Charles Lanyon

Sir Charles Lanyon DL, JP (6 January 1813 – 31 May 1889) was an English architect of the 19th century. His work is most closely associated with Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Biography

Lanyon was born in Eastbourne, Sussex (now East Sussex) in 1813. His father was John Jenkinson Lanyon, a purser in the Royal Navy, and his mother was Catherine Anne Mortimer.

Following his education, he became an apprentice civil engineer with Jacob Owen in Portsmouth. When Owen was made senior Engineer and Architect of the Irish Board of Works and moved to Dublin, Lanyon followed. In 1835 he married Owens' daughter, Helen Elizabeth. They had ten children, including Sir William Owen Lanyon, an army officer and colonial administrator. Charles Lanyon was County Surveyor in Kildare briefly, before moving on to Antrim in 1836. He remained County Surveyor of Antrim until 1860 when he resigned from the post to concentrate on private work and other interests.

Lanyon was elected Mayor of Belfast in 1862, and Conservative MP for the city between 1865 and 1868. In 1868 he was also knighted and served on the Select Committee on Scientific Instruction, which laid the groundwork for the Education Act for Universal Education of 1871.