John Penfold

Who was John Penfold?

John Wornham Penfold was a surveyor and architect born in Haslemere, Surrey where he is also buried. The house in which he once lived, "Penfolds", is still to be found near the centre of the town.

Penfold did his articles with Thomas Talbot Bury and Charles Lee between 1845 and 1850. Following his articles he worked for William Burn, before striking out to his own practice at Charlotte Row, Mansion House, London in 1854.

During his career Penfold was made President of the Architectural Association School of Architecture and an associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects, becoming a fellow in 1881. He was a founding member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and its Honorary Secretary from 1868 to 1904.

Penfold is perhaps best known for his design of the British hexagonal post box in 1866, now known as a Penfold box.