[1] Salvin's first major commission was Mamhead House in Devon for Robert William Newman.

Salvin's design combined elements from Montacute House in Somerset and Hengrave Hall in Suffolk.

However, before the building was complete, Salvin was replaced as architect by William Burn.

[1] In 1836 Salvin entered a design in Tudor style in the competition for the new Palace of Westminster which had possibly been inspired by his visit to Germany.

However this was unsuccessful, as was his entry for the competition to design the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.

There were exceptions, including Penoyre House in Brecon, an Italianate villa-style house for Colonel John Lloyd Vaughan Watkins and Oxon Hoath in West Peckham, Kent in the French Châteauesque style for Sir William Geary, 3rd Baronet.

[1] A major part of Salvin's work was to restore, refit and create castles.

He arranged for the removal of buildings around the south transept of Norwich Cathedral and reordered its choir.

Salvin's restorations were not to the liking of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, particularly his removal of "unwanted fabric" from churches.

[1] In 1857, while working on Warwick Castle, Salvin suffered a stroke but recovered from it.