Geary, Stephen 1797 - 1854

(1797-1854), architect

Stephen Geary was an English architect, civil engineer, and inventor. He is best known as the original architect for Highgate Cemetery, London, where he designed the Egyptian Revival and Gothic revival catacombs, among other works. In 1836 he established the London Cemetery Company, the commercial force behind both Highgate and Nunhead Cemeteries. He published Designs for Tombs and Cenotaphs (1840) in which he was credited with the founding of other cemeteries in the London area. His best-known work apart from Highgate was the so-called King's Cross, a sixty-foot monument to King George IV at the top of the Gray's Inn Road in London, from which the railway station later took its name

He is credited with the design of London's first gin palace, and took out several patents for inventions ranging from artificial fuel to street paving.