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Wyatt, James
architect; b. 3 August 1748; d. 5 September 1813.
A brother of Samuel Wyatt. Wyatt was taken to Rome at the age of fourteen by Lord Bagot, ambassador to Italy. He studied also for two years in Venice with Visentini. In 1770 he made considerable reputation by adapting the old Pantheon in Oxford Street, London, for dramatic performances (burned 1792). Working originally in the classical style, he afterward imitated Gothic architecture and built in that style Fonthill Abbey, Wiltshire, for W. Beckford, and other important works. March 16, 1796, he was appointed surveyor general and comptroller of his Majesty's office of works, succeeding Sir William Chambers, and held that office until it was dropped in 1815. He was made a member of the Royal Academy in 1785, and temporary president in 1805. He built the royal military academy of Woolrich, and restored Salisbury and Lincoln cathedrals.
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