John Francis Bentley was born John Bentley in Doncaster, England on 30 January 1839. He acted as voluntary superintendent in the restoration of Loversall church, Yorkshire in 1854. The following year he was apprenticed to Winsland & Holland a firm of contractors in London. In 1857 he began working as an assistant in the office of Henry Clutton (1819-1893). Clutton was an architect with an extensive domestic and ecclesiastical practice. He had converted to Roman Catholicism and may have influenced Bentley's decision to take the same step in 1862. In doing so he took the baptismal name of Francis.
In 1862 Clutton invited Bentley to become a partner, however, he declined and set up his own independent practice with an office at 14 Southampton Street, Covent Garden, London. He subsequently worked primarily as an ecclesiastical architect. While waiting for commissions he was engaged on decorative art projects, designing stained glass, embroidery and work in metal and stone. This included stained glass for Lavers & Barraud; metalwork for Hart & Son; and the design of organ cases for T. C. Lewis. Examples of Bentley's work as a decorative designer were shown at the International Exhibitions in London in 1862 and in Paris in 1867.
Bentley relocated his office to 13 John Street, Adelphi, London in 1868. In 1898 he was invited to the United States to advise on the design and construction of the Roman Catholic Cathedral in Brooklyn. Later that year he was taken seriously ill from which he never recovered. He died at his home, The Sweep, Old Town, Clapham Common, London on 2 March 1902.
Bentley's most outstanding architectural project was the Byzantine Revival Roman Catholic Westminster Cathedral i(Cathedral of the Most Precious Blood) n London. He received the commission in 1894 and work on its construction began in 1895. It was completed in 1903, a year after his death.
Other notable commissions included additions to St. Francis of Assisi Roman Catholic church, Pottery Lane, London (1861-63); 235 Lancaster Road, London (1863); Sunnydean, 108 Westwood Hill, London (1868-70); additions and furnishings for St. Mary of the Angels, Moorhouse Road, Bayswater, London (1869-87); The Presbytery, St. Peter & St. Edward, Palace Street, London (1870); Franciscan Convent, Potabello Road, London (1870); Ellerslie, Sydenham Hill, London (1870); St, Thomas Seminary, Hammersmith Road, London (1876-84); St. Mary, Cadogan Street, Chelsea, London (1877-82); Our Lady of the Holy Souls, 62 Hazlewood Crescent, London (1881-82); Holy Rood Roman Catholic church, Watford, Hertfordshire (1883); St. John's Presbytery School, Beaumont, Windsor, Berkshire (1886-88); Our Lady of Victoria, Clapham, London (1886-94); Corpus Christi, Brixton Hill, London (1886-87); Redemption Monastery buildings, Clapham Park Road, London (1891-93); St. Luke, Chiddingstone Causeway, Kent (1897-98); and St. Francis, Convent Lane, Bocking, Essex (1898).
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See also:
Adams, Nicholas. 'John Francis Bentley' in Macmillan Encyclopedia of Architects Volume 1. Edited by Adolf K. Plakzek. New York and London: Macmillan and Free Press, 1982 pp. 180-182
Armstrong, Barrie and Armstrong, Wendy. The Arts and Crafts movement in the North East of England: a handbook. Wetherby, England: Oblong, 2013
Armstrong, Barrie and Armstrong, Wendy. The Arts and Crafts movement in the North West of England: a handbook. Wetherby, England: Oblong Creative Ltd., 2006
Armstrong, Barrie and Armstrong, Wendy. The Arts and Crafts movement in Yorkshire: a handbook. Wetherby, England: Oblong, 2013
Avery, Derek. Victorian and Edwardian Architecture. London: Chaucer Press, 2003
Bell, E. Ingress. 'John Francis Bentley: a sketch from memory'. Architectural Association Notes vol. 18, January 1903 pp. 1-3
Butler, A.S.G. John Francis Bentley: the Architect of Westminster Cathedral. London, England: Burns & Oates, 1961.
de L'Hopital, Winefride. Westminster Cathedral and its architect. Vol. 1, The building of the cathedral. London: Hutchinson, 1919
de L'Hopital, Winefride. Westminster Cathedral and its architect. Vol. 2, The making of the architect. London: Hutchinson, 1919
Directory of British Architects 1834-1914. Compiled by Antonia Brodie, et al. Volume 1: A-K. London; New York: British Architectural Library, Royal Institute of British Architects/Continuum, 2001
Girouard, Mark. 'Carleton Towers, Yorkshire'. Country Life vol. 141, 9 February 1967 pp. 280-283 [Discusses the interiors deigned by J. F. Bentley for E. W. Pugin's extension to Carleton Towers in 1875-79]
Gray, A. Stuart. Edwardian architecture: a biographical dictionary. London: Gerald Duckworth & Co., Ltd., 1985
Hadfield, Charles. 'The late John francis Bentley: a retrospective'. Architectural Review vol. 11, 1902 pp. 115-117 [The 30 -year correspondence between Hadfield and Bentley forms the basis of the article]
Hadfield, Charles. 'Westminster Cathedral'. Royal Institute of British Architects Journal vol. 10, 1902-03 pp. 249-276
Harbron, Dudley. 'Centenary: John Francis Bentley'. Architects' Journal vol. 89, 26 January 1939 pp. 159-160
Howell, Peter.John Francis Bentley, Architect of Westminster Cathedral. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2020
Lethaby, W. R. 'Westminster Cathedral'. Architectural Review vol. 11, January 1902 pp. 3-19 [A detailed assessment of the new Westminster Cathedral in London designed by J. F. Bentley]
Mansford, F. Herbert. 'The new Cathedral at Westminster'. Architectural Review vol. 12, August 1902 pp. 317-337 [An appreciation of the new Westminster Cathedral in London designed by J. F. Bentley]
‘Obituary’. The Builder vol. 83, 1902, pp. 288-289
‘Obituary’. Royal Institute of British Architects Journal vol. 9, 27 July 1902 pp. 437-441
Ricardo, Halsey. 'John Francis Bentley'. Architectural Review vol. 11, May 1902 pp. 155-164
Ricardo, Halsey. 'John Francis Bentley'. Architectural Review vol. 12, July 1902 pp. 18-31
Ricardo, Halsey. 'John Francis Bentley' in Victorian Architecture, edited by Peter Ferriday. London: Jonathan Cape, 1963 pp. 289-300 [Edited version of an obituary notice by Ricardo first written for the Architectural Review in 1902]
Richards, J. M. 'Inside Westminster Cathedral'. Architectural Review vol. 115, March 1954 pp. 202-205 [A reassessment of the design of Westminster Cathedral in London designed by J. F. Bentley]
Scott-Moncrieff, William Walter. John Francis Bentley. London, England: E. Benn, Ltd., 1924
Service, Alastair. The Architects of London and their buildings from 1066 to the present. London: The Architectural Press, 1979
Stamp, Gavin. The English House 1860-1914. Catalogue of an exhibition of photographs and drawings. London: InternationalArchitect and the Building Centre Trust, 1980 p. 18
Willson, T. J. 'John Francis Bentley: a memoir'. Royal Institute of British Architects Journal vol. 9, 1901-02 pp. 436-441