Stephen Geary

Geary was born in Dean's Yard, Westminster, London, on 31 August 1797. At the age of 13 he was apprenticed to the architect Thomas Leverton. In 1817 he joined the Royal Academy architecture schools. He exhibited drawings and models at the Royal Academy on six occasions.

His best known work was Highgate Cemetery, opened in 1839, and later to be his resting place, where he designed the Egyptian Avenue and the Terrace Catacombs: he was also founder of the London Cemetery Company, established by Act of Parliament in 1836, which owned Highgate Cemetery and Nunhead Cemetery. He is also associated with Gravesend, Nunhead and Brompton Cemeteries and produced a design for a Brighton cemetery that was never built.

• St Pancras Collegiate School, London. Designed but not built. • A short-lived monument, consisting of a building, with a statue of King George IV on top (it was erected in 1836, the statue was demolished in 1842, the building in 1845), that gave its name to Kings Cross. • Gin palaces. Geary was noted in his day for designing gin palaces. Only one is known to survive, The Bell in Pentonville Road. He is reputed to have designed the first gin palace in London (around 1829), although that accolade is usually given to the gin palace built for wine merchants Thompson & Fearon in Holborn (1829–1832) and was designed by John Buonarotti Papworth (the building no longer exists).

• Illustration — The Egyptian Avenue in Highgate Cemetery (west side) designed by Stephen Geary • Illustration — Part of the Circle of Lebanon in Highgate Cemetery (west side) designed by Stephen Geary • Illustration — View of the Circle of Lebanon in Highgate Cemetery (west side) taken from above the Egyptian Avenue • Illustration — A grave memorial in Highgate Cemetery (west side) designed by Stephen Geary, Architect • Illustration — Design for the Kings Cross monument to King George IV