Elevation of a dome with a 24-bay upper peristyle and a tall, columnar drum, with pedimented bays on the cardinal and diagonal axes, and an implied concave-sided plan

WRE/5/1/9

c.1690–91

Sir Christopher (1632–1723) Wren, Unidentified draughtsman associated with west end and dome (fl. c.1685–91)

Pen and brown ink over pencil under-drawing with additions in pencil. Smooth laid paper. 43.1 x 31.7 cm. Watermark: Strasbourg lily (without WR pendant). Countermark: GI

A variant design for a dome with aedicule bays in the peristyle, probably developed from the right side of WRE/5/1/7. Drawn in ink by the unidentified draughtsman associated with the west end and dome (fl. c.1685-91); some pencil drawing by Wren. Datable c.1690-91. Implied scale, 20 ft to 1 inch. The naïve pen drawing in this elevation makes it difficult to interpret, as the draughtsman has omitted some vertical breaks in the peristyle and lower drum that would have distinguished the projecting and receding bays more clearly. Nevertheless it illustrates scheme for a concave-sided octagonal lower drum and peristyle. Segmental-pedimented aedicules crowned by oval finials mark the cardinal and diagonal bays of an octagonal peristyle with concave sides. A half-plan of one of these aedicules is on WRE/5/1/1, (ii). Between the aedicules are pier masses with paired columns at the fronts and sides and flaming vases on scrolled bases above them. These pier masses would have stood above the eight crossing piers, like those in eighth-plans WRE/5/1/1, (i) and (ii). The absence of breaks in the entablature and upper plinth of the peristyle suggest continuous curves between the bays. If so, the design prefigures the concave-sided octagonal peristyle drawn in perspective at the next stage, WRE/5/1/10, where the pediments and vase finials are omitted. Below the right-hand diagonal bay is a half-octagonal domed exedra. It covers the semi-dome over the quarter gallery of the crossing (sketched below in pencil) where it would be exposed by the concave recess of the lower drum. At this stage in the design, the roof between the drum and the perimeter of the bastion would have been lower than built; see the pencil sketching on the right side of WRE/5/1/11.

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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