Edward Alexander Wyon

Edward Alexander Wyon
Born1842
Died1872 (aged 29–30)
Hastings, East Sussex, England
OccupationArchitect
BuildingsSt John the Evangelist's Church
Hollington, Hastings, East Sussex

Edward Alexander Wyon (1842; London – 1872; Hastings) was a London architect and poet, descended from the Wyon family of engravers. His only known building is St John the Evangelist Church in Hollington, Hastings in East Sussex.[1] His posthumous publication, A Memorial Volume of Poems (1874), continues to be reprinted in the 21st century. He died in Hastings prior to his thirtieth birthday.

Biography[edit]

St John the Evangelist, Hollington
in 2014

Ancestry[edit]

His father was Edward William Wyon (1811–1885), a sculptor born in Christchurch, Surrey,[2] who belonged to the Wyon family of engravers and medallists.[1] Edward Alexander's grandfather was Thomas Wyon the elder (1792–1817), and his uncles were Thomas Wyon the younger, and Benjamin Wyon (1802–1858).[3] Edward Alexander's mother was Elizabeth Smyth,[4] (born St James's 1820; died Barnet 1890).[5][6] His parents were married in 1841, at Marylebone, London.[4]

Edward Alexander and his siblings[edit]

Edward Alexander Wyon was his parents' eldest son, born in Bloomsbury or St Pancras in the last quarter of 1842.[2][1][7] In 1851 he was eight years old and a scholar, living at 36 Stanhope Street, St Pancras, with his father, mother, sister Florence Elizabeth Riddel (born St Pancras 1850),[8] his brother Charles William John (1845–1856)[9][10] and general servant Mary Anderson.[11] In 1861 he, his parents, his sisters Florence and Jessie Mary Ann (born St Pancras 1855)[12] and a servant Susannah Tayler were at 221 Euston Road, St Pancras. At age eighteen he was already calling himself an architect.[2] In 1871 he was living with his mother at 70 Mornington Road, St Pancras, his two sisters and general servant Eliza Green;[5] his father lived next door.[1] He died in Hastings in the first quarter of 1872, aged 29 years.[1][13] He never married.

After his death[edit]

St John the Evangelist church around 1900, showing finial on tower

Edward Alexander Wyon is credited with the authorship of the posthumous book, A Memorial Volume of Poems (1874).[1] His sister Florence married in 1879 at Marylebone, to Reverend Charles James Goody (born 1835).[14] Their son, Charles Edward Goody (born 1881) and Edward Alexander's nephew, was an Oxford undergraduate in 1901.[15][16] His sister Jessie Mary Ann Wyon never married; she died about the same time as her mother in 1890 in Barnet, aged 35 years.[17]

Professional life and works[edit]

He practised from an office in Duke Street, London.[1][18] His only known work is St John the Evangelist Church, Hollington, constructed between 1865 and 1868 by engineer John Howell & Son[19] It is built with Bath Stone dressings; it has one aisle on the south side and a south-east tower.[20] There was a finial on the slimmer, round tower; removed in the 20th century. It was consecrated by Ashurst Gilbert, Bishop of Chichester, in April 1868.[21] This church is not listed.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Sussex Parish Churches". EA Wyon. Archived from the original on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  2. ^ a b c Census 1861: RG/9/102/138; p.37.
  3. ^ Forrer, Leonard (1900). Biographical dictionary of medallists : coin, gem, and sealengravers, mint-masters, &c., ancient and modern, with references to their works B.C. 500-A.D: vol.6. p. 47. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  4. ^ a b GRO index: Marriage Edward William Wyon; Marylebone; Dec 1841; vol.1; p.170. "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  5. ^ a b Census 1871: RG10/202; p.32.
  6. ^ GRO index: death; Elizabeth Wyon; age 70; Barnet; Sept 1890; vol.3a; p.131. "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  7. ^ GRO index: birth; Edward Alexander Wyon; Dec 1842; Bloomsbury; Vol.1; p.54. "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Archived from the original on 23 December 2012. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  8. ^ GRO index: birth; Florence Elizabeth Riddel Wyon; St Pancras; Kime 1850; vol.1; p.334. "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  9. ^ GRO index: births; Charles William John Wyon; St Giles; Mar 1845; vol.1; p.60. "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  10. ^ GRO index: death; Charles William John Wyon; Marylebone; Sept 1856; vol.1a; p.310. "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  11. ^ Census 1851: HO/107/1493; p.7.
  12. ^ GRO index: birth; Jessie Mary Ann Wyon; St Pancras; June 1855; vol.1b; p.104. "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  13. ^ GRO index:Death; Edward Alexander Wyon; Hastings; Mar 1872; Vol.2b; p.28. "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  14. ^ GRO index: Marriage; Florence Elizabeth Riddel Wyon; Mar 1879; Marylebone; vol.1a; 718. "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  15. ^ Census 1901: RG13/1233/45; p.23.
  16. ^ GRO index: birth; Charles Edward Goody; Barnet; Dec 1881; vol.3a; p.206. "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  17. ^ GRO index: death; Jessie Mary Ann Wyon age 35; Barnet; Sept 1890; vol.3a; p.130. "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  18. ^ Adelphi (KD/L).
  19. ^ "Hastings Chronicle". Death of John Howell. 8 December 1893. Archived from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  20. ^ "Roughwood". St John the Evangelist, Hollington, St Leonards, East Sussex – 5th November 2004. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  21. ^ "Hastings Chronicle". St Johns consecrated. 29 April 1868. Archived from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 20 March 2011.

Bibliography[edit]

  • Forrer, Leonard, The Wyons (1917)
  • Wyon, Edward Alexander, A Memorial Volume of Poems by the Late Edward Alexander Wyon (1874) (2008, Kessinger Publishing) ISBN 1-4367-4052-5