Benjamin Henry Latrobe (1764-1820).
Portrait by Charles Willson Peale, c. 1804.

About the Trust

Often described as ‘America’s first architect’, Benjamin Henry Latrobe had a profound role in shaping the buildings and aesthetic of the new republic.

Latrobe’s legacy is widely appreciated in the United States - for his south wing of the US Capitol building, where he designed the original Senate and House chambers; at Baltimore Basilica; the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C.; and in his contributions to the White House.

Yet his European and British legacy has been overlooked – and too often neglected – for far too long. Latrobe was born on 1 May 1764 at the Fulneck Moravian community in Yorkshire. As a young man he travelled widely in Europe, and his experiences on one side of the Atlantic shaped his buildings - besides his beliefs and relationships - on both.

He emigrated to the United States on 25 November 1795, before which he built two buildings in the United Kingdom, and contributed to several more.

The Latrobe Heritage Trust was founded in 1987 to conserve, and to campaign for the preservation of, Latrobe’s buildings and landscapes.

Patrons and former patrons:

  • The Marquess of Trazegnies d’Ittre

  • Sir Hugh Casson CH KCVO PRA RDI

  • The Rt. Hon. The Viscount Norwich CVO

Trustees 2022-23:

  • Richard Wright

  • Martin Eastick

  • Edward Pinnegar

The Ionic portico at Ashdown House (1793), made from Coade stone, ingeniously recessed into the building’s south front.

Our work today

Grants

The Trust’s most consequential work has been to provide financial support for the restoration of Hammerwood Park since 1987. Hammerwood was Latrobe’s first work, and is one of only two independent buildings of his in Europe. It became increasingly derelict from the late-1960s until 1982. The restoration, overseen by the Pinnegar family, won the Anne de Amodio Award from the International Burgen Institute (now part of Europa Nostra) in 1984, and a gold medal from the Société d'Encouragement au Progrès in Paris in 1987.

It has supported and trained more than 1,200 volunteers over 40 years, including in rare and vernacular skills and crafts, and has been appreciated by 120,000+ visitors. Hammerwood also now hosts an annual programme of concerts, including on a collection of historic keyboard instruments, which seek to promote and launch the careers of young artists.

We award small grants, from time to time, typically of no more than £2,500 (although more where exceptional circumstances may apply), in favour of the conservation of Latrobe buildings and landscapes. We also award grants for relevant academic research and in pursuit of our wider charitable aims.

Planning casework

The Trust also takes an active interest in planning and Listed Building Consent applications for alteration to Latrobe’s works, and their wider landscape setting.

We work with other organisations, including the national amenity societies, to support their conservation. As in other areas of our work, we seek promote a better understanding of the significance and historic context of Latrobe’s European works among decision-makers and the wider public.

Acquisitions

Occasionally we arrange and co-fund the acquisition of artefacts relevant to Latrobe’s life and work. We did so for a perspective drawing of Hammerwood Lodge, drawn for John Sperling in c. 1792, and from which elements were incorporated at Hammerwood and at Ashdown House, building a coalition of donors including the Pilgrim Trust, the Heritage Lottery Fund and the LHT. The drawing (shown on our home page) is lodged with the RIBA Collections.

The second-story landing at Ashdown House (1793), showing Latrobe’s original stone stair treads, flooring and wrought-iron railing, and his column-screened niches with Greek Tower-of-the-Winds or Egyptian capitals.

Latrobe’s work in Europe

Although our charitable objects aren’t formally limited to the United Kingdom, the LHT exists primarily to support the conservation of Latrobe’s work in Britain. These are represented below, although in some cases Latrobe’s involvement is unclear, and the list is likely to be incomplete.

Buildings and landscapes in Europe designed independently by Latrobe

  • Hammerwood Park, East Sussex (1792-95; house Grade I; landscape Grade II)

  • Ashdown House, East Sussex (1793-95; Grade II*)

Remodellings by Latrobe

  • Teston Hall/Barham Court, Kent (1790-92; Grade II*)

  • Frimley Park, Surrey (c. 1792; Grade II)

  • Saint Hill, West Sussex (c. 1792-95; Grade II)

  • Sheffield Park, East Sussex (c. 1794; house Grade I; landscape Grade I)

Buildings and landscapes in the Europe to which Latrobe contributed:

Within the office of John Smeaton:

  • Rye Harbour, East Sussex (1786-87)

  • Basingstoke Canal, Hampshire (1788-1794)

  • Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation, Essex (1792-94)

Within the office of Samuel Pepys Cockerell:

For more information on Latrobe’s work, see Fazio, Michael, and Patrick Snadon. The Domestic Architecture of Benjamin Henry Latrobe. Johns Hopkins UP, 2006.

The Fleur de Lys Room, looking south. Hammerwood Park (1792)