Thomas Turnbull
New Zealand architect / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Thomas Turnbull (1824–1907) was a notable New Zealand architect.
Thomas Turnbull | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Born | (1824-08-23)23 August 1824 |
Died | 23 February 1907(1907-02-23) (aged 82) Wellington, New Zealand |
Occupation | Architect |
Practice | Thomas Turnbull & Son |
Buildings | St John's Church, New Zealand Parliamentary Library and Old Bank Arcade |
He was born in Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland in 1824.[1]
After qualifying as an architect, Turnbull moved to Melbourne, Australia in 1851.[1] Then in 1861 he moved to San Francisco, going into partnership with firstly, A H Jordan, and then with Thomas England,[1] taking over the business in 1869 when England died.[2] During his time in San Francisco Turnbull designed several prominent buildings including the first Cliff House (1863), Trinity Church and the Market Street Presbyterian Church.[2] After a large earthquake in 1868, local architects formed the Architectural Association of San Francisco and held a conference to discuss how to build to resist earthquakes.[2] Turnbull became the association's secretary. In 1869 Turnbull designed a large building of four storeys plus a basement and an attic for H H Bancroft & Co, a printing company. The building was brick with an iron front and floors bolted with long iron rods. The San Francisco Chronicle reported:
"The style of architecture will be entirely different from any other building in this city.[...] Every precaution has been made to procure the best material and erect the structure in a manner which will render it as thoroughly earthquake-proof as possible."[3]
Turnbull moved to New Zealand in 1871 and settled in Wellington. He worked for a year for the government's Colonial Architect William Clayton before setting up his own practice. He was the first president of the Wellington Association of Architects, and a member of the Wellington City Council in 1891.[1] Turnbull designed three of the four buildings which make up the Old Bank Arcade,[4] St John's Church and St Peter's Church in Willis Street, Wesley Methodist Church in Taranaki Street as well as many other commercial premises in Wellington.[5]
Turnbull maintained his interest in earthquake-proofing buildings after his arrival in New Zealand. In 1888 he presented a paper at the Philosophical Society in Wellington, asserting that masonry buildings properly constructed with good bricks and mortar, reinforced with iron built into the walls and joists fitted with wrought-iron anchors, would survive a large earthquake.[6]
His youngest son, William Turnbull, joined his practice in 1891[1] and thereafter the firm was known as Thomas Turnbull & Son.
Turnbull died in 1907, survived by his wife and five children.[1]