Edward Graham Paley

Who was Edward Graham Paley?

Edward Graham Paley, usually known as E. G. Paley, was an English architect who practised in Lancaster, Lancashire, in the second half of the 19th century. After leaving school in 1838, he went to Lancaster to become a pupil of Edmund Sharpe, and in 1845 he joined Sharpe as a partner. Sharpe retired from the practice in 1851, leaving Paley as the sole principal. In 1868 Hubert Austin joined him as a partner, and in 1886 Paley's son Henry also became a partner. This partnership continued until Edward Paley's death in 1895.

Paley's major work was the design of new churches, but he also rebuilt, restored, and made additions and alterations to existing churches. His major new ecclesiastical design was that of St Peter's Church, Lancaster, which became Lancaster Cathedral. He also carried out secular commissions, mainly on country houses in the north-west of England. His largest and most important secular work was the Royal Albert Asylum in Lancaster. When designing churches, Paley mainly used the Gothic Revival style, but in his secular works he employed a greater variety of styles, including Tudor Revival and Scottish Baronial as well as Gothic Revival.