Nicholas Hawksmoor Architect, London Churches

Nicholas Hawksmoor Architect, English Church Building Photos, Religious Design Projects England, Pictures

Nicholas Hawksmoor Architect : Church Architecture

18th Century English Architecture Practice, London, UK

post updated 20 Apr 2021

Major Nicholas Hawksmoor Building

Christ Church, Spitalfields, east London, England, UK
Date built: 1715-29
Design: Nicholas Hawksmoor Architect
Christ Church Spitalfields by Nicholas Hawksmoor Architect
photo © AW
Christ Church Spitalfields : major London church building
Christ Church was built between the years 1714 and 1729 as part of the church building programme initiated by the Fifty New Churches act of 1711, backed by Queen Anne, which was implemented by four different Commissions.

At the time, there were fears that ‘godless thousands’ outside the City of London had no adequate church provision, and that non-conformists – including large numbers of French Huguenot silk weavers – were moving into Spitalfields and bringing their non-conformist worshipping ways with them.

The Commission appointed to build the 50 new churches stipulated that the new buildings should have tall spires so that they would tower above the smaller, non-conformist chapels! The idea was to fund the work through taxes on coal coming into London, although monies ran low in about 1719 and building progressed fitfully.

Key Nicholas Hawksmoor Architecture

Nicholas Hawksmoor Buildings

St George’s Church, Bloomsbury, central-north London, England, UK
Date built: 1716-30
This building was restored in 2006
Design: Molyneux Kerr Architects

St Mary Woolnoth, City of London
Date built: 1716-24
St Mary Woolnoth
photo © Adrian Welch
St Mary Woolnoth
St. Mary Woolnoth is an Anglican church in the City of London, located on the corner of Lombard Street and King William Street near Bank junction. The present building is one of the Queen Anne Churches. The present building is at least the third church on the site. It is considered one of his most distinctive and original designs by this architect. It is the architect’s only City of London church. Its unusually imposing façade, in English Baroque style, is dominated by two flat-topped turrets supported by columns of the Corinthian order, which are used throughout the church.

Easton Neston, Northamptonshire, central England, UK
Dates built: 1695-1702/10
Easton Neston Estate Northamptonshire building
photograph from RIBA
Easton Neston
Easton Neston is one of the finest country houses in England, designed by the architect with an adjacent wing by Christopher Wren. Refurbished by Ptolemy Dean Architects.

St. George-in-the-East, Wapping, Stepney, East London, England
Dates built: 1714-29

St Alfege’s Church, Greenwich, southeast London, England

St Anne’s Limehouse, east London, England
Dates built: 1727
St Anne’s Limehouse is an Anglican Church in Limehouse, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It was consecrated in 1730, one of the twelve churches built through the 1711 Act of Parliament.
The building was designed as one of twelve churches built to serve the needs of the rapidly expanding population of London in the 18th century. The scheme never met its original target, but those built were also known as the Queen Anne Churches.

Westminster Abbey – west towers, Whitehall, Westminster, central London, SW1

Westminster Abbey London
photo © Nick Weall
Westminster Abbey Building
Grade I Listed

More Nicholas Hawksmoor buildings online soon

Nicholas Hawksmoor – Key Roles

Hawksmoor worked with Christopher Wren on the following buildings:-
Chelsea Hospital
Greenwich Hospital
Hampton Court Palace
St Paul’s Cathedral

Key roles:

– Clerk of Works on Kensington Palace
– Deputy Surveyor of Works at Greenwich
– Surveyor of Works at Westminster Abbey from 1723 after Christopher Wren

The architect worked for John Vanbrugh on the following buildings:-
Blenheim Palace (later working direct)
Castle Howard

Other Nicholas Hawksmoor Buildings

All Souls College Oxford: Codrington Library + new buildings
Clarendon Building, Oxford
Ockham House remodelling
Queen’s College Oxford : High Street Screen
Worcester College buildings

More architecture projects by this British architect online soon

Location: London, England, UK

Historic English Architect Practice Information

Nicholas Hawksmoor – the Architect
Dates: 1661-1736

London churches : major historic buildings in the UK capital city

Hawksmoor is regarded by most people as being one of England’s greatest architects alongside Sir Christopher Wren and Sir John Vanbrugh.

Nicholas was born in Nottinghamshire. Early in his career he worked for Christopher Wren. Later he worked as an architect for John Vanbrugh on Castle Howard in 1699 and then Blenheim Palace, both in England.

The Nicholas Hawksmoor style was more robust and stark than Wren’s delicate and ornate tradition. St George’s Church for example is strongly articulated and seems more concerned with the modelling of form than refinement of decoration prevalent amongst many of his peers. Nicholas was in my view a very bold and talented figure and deserves to be better known amongst non-architects.

Christopher Wren

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London Architecture Designs – architectural selection below:

60 Aldgate, Minories, City of London
Design: ACME, Architects
60 Aldgate, Minories London Masterplan
image courtesy of architects practice
60 Aldgate Building News

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Buildings / photos for the Nicholas Hawksmoor Architect – 17th and 18th Century British Church Designer page welcome