An unrealised scheme for the precinct, c.1696–97

WRE/7/1

8 drawings

{\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 WRE/7/1/1 is a block-plan of the precinct which incorporates a project sketched by Wren and Hawksmoor to rebuild almost all the churchyard frontages in a symmetrical, wedge-shaped piazza, on axis with the cathedral. The scheme can be dated c.1696-97, as the block-plan by William Dickinson (who joined the office in 1696) shows the cathedral before revisions to the north and south transept steps in 1698-99. \par \par In WRE/7/1/2 Hawksmoor refined the planning of the rotunda at the west end and drew the terraces of houses around the churchyard with ground-floor arcades. He modelled the rotunda on Wren\rquote s unrealised scheme of 1678 for a mausoleum to Charles I at Windsor Castle, sketching the design in half-elevation, section and plan (WRE/7/1/3). Simon Gribelin appears to have been responsible for two neat but unfinished drawings based on this sketch: an elevation, (WRE/7/1/4, with a scale bar by Hawksmoor), and a section (WRE/7/1/5). The mausoleum may have been intended to house a monument to Queen Mary II, who died in December 1694. \par \par WRE/7/1/6 is a long elevation in pencil of three terraces of houses on the south side of the proposed new precinct. It provides the basis for two large-scale studies of houses, WRE/7/1/7 and 8. The three-storeyed pilastered elevation below the attic recalls Roger North\rquote s frontage to Middle Temple of 1684, while the ground-floor arcade derives from Inigo Jones\rquote s Covent Garden piazza in the 1630s.\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.

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