STENT, Thomas (1822-1912), a talented British architect who, with Augustus Laver, won the competition for the East Block and the West Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. He was active in the following offices:
Thomas Stent, Yeovil, England, 1847-1848
Thomas Stent, London, Ont. 1856-57
Stent & Laver, Ottawa, Ont. 1859- 1864 (with Augustus Laver)
Thomas Stent, Newark, New Jersey 1870-1875
Thomas Stent, New York City, 1875-1885
Stent, Dixon & Desaldern, New York City, 1885-1888 (with Robert C. Dixon Jr. and Arthur Desaldern)
Stent & Lang, New York City, 1890 (with Albert Lang)
Strange & Stent, Los Angeles, Calif., 1895-1897 (with Charles L. Strange)
(biography in preparation)
T. STENT
YEOVIL, ENGLAND, Town Hall, 1847 (Builder [London], v, 1 May 1847, 210; and letter from Stent, 4 Dec. 1847, 581; C. Cunningham, Victorian & Edwardian Town Halls, 1981, 250-51)
DELAWARE TOWNSHIP, ONT., 'Maple Grove', a residence for Dean Tiffany, Lot 2, Broken Front Concession, 1857 (Free Press [London], 1 Aug. 1857, 2)
STENT & LAVER
(works in Ottawa unless noted)
GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, (now Rockcliffe), 'Hunterston', a villa for Dr. Robert Hunter, 1859 (Brockville Recorder, 13 Jan. 1859, 2; Builder [London], xvii, 12 Feb. 1859, 114, descrip.; Building News [London], v, 13 May 1859, 453, descrip.)
AYLMER, QUE., cemetery monument to John Egan 'near the Episcopal Church', 1859 (Montreal Transcript, 22 July 1859, 2, descrip.; Gazette [Montreal], 13 Oct. 1860, 2, descrip.)
PARLIAMENT HILL, GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTAL OFFICE BUILDINGS, also called The East Block and the The West Block, Parliament Hill, 1859-64, a commission won in a competition (Ottawa Tribune, 3 Sept. 1859, 2; Building News [London], vii, 8 March 1861, 196, descrip.; 205, illus.; Canada, Sessional Papers, 1867, Appendix 21, 214-22, descrip.; C.A.B., x, Jan. 1897, 5-7, descrip. & illus.; Carolyn Young, The Glory of Ottawa: Canada's First Parliament Buildings, 1995, 43-50, 73-77, illus.)
BATE & CO., Sparks Street near Metcalfe Street, commercial block for Charles T. Bate and Henry H. Bate, with residence at rear on Wellington Street for Charles T. Bate, 1859; demol. (Ottawa Tribune, 17 Dec. 1859, 2, descrip.)
PRUDHOMME'S BLOCK, Sussex Street at Clarence Street, for J.T. Prudhomme (Ottawa Tribune, 17 Dec. 1859, 2, descrip.)
QUEBEC CITY, QUE., Finlay Asylum, Ste. Foy Road, 1860, a commission won in a competition (Ottawa Citizen, 16 March 1860, 3, descrip.; Weekly Spectator [Hamilton], 22 March 1860, 5, descrip.; Builder [London], xviii, 7 July 1860, 432, illus.; A.J.H. Richardson, Quebec City: Architects, Artisans & Builders, 1984, 524, illus.)
NEW EDINBURGH, residence for H.O. Burritt, 1860 (Ottawa Citizen, 19 May 1860, 2, t.c.)
SAPPER'S BRIDGE and SUSSEX STREET, ceremonial archways for the visit the Prince of Wales, 1860; demol. (Ottawa Tribune, 1 Sept. 1860, 2)
CENTRAL SCHOOL HOUSE, 1860 (Ottawa Citizen, 22 Sept. 1860, 2, plans approved and accepted by the School Board)
QUEBEC CITY, QUE., Canada Military Hospital, St. Louis Road, 1862; demol. (Ottawa Citizen, 14 June 1862, 2; Builder [London], xx, 5 July 1862, 474; L. Noppen et al, Quebec: trois siecles d'architecture, 1979, 364, illus.)
BANK OF UPPER CANADA, Wellington Street, 1863 (Ottawa Union, 24 Oct. 1863, 2)
MARIA STREET, at Percy Street, residence for the architect Thomas Stent, c. 1863; with later addition in 1876 by King M. Arnoldi for Francis Clemow (Evening Journal [Ottawa], 28 May 1921, 20)
GARLAND, MUTCHMOR & CO., Sparks Street near Elgin Street, commercial block, 1864; demol. (Ottawa Union, 12 April 1864, 3, t.c.; 4 April 1865, 2, descrip.)
QUEEN'S PRINTER OFFICE, also called the Desbarats Block, Sparks Street at O'Connor Street, 1864; burned 1869 (Ottawa Citizen, 24 May 1864, 2, descrip.; Globe [Toronto], 30 May 1864, 1, descrip.; Ottawa Union, 22 Sept. 1864, 2, descrip.; 29 Dec. 1864, 2, descrip.)
BESSERER STREET, residence for Alfred Patrick, 1864 (Ottawa Union, 29 Dec. 1864, 2)
BESSERER STREET, residence for Frank H. Badgley, 1864 (Ottawa Union, 29 Dec. 1864, 2)
RICHMOND ROAD, near Victoria Terrace, residence for Thomas Hunton 'on the Rochester property', 1864 (Ottawa Union, 29 Dec. 1864, 2)
T. STENT
(works in Newark, N.J.)
MERCHANTS INSURANCE BUILDING, Broad Street, 1870; demol. (The Daily Graphic [New York City], 27 May 1874; list of works in J.M. Guinn, Historical & Biographical Record of Los Angeles & Vicinity, 1901, 587-88)
HOME FOR AGED WOMEN, Mt. Pleasant Avenue, 1870-72; demol. (Fifth Annual Report of the Home for Respectable Aged Women, 1871, 8)
NORTH BAPTIST CHURCH, Orange Street at High Street, major addition, 1874; demol. (Newark Builder and Industrial Record, May 1874, 20)
(works in New York City)
302-310 W. 45TH STREET, near Eighth Avenue, row of five houses for John J. Astor, 1879-80 (City of New York, New Buildings Docket Books, Plan No. 900, 9 Dec. 1879)
ASTOR LIBRARY, Layfayette Street, major addition of a new North Wing, 1880-81 (City of New York, New Buildings Docket Books, Plan No. 56, 26 Jan. 1880; Chicago Daily Tribune, 19 Jan. 1880, 5, detailed architectural descrip.; American Architect & Building News [Boston], vii, 22 May 1880, 224 & plate illus.)
17-25 W. 129th STREET, near Fifth Avenue, row of five houses for John J. Astor, 1880-81 (City of New York, New Buildings Docket Books, Plan No. 901, 9 Dec. 1879)
21-23 W. 26th STREET, near Fifth Avenue, two identical buildings for offices of the Astor Estate, 1880-81 (City of New York, New Buildings Docket Books, Plan No. 316 and 317, 16 April 1880)
312-322 W. 45th STREET, near Eighth Avenue, row of six houses for John J. Astor, 1880-81 (City of New York, New Buildings Docket Books, Plan No. 796, 16 Sept. 1880)
569-575 BROADWAY, at Prince Street, loft building for John J. Astor, 1881-82 (City of New York, New Buildings Docket Books, Plan No. 1061, 24 Dec. 1880)
109-113 GRAND STREET, at Mercer Street, loft building for Willam Astor, 1881-82 (City of New York, New Buildings Docket Books, Plan No. 463, 4 May 1881)
324-342 W. 45th Street, near Eighth Avenue, row of ten houses for John J. Astor, 1881-82 (City of New York, New Buildings Docket Books, Plan No. 950, 20 Sept. 1881)
240-250 W. 46th STREET, row of six houses for John J. Astor, 1882; demol. (City of New York, New Buildings Docket Books, Plan No. 156, 25 Feb. 1882)
220-226 W. 44th STREET, near Seventh Avenue, row of four houses for William Astor, 1882; demol. (City of New York, New Buildings Docket Books, Plan No. 492, 4 May 1882)
331-347 W. 45th STREET, near Eighth Avenue, row of nine houses for William Astor, 1882-83; demol. (City of New York, New Buildings Docket Books, Plan No. 493, 4 May 1882)
301 W. 46th STREET, at Eighth Avenue, apartment block for John J. Astor, 1882-83 (City of New York, New Buildings Docket Books, Plan No. 525, 10 May 1882)
305 W. 46th STREET, near Eighth Avenue, apartment block for John J. Astor, 1882-83; demol. (City of New York, New Buildings Docket Books, Plan No. 526, 10 May 1882)
FARMER'S LOAN & TRUST BLOCK, William Street, 1882-83; demol. (City of New York, New Buildings Docket Books, Plan No. 538, 15 May 1882)
560-566 BROADWAY, at Prince Street, loft building for William Astor, 1883-84 (City of New York, New Buildings Docket Books, Plan No. 12, 8 Jan. 1883)
354 BOWERY, store and dwelling for John J. Astor, 1883 (City of New York, New Buildings Docket Books, Plan No. 13, 8 Jan. 1883)
STENT, DIXON & DeSALDERN
CLAREMONT AVENUE, near Highbridge Street, two houses for Margaret Colner, 1886 (City of New York, New Buildings Docket Books, Plan No. 603, 12 April 1886)
177th STREET, near Madison Avenue, house for Frederick J. Creiger, 1886 (City of New York, New Buildings Docket Books, Plan No. 863, 14 May 1886)
185th STREET, near Tenth Avenue, house for Henry J. Rothman, 1887 (City of New York, New Buildings Docket Books, Plan No. 333, 5 March 1887)
T. STENT
WEST 82nd STREET, near West End Avenue, house for Elizabeth Brophy, 1888 (City of New York, New Buildings Docket Books, Plan No. 927, 25 June 1888)
GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH, East 92nd Street near Park Avenue, 1888; demol. (City of New York, New Buildings Docket Books, Plan No. 928, 25 June 1888)
WEST 134th and 135th STREET, near Lenox Avenue, ten row houses for Nellie Guensill, 1890 (City of New York, New Buildings Docket Books, Plan No. 894, 19 May 1890)
(works elsewhere)
LONDON, ENGLAND, a Portable [i.e. prefabricated] Shingle Style House, assembled and exhibited at the American Exhibition, Earls Court, West Kensington, 1887 (Building News [London], liii, 15 July 1887, 110, plate illus., and 115, descrip)
SAN PEDRO, CALIFORNIA, major addition of four classrooms to the Public School, and alterations to existing building, 1897 (Los Angeles Herald, 27 March 1897, 7, descrip.)
COMPETITIONS
OTTAWA, Central Parliament Building, Parliament Hill, 1859. Stent & Laver, using the pseudonym 'Stat nomen in umbra', submitted a scheme identified as 'Design No. 6'. Their proposal was awarded second prize, and Fuller & Jones received the First Premium for this central building of the Parliament Hill complex (Ottawa Tribune, 3 Sept. 1859, 2). A perspective drawing of Stent & Laver's design appears in Carolyn Young, The Glory of Ottawa: Canada's First Parliament Buildings, 1995, 46.
OTTAWA, Residence for the Governor General, 1859. The submission from Stent & Laver, listed as 'Design No. 3', was passed over by the jury and Cumberland & Storm of Toronto were declared as winners, but their scheme was never realized (Ottawa Tribune, 3 Sept. 1859, 2)
QUEBEC CITY, QUE., Masonic Hall, 1860. Among the many architects who prepared designs for this work were Stent & Laver of Ottawa, but their proposal was set aside in favour of that by Edward Staveley (Ottawa Union, 14 Nov. 1860, 1)
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, Houses of Parliament for New South Wales, 1861. Two designs were submitted by Stent & Laver, one in a Grecian style and the other in the Gothic style. They received the Second Premium of £300 for their Gothic scheme signed 'Hora e Sempre' (Sydney Morning Herald, 11 Nov. 1861, 4, descrip., with report on the competition; Builder [London], xx, 25 Jan. 1862, 65-6; Ottawa Citizen, 8 Feb. 1862, 2). The winning scheme was submitted by William H. Lynn of Dublin, Ireland.
HELENA, MONTANA, State Capitol Building, 1896. A total of 59 entries were sent in by architects from the United States and Canada. The Los Angeles architectural firm of Strange & Stent received Third Prize of $1,000 for their design in this major competition (Los Angeles Times, 8 Aug. 1896, 5, report on the competition). However, the whole selection process was said to have been riddled with bickering and corruption. Stent was particularly offended by the selection procedure, stating that he "....never knew such a dirty transaction as this competition presents from beginning to end" (Inland Architect [Chicago], xxviii, Dec. 1896, 54, with illus. plate; Henry R. Hitchcock & W. Seale, Temples of Democracy-The State Capitols of the U.S.A., 1976, 228-9). The winner was George R. Mann of St. Louis.