William Burges 1827-1881

Architect, designer and an eccentric, William Burges was one of the leading exponents of the Gothic Revival in the nineteenth century. The son of a civil engineer, Burges was educated at King’s College, London, where he was a contemporary of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and later articled to the architect Edward Blore. As his interest in Gothic architecture grew, Burges moved to the offices of Matthew Digby Wyatt, a leading authority on medieval decorative art and the designer of the Great Exhibition of 1851. The Gallery houses a significant collection of works by William Burges most especially some of his own furniture from Tower House.