born - 30 September 1800, North House, Southampton Terrace, Bloomsbury, London
died - 14 December 1881, 1 Gloucester Houses, Kensington, London
Publications
Burton's St Leonards, by J. Manwaring Baines, published 1956 (68 pp., Hastings: Hastings Museum)
Review by E. A. W. in Sussex Notes and Queries, May 1957:This little book outlines the career of James Burton and the history of the town which he founded on a part of Gensing farm near Hastings in 1828.
James was descended from the Haliburtons of Roxburghshire, but assumed the shortened name before the birth of Decimus his more famous son, whose works include the great arch at Hyde Park Corner, the Atheneum and Charing Cross Hospital.
Enough remains of James' St. Leonards for his designs to be appreciated, though some of it has been pulled down, such as the baths opposite the Central Hotel (now called the Royal Victoria) and some, such as the church, destroyed by air raids. The excellent illustrations from drawings made about 1830 incite the reader to go, book in hand, for a stroll round the district.
The improvements of the town, its government by Commissioners, the problem of road-building and of keeping in check the sea, the rules about bathing, the coming of the railway, and the final amalgamation with Hastings are all described. There is a chapter on royal visitors, one of whom was the little princess Victoria. It is satisfactory to know that the house in which she stayed (originally Burton's own) has been saved from destruction by the efforts of such as Mr. Baines.
The book has three appendices and an index.
James was descended from the Haliburtons of Roxburghshire, but assumed the shortened name before the birth of Decimus his more famous son, whose works include the great arch at Hyde Park Corner, the Atheneum and Charing Cross Hospital.
Enough remains of James' St. Leonards for his designs to be appreciated, though some of it has been pulled down, such as the baths opposite the Central Hotel (now called the Royal Victoria) and some, such as the church, destroyed by air raids. The excellent illustrations from drawings made about 1830 incite the reader to go, book in hand, for a stroll round the district.
The improvements of the town, its government by Commissioners, the problem of road-building and of keeping in check the sea, the rules about bathing, the coming of the railway, and the final amalgamation with Hastings are all described. There is a chapter on royal visitors, one of whom was the little princess Victoria. It is satisfactory to know that the house in which she stayed (originally Burton's own) has been saved from destruction by the efforts of such as Mr. Baines.
The book has three appendices and an index.
A Walk Around Burton's St Leonards, by Michael Barnard, published 1977 (13 pp., Lewes) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508927] & British Library & East Sussex Libraries
Burton's St. Leonards : the contribution of Decimus Burton, by Barry Funnell, published 1982 (16 pp., Burton's St Leonard Society) accessible at: East Sussex Libraries
The work of James and Decimus Burton of St. Leonards, by Nigel Mark Wade, published 1988 (91 leaves, published by the author) accessible at: East Sussex Libraries
Augustus Pugin Versus Decimus Burton: A Victorian Architectural Duel, by Guy Williams, published 3 May 1990 (160 pp., London: Cassell Illustrated, ISBN-10: 0304315613 & ISBN-13: 9780304315611) accessible at: East Sussex Libraries
Abstract:An entertaining account of the personal and professional rivalry between two outstanding 19th-century architects - Decimus Burton, society figure and exponent of the classical style of architecture, and Augustus Pugin, a fervent advocate of the neo-gothic.
Decimus Burton, Esquire: Architect and Gentleman 1800-1881, by Philip Whitbourn, published June 2003 (72 pp., Royal Tunbridge Wells Civic Society, ISBN-10: 0954534301 & ISBN-13: 9780954534301) accessible at: East Sussex Libraries
James and Decimus Burton's Regency New Town at St Leonards-on-Sea, 1827-37, by Elizabeth Nathaniels, published 2012 in The Georgian Group Journal (vol. XX, article, pp.151-170)