Robinson, Peter Frederick (1776–1858). English architect. He was a pupil of Porden and later assisted Holland with the enlargement of Brighton Pavilion (1801–2). He became a prolific provider of eclectic designs suitable for Regency taste, and could turn his hand to most styles without a qualm. He designed the influential ‘Egyptian Hall’ in Piccadilly, London (1811–12—demolished 1905), a curious concoction of somewhat unscholarly Egyptianizing elements on a façade intended to advertise William Bullock's (fl. c.1795–1826) Museum (Papworth later added an equally unscholarly interior in the same style). He carried out developments around Beauchamp Square, Leamington Spa, Warwicks. (1825–6), and designed the original Swiss Cottage, Regent's Park, London (c.1828—demolished). He designed the impressive Gateway, Lodge, and Almshouses, Seaforde, Co. Down (1833), and may have been involved in the design of Seaforde House itself (1816–20—with fine Greek Revival interiors). He is best known today as the author of Rural Architecture (1823 with subsequent editions), Designs for Ornamental Villas (1825–7 and later editions), Designs for Village Architecture … illustrating the Observations contained in an Essay on the Picturesque by Sir Uvedale Price (1830 and later editions), Designs for Farm Buildings (1830, etc.), Designs for Lodges and Park Entrances (1833, etc.), and other works that were responsible for disseminating his somewhat ungainly ideas of Picturesque buildings throughout the land and the USA.

Bibliography

Bence-Jones (1988);
Colvin (1995);
J. Curl (2005);
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2004)