Design for St Mary's Church, St Marylebone
Drawing
early 1770s (made)
early 1770s (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This drawing is a design for a church by the British architect Sir William Chambers. It was commissioned in 1770 and was intended as the parish church of St Marylebone, just north of Oxford Street, London. The architect designed two schemes, one with a spire and one with a dome. This image shows the more expensive domed option. This kind of ‘section’ drawing, where the building appears to have been cut in half, is still used by architects today. Colour is used to indicate which walls have been ‘cut through’ and to describe the space behind. A range of drawings was produced for this project, from rough sketches to detailed plans. This is a highly finished ‘presentation drawing’ and would have been shown to the clients to convince them of the beauty of the scheme and the skill of the architect. However, in this instance it was not enough. The clients proved so indecisive that the church was built only in 1818, to a subsequent architect’s design.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Design for St Mary's Church, St Marylebone (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Pencil, pen and ink and watercolour on paper |
| Brief description | Design drawing in pencil, pen and ink and watercolour for St Mary's Church, St Marylebone, London, showing a section through a domed neo-classical interior. Made by Sir William Chambers in 1770 or soon after. |
| Physical description | Drawing in pen and ink, pencil and watercolour showing a section through a domed chuch. The walls which have been 'cut through' are coloured pink and the church interior is modelled in grey and yellow. The title is inscribed in pencil at bottom right. |
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| Style | |
| Production type | Design |
| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Historical context | As development spread north of Oxford Street, it became apparent that a new church was needed by the parish of St Marylebone. Chambers was approached by Archdeacon Harley in 1770; the commission was the prove one of the most problematic of his career. The church was eventually built in 1818 to the designs of Chambers's former pupil Thomas Hardwick incorporating many of his master's ideas. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Place depicted | |
| Summary | This drawing is a design for a church by the British architect Sir William Chambers. It was commissioned in 1770 and was intended as the parish church of St Marylebone, just north of Oxford Street, London. The architect designed two schemes, one with a spire and one with a dome. This image shows the more expensive domed option. This kind of ‘section’ drawing, where the building appears to have been cut in half, is still used by architects today. Colour is used to indicate which walls have been ‘cut through’ and to describe the space behind. A range of drawings was produced for this project, from rough sketches to detailed plans. This is a highly finished ‘presentation drawing’ and would have been shown to the clients to convince them of the beauty of the scheme and the skill of the architect. However, in this instance it was not enough. The clients proved so indecisive that the church was built only in 1818, to a subsequent architect’s design. |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | 3363 |
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| Record created | December 10, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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