George Steuart

George Steuart (c. 1730 – 20 December 1806) was a Scottish architect. Although native to the province of Atholl in Perthshire, Steuart spent most of his adult life in London, before moving to the Isle of Man in his final years. The lifelong patronage of the Dukes of Atholl assisted him greatly in his architectural career. Surviving examples of his work include Attingham Hall and St Chad's Church, Shrewsbury in Shropshire, and Castle Mona in the Isle of Man.

Biography Steuart was born in Atholl, Perthshire, around 1730. He was living in London from 1749, where he worked as a house-painter. From this date, Steuart was actively practising as an architect in London, first in Berners Street and then in Harley Street. His work exhibited a "markedly neo-classical taste", with a fondness for tall, thin columns, narrow windows, and "a uniform severity of wall surface" which "verges on bleakness". This style can be seen in one of the few surviving examples of his work, Attingham Hall in Shropshire, built 1783–85. Some time after this work was begun, Steuart took up residence in the Isle of Man, and worked on several other projects there in his final years. The most ambitious of these, and his last known work, was Castle Mona, which was built as a private home for the 4th Duke of Atholl.

Steuart died on 20 December 1806, in Lough House, Douglas, and was buried at the parish church in Braddan. He was survived by one son, Robert.

List of works

The following buildings and structures were designed by Steuart:

Town house, Grosvenor Place, London (completed 1770) Garden temple, Millichope Park, Shropshire (1770) Subsidiary buildings at Blair Castle and Dunkeld House, Perthshire (1777) Baronscourt, County Tyrone, Ireland (1779–82; attribution uncertain) Inn at Gauze Street, Paisley, Renfrewshire (1780–82) Attingham Hall, Shropshire (1783–85) Lythwood Hall at Bayston Hill, Shropshire (c. 1785) Stoke Park, Erlestoke, Wiltshire (1786–91) All Saints Church, Wellington, Shropshire (1788–90) St Chad's Church, Shrewsbury, Shropshire (1790–92) Red Pier, lighthouse and courthouse at Douglas Harbour, Isle of Man (1793–99) Courthouse at Ramsey, Isle of Man (1798) Castle Mona, Douglas, Isle of Man (1801–06) Memorial obelisk to Henry Murray at Braddan, Isle of Man (1805; attribution uncertain)