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Article
Sir Christopher Wren’s failed project for a crossing tower and spire at Westminster Abbey, 1713–25
01/2019 | 1390 | 161
Pages: 44-57
related names
Author:
Higgott, Gordon (Higgott, Gordon)
Subjects
art literature:
places:
Illustrations
Attributed works:
1. Model of the crossing with Wren’s project for a tower and spire, from the north west, by Elizabeth Gregory (as head carpenter). 1714–16. Oak and pearwood, 240 by 116 by 85.5 cm. (© The Dean and Chapter of Westminster).
Attributed works:
10. The south-west crossing pier of Westminster Abbey, from the south-east gallery. (Photograph Lisa Stein).
Attributed works:
11. The easternmost bay on the north side of the nave, showing distortion of the crossing pier at the level of the aisle vaults. (Photograph the author).
Attributed works:
12. Plan of the tower of the model at four levels, with Wren’s proposal for strengthening the crossing piers at bottom left, by William Dickinson. c.1714. Pen and brown ink over graphite with grey wash on paper, 33.9 by 39 cm. (The Bodleian Libraries, The University of Oxford, Gough Maps 23, fol.46(b)).
Attributed works:
13. Detail of a survey plan of a crossing pier, by William Dickinson. 1713. Pen and brown ink over graphite with black wash on paper, 20.1 by 31.7 cm. (The Bodleian Libraries, The University of Oxford, Gough Maps 23, fol.24v; photograph the author).
Attributed works:
14. Copy of a diagram by Wren of an aisle and crossing pier, by ‘Mr Gayfere’. c.1715–c.1735. Pen and brown ink on paper, 15.2 by 9 cm. (© The Dean and Chapter of Westminster; WAM 66895*).
Attributed works:
15. Detail of Westminster Abbey from St James’s Park, by William Lodge, printed by Pierce Tempest. 1680s. Etching, 13 by 25.5 cm. (The Bodleian Libraries, The University of Oxford, Gough Maps 23, fol.46v.(d); photograph the author).
Attributed works:
16. Detail of a copy of Wren’s Figure II in his Tract II (1710–30), showing a pier and a half-arch, with their centres of gravity, in Christopher Wren Jr’s manuscript for Parentalia. 1741. Pen and brown ink on paper, 32.7 by 18.6 cm. (© The Royal Society, London; MS 249, fol.483).
Attributed works:
18. Elevation of the proposed tower and spire over a section through the crossing, by William Dickinson. Late 1722 or 1723. With notes and sketched additions by Nicholas Hawksmoor, c.1723. Grey wash over graphite, with grey and brown ink on paper, 72.8 by 21.6 cm. (© The Dean and Chapter of Westminster; WAM (P) 913).
Attributed works:
19. Long section through the Abbey showing proposals for an octagonal dome over the crossing (with alternatives in a half-plan, top left), and the west towers, by Nicholas Hawksmoor. May 1724. Pen and brown ink with grey wash over graphite on paper, 52.2 by 107.5 cm. (© The Dean and Chapter of Westminster; WAM (P) 910).
Attributed works:
2. The north prospect of Westminster Abbey, by Wenceslaus Hollar. 1654. Etching, 21.7 by 32.8 cm. (© The Dean and Chapter of Westminster; Langley Coll I, i (1)).
Attributed works:
20. Detail of a plan of the crossing, choir and sanctuary (with north at the bottom), showing Hawksmoor’s proposal for enlarging the crossing piers, by William Dickinson. June 1724. Pen and brown ink over graphite, with brown, grey and yellow-ochre wash on paper, 49.5 by 54.6 cm. (The Bodleian Libraries, The University of Oxford, Gough Maps 23, fol.24).
Attributed works:
21. The Abbey from the north, showing the first of three alternatives for the lantern and cupola, and a proposal for the west towers, by Nicholas Hawksmoor and Thomas Hinton. 1725–26. Pen and brown ink over grey wash and graphite on paper, 51 by 70.1 cm. (© The Dean and Chapter of Westminster; WAM, Hawksmoor 4A).
Attributed works:
22. The west front of Westminster Abbey, showing the towers built to Hawksmoor’s design, 1735–45. (Photograph the author).
Attributed works:
3. Survey plan of Westminster Abbey (with north at the bottom), by James Broughton. c.1697–c.1705. Pen and brown ink shaded in black and grey wash over graphite on paper, 53.5 by 74.8 cm. (© The Dean and Chapter of Westminster; WAM (P) 915).
Attributed works:
4. Sectional model of one bay of the choir and cloister, by Elizabeth Gregory (as head carpenter), 1710. Oak and pearwood, 72.9 by 83.7 by 16.2 cm. (© The Dean and Chapter of Westminster).
Attributed works:
5. Elevation (with alternatives) of the proposed tower and spire, with the gable of the north transept front, and attached plan, by William Dickinson. September and December 1722. Pen and brown ink over graphite, with grey and brown wash on paper, 104 by 38.2 cm. (© The Dean and Chapter of Westminster; WAM (P) 907, 907A).
Attributed works:
6. Detail of the model in Fig.1, showing the vault over the crossing. (© The Dean and Chapter of Westminster).
Attributed works:
7. The quire of Westminster Abbey from the west. c.1700. Canvas, 153 by 129 cm. (© The Dean and Chapter of Westminster; WA 1775).
Attributed works:
8. Plan of the vault for the crossing lantern, by Nicholas Hawksmoor. 1726–27. Pen and brown ink, with yellow ochre and grey wash over graphite on paper, 47.5 by 35 cm. (© The Dean and Chapter of Westminster).
Attributed works:
9. The north transept front and the crossing lantern of Westminster Abbey. (Photograph the author).
Western art unattributed:
17. The north-east prospect of Beverley Minster, published by H. Overton and J. Hoole (London) and G. Feraby (Hull). c.1717. Engraving, 48.5 by 56.7 cm. (The Bodleian Libraries, The University of Oxford, Gough Maps 35, fol.2).