Clerk, Sir John

A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture | 2000 | 700+ words | Copyright

Clerk, Sir John (1676–1755). Clerk of Penicuik was a leading figure in learned circles in Edinburgh. With William Adam he designed a new house for his estate at Mavisbank from 1722, an important precedent for the Palladian-style villa in Scotland. In 1727 Clerk visited Burlington at Chiswick and saw several Palladian houses, after which he published The Country Seat, a long poem in which Burlingtonian principles of design were expounded. Indeed, he seems to have become a Caledonian equivalent of Burlington, influencing the design of Arniston, Midlothian (1726–38), and Haddo House, Aberdeenshire (1732–5), both of which were built by William Adam, and promoting Palladian restraint throughout the land. His son, Sir James Clerk (1709–82), was also a cultivated man and an amateur architect, who designed Penicuik House in a Palladian style (1761–9).

Bibliography

Colvin (1995);
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2004)

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

JAMES STEVENS CURL. "Clerk, Sir John." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JAMES STEVENS CURL. "Clerk, Sir John." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-ClerkSirJohn.html

JAMES STEVENS CURL. "Clerk, Sir John." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-ClerkSirJohn.html

Learn more about citation styles