Surveyor of the Fabric of Westminster Abbey

Last updated

Portrait of Sir Christopher Wren by Godfrey Kneller, 1711. Wren was the first Surveyor of the Fabric of Westminster Abbey Christopher Wren by Godfrey Kneller 1711.jpg
Portrait of Sir Christopher Wren by Godfrey Kneller, 1711. Wren was the first Surveyor of the Fabric of Westminster Abbey

The post of Surveyor of the Fabric of Westminster Abbey was established in 1698. [n 1] The role is an architectural one, with the current holder being responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the Abbey and its buildings. [n 2] In the past, the role has involved overseeing new construction work as well as restoration and architectural conservation. The post has been held by the following people:

Contents

  1. Christopher Wren (1698–1723) [1] [n 3]
  2. Nicholas Hawksmoor (1723–1736) [1]
  3. John James (1736–1746) [1]
  4. James Horne (1746–1752) [1]
  5. Henry Keene (1752–1776) [1]
  6. James Wyatt (1776–1813) [1]
  7. Benjamin Dean Wyatt (1813–1827) [1]
  8. Edward Blore (1827–1849) [1]
  9. George Gilbert Scott (1849–1878) [1]
  10. John Loughborough Pearson (1878–1897) [1]
  11. John Thomas Micklethwaite (1897–1906) [1]
  12. William Lethaby (1906–1928) [1]
  13. Walter Tapper (1928–1935) [1]
  14. Charles Reed Peers (1935–1951) [1]
  15. Stephen Dykes Bower (1951–1973) [1]
  16. (John) Peter Foster (1973–1988) [2] [12] [13]
  17. Donald Buttress (1988–1999) [2] [14]
  18. John Burton (1999–2012) [15]
  19. Ptolemy Dean (2012–present) [16]

Notes

  1. Alcuin Club Collections, Volume 38 (1952), page 223, Appendix VIII ('The Surveyors of Westminster Abbey') lists the Fabric Surveyors, the College Surveyors and the Deputy Fabric Surveyors from 1698 (from 1660 for the College Surveyors) to 1952. [1] The 2003 edition of the relevant volume from Pevsner's The Buildings of England series gives a similar list, but disagrees on the transition year between Pearson (who died on 11 December 1897) and Micklethwaite, giving the transition year as 1898 instead of 1897. [2] Pevsner also (incorrectly) gives the transition year between Buttress and Burton as 1995. [2]
  2. For more on the modern evolution of the role and related guidance and legislation, see Cathedral Architect.
  3. Wren was appointed Surveyor of Westminster Abbey following an Act of Parliament to fund repairs to the Abbey. Upon his death, Wren was buried in St Paul's Cathedral. As of 2018, nine of his successors as Surveyors of the Fabric have been buried, or been commemorated, or had their ashes interred in Westminster Abbey: James Wyatt, [3] Scott, [4] Pearson, [5] Micklethwaite, [6] Lethaby, [7] Tapper, [8] Peers, [9] Bower [10] and Foster. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westminster Abbey</span> Church in London, England

Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British monarchs and a burial site for 18 English, Scottish, and British monarchs. At least 16 royal weddings have taken place at the abbey since 1100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicholas Hawksmoor</span> English architect

Nicholas Hawksmoor was an English architect. He was a leading figure of the English Baroque style of architecture in the late-seventeenth and early-eighteenth centuries. Hawksmoor worked alongside the principal architects of the time, Christopher Wren and John Vanbrugh, and contributed to the design of some of the most notable buildings of the period, including St Paul's Cathedral, Wren's City of London churches, Greenwich Hospital, Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard. Part of his work has been correctly attributed to him only relatively recently, and his influence has reached several poets and authors of the twentieth century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palace of Whitehall</span> English royal residence in London (1530–1698)

The Palace of Whitehall – also spelled White Hall – at Westminster was the main residence of the English monarchs from 1530 until 1698, when most of its structures, with the notable exception of Inigo Jones's Banqueting House of 1622, were destroyed by fire. Henry VIII moved the royal residence to White Hall after the old royal apartments at the nearby Palace of Westminster were themselves destroyed by fire. Although the Whitehall palace has not survived, the area where it was located is still called Whitehall and has remained a centre of the British government.

John James was a British architect particularly associated with Twickenham in west London, where he rebuilt St Mary's Church and also built a house for James Johnson, Secretary of State for Scotland, later Orleans House and since demolished. Howard Colvin's assessment of him was that of "a competent architect, but he lacked inventive fancy, and his buildings are for the most part plain and unadventurous in design".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philip Hardwick</span> English architect

Philip Hardwick was an English architect, particularly associated with railway stations and warehouses in London and elsewhere. Hardwick is probably best known for London's demolished Euston Arch and its twin station, the original Birmingham Curzon Street, which stands today as the oldest railway terminus building in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Truro Cathedral</span> Church in Cornwall, United Kingdom

The Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Truro, Cornwall. It was built between 1880 and 1910 to a Gothic Revival design by John Loughborough Pearson on the site of the parish church of St Mary. It is one of three cathedrals in the United Kingdom featuring three spires.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Loughborough Pearson</span> British architect

John Loughborough Pearson was a British Gothic Revival architect renowned for his work on churches and cathedrals. Pearson revived and practised largely the art of vaulting, and acquired in it a proficiency unrivalled in his generation. He worked on at least 210 ecclesiastical buildings in England alone in a career spanning 54 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Margaret's, Westminster</span> 12th-century church in London, England

The Church of St Margaret, Westminster Abbey is in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, London, England. It is dedicated to Margaret of Antioch, and forms part of a single World Heritage Site with the Palace of Westminster and Westminster Abbey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Lethaby</span> English architect and architectural historian

William Richard Lethaby was an English architect and architectural historian whose ideas were highly influential on the late Arts and Crafts and early Modern movements in architecture, and in the fields of conservation and art education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Vedast Foster Lane</span> Church in London, England

Saint Vedast Foster Lane or Saint Vedast-alias-Foster, a church in Foster Lane, in the City of London, is dedicated to St. Vedast, a French saint whose cult arrived in England through contacts with Augustinian clergy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Somers Clarke</span> English architect and Egyptologist (1841–1926)

George Somers Clarke (1841–1926) was an architect and English Egyptologist who worked on the restoration and design of churches and at a number of sites throughout Egypt, notably in El Kab, where he built a house. He was born in Brighton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter Tapper</span> English architect (1861–1935)

Sir Walter John Tapper was an English architect known for his work in the Gothic Revival style and a number of church buildings. He worked with some leading ecclesiastical architects of his day and was President of the Royal Institute of British Architects. Tapper was appointed Surveyor of the Fabric of Westminster Abbey and acted as consulting architect to York Minster and Manchester Cathedral. On his death in 1935 his son Michael Tapper completed some of his works.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Dykes Bower</span>

Stephen Ernest Dykes Bower was a British church architect and Gothic Revival designer best known for his work at Westminster Abbey, Bury St Edmunds Cathedral and the Chapel at Lancing College. As an architect he was a devoted and determined champion of the Gothic Revival style through its most unpopular years. He rejected modernism and continued traditions from the late Victorian period, emphasising fine detail, craftsmanship and bright colour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Mary's, Stretton</span> Church

St Mary's is the Church of England parish church for the village of Stretton, East Staffordshire, north of Burton upon Trent. It is part of the Diocese of Lichfield.

John Thomas Micklethwaite was an English architect and archaeologist. He had a long association with Westminster Abbey, and was noted for his criticisms of the current practices of church restoration.

Marshall Arnott Sisson RA was a British architect, active in 1928–70. Although his earliest buildings were modernist, after around 1935 he used only traditional styles and became known for his restoration work. He served as the Royal Academy's surveyor (1947–65) and treasurer (1965–70).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surveyor of the Fabric of St Paul's Cathedral</span>

The post of Surveyor of the Fabric of St Paul's Cathedral was established in 1675. The role is an architectural one, with the current holder being responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the cathedral and its buildings. In the past, the role has involved overseeing new construction work as well as restoration and architectural conservation. The post has been held by the following people:

  1. Christopher Wren (1675–1723)
  2. John James (1723–1746)
  3. Henry Flitcroft (1746–1756)
  4. Stiff Leadbetter (1756–1766)
  5. Robert Mylne (1766-1811)
  6. Samuel Pepys Cockerell (1811–1819)
  7. Charles Robert Cockerell (1819–1852)
  8. Francis Penrose (1852–1897)
  9. Somers Clarke (1897–1906)
  10. Mervyn Edmund Macartney (1906–1931)
  11. Walter Godfrey Allen (1931–1956)
  12. John Seely, Lord Mottistone (1956–1963)
  13. Paul Edward Paget (1963–1969)
  14. Bernard Feilden (1969–1977)
  15. Robert Potter (1978–1984)
  16. William Whitfield (1985–1990)
  17. Martin Stancliffe (1990–2011)
  18. Oliver Caroe (2011–present)
<span class="mw-page-title-main">All Saints' Church, Brockhampton</span> Church in Herefordshire, England

The Church of All Saints is a Church of England parish church at Brockhampton in the English county of Herefordshire. The church was commissioned by Alice Foster as a memorial to her parents, Eben and Julia Jordan. The architect was William Lethaby and construction took place between 1901 and 1902. It is a Grade I listed building and is considered among the best examples of the works of the Arts and Crafts movement.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 "Appendix VIII The Surveyors of Westminster Abbey". Alcuin Club Collections. 38. Alcuin Club: 223. 1952.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Pevsner, Nikolaus (2003). The Buildings of England: London (except the cities London and Westminster). The Buildings of England. Penguin Books. p. xiv.
  3. "James Wyatt". Westminster Abbey. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  4. "Sir George Gilbert Scott". Westminster Abbey. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  5. "John Loughborough Pearson". Westminster Abbey. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  6. "John Thomas Micklethwaite". Westminster Abbey. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  7. "William Richard Lethaby". Westminster Abbey. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  8. "Sir Walter Tapper". Westminster Abbey. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  9. "Sir Charles Peers". Westminster Abbey. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  10. "Stephen Dykes Bower". Westminster Abbey. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  11. "John Peter Foster". Westminster Abbey. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  12. "Peter Foster". The Daily Telegraph. 10 March 2010. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  13. "Lives remembered". Salon (230). 14 February 2020.
  14. "Surveyor of the Fabric". The Architects' Journal. 209. Westminster Abbey: 5. 1999 via Architectural Press Limited.
  15. "Abbey Surveyor to stand down". Westminster Abbey. July 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  16. "Ptolemy Dean appointed Westminster Abbey's new Surveyor of the Fabric". Westminster Abbey. December 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2018.

Further reading