JONES, John Philpot (1830-1873), a native of Clonmel, Tipperary, Ireland, appears to have had some involvement in the original design for St. John The Baptist Roman Catholic Basilica, Military Road at Garrison Hill, ST. JOHN'S, NFLD. 1841-55; later altered 1902-03 by Jonas Barter (R.A.I.C. Journal, xxvii, March 1950, 88, illus.). A restrained and austere Romanesque design, the project was initiated by Bishop Michael Fleming in 1838 and the completed plans by Jones were later sent to a 'Mr. Schmidt', of Altona, Germany, a consulting engineer who prepared a working model of the scheme and adapted the plans to suit the harsh northern climate of the Avalon Peninsula. Michael Murphy, an Irish architect, was hired to supervise the construction of the work, but his disputes with Bishop Fleming led to his dismissal, and he was replaced by James Purcell from Cork, Ireland (P. O'Neill, A Seaport Legacy, 1976, 738).
He is almost certainly the same "John Philpot Jones, Architect" of London, England who exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy from 1857 until 1872 (A. Graves, Royal Academy Exhibitors, iv, 1906, 276; Directory of British Architects 1834-1900, 1993, 510-11). The London City Directories list his name from 1862 until 1870 when he formed a partnership with Edward Salomons, but this office was dissolved in 1873 and Jones name is absent from subsequent listings. His talents as a designer must have been considerable; in 1857 he was selected as a finalist in the competition for the Government Offices in Whitehall, London. In 1860 he was awarded First Premium for his design of the Town Hall and Market at Bishop Auckland, Co. Durham, Engl. (C. Cunningham, Victorian and Edwardian Town Halls, 1981, 151, illus.; biog. R.I.B.A., Directory of British Architects 1834-1914, 2001, i, 1040). Jones died at Merton Villa, in Chelsea, London, on 1 June 1873 at the age of 43 years.
COMPETITIONS
LONDON, ENGL., Government Office Buildings, in Whitehall, 1857. Jones was among over 200 architects who submitted designs in the competition for The Warr Office Building, and for the Foreign Office Building. His design was among those selected as a finalist (Builder [London], xv, 11 July 1857, 383).
BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND, Ulster Bank Head Office, 1857. Jones was one of six entrants in this competition, and he exhibited his drawings in early 1858 (Civil Engineer & Architect's Journal [London], xxi, Feb. 1858, 56-7).
CORK, IRELAND, St. Peter & St. Paul's Roman Catholic Church, 1859. There were 12 architects who sent in designs, including Jones, but his design was passed over in favour of the scheme by John Hurley of Cork (Builder [London], xvii, 2 April 1859, 241). Philpot protested this decision in a lengthy letter to the Editor of the Builder, claiming that "...my design was acknowledged on all hands to be the best" (Builder [London], xvii, 9 April 1859, 258, Letter).
CORK, IRELAND, Roman Catholic Cathedral, 1862. Jones was among 64 architects who submitted drawings in this important competition, and his design "in the Geometric Decorated style" was later exhibited in London (Builder [London], xxi, 28 March 1863, 217). The winner was William Burges of London.