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Richard Lane (architect)

Richard Lane
Friends Meeting House Manchester 01.10.2016.jpg
Friends Meeting House, Manchester
Born (1795-04-03)3 April 1795
London, England
Died 25 May 1880(1880-05-25) (aged 85)
Ascot, Berkshire, England
Nationality English
Alma mater École des Beaux-Arts
Occupation Architect
Practice Richard Lane & Peter B. Alley
Buildings Old MRI Extension
Manchester Royal Lunatic Asylum
Projects Victoria Park, Manchester

Richard Lane (3 April 1795 – 25 May 1880) was a distinguished English architect of the early and mid-19th century. Born in London and based in Manchester, he was known in great part for his restrained and austere Greek-inspired classicism. He also designed a few buildings – mainly churches – in the Gothic style. He was also known for masterplanning and designing many of the houses in the exclusive Victoria Park estate.

Not much is known about Lane's early life, but he was born and educated in London, was a Quaker and in 1817, he began studying at the famous École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, and was a pupil of the French architect, Achille Leclère, who made a noted restoration of the Pantheon in 1813.

After Paris, Lane moved to Manchester in 1821, set up practice and was appointed Land Surveyor to the Police Commissioners of Chorlton Row (as was). Much of Lane's work was civic and governmental in nature, and he was commissioned to design a town hall just off Chapel St for the Salford local government in 1825.

Later, in 1830, the Chorlton Row Police Commissioners – essentially the administrative body of the Chorlton Row township – commissioned Lane to design them a town hall on Cavendish Street. The Chorlton Town Hall was built by David Bellhouse; Lane and Bellhouse would later work together on other projects. Indeed, Lane had a close connection with the Bellhouse family, with Lane transferring his share in the Portico Library to David Bellhouse's son, Edward Taylor Bellhouse in 1834. The old town hall is now used by Manchester Metropolitan University.


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