Thomas Webster (1773-1844)

Ri Clerk of the Works 1799

Thomas Webster was an architect and geologist, who gave the CHRISTMAS LECTURES series on Geology in 1830.

About

Ri positions

  • Clerk of the Works 1799

Webster was an architect and geologist, born in Orkney in c.1772 and educated in Aberdeen. He travelled to England and France  as a young man before moving to London to work as an architect. He was employed as Clerk of the Works by the Royal Institution to design the lecture theatre in 1799. He based the steeply raked design on the same principle as anatomy lecture theatres, allowing the audience a good view of the speaker and demonstration bench.

He was also a geologist, publishing influential work on key aspects of British geology not known before, including upper secondary and tertiary strata. In 1826 he became Curator of the Geological Society's museum and was Professor of Geology at University College London from 1842 to 1844. He died in London in 1844.

He also later gave the CHRISTMAS LECTURES series on Geology in 1830.

The Royal Institution is closed 19 March

The Ri is closed this week on Tuesday 19 March.