William Butterfield (1814-1900)

Influential Victorian Architect who was involved in the Camden Society. His first church design was in 1844. An 'apostle of the High Church school' his work cannot be considered apart from the inner spirit of the Tractarian revival in English churchmanship. He was not, however, a ritualist. Particularly noted for his skilful use of polychromatic stone and brickwork, his first famous church was All Saints, Margaret Street, London.

In Wales the outstanding example of his work is St Augustine's, Penarth. He was no conventional Gothic revivalist, and his bold use of brick made that medium once more respectable in church construction. St Peter's, Elerch is an excellent example of his understanding of line and space. The initial glass for All Saints, Margaret Street, was made by the French artist, Alfred Gérente, but was rejected and some has been installed at Llanfrechfa Grange, near Cwmbrân.

Further reading

Basil F. L. Clarke, Church Builders of the Nineteenth Century: A Study of the Gothic Revival in England (Newton Abbott: David & Charles, 1969), pp. 118-26.

Paul Thompson, William Butterfield (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1971).

Sites associated with this person
   as architect: Church of All Saints, Llangorwen , Ceredigion
   as Architect: Church of St Peter, Bont-goch , Ceredigion

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Cross designer: William Butterfield about 1865-1868 Church of St Peter, Bont-goch, Ceredigion reredos on the east wall of the sanctuary

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