

Francis Greenway had become a prominent figure in the colony, made many enemies for his self-assurance that bordered on arrogance, and fell out of favor with Macquarie. Shortly after Macquarie stepped down on February 12, 1822, Greenway was dismissed by Governor Thomas Brisbane on November 15, 1822 . Greenway had billed Brisbane a large amount of money for his work as an architect, which he only partially paid. He then had little success in his profession, he only built a few private villas in 1828 and lived in the land in the lower Hunter Valley near Raymond Terrace , which the colonial government had given him. His wife, with whom he had six children, died in 1832.

Greenway died in Newcastle at the age of 59 and was buried in East Maitland Cemetery on September 25, 1837 . His grave site is no longer known today.

Honors

Greenway is depicted on the first Australian $ 10 note that circulated from 1966 to 1993. He is thus probably the only balance sheet forger and convict who was shown on a state currency. The Division of Greenway , an electoral district, a suburb of Canberra and a college in Beresfield , New South Wales, goes back to his name . The Francis Greenway Drive in Cherry Brook was named in his honor.

Where in Sydney located Parliament House of New South Wales is a Greenway room.

Buildings

The following works by Greenway in New South Wales are listed by the Australian Conservation Authority.

  • Macquarie Lighthouse , Watsons Bay
  • Windsor Court House
  • Government House, Sydney (partially designed by Greenway)
  • St Matthew's, Windsor
  • Supreme Court, Sydney
  • Judge's House, Sydney (with help from W. Harper)
  • St James's, Sydney
  • Hyde Park Barracks , Sydney
  • Obelisk, Macquarie Place (1818)
  • St Luke's, Liverpool
  • Conservatorium of Music, Sydney (built as Government Stables in 1821)
  • Liverpool College (formerly Liverpool Hospital)
  • Government House, Parramatta (only the wooden portico )
  • Hobartville, Richmond (unsure)
  • Cleveland House, Surry Hills (unsure)
  • Cadmans Cottage (probably designed by Greenway)

  • St James Church

  • St Lukes, Liverpool

  • Macquarie Lighthouse , Watsons Bay (Greenway lighthouse at left)

  • St Matthews

  • Hyde Park Barracks

  • Cadmans Cottage, Circular Quay (1816)

  • Government House, Sydney

  • Old Government House, Parramatta

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Morton Herman: Greenway, Francis (1777-1837) , Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 1, Melbourne University Press 1966. Retrieved November 17, 2010
  2. ↑ Francis Greenway on sydneyarchitecture.com Accessed November 18, 2010
  3. ↑ Francis Howard Greenway au daao.org.au . Retrieved November 28, 2010
  4. ^ John Haskell: Sydney Architecture. s. 67. UNSW Press Book. Sydney 1997, ISBN 0868403911 ( online on Google Books )
  5. ^ Alan Sharpe: Pictorial History. Alexandria, NSW: Kingsclear Books, Sydney 2000, ISBN 0908272634 Online on Google Books . Retrieved November 18, 2010

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Greenway, Francis
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Greenway, Francis Howard (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Architect in colonial Australia
DATE OF BIRTH November 20, 1777
PLACE OF BIRTH Mangotsfield near Bristol
DATE OF DEATH September 1837
Place of death New Castle , New South Wales