Decimus Burton

Decimus Burton (30 September 1800-December 1881) was a prolific English architect and garden designer, particularly associated with projects in the classical style in London parks, including buildings at Kew Gardens and London Zoo, and with the layout and architecture of the seaside towns of Fleetwood and St Leonards on Sea and of Tunbridge Wells. (His first name, Latin for 'tenth', denoted his position as the tenth child in his family.)

Regent's Park

Burton initially trained in the architectural and building practice run by his father James Burton (1761-1837), and then with John Nash for whom he elaborated on the designs of Cornwall Terrace, facing London's Regent's Park. His first major project (1823) was nearby: an enormous domed exhibition hall, the Coliseum (no longer standing ? it was demolished in 1875 and the site is now occupied by the Royal College of Physicians). After this, he was appointed to design the gardens and buildings at the adjacent new London Zoo (the llama building (1828), complete with clock tower, no longer houses animals but is used as a shop, and is a Grade II listed building ? as is his later (1834) Giraffe House).

Related Topics:
John Nash - London - Regent's Park - 1875 - Royal College of Physicians - Listed building

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He was responsible for planning the lay-out of Hyde Park (1825), and, at its south-east corner (Hyde Park Corner), designed the triumphal arch, the Wellington or Constitution Arch, to form the main western entrance to St. James's Park and Green Park.

Related Topics:
Hyde Park - Hyde Park Corner - Triumphal arch - St. James's Park - Green Park

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