Isaac Ware
b. c. 1707,
d. London, 1766.

Isaac Ware was a leading English famous architect of the Georgian era, though his importance derives chiefly from his books, which were enormously influential. A man of humble origins, Ware spent his early years (1721-8) as an apprentice to the highly respected architect Thomas Ripley; he later secured the position of draughtsman with His Majesty’s Office of Works and at his death held the titles of clerk itinerant, secretary and clerk of works. After 1745 his parallel career in private practice proved equally successful and resulted in a series of prestigious projects. His close association with Lord Burlington is reflected in the strict Palladian formality of his facade treatment, but his interiors often exhibit more catholic tastes, including French Rococo and Gothic. The common-sense pragmatism of Ware’s architectural oeuvre is also a characteristic of his written work. His 1738 edition of Palladio’s Quattro Libri gave English readers their first accurate translation of this seminal work, and his encyclopedic Complete Body of Architecture was an invaluable compendium encompassing both theory and practice, lavishly illustrated with Ware’s own designs.

Major buildings / works:
St George’s Hospital, London, 1733.
Chesterfield House, London, 1748.
Wrotham Park, Middlesex, 1754.
Amisfield House, East Lothian, 1756.

Bibliography:
Isaac Ware, Designs of lingo Jones, 1733 (Farnborough, reprinted 1971); A Complete Body of Architecture, London, 1756. Isaac Ware (translator), The Four Books of Architecture - Andrea Palladio, London, 1738.