Thomas Drew (architect)
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Sir Thomas Drew | |
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| Born | 18 September 1838 Victoria Place, Belfast, Ireland, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland |
| Died | 13 March 1910 (aged 71) Dublin |
| Resting place | Deans Grange Cemetery |
| Parent(s) | Thomas and Isabella Drew |
Sir Thomas Drew (18 September 1838 – 13 March 1910) was an Anglo-Irish architect.
Thomas Drew was born in Victoria Place, Belfast. He was the son of the Rev. Thomas Drew and Isabella (née Dalton) Drew. He was one of four sons and eight daughters of the couple, although most of the children died young. His sister, Catherine Drew, was a journalist and writer.[1]
He was trained under Sir Charles Lanyon before moving to work in Dublin, where he became principal assistant to William George Murray. In 1865, he became the diocesan architect of the united dioceses of Down, Connor and Dromore in 1865, and from then on, Church architecture was Drew's principal activity. He was the consulting architect for both St Patrick's Cathedral and Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin.[2]
He married Adelaide Anne, the sister of William George Murray, in 1871.[3]
Among other projects, he was responsible for the design of the Ulster Bank on Dame Street, Rathmines Town Hall (completed 1899), and the Graduates' Building at Trinity College.[4] He took an interest in historic buildings and was the first to draw serious attention to the architectural and historic importance of the St Audoen's Church, Dublin's oldest parish church, in 1866. He produced detailed plans of the church for which he won an award from the RIAI, carried out excavations and drew up a paper on the church and its history.[5]
From 1885 to 1892, Richard Orpen worked with him as a managing assistant.[1] Drew's most significant work in Belfast was St Anne's Cathedral, completed in 1899.[1]
