Edmund Woolley
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Edmund Woolley (c. 1695 - 1771) was an early American architect and master carpenter. He was responsible for designing and erecting the first building on the University of Pennsylvania's first campus, the Pennsylvania State House (Independence Hall) and Hope Lodge.
Woolley was born in England around 1695, and moved to American around the year 1705. He was one of the first members of The Carpenters' Company of Philadelphia. <ref>[1] Biography of Edmund Woolley at Philadelphia Architects and Buildings Project</ref>
Beginning in 1732, Woolley was responsible for the design and construction of the Pennsylvania State House (better known today as Independence Hall) in Philadelphia, a project which employed Woolley and his apprentices well into the 1750s. Traditionally, credit has been given to Andrew Hamilton for the design, however contemporary scholarship has revealed that Hamilton was an amateur architect who contributed very little to the project. <ref>[2] Biography of Andrew Hamilton at Philadelphia Architects and Buildings Project</ref>
Woolley designed and built the Whitefield Meeting House, also in Philadelphia, which was erected in 1740. This building, which was originally built as a charity school and a pulpit for preacher George Whitefield, was chosen by Benjamin Franklin in 1749 and purchased as the site for the first classes of the Academy of Philadelphia (1751) and the College of Philadelphia (1755) (both predecessors of the University of Pennsylvania).<ref>[3] Penn Archives: Indenture transferring land on the west side of Fourth Street to the Trustees of the Academy and Charitable School of Philadelphia </ref> At the time, the Whitefield Meeting House was the largest building in Philadelphia, being two stories high and having dimensions of 100 feet by 70 feet. <ref>[4] PENN: The Early Years - The Charity School, Academy and College of Philadelphia</ref>
Between the years of 1743 and 1748, Woolley was responsible for the design and construction of the Whitemarsh Estate (today known as Hope Lodge), a Georgian country mansion built by Quaker businessman Samuel Morris in present-day Fort Washington, Pennsylvania. <ref>[5] Through a Looking Glass: Colonial and Colonial Revival Hope Lodge</ref>
[edit] Selected works
Pennsylvania State House (Independence Hall) |
Whitefield Meeting House (on left) |
Whitemarsh Estate (Hope Lodge) |
[edit] References
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