Edward Graham Paley, usually known as E. G. Paley, was an English architect who practised in Lancaster, Lancashire, in the second half of the 19th century. After leaving school in 1838, he went to Lancaster to become a pupil of Edmund Sharpe, and in 1845 he joined Sharpe as a partner. Sharpe retired from the practice in 1851, leaving Paley as the sole principal. In 1868, Hubert Austin joined him as a partner, and in 1886, Paley's son, Henry, also became a partner. This partnership continued until Paley's death in 1895.
E. G. Paley in 1868
Lancaster Cathedral
St. George's Church, Barrow-in-Furness
Royal Albert Asylum, Lancaster, showing the tower with its French features
Edmund Sharpe was an English architect, architectural historian, railway engineer, and sanitary reformer. Born in Knutsford, Cheshire, he was educated first by his parents and then at schools locally and in Runcorn, Greenwich and Sedbergh. Following his graduation from Cambridge University he was awarded a travelling scholarship, enabling him to study architecture in Germany and southern France. In 1835 he established an architectural practice in Lancaster, initially working on his own. In 1845 he entered into partnership with Edward Paley, one of his pupils. Sharpe's main focus was on churches, and he was a pioneer in the use of terracotta as a structural material in church building, designing what were known as "pot" churches, the first of which was St Stephen and All Martyrs' Church, Lever Bridge.
Sharpe, c. 1860
William Whewell, Professor of Mineralogy when Sharpe was studying at Cambridge
St Mark's Church, Witton, one of Sharpe's earliest churches
St Michael's Church, Kirkham showing Sharpe's steeple