C.R. Cockerell RA (1788 - 1863)

RA Collection: People and Organisations

Charles Robert Cockerell was born in London, the third of eleven children of the surveyor and architect Samuel Pepys Cockerell (1753-1827) and his wife Anne, nee Whetham. After attending Westminster School, he trained as an architect under his father before moving to work with the architect Robert Smirke.

The elder Cockerell was well-connected in artistic and architectural circles, and in 1808 organised for his son to undertake a tour of Wales and the West Country with the distinguished watercolourists Thomas and William Daniell. In 1810, the younger Cockerell embarked on a continental Grand Tour, again organised by his father.

Cockerell’s first destination was Constantinople; the wars between Britain and Napoleonic France meant that Italy and France were inaccessible to British travellers at the time. There, Cockerell met and befriended many international scholars and artists, including the poet Lord Byron. Over the next few years, Cockerell travelled through Greece and Asia Minor, making notable discoveries relating to Ancient Greek architecture, details of which he subsequently published. Napoleon’s defeat in 1814 opened the possibility of travel to Italy where he studied sculpture and paintings.

Despite wishing to pursue painting as a career instead of architecture, Cockerell returned to London in June 1817 and established himself as an architect. He was one of the founder members of the Travellers’ Club, intended as a place where foreign travellers could be entertained and receive hospitality from British members who they had met on the Grand Tour. The Travellers’ Club also provided Cockerell with an important source of potential patrons, and at least three fellow members commissioned him to redesign their country houses.

Drawing upon his first-hand knowledge of Greek architecture, Cockerell’s early designs included elaborate interiors inspired by discoveries from his travels. In 1822, he was chosen to design the Scottish National Monument on Calton Hill, Edinburgh. This was intended to be a full-scale replica of the Parthenon, but the project was abandoned after the construction of just twelve columns.

In 1828, Cockerell married Anna Rennie (1803-1872), the daughter of the civil engineer John Rennie; they went on to have ten children together. Many of Cockerell’s early architectural commissions were related to the banking and insurance industries in London. In the 1830s, he was involved in several projects for academic institutions, including the former University Library, Cambridge, the Ashmolean Museum and the Taylor Institution in Oxford. He also finished the design for the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, taking over from George Basevi in 1845. For the University Library (partially-completed) and the Ashmolean, Cockerell utilised stone of varying colours to evoke the polychromy of Greek architecture and design.

Elected as a full Academician in 1836, Cockerell became Professor of Architecture there in 1841, a post he retained for 15 years. He held many other public offices including Surveyor of St Paul’s Cathedral and architect to the Bank of England, and was the first professional President of the Royal Institute of British Architects from 1860. His international reputation was also reflected by various honours including the French Legion d’Honneur and being one of ten members of merit of the Accademia di San Luca in Rome.

Cockerell died in his home in Regent’s Park in 1863. His funeral was held in St Paul’s Cathedral, where he was buried in the crypt where a monument was later erected to him and his wife, designed by their son Frederick Pepys Cockerell.

RA Collections Decolonial Research Project - Extended Biography

Charles Robert Cockerell’s uncle, Charles Cockerell (1755-1837) was an East India Company official and banker and also an MP, whose firm was awarded compensation for several estates on Mauritius, as mortgagees, following the abolition of slavery in British colonies in 1834 (see Note 1). Charles Cockerell was also shown as owner of an estate in one case. Following the abolition of slavery, the Cockerell banking firm (Paxton, Cockerell & Traill) was active in recruiting indentured labourers from India for Mauritius.

Another uncle, John Cockerell, was a colonel in the East India Company army (see Note 1).

Charles Robert Cockerell’s brother Samuel Pepys Cockerell (1794-1869) was awarded compensation for 10 estates in Jamaica following abolition in 1834 (see Note 2). He was either a trustee or mortgagee of these estates.

Another brother, John Cockerell (1785-1869), a partner in the firm Paxton, Cockerell & Traill, was awarded extensive compensation for plantations in Mauritius, through his firm’s role as mortgagees (see Note 3).

Notes 1. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/person/view/2146011675 (accessed 1 July 2022) 2. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/person/view/43667 (accessed 1 July 2022) 3. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/person/view/2146008526 (accessed 1 July 2022)