George Clarke (7 May 1661 – 22 October 1736) was a British Tory politician and architect who represented Winchelsea, East Looe, Launceston and Oxford University in the English and British House of Commons between 1702 and 1736.
Life
George Clarke was born on 7 May 1661, the son of the politician Sir William Clarke. He enrolled at Brasenose College, Oxford in 1676, and was elected a fellow of All Souls College, Oxford four years later. Clarke was returned in a contested by-election on 23 November 1685 as Member of Parliament for Oxford University, but never took his seat as Parliament had been prorogued. He became Judge Advocate to the English Army and was Secretary at War in Ireland from 1690 to 1692 and in England from 1693 to 1704 under William III of England and Queen Anne. He served as secretary to Prince George of Denmark, Queen Anne's consort and the Lord High Admiral and Generalissimo of England.
Clarke returned to the House of Commons as MP for Oxford University at a by-election on 4 December 1717 following the death of William Whitelock. He was reelected in 1722, 1727, and 1734, by which point he had lost his left eye and was losing sight in the other.
He was also an amateur architect. His known work is largely confined to Oxford, (Clayton's DNB entry for Clarke offers more detail of his architectural endeavours) and he is known to have designed buildings and also to have collaborated with Nicholas Hawksmoor, amongst others.
Timothy Clayton discusses Clarke's print collection, noting "John Vanburgh, Alexander Pope and George Vertue travelled to Oxford to use his library with its unique collection of notes and drawings by [Inigo] Jones" (Clayton 1992, p. 124).
The library of Worcester College, Oxford houses Clarke's collection of books, MSS, prints and drawings. Building work on the library, which was started within a few years of the college's founding in 1714, was completed in 1736. A spat between Clarke and All Souls resulted in the bequest to Worcester.
List of architectural works
The library in the Peckwater Quad, Christ Church, Oxford (1717–38)
Rebuilt The Queen's College, Oxford, with Hawksmoor (1710–21)
The New Buildings, Magdalen College, Oxford (1733)
The Hall, Chapel and Library, Worcester College, Oxford (1733–1753)
The Rectory, Kingston Bagpuize (c.1723)
Cokethorpe House, alterations (c.1710)
Gallery of architectural work
<gallery>
File:Library, Christ Church, Oxford - geograph.org.uk - 187943.jpg|The Library, Christ Church, Oxford
File:Library (rear view), Christ Church, Oxford - geograph.org.uk - 187942.jpg|The rear of The Library, Christ Church, Oxford
File:The Queens' College Oxford, quad.jpg|Quad, The Queens' College Oxford
File:Queens College Ball 2010.jpg|Quad, The Queens' College Oxford
File:ALI 0244.jpg|High Street front, The Queens' College Oxford
File:Magdalen College Oxford panorama.jpg|Magdalen College, Oxford, New Buildings in the background
File:WorcesterCollegeTHShepherdEarly19thc edited.jpg|Front, Worcester College, Oxford
File:WorcQuad.JPG|Quad, Worcester College, Oxford
</gallery>
References
Clayton, T. (1992) "The Print Collection of George Clarke at Worcester College, Oxford". Print Quarterly 9(2) 123–141.
George Clarke Print Collection
http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1715-1754/member/clarke-george-1661-1736
Further reading
Clayton, T. (1997) The English Print 1688–1802. Yale University Press. London.
Clayton, T. (2004) "Clarke, George (1661–1736)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press, 2004. Online edition. DOI: http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/5496