Study for the external aisle bay on the west side of the south transept

WRE/2/4/14

1678–79

Sir Christopher (1632–1723) Wren, Edward (c.1635–1695) Pearce

Pen and brown ink over pencil under-drawing. 41.7 x 32.0 cm. Watermark: Strasbourg lily WR.

{\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 study by Pearce for the external east or west aisle bays of the transept from the ground to the top of the capitals of the aisle wall. Datable 1678-79. Drawn scale, just over 4 ft to 1 inch (10 ft = 65 mm).\par \par Characteristic of Pearce\rquote s hand are the freely drawn swags of fruit and leaves which fill most of the available space in the sub-frieze (compare those in Wren\rquote s studies for the choir aisle bays in 1675-76, WRE/2/3/2 and 5). A pencilled change to the jointing of the stone blocks in the frieze reduces the number of carved blocks from six in WRE/2/3/5 to four, but was not adopted in the fabric. Pearce centred his scale bar on the bay, the distance to the middle of the paired pilasters being 17 ft.\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/2/3/2, WRE/2/3/5