The Lantern Tower Of Westminster Abbey 1060-2010: Reconstructing Its History And Architecture (westminster Abbey Occasional Papers)

Westminster Abbey is one of the most important and well-known medieval buildings in Europe but, despite being studied by generations of scholars, there is still much to learn about its history and architecture. The lantern over the centre of the church is a case in point. Edward the Confessor built a great tower here, which is depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry. When Henry III was rebuilding the Abbey in the 1250s, a new tower was begun which was to have dominated the Westminster skyline, but it was never finished and 150 years later an octagonal lantern like that at Ely Cathedral was built on the roof. It in turn was demolished in the sixteenth century, and in 1710 Sir Christopher Wren designed a 400-foot tower and spire, but did not live to see it built. His successor, Nicholas Hawksmoor, then produced a range of options for completing the lantern tower: a design was chosen and construction began in 1724. However, King George I died in 1727 and the Abbey had to be cleared of scaffolding for the coronation of his son. Although only the first stage of the new tower and spire had been built, construction never resumed and the inelegant stump was capped with a temporary roof. Subsequently, the lantern was burnt out in 1803 and again in 1941, but its shell remains today basically as Hawksmoor left it. In this study, Professor Warwick Rodwell assembles for the first time all the historical and architectural evidence, to tell the remarkable story of Westminster Abbey's unfinished lantern tower over the last 950 years. [Elib] "Westminster Abbey is one of the most important and well-known midieval buildings in Europe but, despite being studied by generations of Scholars, there is still much to learn about its history and architecture. The lantern over the centre of the church is a case in point. Edward the Confessor built a great tower here, which is depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry. When Henry III was rebuilding the Abbey in the 1250s, a new tower was begun which was to have dominated the Westminster skyline, but it was never finished and 150 years later an octagonal lantern like that at Ely Cathedral was built on the roof. It in turn was demolished in the sixteenth century, and in 1710 Sir Christopher Wren designed a 400-foot tower and spire, but did not live to see it built. His successor, Nicholas Hawksmoor, then produced a range of options for completing the lantern tower: a design was chosen and construction began in 1724. However, King George I died in 1727 and the Abbey had to be cleared of scaffolding for the coronation of his son. Although only the first stage of the new tower and spire had been built, construction never resumed and the inelegant stump was capped with a temporary roof. Subsequently, the lantern was burnt out in 1803 and again in 1941, but its shell remains today basically as Hawksmoor left it." "In this study, Professor Warwick Rodwell assembles for the first time all the historical and architectural evidence, to tell the remarkable story of Westminster Abbey's unfinished lantern tower over the last 950 years."--Jacket Cover 1 Foreword by The Very Reverend Dr John Hall, Dean of Westminster 6 Acknowledgements 7 1 Westminster Abbey: the Crossing 8 2 Edward the Confessor’s Crossing Tower and Lantern 10 3 Henry III’s Unfinished Crossing Tower 12 4 The Late Medieval Stone and Timber Lantern 24 5 The Disappearance of the Medieval Lantern 30 6 Sir Christopher Wren’s Ambitious Tower and Spire 36 7 Begun, but still Incomplete: Nicholas Hawksmoor’s Crossing Tower and Spire 46 8 James Wyatt and the Fire of 1803 78 9 Sir George Gilbert Scott and ‘some ameliorations in the Lantern’ 84 10 The Early Twentieth Century, World War II, and the Aftermath 88 11 New Surveys of the Crossing and Lantern, 2009–10 96 12 Summary and Conclusions 98 Appendix: Function and Variety in Early Crossing Towers and their Superstructures by Richard Gem 102 Notes and References 106 Index 112