Edward Ashworth

'''Edward Ashworth''' (1814 – 1896) was an English artist and architect from Devon, England, considered to be the [[West Country]]'s leading ecclesiastical architect.<ref name="exetermemories1">{{cite web|author=David Cornforth |url=http://www.exetermemories.co.uk/em/exetergraves.php |title=Cemeteries and Graves |publisher=Exeter Memories |date= |accessdate=2015-07-12}}</ref> He was elected a member of the Exeter Diocesan Architectural Society in 1847.<ref name="Bury">Bury</ref>

==Origins== [[File:ColletonBartonDevon ByEdwardAshworth 1892.jpg|thumb|200px|1892 signed drawing by Edward Ashworth (1815–1892) of his childhood home [[Colleton, Chulmleigh|Colleton Barton]], [[Chulmleigh]], Devon]] He was born in 1814 at [[Colleton, Chulmleigh|Colleton Barton]], in the parish of [[Chulmleigh]] in Devon.

==Career== He left Colleton in 1822 and later moved to London where he became a pupil of the architect [[Charles Fowler]]<ref name="Bury"/> (1792–1867), born in [[Cullompton]], Devon. During 1842-46 Ashworth travelled in New Zealand, Australia, Timor, Macau and Hong Kong during which time he kept diaries and sketchbooks.<ref>[https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-740059146/findingaid?digitised=y Guide to the papers of Edward Ashworth (as filmed by the AJCP)]</ref> Following his return to England in 1846 he set up an architectural practice in Exeter, Devon.<ref name="Bury"/> In later life he lived at Dix's Field in Exeter.<ref name="Bury"/> He rebuilt or restored many churches in Devon, including:<ref name="Bury"/><ref>See also: [[Nikolaus Pevsner|Pevsner, Nikolaus]] & Cherry, Bridget, The Buildings of England: Devon, London, 2004</ref>

===Rebuilding works=== *Cullompton, Devon (1849) *Dulverton, Somerset (1852–55) *Bideford, Devon (1859) *Lympstone, Devon (1862) *[[Church of St Mary, Bideford|St Mary's]], Bideford, Devon (1862–65) *Withycombe Raleigh, Exmouth, Devon (1863–64) *St Mary Major, Exeter, Devon (1865), now demolished *[[St Margaret's Church, Topsham]] (1874) *Milton Combe (1878) *St Nicholas Church, Exeter (opposite St Nicholas Priory) (design of)<ref name="exetermemories1"/>

===Restoration works=== *[[St Michael and All Angels Church, Bude]], Cornwall *[[St Peter's Church, Tiverton]], Devon *Silverton *Lapford *Widecombe *Axminster *Doddiscombsleigh *North Molton *[[Wynard's Hospital|Wynards Almshouses]], Exeter (1863) ===Literary works=== *''Chinese Architecture'' (1851), with his illustrations

===Paintings and drawings===

[[File:A Bird’s Eye View of Wynards Hospital, Exeter.jpg|thumb|left|A Bird's Eye View of Wynards Hospital, Exeter (1880). This watercolour shows [[Wynard's Hospital]] on Magdalen Street. Wynard's was founded as [[almshouses]] for the poor and infirm of [[Exeter]] in 1435. They continued to house the poor until 1973 when they became council offices, today they have been converted to private housing. From the [[Royal Albert Memorial Museum]]'s collection (215/1970)]] [[File:Passage House Inn, Topsham, Edward Ashworth.jpg|thumb|''Passage House Inn, Topsham'', watercolour by Edward Ashworth between 1843 and 1933. From the [[Devon and Exeter Institution]] ]] Many of his drawings and paintings are held in the collection of the Westcountry Studies Library, Exeter,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.devon.gov.uk/edwardashworth#sthash.3a7waYAT.dpuf |title=Edward Ashworth |publisher=Devon.gov.uk |date=2011-06-24 |accessdate=2015-07-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140901214601/http://www.devon.gov.uk/edwardashworth#sthash.3a7waYAT.dpuf |archive-date=1 September 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> at the [[Devon and Exeter Institution]] and Devon Record Office.<ref name="Bury"/>

==Death and burial== He died on 8 March 1896 and left a substantial estate valued at £26,814, mainly invested in Railway stocks.<ref name="Bury"/> He was buried in the newly created Higher Cemetery, Exeter, for which he had designed two lodges and one chapel. His ornate stone cross, made of pink stone, survives and was restored ''circa'' 2010.<ref name="exetermemories1"/>

==Notes== {{Reflist}}

==References== {{commons category|Edward Ashworth}} *Bury, Richard M.B., ''History of Colleton Barton'', 1993

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashworth, Edward}} [[Category:1814 births]] [[Category:1896 deaths]] [[Category:Burials at Exeter Higher Cemetery]] [[Category:19th-century English painters]] [[Category:English male painters]] [[Category:19th-century English architects]] [[Category:English ecclesiastical architects]] [[Category:Artists from Exeter]] [[Category:19th-century English male artists]] [[Category:Architects from Exeter]]