John Young, City architect and surveyor

John Young
John Young at 70
Born	1797 Mildenhall Suffolk
Died	23 March 1877 (aged 79) Stoke Newington, London
Nationality	English
Occupation	Architect, surveyor
Known for	The Cancer Hospital, Brompton, London, 23-25 Eastcheap, London City of London surveyor

The Cancer Hospital, Brompton, London, 23-25 Eastcheap, London

John Young (born 1797 in Mildenhall, Suffolk, died 23 March 1877 at Stoke Newington, London) was an English architect and surveyor whose career spanned the grace of the Regency period and the pragmatism of the Industrial Revolution. While based primarily in the City of London, his practice, John Young & Son, Architects, was both eclectic and wide-ranging in South East England. He is particularly noted for his creative use of polychromatic brickwork whether in industrial, civic or residential contexts.

Nothing is known about his early life in Suffolk, save that he was a Catholic, until Young came to London at the age of twenty two and became assistant to the ageing William Porden. He next assisted the prolific architectural prodigy and member of Nash's circle, Decimus Burton, by preparing in 1823 the drawings for the London Colosseum in Regent's Park and supervising the framing of the dome. A period followed in the employ of Thomas Cubitt creating the houses in Eaton Square and the Pimlico Estate. His own practice opened at 46 Clarges Street, Piccadilly. In 1828 he published a book of 'Shopfronts, Porticos and Entrances ...', which would have served as a catalogue of the time. On 1 January 1828 he married Caroline Pettis at St. George's, Hanover Square. By 1830, the first of their nine children, John Edgar who would later join his practice, was born.