Richard Lane was an 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-inspiredclassicism. 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.
Early life and education
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.
Work and professional life
After Paris, Lane moved to Manchester in 1821, set up practice and was appointed Land Surveyor to the Police Commissioners of Chorlton Row. 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. Lane's notable ecclesiastical structures include the Royal Chapel of St John the Baptist, St John's, Isle of Man—built after Lane's design won an architectural competition set up by the church authorities. The chapel is the national church of the Isle of Man, and functions as the seat of parliament for one day of the year; St George's Church, Chester Road ; the Church of St Mary with St Peter, Church Street, Oldham; and appropriately, the Friends' Meeting House, Mount Street, Manchester. Lane was one of the defendant architects in the landmark caseFoss v Harbottle 67 ER 189, which established the precedent that where a wrong is alleged to have been done to a company, the proper claimant is the company itself.
Manchester Architectural Society
By the 1830s, Richard Lane was undoubtedly Manchester's most prominent architect and in 1837, he was one of the founders – and was the first president of – the Manchester Architectural Society. This was Manchester's first architectural learned society.
Students
A number of distinguished students were apprenticed to the practice of Richard Lane and Peter B. Alley; the most notable and celebrated being fellow Quaker, Alfred Waterhouse, who was articled to Lane and Alley in 1845. Other distinguished students to complete articles under Richard Lane include the architect, archaeologist, and writer Richard Popplewell Pullan; and the theatre architect, amateur actor, writer, and a former vice-president of the Royal Institute of British Architects, Alfred Darbyshire, who developed what was known as the 'Irving-Darbyshire Safety Theatre' with his friend, the actor Henry Irving.
Later life
Richard Lane died in Ascot, Berkshire on 25 May 1880, at the age of 85.
