10 Market Place, Warwick

Image: © Stephen Richards Taken: 4 Aug 2002

Aka Abbotsford. An imposing and impressive house of 1714, authored by local favourite Francis Smith (for either his father- or brother-in-law). The facade is framed by giant fluted Corinthian pilasters, the windows have shaped, moulded architraves and it possesses a splendid Corinthian doorcase. Grade II* listed. Probably in commercial use now. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- In the C18th architectural hierarchy, Smith (1672-1738) lay somewhere between the London elite and the breed of skilled, provincial builder-architects who created substantial parts of the built fabric of the country that we see today. It's likely that brick dust ran in his veins - his father, also Francis, and his brother, William, were bricklayers, his elder brother Richard was also in the trade, and Francis's son, William, inherited his practice. Centred around Warwick, Francis built up a substantial practice, designing numerous country houses for the Midlands gentry, covering every county in the region except Nottinghamshire, as well as churches and the odd public building. After the catastrophic fire of 1694 in Warwick, he and William were contracted to supervise rebuilding and rebuilt parts of the town themselves. Francis assembled a small band of talented craftsmen to whom he returned time and time again. Whilst not particularly innovative, his commissions were secured on the back of building attractive houses to high standards of craftsmanship, his trustworthiness and reliability. Two members of the London elite, James Gibbs and Thomas Archer, entrusted Francis to execute several of their designs, and it seems likely that in at least one of these cases he modified the building to his own designs.

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