Henry Goodridge

He was born in Bath in 1797, the son of James Goodridge, who was at that time engaged in large speculative building projects in connection with the management of the estate of Sir William Pulteney, at Bathwick. On the advice of Thomas Telford, his father had him articled to John Lowder, then the City Architect for Bath. His first important work was the enlargement of the Roman Catholic Downside College, (1821-3) near Bath, parts of which were praised by Pugin. and the next year he acted both as developer and architect on the "Corridor" in Bath. In 1829 he visited Italy, where he sketched buildings assiduously. He designed the tower at Lansdown for William Beckford, who had recently sold Fonthill Abbey, and had moved to a house in Lansdown Crescent in Bath. Beckford obtained designs from several London and Bath architects, including Goodridge, who was chosen after some prevarication. New designs were drawn up, and the tower completed up to the level of the block cornice in 28 working days. It was intended to be roofed at this point, but Beckford decided it should be increased in height with a belvedere, and then decided on an additional lantern. According to a brief biography of Goodridge, written by his son: In style [the tower] may be termed Greco-Italian, a style Goodridge greatly adopted, as he considered therein the purity of the Greek and the freedom of the Romanesque were best combined. on which he worked with his son, A. S. Goodridge. Harvey Lonsdale Elmes and W.H. Campbell were his pupils. ==Personal life==

Goodridge maintained a financial interest in The Corridor and, a few years after the death of his widow, his will led to a family dispute which had to be resolved by the Chancery Court. He was buried in Lansdown Cemetery, which surrounds Beckford's Tower. ==Works==

Goodridge's buildings in Bath include: • The Corridor, one of the earliest shopping arcades (1824). • Cleveland Bridge (1827). • Holy Trinity Church, Combe Down (1832–5) - before enlargements. • Beckford's Tower, commissioned by William Beckford and now owned by the Bath Preservation Trust and operated as a museum. • The Byzantine gateway to the cemetery adjacent to Beckford's Tower in which William Beckford's sarcophagus stands. • Several Italianate villas on Bathwick Hill including his own house, Bathwick Grange, which was formerly known as Montebello, and 23 Bathwick Hill. • Work at Prior Park, including the processional stairway. • Henley Lodge, Weston Road for H R Ricardo (1822-1860), nephew of David Ricardo His designs outside Bath include: • Downside School, Somerset, including its Old Chapel (1820–1823) • The east lodge at Downside Abbey (1827) • Roman Catholic church, Lyme Regis, Dorset • Restoration of Malmesbury Abbey, Wiltshire, consisting of clearing away the obstructions inside, repewing, and adding the west window • Admiral Hood Monument, Butleigh, Somerset (1831) • Devizes Castle, Wiltshire (1840) • The library of Hamilton Palace, South Lanarkshire (1845) ==References==