George Basevi

Elias George Basevi FRS (1 April 1794 – 16 October 1845) was an English architect who worked in both Neoclassical and Gothic Revival styles. A pupil of Sir John Soane, his designs included Belgrave Square in London, and the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. He was surveyor to the Guardian Assurance Company, to the Trustees of Smith's Charity and to the Thurloe estate.

He was the youngest son of a City of London merchant, also named George Basevi. The family were of Sephardic Jewish origin, and Basevi's father remained a member of the congregation of the Bevis Marks Synagogue until 1817. Basevi was educated at the Reverend Dr Burney's school at Greenwich, and then trained professionally with John Soane, after which he spent three years studying in Greece and Rome. In 1821 he became the first surveyor of the Guardian Assurance Company, a post he held until his death. His work for the company involved personally inspecting and reporting on buildings where there was a great risk, or which were insured for large amounts. He also remodelled their premises in Lombard Street.

In 1822 he designed the church of and the next year, St Mary's, Greenwich. Both were for the Commissioners of the Church Building Act, and both were in the neo-classical style. Basevi was unhappy with the modifications to the designs of the steeples imposed by the Commissioners, and he did no further work for them. St Mary's was demolished in 1936 after 17 years of closure.

He designed Belgrave Square for the developers William and George Haldimand; it was built between 1825 and 1841. Success there led to his appointment as Surveyor to the Trustees of Smith's Charity at Brompton, and to the adjoining Thurloe estate. At first his duties for the Smith's Charity estate were utilitarian, but in 1832 the bankruptcy of some tenant nurserymen freed eight acres for development, and between 1833 and 1845 he worked with the builder James Bonnin to develop Pelham Crescent, Pelham Place, part of Pelham Street and Egerton Crescent. He also designed the houses in Thurloe Square, off the Brompton Road, for the Thurloe estate.

In 1835 he won the competition to design a museum for Cambridge University, funded by a bequest from Viscount Fitzwilliam, with an imposing design in the Corinthian style. Work on the Fitzwilliam Museum was continued after Basevi's death by C.R. Cockerell.

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