Benjamin Bucknall
| Benjamin Bucknall | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1833 Rodborough, Gloucestershire |
| Died | 16 November 1895 Algiers |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Buildings | Woodchester Mansion |
Benjamin Bucknall (1833–16 November 1895) was an English architect of the Gothic Revival in Southwest England and South Wales, and then of neo-Moorish architecture in Algeria. His most noted works include the uncompleted Woodchester Mansion in Gloucestershire, England and his restoration of the Villa Montfeld in El Biar, Algiers.
In 1851 Bucknall began work as a millwright, but in 1852 William Leigh helped him to start work for the architect Charles Hansom in Clifton, Bristol. Hansom was a Roman Catholic and in 1852 Bucknall converted to Catholicism.
Bucknall admired the work of the French architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, and travelled to visit him in France in 1861 and in Lausanne, Switzerland in 1872. Between 1874 and 1881 Bucknall translated five of Viollet-le-Duc's works into English.
Bucknall was the fifth of seven sons born to Edwin and Mary Bucknall of Rodborough, Gloucs. In 1862 Bucknall was married to Henrietta King. After 1864 they moved to Swansea and by 1869 were living in Oystermouth. The Bucknalls had four children: Mary, Charles (born 1864), Edgar (born 1868) and Beatrice (born 1870). Josephine became a nun at St Rose's Convent, Stroud.
Bucknall's health deteriorated and he spent the winter of 1876–77 in Algiers. In 1878 he settled there permanently, leaving Henrietta and the children in Gloucestershire. The 1881 Census recorded Henrietta and Mary living at Bisley, Gloucestershire. Some of their children visited Bucknall in Algiers, and Edgar died there in a boating accident in 1889.
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