Nicholas Hawksmoor

Lively street scenes followed, including the busy entrances to underground stations. A series of indoor public swimming pools are among his most joyful works. Then in the 1990s came an exciting series of views of the 300-year-old church in Spitalfields, designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor, and three soaring works from this series are in the current show.

This article is about Nicholas Hawksmoor. For the novel Hawksmoor, see Hawksmoor (novel).

Nicholas Hawksmoor
Personal information
Nationality	English
Born	c.1661 Nottinghamshire
Died	25 March 1736 Millbank, London
Work
Buildings	Easton Neston Mausoleum Castle Howard Christ Church, Spitalfields St. George's, Bloomsbury St Mary Woolnoth St George in the East St Anne's Limehouse St Alfege Church, Greenwich All Souls College, Oxford The Queen's College, Oxford

Nicholas Hawksmoor (probably 1661 - 25 March 1736) was a British architect born in Nottinghamshire, probably in East Drayton^[1].

His career formed the brilliant middle link in Britain's trio of great baroque architects. Hawksmoor was characterised by Howard Colvin as "more assured in his command of the classical vocabulary than the untrained Vanbrugh, more imaginative in his vision than the intellectual Wren." From about 1684 to about 1700 Hawksmoor worked with his teacher, Christopher Wren, on projects including Chelsea Hospital, St. Paul's Cathedral, Hampton Court Palace and Greenwich Hospital. Thanks to Wren's influence as Surveyor-General, the modest and diffident Hawksmoor was named Clerk of the Works at Kensington Palace (1689) and Deputy Surveyor of Works at Greenwich (1705). In 1718, when Wren was superseded by the new, amateur Surveyor, William Benson, Hawksmoor was deprived of his double post to provide places for Benson's brother, a bitter blow. "Poor Hawksmoor," wrote Vanbrugh in 1721. "What a Barbarous Age... What wou'd Monsr. Colbert in France have given for such a man?"

He then worked for a time with Sir John Vanbrugh, helping him build Blenheim Palace for John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, where he took charge after Vanbrugh's final break with the demanding Duchess of Marlborough, and Castle Howard for Charles Howard, later the 3rd Earl of Carlisle. There is no doubt that Hawksmoor brought to the brilliant amateur the professional grounding he had received from Wren, and in Colvin's words, "enabled Vanbrugh's heroic designs to be translated into actuality."

In 1702, Hawksmoor designed the baroque country house of Easton Neston in Northamptonshire for Sir William Fermor. This is the only country house for which he was the sole architect, though he extensively remodelled Ockham House for the Lord Chief Justice King (now mostly destroyed). Perhaps fortunately, Easton Neston was not completed as he intended, for the symmetrical unexecuted flanking wings and entrance colonnade were very much in the style of John Vanbrugh; whereas the house as it stands is pure innovative Hawksmoor at his finest.

In 1713 Hawksmoor was commissioned to complete King's College, Cambridge^[2], the scheme consisted of a Fellows' Building along King's Parade, and opposite the Chapel a monumental range of buildings containing the Great Hall, kitchens and to the south of that the library and Provost's Lodge. Wooden models and plans of the scheme survive, but it proved too expensive and Hawksmoor produced a second scaled down design. But the college that had invested heavily in the South Sea Company lost their money when the 'bubble' burst in 1720. The result was that Hawksmoor's scheme would never be executed, the college was finished later in the 18th century by James Gibbs and early in the 19th century by William Wilkins.

The West Towers, Westminster Abbey

Hawksmoor conceived grand rebuilding schemes for central Oxford, most of which were not realised. The idea was for a round library for the Radcliffe Camera but that commission went to James Gibbs. He did design the Clarendon Building at Oxford; the Codrington Library and new buildings at All Souls College, Oxford; parts of Worcester College, Oxford with Sir George Clarke; the High Street screen at The Queen's College, Oxford and six new churches in London. Although he did not live to see them built, Hawksmoor also designed the West Towers of Westminster Abbey. In addition, he superimposed on the medieval portal, and became Surveyor of the Abbey when Wren died in 1723.

Unlike many of his wealthier contemporaries, Hawksmoor never travelled to Italy on a Grand Tour, where he might have been influenced by the style of architecture there. His ideas seem to derive from engravings, especially monuments of ancient Rome and reconstructions of the Temple of Solomon. But he was versatile in his work, and all the buildings he designed are distinctly different from each other. The influence of Italian Baroque architect Borromini can be detected in some.

Contents [hide] 1 Hawksmoor's six London churches 2 Garden buildings and monuments 3 Hawksmoor's death 4 Gallery of architectural work 5 Hawksmoor in recent literature 6 Memorials 7 References 8 See also 9 External links

Hawksmoor's six London churches

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These churches were built in accordance with a Parliamentary Act of 1711 providing tax money for the building of fifty new London churches, only a dozen of which were actually built, six of them to Hawksmoor's design. He was also joint architect with John James of two other churches^[3] St Luke Old Street (1727-33) and St John Horsleydown (1727-33), Hawksmoor's contribution seems to have been largely confined to the towers with their extraordinary steeples. The six churches wholly designed by Hawksmoor are his best-known independent works of architecture. They compare in their complexity of interpenetrating internal spaces with contemporaneous work in Italy by Francesco Borromini. Their spires, essentially Gothic outlines executed in innovative and imaginative Classical detail, dominated the London skyline as a counterpoint to St. Paul's dome deep into the 20th century.

• St Alfege's Church, Greenwich
• St George's Church, Bloomsbury
• Christ Church, Spitalfields
• St George in the East, Wapping
• St Mary Woolnoth
• St Anne's Limehouse

Garden buildings and monuments

Hawksmoor also designed a number of structures for the gardens at Castle Howard these are:

• The Pyramid (1728)
• The Mausoleum (1729-40) built on the same scale as his London churches, it is almost certainly the first free-standing mausoleum built in Western Europe since the fall of the Roman empire.^[4]
• The Carrmire Gate, (c.1730)
• The Temple of Venus (1731-5) demolished

At Blenheim Palace he designed the Woodstock Gate^[5] (1723) in the form of a Triumphal arch. He also designed the obelisk in Ripon market place, erected in 1702, at 80 feet in height it was the first large scale obelisk to be erected in Britain.^[6]

Hawksmoor's death

Hawksmoor died on the 25 March 1736 in his house at Millbank^[7] from 'Gout of the stomach'. He had suffered poor health for the last twenty years of his life and was often confined to bed hardly able to sign his name. His will instructed that he be buried at the church at Shenley, Hertfordshire, his tomb stone there has this inscription^[8]:

P M S
L
Hic J[acet]
NICHOLAUS HAWKSMOOR Armr
ARCHITECTUS
obijt vicesimo quin[t]o die [Martii]
Anno Domini 1736
Aetatis 75

His obituary appeared in Read's Weekly Journal, no. 603. 27 March 1736. Probably written by his son-in-law, Nathaniel Blackerby:

Thursday morning died, at this house on Mill-Bank, Westminster, in a very advanced age, the learned and ingenious Nicholas Hawksmoor, Esq, one of the greatest Architects this or the preceeding (sic) Century has produc'd. His early skill in, and Genius for this noble science recommended him, when about 18 years of age, to the favour and esteem of his great master and predecessor, Sir Christopher Wren, under whom, during his life, and for himself since his death, he was concerned in the erecting more Publick (sic) Edifices, than any one life, among the moderns at least, can boast of. In King Charles II's reign, he was employ'd under Sir Christopher Wren, in the stately buildings at Winchester; as he was likewise in all the other publick structures, Palaces &c, erected by that great Man, under whom he was assisting, from the Beginning (factually wrong, Hawksmoor was 14 years old then) to the Finishing of that grand and noble Edifice the cathedral of St. Paul's, and of all the churches rebuilt after the Fire of London. At the building of Chelsea-College he was Deputy-Surveyor, and Clerk of Works, under Sir Christopher Wren. At Greenwich-Hospital he was, from the Beginning 'till a short time before his death, Clerk of Works. In the Reigns of King William and Queen Anne, he was Clerk of their Majesties Works at Kensington, and at Whitehall, St. Jame's and Westminster. in the reign of King Geroge I. He was first Surveyor of all the new Churches, and Surveyor of Westminster-Abbey, from the death of Sir Christopher Wren. He was chiefly concern'd in designing and building a great number of magnificent Nobleman's Houses, and particularly (with Sir John Vanbrugh) those of Blenheim and Castle-Howard, at the latter of which he was at his Death, carrying on a Mausoleum in the most elegant and grand Stile (sic), not to mention many others: But one of the most surprising of his undertakings, was the repairing of Beverley Minster, where the stone wall on the north-side was near three Foor out of the perpendicular, which he mov'd at once to its upright by means of a machine of his own invention. In short his numerous Publick Works at Oxford, perfected in his lifetime, and the design and model of Dr. Ratcliff's Library there, his design of a new Parliament-House, after the thought of Sir Christopher Wren; and, to mention no more, his noble Design for repairing the West-End of Westminster-Abbey, will all stand monuments to his great capacity, inexhaustible fancy, and solid judgement. He was perfectly skill'd in the History of Architecture, and could give exact account of all the famous buildings, both Antient (sic) and Modern, in every part of the world; to which his excellent memory, that never fail'd him to the very last, greatly contributed. Nor was architecture the only science he was master of. He was bred a scholar. and knew as well the learned as the modern tongues. He was a very skilful mathematician, geographer, and geometrician; and in drawing, which he practised to the last, though greatly afflicted with Chiragra, few excelled him. In his private life he was a tender husband, a loving father, a sincere friend, and a most agreeable companion; nor could the most poignant pains of Gout, which he for many years laboured under, ever ruffle or discompose his evenness of temper. And as his memory must always be dear to his Country, so the loss of so great and valuable man in sensibly, and in a more particular manner felt by those who had the pleasure of his personal acquaintance, and enjoy'd the happiness of his conversation.

Gallery of architectural work

Easton Neston House (c.1695-1710), Northamptonshire, only the central block minus the dome was actually built	King William Block (1699-1702), Greenwich Hospital, looking south-east	King William Block (1699-1702), Greenwich Hospital, west facade	The Obelisk (1702), Ripon, Yorkshire
Kensington Palace Orangery (1704-05), from the south west	Kensington Palace Orangery (1704-05), interior looking east	Clarendon Building (1712-13), Oxford, south front	Clarendon Building (1712-13), Oxford, from the north-east
St Alphege's Greenwich (1712-18), from the north-east	St Alphege's Greenwich (1712-18), the east front	St Alphege's Greenwich (1712-18), the west front, the upper part of the tower is by John James (1730)	St Alphege's Greenwich (1712-18), interior looking east
Christ Church Spitalfields (1714-29), west front	Christ Church Spitalfields (1714-29), east front	Christ Church Spitalfields (1714-29), interior looking east	Christ Church Spitalfields (1714-29), interior looking east
Christ Church Spitalfields (1714-29), interior looking west	St. Anne's Limehouse (1714-30), west front	St. Anne's Limehouse (1714-30), from the north-west	St. Anne's Limehouse (1714-30), interior looking east
St. Anne's Limehouse (1714-30), interior looking west	St. George in the East (1714-29), the west front	St. George in the East (1714-29), from the south-west	St. George in the East (1714-29), from the north-east
St. George in the East (1714-29), detail of south wall	St. George in the East (1714-29), the interior looking east, as rebuilt after being bombed in 1941 in the London Blitz	St. George's Bloomsbury (1716-1731), the tower	St. George's Bloomsbury (1716-1731), the interior looking east
St. Mary Woolnoth (1716-23), the west front	St. Mary Woolnoth (1716-23), interior looking east	All Souls College (1716-34), Oxford, from the south-west	All Souls College (1716-34), Oxford , from the entrance gate looking east
Tower (1718-24), St. Michael, Cornhill, London	The Long Library (1722-25), Blenheim Palace	St. Luke's Old Street (1727-33), joint work with John James, tower by Hawksmoor	St. John's Horsleydown (1727-33), joint work with John James, tower by Hawksmoor, bombed in London Blitz then demolished
The Mausoleum (1729-42), Castle Howard	The Carrmire gate (c.1730), Castle Howard	Queen's College Oxford (1733-36), entrance gate & screen	Westminster Abbey (1734-45), towers by Hawksmoor completed by John James

Hawksmoor in recent literature

Hawksmoor's architecture has influenced several poets and authors of the twentieth century. His church St Mary Woolnoth is mentioned in T. S. Eliot's poem The Waste Land (1922).

Algernon Stitch lived in a "superb creation by Nicholas Hawksmoor" in London in the novel Scoop by Evelyn Waugh (1938).

Hawksmoor is the subject of a poem by Iain Sinclair called 'Nicholas Hawksmoor: His Churches' which appeared in Sinclair's collection of poems Lud Heat (1975). Sinclair argued that Hawksmoor's churches formed a pattern consistent with the forms of Theistic Satanism.

This idea was developed by Peter Ackroyd in his novel Hawksmoor (1985). In this, the historical Hawksmoor is refigured as the fictional Devil-worshiper Nicholas Dyer, while the eponymous Hawksmoor is cast as a twentieth-century detective charged with investigating a series of murders perpertrated on Dyer's (Hawksmoor's) churches. The novel is arguably a good example of magic realism.

Both Sinclair and Ackroyd's ideas in turn were further developed by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell in their graphic novel, From Hell, which speculated that Jack the Ripper used Hawksmoor's buildings as part of ritual magic, with his victims as human sacrifice. In the appendix, Moore revealed that he had met and spoke with Sinclair on numerous occasions while developing the core ideas of the book. The authors also brought notoriety to Hawksmoor's famous London churches. The argument includes the idea that, when dotted up on a map, the churches produce an Eye of Horus, and that this has some ritual significance.

In 2002 Hawksmoor was the subject of an award-winning monograph by the architectural historian Vaughan Hart, which redefined Hawksmoor with new insights and discoveries.

Hawksmoor is mentioned in "The History Boys" by Alan Bennett, p82, where Akthar is questioned by Mrs Lintott about his interest in architecture.

Memorials

• There is a school in Towcester, Northamptonshire named Nicholas Hawksmoor Primary School for the architect.

References

1. ^ page 1, Hawksmoor, Kerry Downes, 1979, A. Zwemmer Ltd, ISBN 0-302-02783-1
2. ^ pages 23 to 27, the Architectural Drawings Collection of King's College, Cambridge, Allan Doig, 1979, Avebury Publishing
3. ^ page 210, Kerry Downes, Hawksmoor, 1969, Thames & Hudson
4. ^ page 179, James Stevens Curl, A Celebration of Death: An Introduction to some of the Buildings, Monuments and Settings of Funeray Architecture in the Western European tradition, 1980, Constable
5. ^ page 122, Vaughan Hart, Nicholas Hawksmoor Rebuilding Ancient Wonders, 2002, Yale University Press
6. ^ page 18, Richard Barnes, The Obelisk: A Monumental Feature in Britain, 2004, Frontier Publishing
7. ^ page 6, Hawksmoor, Kerry Downes, 1979, A. Zwemmer Ltd, ISBN 0-302-02783-1
8. ^ page 7, Hawksmoor, Kerry Downes, 1979, A. Zwemmer Ltd, ISBN 0-302-02783-1

• Colvin, Howard, Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1600–1840, 3rd ed.
• Downes, Kerry, Nicholas Hawksmoor
• De la Ruffiniere du Prey, Pierre. Hawksmoor's London Churches: Architecture and Theology. London and Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000.
• Vaughan Hart, Nicholas Hawksmoor: Rebuilding Ancient Wonders (2002)

See also

• Category:Nicholas Hawksmoor buildings

External links

• A Timeline of Hawksmoor's life
• Hawksmoor's Bloomsbury church
• Google map showing where Hawksmoor's London chuches are

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