Palmer, John., 1783-1846

John Palmer, architect and antiquary, was born in Bishop Middleham, co Durham, on 28 January 1783, the sixth child of William and Elizabeth Palmer, both Roman Catholics. In 1801 Palmer was bound apprentice to his uncle, a mason at Durham. In 1804 he was employed as a mason at Scone Palace in Perthshire. He left Scone for London in 1806, where he met Gayfere, the master mason of Westminster Abbey. In 1808 Palmer moved to Yarmouth, where he assisted in the building of the Naval Hospital. He married whilst living in Yarmouth. He returned to London in 1811, moving to Manchester in 1813 where he established a practice as an ecclesiastical architect. In 1814 he took charge of the alterations and restorations of the Collegiate Church, now Manchester Cathedral. In 1816 John Francis Butler of Pleasington Hall, a Roman Catholic, chose Palmer to design a church on his estate. He also designed the church of St. Augustine, Granby Row, Manchester, which was opened in October 1820, St Peter's, Blackburn, and rebuilt Blackburn Parish Church, which later became Blackburn Cathedral. He built two further churches before retiring: St John's in Abram, co Lancs, and Holy Trinity in North Ashton, co Lancs.

During his antiquarian and genealogical studies Palmer created a collection of notes and transcripts of local material, and was particularly interested in Northumbrian families associated with the family of Whitfield, to which his wife belonged. He wrote The History of the Siege of Manchester by the King's Forces (1822) and the Guide to the Collegiate Church of Manchester (1829), and also contributed a description of the Collegiate Church to Dr S. Hibbert-Ware's and W.R. Whatton's History of the Foundations in Manchester (1834).

Palmer spent his last years in Chorlton-on-Medlock, Lancashire, where he died on 23 Aug 1846.

See Newton Haile, 'John Palmer: Stonemason Extraordinary', in Durham County Local History Society, Bulletin 34 (May 1985).

From the guide to the Palmer Collection, 19th century, (Chetham's Library)