Thomas Ripley (architect)

He was influenced by the Palladian style, but never lost his provincial manner, which earned the private derision of Sir John Vanbrugh and the public scorn of Alexander Pope.

His works include Houghton Hall for Sir Robert Walpole, which was first designed by the Palladian architects Colen Campbell and William Kent.

From 1725 he designed and built Wolterton Hall in Norfolk for Sir Robert's younger brother Horatio, the 1st Lord Walpole and was chiefly responsible for converting a formal park into a naturalised landscape.

Ripley was active in promoting the scheme to build Westminster Bridge and was also involved in Richard Holt's failed attempt to develop artificial stone.

Despite the dull and sometimes ill-proportioned character of his public buildings, his pragmatic approach and undoubted skill at managing large projects ensured that Greenwich was completed and fulfilled its function.

[citation needed] On 17 November 1737 his first wife died and on 22 April 1742 he married Miss Bucknall of Hampton, Middlesex, an heiress said to be worth £40,000.

Axel Klausmeier: Houghton, Raynham and Wolterton Hall: On Thomas Ripley's major works in Norfolk - Architectural success amidst political tensions.

Axel Klausmeier: Wolterton Hall in Norfolk by Thomas Ripley: On the major work of an outcast of architectural history.