Study for the internal elevation of the east wall of the south-west bastion, with half the adjoining aisle bay to the south

WRE/2/2/5

1675

Pen and brown ink over incised lines and pencil under-drawing, with sketched additions in pencil. 43.8 x 37.9 cm. Watermark: Strasbourg lily WR; countermark: IHS surmounted by a cross, over IM

An unfinished study by Wren, on the upper half of a folded sheet, for the east-facing bastion wall in the west aisle of the south transept. Datable 1675 (pre-construction). Drawn scale, just over 4 ft to 1 inch (10 ft = 64.5 mm), marked along a horizontal fold below the elevation. Niche recesses occur on the eastern (aisle) elevations of the two western bastions and on the aisle elevations of all eight crossing piers. Wren has introduced more broadly spaced pairs of Composite pilasters either side of the central classical frame. They are 8 ft across, as built, instead of 7 ft in WRE/2/2/3 and 4. The 10-ft divisions of the scale bar, centred on the bastion wall, align with the centres of the pairs of pilasters above. The bastion wall is drawn 28 ft wide between the outer edges of the paired pilasters. It was reduced to 27 ft 6 inches in the fabric and the part-pilaster to the left was widened by 6 inches. The written dimensions on this drawing are not those of the design itself but of a revision at the next stage (for which no detailed elevation exists). An addition of three figures totalling 10 ft 9 inches on the right edge of the sheet gives the distance Wren intended between the paired pilasters. The scaled width of this space on the drawing is 12 ft. Wren drew this space in plan and marked his revised dimensions on the elevation above. To reduce the space by 1 ft 3 inches Wren indicated a narrowing of the internal width of the frame to ‘6 [ft]. 3 [inches]’ (it scales at 6 ft 6 inches). The wall space between the frame and the pilasters is reduced from 18 inches to ‘14’, and the architrave is reduced by 2 inches to ‘13’ (twice 13 inches being 2 ft 2 inches in the calculation). Adding the reductions of 3, 8 and 4 inches gives 1 ft 3 inches. Wren marked other adjustments to accommodate the horizontal changes. The internal height of the frame of the niche stayed unchanged at 12 ft 6 inches but the console bracket was to shrink by 3 inches to ‘3 [ft]. 3 [inches]’ and its width trimmed from 6 inches to ‘5’. In the fabric the central space between the paired pilasters was reduced further to 10 ft 6 inches. At the right edge of the sheet is a rough pencil elevation of the canted wall of the bastion with a long central panel and small panels above and below; in the fabric the panelling and dado rail of the aisle wall are repeated on this angled wall. To the lower right is a sketched plan of the corner bastion and two adjacent crossing piers with aisles of differing widths. Near the lower right edge of the sheet is a pencil sketch by Wren for relief ornament in the sub-frieze between the capitals of the bastion wall. He drew the Dean’s crossed swords motif with acanthus scrolls. Garlands or crossed fronds were used instead of swords in the completed work.

Access to the Wren office drawings held at London Metropolitan Archives is available only with advance notice and at the discretion of the Heritage Services Director, London Metropolitan Archives, 40 Northampton Road, London, EC1R 0HB.

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WRE/3/1/9, WRE/3/4/17, WRE/6/1/1, WRE/7/4/1