North–south section through the south-west tower from the triforium floor to the column shafts of the lantern, showing the upper stage of the staircase chamber, the adjoining triforium gallery and library aisle, and a revised clock/belfry chamber

WRE/6/1/9

c.1700–01

Sir Christopher (1632–1723) Wren, William (1671–1725) Dickinson

Pen and brown ink over pencil, with grey wash and additions in pencil. Single untrimmed sheet of smooth laid paper; repaired tear in lower centre. 49.0 x 38.1 cm. Watermark: Strasbourg lily WR; countermark: ‘L’ with ‘AK’ conjoined

{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0\deflang2057{\fonttbl{\f0\fswiss\fprq2\fcharset0 Microsoft Sans Serif;}{\f1\fswiss\fprq2\fcharset0 System;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue128;} \viewkind4\uc1\pard\cf1\f0\fs20 A finished design for the south-west tower from triforium level to the column shafts of the lantern, with an enlarged clock/belfry stage and notes marking the built and proposed levels of construction on both sides of the west end. Drawn by Dickinson. Datable 1700-01. Scale, about 5.7 ft to 1 inch (10 ft = 45 mm).\par \par The section on the right shows the domical vault of the south-west tower very nearly as built and the cylinder of the tower without the staircase. This was inserted in 1705-06; see WRE/6/2/9. Drawn across the base of the section and annotated in pencil and brown ink at bottom right is the \lquote\i Floore of the Library\i0\rquote , level with the triforium floor. Dickinson\rquote s other annotations, reading upwards from left to right, are: \lquote\i Top of the Inside Cornice\rquote , \lquote Floor in M.r Fulk\rquote s Tower\rquote , \lquote drip of the / side Isle Roofe\rquote , \lquote Impost of the Librar:\i0 [y]\i\rquote , \lquote Top of ye Arch in M.r Fulk\rquote s Tower\rquote , \lquote Top of ye Arch in \i0 [Mr Kempster\rquote s] \i Tower\rquote , \lquote Beame of the Libra:\i0 [ry] \i Roofe\rquote , \lquote floor now laid in / M.r Fulk\rquote s Tower / 2 : 0 / 8 : 0\rquote , \lquote Top of the Libar:y Roofe\rquote , \lquote Top of the Gen\i0 [era]\i ll: plinth\i0\rquote , \lquote\i Top of the Roofe of the Church\i0\rquote . \par \par The floor \lquote\i now laid\i0\rquote in Mr Fulke\rquote s tower is the belfry floor, built in late 1700. The sketch of this floor in section shows two beams laid together, 2 ft deep overall. Marked 8 ft above this is the soffit of a higher floor in the clock/belfry stages. This level was adopted for the upper belfry floor in the north-west tower at the next stage in the design; see WRE/6/2/2. It was accommodated in the present section by adding a tall, two-step plinth above the \lquote general plinth\rquote of the upper order. Overall, the clock/belfry stage in this design is about 7 ft taller than in the previous cross-section, WRE/6/1/8 (23 \'bd ft compared with 16 \'bd ft, measuring from its cornice to the top of the main upper cornice). \par \par The section to the left of the tower is through the vaulted gallery at the west end of the triforium. It includes the arched cross-walls that span between the ends of the library chamber and the clerestory wall of the nave. Drawn in dashed outlines are: (i) the horizontal beam of the aisle roof carried on scrolled brackets and roughly in its built position; (ii) the slope of the triforium roof over the nave aisle, beyond the second cross-wall; (iii) the profiles of pyramidal skylights intended for the roof of the triforium aisle between the library and the nave but not executed (see WRE/3/4/11, 12 and 19); (iv) a drip moulding above the roof of the library aisle, on the nave clerestory wall, the upper library wall and the cross-walls between them; and (v) the arch-headed window in the west front that lights the triforium gallery. \par \par Sketched in pencil in the thickness of the tower wall are the steps of a spiral staircase going up within the north-east angle to the sill of the belfry window, where it reduces to a half-width spiral and then rises in a diagonal line over the back of the vault.\par \par Sketched loosely in pencil in the right-hand wall thickness from cornice level upwards is a wall passage running behind the plinth of the upper entablature. In the final scheme, the wall passage is set higher up, below the sills of the belfry openings; see WRE/6/2/9.\cf0\b\f1\par }

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.

WRE/6/2/9, WRE/6/2/2, WRE/6/2/7, WRE/3/4/11, WRE/3/4/12, WRE/3/4/19, WRE/6/2/1, WRE/6/2/4