Plan of one bay and two adjoining half bays at church-floor, triforium and clerestory levels

WRE/3/1/8

1685–86

Sir Christopher (1632–1723) Wren, Unidentified draughtsman (fl.1675–c.1687)

Pen and brown ink, with red chalk, over incised lines and pencil under-drawing. Laid paper, with modern backing repair to a narrow loss along a fold on the right-hand side. 52.1 x 28.5 cm. Watermark: Strasbourg lily WR.

A study-plan of the walls and internal structure at triforium and clerestory levels and of the built plan at church-floor level. Drawn by the unidentified draughtsman (fl.1675-c.1687), Datable 1685-86. Drawn scale, just under 6 ft to 1 inch (10 ft = 43 mm). Drawn in red chalk are the screen wall above the aisle wall and the square timber posts and masonry pier responds which support the aisle roof (compare WRE/3/1/9 and 10). The flying buttresses are drawn without shading to indicate that they arch across the space to meet the outer wall at the level of the springing of the high vaults (after passing through the triforium roof). The buttresses meet the clerestory wall on this plan at 5-ft-deep pier responds. These responds were reduced in construction by about 2 ft to align with the pilasters in the aisles below (see WRE/8/2/1). In the fabric, extra timber posts were set in front of the responds to give added support to the roof beams and the thickness of the outer timber posts was reduced. The internal span of the buttresses was also reduced; they arrive at triforium floor level some 2 ft 6 inches in front of the wall piers shown on this plan. Pencilled dimensions between the square posts and the edges of the buttresses ('10 - 3 ½’ and ‘11 - 9’) suggest a concern with regular spacing of supports for the beams between the bays.

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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