(b London, 1838; d London, 18 Nov 1919). Son of (3) John Gregory Crace. He was apprenticed to (2) Frederick Crace. He first came to public notice through his Gothic- and Renaissance-style furniture for the International Exhibition of 1862 in London. Of scholarly inclinations, John Dibblee Crace executed creditable work in the Gothic style at the Palace of Westminster (1869), London, and at Knightshayes (1874–82), Devon, after the dismissal of the architect William Burges. His passion for Italian Renaissance art culminated in the publication of The Art of Colour Decoration (London, 1912). John Dibblee Crace’s greatest patron was John Alexander Thynne, 4th Marquess of Bath (1831–1915), for whom he transformed the state rooms and east range (1874–82) of Longleat, Wilts, creating some of the most important Renaissance Revival interiors in Britain. Crace’s travels to the Middle East in 1868–9 later inspired his interiors in the Islamic style, most notably his work at the Royal Pavilion (1884–98). At the end of his career he worked for William Waldorf Astor, decorating Cliveden (c. 1895), Bucks, 18 Carlton House Terrace, London (1895–6), and the Astor Estate Office (c. 1892–5), London, in a sumptuous French Renaissance style, and designing for Astor many items of furniture. Like his father, John Dibblee Crace was a Master of the Painter-Stainers’ Company in London and belonged to many other professional bodies and published a number of articles on art and design. After the closure of the firm, he acted as a consultant until his death.

Part of the Crace family

• Crace, John Dibblee
  • Brighton
  • Burges, William, §3: Other architectural work, 1869–81
  • Crace
  • Pompeian Revival, §4: The 19th century and later
  • Town hall, §3(i): Town halls in the 19th century: Britain