Basic Biographical Details
| Name: | John Gandy afterwards John Gandy Deering |
| Designation: | |
| Born: | 1787 |
| Died: | 1850 |
| Bio Notes: | John Gandy, afterwards John Gandy Deering when he inherited the estate known as The Lee in Buckinghamshire from his friend Henry Deering, was born in 1787 and was the younger brother of the architects Joseph and Michael Gandy. He exhibited artistic tendencies at a young age and was articled to James Wyatt. He entered the Royal Academy Schools in 1805 and won the Silver Medal in 1806. He took a post in the Barrack office after completing his articles and continued in the office, being given leave to make a trip to Greece and Asia Minor on behalf of the Society of Dilettanti along with Sir William Gel and F Bedford. Their research was published in 1817 'Unedited Antiquities of Attica and in the third volume of 'Ionian Antiquities' in 1840. Gandy co-authored 'Pompeiana' 1817-19 which became the main reference work on the ongoing excavations at Pompeii. He was elected a member of the Society of Dilettanti in 1830. As regards his architectural work, in 1810 Gandy's design for the new Bethlehem Hospital won first prize but his design was not carried out. His design for University College London (1825) came second to that of William Wilkins although he was employed by Wilkins to carry the design out. He drew up a design for Broomhall for Lord Elgin but that came to nothing. Also unexecuted were his designs for a new House of Commons and a plan for the Public Record Office, both 1833. Most of his designs were neo-classical in style except for the Tudor Gothic hospital in Stamford and a courtyard at Burleigh House. After adopting the name Deering on inheriting The Lee he gradually gave up architecture and devoted himself to public life and managing his estate. He was elected High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire in 1840 and MP for Aylesbury in 1847. He had been elected ARA in 1826 and RA in 1838, despite undertaking so little architectural work at this date. However he was well known as an authority on Greek architecture and as a fine architect. He died in 1850. |
Buildings and Designs
| This was involved with the following buildings or structures from the date specified (click on an item to view details): | |||||||
| Date started | Building name | Town, district or village | Island | City or county | Country | Notes | |
 | 1827 | Dumfries House, Lodge | Ayrshire | Scotland | design exhibited at RA | ||
| c. 1827 | Broomhall | Limekilns, Dunfermline | Fife | Scotland | Design drawn up - not executed. | |
References
Bibliographic References
| The following books contain references to this : | ||||||
| Author(s) | Date | Title | Part | Publisher | Notes | |
| APSD | The Dictionary of Architecture | ed Wyatt Papworth | The Architectural Publication Society (8v 1852-1892) | ||
| Colvin, Howard | 2008 | A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1600-1840 | London: YUP. 4th edition | ||
| DNB | Dictionary of National Biography | ||||