ThomasArcher (1668?-1743), English architect, who, along with Nicholas Hawksmoor and Sir John Vanbrugh, was among the leading practitioners of the baroque style in English architecture. Archer was the most prominent architect of the English baroque to adopt the florid style pioneered by Italian architects Gianlorenzo Bernini and Francesco Borromini (see Baroque Art and Architecture).

Born in Warwickshire, England, Archer attended the University of Oxford and subsequently spent four years traveling in Europe. Unlike better-known English architects of the period, he studied the monuments of Italian baroque architecture firsthand. After returning from his travels, he worked at the court of Queen Anne, where in 1705 he was appointed Groom Porter, a position of considerable privilege. During this period, Archer was engaged in building the north wing of the Duke of Devonshire’s house at Chatsworth, Derbyshire, in central England.

Not long before Archer’s birth, London had been devastated by the fire of 1666, known as the Great Fire of London. The initial rebuilding of the city was undertaken by architect Sir Christopher Wren, who designed more than 50 London churches, including Saint Paul’s Cathedral. In 1711 Parliament passed an act calling for 50 more churches to be built in and around London, and Archer was appointed one of the commissioners of the project. He designed two of the churches himself: Saint Paul’s, at Deptford (1712-1730), and Saint John’s, at Smith Square (1713-1728). Saint John’s, with its dramatic towers at each corner, was severely damaged by fire in 1741 and was gutted by German bombs during World War II (1939-1945). Archer also designed Saint Philip’s, Birmingham (consecrated in 1715), and several London town houses and English country estates.

Perhaps as a result of his experience in Italy, Archer’s style was more flamboyant than that of his contemporaries. For Saint John’s and for some of the houses, he used dramatic broken pediments—ornamental gables designed with a gap at the top or with gaps between the top and the corners. Other expressive devices Archer favored include subtle manipulation of curves in buildings to exaggerate their scale, a high ratio of window space to wall area, and extensive use of curving lines to emphasize the sculptural qualities of a building.