John Wood the Elder and Younger
John Wood the Elder, b. Bath, 1704; d. Bath, 1754.
John Wood the Younger, b. Bath, 1727; d. Batheaston, 1781.

John Wood the Elder was a prominent architect in English Palladianism during the first half of the C18. Son of a builder, he began his apprenticeship as a joiner in London at the age of twelve. He later moved into property speculation and in 1725 commenced his lifelong association with the city of Bath. He completed several major buildings and created a sequence of majestic urban spaces, inspired by Rome which was to elevate his native city (alongside Edinburgh) as the quintessential example of Georgian elegance. John Wood the Younger proved a dutiful son and provided his eccentric father with a dependable yet creative partner who enabled several of the farmer?s most ambitious schemes to reach fruition, including the world-famous Royal Crescent and the Assembly Rooms.

Major buildings / works:
John Wood the Elder: Queen Square, Bath, 1728-36; Prior Park, Bath, 1731-64; The Exchange, Bristol, 1741-3.
John Wood the Younger: Royal Crescent, Bath, 1767-75; Assembly Rooms, Bath, 1768-71; Hot Baths, Bath, 1775-8.

Bibliography:
John Wood the Elder, The Origin of Building or the Plagiarism of the Heathens Detected, 1744.
John Wood the Younger, A Series of Plans for Cottages or Habitations of the Labourer either in Husbandry or the Mechanic Arts, 1781.
Tim Mowl and Brian Earnshaw, John Wood - Architect of Obsession, Bath, 1988.