British architect who was responsible for extensive urban redevelopment in London and was a founding member of the Royal Academy of Arts. The youngest son of George Dance the Elder, who was clerk of works to the City of London from 1735 to 1768, the younger Dance received his formal training in the office of his father and during several years spent in Italy. He succeeded his father as supervisor of all planning and building within the City of London upon his father's death in 1768. Soon afterward he designed his best-known structure, Newgate Prison. In his earliest works, Dance created graceful versions of the Neoclassical style,which were then popular in England. An example is the church of All Hallows in London, one of the few surviving Dance structures. He followed the example of the Woods in the city of Bath in introducing the use of the circus and the crescent into London street planning. Many of his proposals were never carried out, but he did complete America Square, Minories (1768-74), Finsbury Square (1777-91), and Finsbury Circus (designed 1802; built by William Montague, 1815-17). He also remodeled sections of Guildhall and designed the Port of London's West India Docks from 1796.
British architect who was responsible for extensive urban redevelopment in London and was a founding member of the Royal Academy of Arts. The youngest son of George Dance the Elder, who was clerk of works to the City of London from 1735 to 1768, the younger Dance received his formal training in the office of his father and during several years spent in Italy. He succeeded his father as supervisor of all planning and building within the City of London upon his father's death in 1768. Soon afterward he designed his best-known structure, Newgate Prison. In his earliest works, Dance created graceful versions of the Neoclassical style,which were then popular in England. An example is the church of All Hallows in London, one of the few surviving Dance structures. He followed the example of the Woods in the city of Bath in introducing the use of the circus and the crescent into London street planning. Many of his proposals were never carried out, but he did complete America Square, Minories (1768-74), Finsbury Square (1777-91), and Finsbury Circus (designed 1802; built by William Montague, 1815-17). He also remodeled sections of Guildhall and designed the Port of London's West India Docks from 1796.
Bio by: Kieran Smith
Advertisement
