Sir Charles Barry, a renowned architect in his day, was also a long-term friend of Bankes. The two men met in 1819 at the temple of Rameses in Abu Simbel, where Bankes made drawings and arranged for the transport of the bilingual obelisk from Philae that may be seen in the gardens of Kingston Lacy today. Bankes had great respect for Barry's talents and Barry accomplished much of the building work on the Bankes' family properties over the years. Barry is well known for his architectural talents which were applied to the Palace of Westminster, St. Peter's Church in Brighton, the Victoria Tower and the Westminster Bridge. His work was inspired by Italian Renaissance type architecture and indeed contributed to the improved design of Bankes' home, Kingston Lacy.