North elevation of the western steps

WRE/3/3/7

1685

Sir Christopher (1632–1723) Wren, Nicholas (c.1662–1736) Hawksmoor

Pen and brown ink over pencil, with shading in pen. Smooth laid paper; 35.4 x 41.1 cm. Countermark: IHS surmounted by a cross, over BC

{\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 Drawn by Hawksmoor to the same scale as WRE/3/3/5 (6 ft to 1 inch). Datable 1685. \par \par This study adjusts the line of the upper flight of steps and the profile of the vault beneath them to ensure there is enough depth in the masonry construction for the upper flight. The profile of the vault has been separated from the lintel of the door to the vault beneath the steps. A straight lintel replaces the curved lintel in WRE/3/3/5 and a lower internal vault spans a broader chamber, 7 ft wide. The half-landing platform has been widened. Hawksmoor has written beneath the plan, in an ornate hand characteristic of the later 1680s, \lquote\i The. north. west corner of St Paul\rquote s. The Steps are 14\'b4. & 5\i0\'b4.\rquote The dimensions give the depth and height of the treads in inches. \par \par Several other plans and elevations of c.1685-86 have the lower flight in a pyramidal form; see WRE/3/3/15 and 16 and WRE/3/4/3. This arrangement is also shown in the authorised engraving of the cathedral plan in 1701 (Wren Society 14, pl.6). When the western steps were built in 1709, the pyramidal form was abandoned in favour of a widening flare with enclosing walls and rails down to the bottom step; see WRE/7/2/2 and 7/2/7. In 1872 the western steps were rebuilt by the Surveyor F. C. Penrose to the design in the engraved plan of 1701. \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.

pièce

WRE/7/2/3, WRE/7/2/7, WRE/3/4/3