Francis Johnson (architect)
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Francis Johnston (1760 - 1829) was an Irish architect. He designed Nelson's Pillar in Dublin, now destroyed. He also designed the General Post Office in Dublin.
At a time of huge rebuilding in Georgian Dublin, Johnson was one of the architects responsible for Sackville Street (now O'Connell Street). The great pillar and post Office were designed to harmonise with each other in the street adding grandeur and elegance to the boulevard. He was also responsible for the design of Charleville Forest Castle in Tullamore, County Offaly.
His work is interesting from an architectural point of view, in that it spans both the Neo-Classical and Neo-Gothic styles. His Chapel Royal in Dublin Castle, the pulpit of which is now in St Werburgh's, is a fine example of an early Gothic revival church in Dublin. This later proved a seminal building for later Gothic revival architects in Ireland, with Thomas Deane using the detailing from the windows as a model for those of the Aula Maxima of Queens College Cork.
