John Lee Archer was born on April 26, 1791 in Ireland and, in 1809, went to London to be trained by Charles Beazley for three years.
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After further training with several tutors, young Mr Archer received letters of recommendation to take up a position as the Colonial civil engineer and architect in Van Diemen's Land.
He sailed in the Lang from Portsmouth in April 1827, arriving in Hobart 17 weeks later in August and immediately began his duties.
John Lee Archer spent most of his time in Hobart designing military and civil buildings; he rarely visited Launceston.
He did however design the Court House built in 1837-38.
It is said to have been an elegant structure and replaced an earlier courthouse at the junction of St John and Cameron streets.
The Court House survived the terrors of modernism and was not demolished until 1940 to make way for an extension of the Technical College.
Other known buildings of Archer's design in Launceston were the Female House of Correction (1832) in Paterson Street where Launceston College is today and the early Custom House in William Street (1836).
He visited country areas where he had sent plans and designs for many local churches.
Entally Chapel at Hadspen (1835), St Luke's Presbyterian Church at Bothwell built 1830-31 and St John's Anglican Church, New Town accompanied by the Orphan schools were all designed by Archer.
He designed three hospitals - Hamilton and Oatlands in 1836, and Norfolk Plains in 1838.
The position of civil engineer and Colonial architect was abolished by Lieutenant-Governor Sir John Franklin, and in October 1838 Archer accepted the position of police magistrate at Circular Head.
During that period, he prepared several drawings for the Van Diemen's Land Company.
John Lee Archer died at Stanley on December 4, 1852 and is buried in the cemetery at the foot of The Nut.
A book on John Lee Archer by Roy Smith (1962) includes a list of other works in Archer's period as civil engineer and Colonial architect.
These were possibly his responsibility, although his personal connection is not recorded and includes the Campbell Town Gaol (1828), the Commissariat Store at Ross (1835) and the hospital at Westbury (1835-37).
Others on the list in Launceston are the Independent Chapel in Tamar Street which he inspected in 1837, the Powder Magazine, the Treadmill (1837) and the completion of the tower of St John's Anglican Church in 1830. Another of St John's myths busted.