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Giles Worsley, ‘Taking Hooke seriously’, The Georgian Group Journal, Vol. XIV, 2004, pp. 1–25 TEXT © THE AUTHORS 2004 TAKING HOOKE SERIOUSLY GILES WORSLEY obert Hooke has had a raw deal as an architect. the entry in Sir Howard Colvin’s Biographical R A quick perusal of Howard Colvin’s Dictionary of British Architects. Biographical Dictionary shows that he was one of Hooke’s career as City of London surveyor has the most prolific English architects of the second half been well examined and his work on the City of the seventeenth century, working for thirty years churches is now familiar ground, though the extent across the whole gamut of contemporary society – to which individual churches or elements within royalty, aristocracy, livery companies and the City churches can be ascribed to him remains uncertain. Corporation. Even the most cursory reading of his Anthony Geraghty’s considered remark at the recent diaries reveals how large a part building played in his Georgian Group conference on Anglo-Netherlandish day-to-day life, and how well informed he was about architectural connections that Wren was only contemporary building on the Continent. And yet interested in Rome and France, not in the his architectural work has seldom been given the Netherlands, suggests that the Dutch-inspired City attention it deserves. Sir John Summerson dismissed churches are probably Hooke’s work. him in less than a page, stating that ‘not much can be This suggests that the Navy Office of , in claimed for Hooke as an architect’, while his friend whose design Hooke was clearly closely involved, and colleague Sir Christopher Wren received more though ultimate responsibility rested with Wren as than pages. Nor has the recent fashion for Hooke Surveyor-General, should probably be attributed to studies done much to revive his architectural Hooke. The Navy Office (Fig. ) is distinctive for reputation. Attention focuses overwhelmingly on his the way the pedimented centrepiece projects half a scientific life, and to a lesser extent on his work as a storey above the side ranges. Houses with such surveyor in the post-fire City of London. Even Lisa projecting pedimented centrepieces had been a Jardine’s recent biography pays little attention to his common feature of Dutch architecture since Jacob architecture, though at least Hooke has been Van Campen’s Huis ten Bosch at Maarsen of . promoted from the ignominious position he held as The source for the Navy Office was probably volume Wren’s office manager in her biography of Wren, one of Philips Vingboons, A fbeeldsels der where the Royal College of Physicians is voornaemste gebouwen , published in (Fig. ). misleadingly described as rebuilt by ‘the Wren Strong Dutch influence also puts a question mark Office…under Hooke’s direction’. Strange though over the authorship of the London Custom House of it is, the most considered architectural account – (Fig. ), which had marked similarities with remains that of M.I. Batten, published in the Walpole Hooke’s Royal College of Physicians of (Fig. ). Society in , to which can be added a discussion Both buildings, now demolished, had three-bay, of Dutch influences in his work by Alison Stoesser in pedimented, pilastered centrepieces with round- the Dutch Bulletin K.N.O.B in , and of course headed windows, an unusual feature at the time. Both THE GEORGIAN GROUP JOURNAL VOLUME XIV TAKING HOOKE SERIOUSLY Fig. Robert Hooke (attrib.), The Navy Office, City of London, . Detail from J. Badeslade and J. Rocque, Vitruvius Brittanicus , London, , –. use identical fenestration with small windows We are well informed about Hooke’s public separated by swags from large windows and flanked by buildings in the City, but nothing about any private pilasters. As Alison Stoesser points out, the principal commissions. It is hard to believe that no City elevation of the Royal College of Physicians is derived merchants asked Hooke to design their houses, given from the Burgerzaal in Jacob van Campen’s his obvious reputation. But this article will focus Amsterdam Town Hall, engraved by J. Vennekool in particularly on Hooke’s career as an architect of (Fig. ). The same source lies behind the Custom country houses. It will argue the case for a number of House, the use of swags over the round-headed attributions to Hooke. Not all of them are new but by windows of the Custom House, as in the Burgerzaal, pulling together a number of different buildings the being particularly telling. This motif is repeated, hope is to present a convincing case for a corpus of presumably by Hooke, at St Benet, Paul’s Wharf, the further work by Hooke. most evidently Dutch of the City churches. The danger of making such attributions is THE GEORGIAN GROUP JOURNAL VOLUME XIV TAKING HOOKE SERIOUSLY Fig. Philips Vingboons, Michiel Popta’s House, Amsterdam, . Philips Vingboons, Afbeeldsels der voornaemste gebouwen , Amsterdam, , pl. . obvious and acknowledged. But the great value of ( –); a house in Privy Gardens, Whitehall, for the intensive study of primary documentation that the th Earl of Oxford ( ); Ragley Hall, has characterised architectural history over the past Warwickshire, for the st Earl of Conway ( – ); half century is that it has produced a solid body of Ramsbury Manor, Wiltshire, for Sir William Jones, information on which to ground careful speculation. the Attorney General ( c. –); a house in Spring In this case that speculation is rooted not just in Gardens, London, for Sir Richard Southwell stylistic analysis but in patterns of patronage, kinship ( –); and Shenfield Place, Essex, for Richard and craftsmanship. The hope is that this article will Vaughan ( ). He also designed the grand stables encourage those working in the field to look out for at Somerset House, London, built for Queen those pieces of information that, brought together, Catherine of Braganza c. – , on a scale that might prove the thesis. rivalled many country houses (Fig. ). These are From his diary and other sources we know that confident, ambitious houses, many of them, like Hooke was responsible for designing or significantly Ramsbury Manor and Londesborough House, altering a series of important houses: Montagu classic post-Restoration houses in the manner of Sir House, London, for Ralph Montagu, subsequently Roger Pratt (Fig. ). However, Ragley Hall with its created Duke of Montagu ( –); Londesborough massive central hall and four projecting pavilions was House, Yorkshire, for the st Earl of Burlington exceptional in its scale for the s (Fig. ), and the THE GEORGIAN GROUP JOURNAL VOLUME XIV TAKING HOOKE SERIOUSLY Fig. Robert Hooke (attrib.), The Custom House, City of London, - . Engraving by John Harris, . Fig. Robert Hooke, the principal elevation and courtyard of the Royal College of Physicians, London, . Engraving by David Loggan, . Guildhall Library . THE GEORGIAN GROUP JOURNAL VOLUME XIV TAKING HOOKE SERIOUSLY Fig. Jacob van Campen, Burgerzaal, Amsterdam Town Hall, - . Engraving by J. Vennekool, . giant Ionic colonnade with its ft columns that ran deel van de afbeeldsels der voornaemste gebouwen , inside the screen wall at Montagu House had few which had just been published. He then hurried contemporary rivals in architectural ambition (Fig. ). round to Wren, with whom he discussed them for This is an impressive range of commissions, three hours. particularly when set alongside his churches and Hooke’s knowledge of contemporary public buildings, principally in the City of London. Continental architecture infused his designs with Hooke’s diaries demonstrate a commensurate sources ranging equally widely between Italy, France interest in foreign buildings and architectural ideas. and the Netherlands. John Evelyn noted that Montagu On July , for instance, his diary records that he House was built ‘after the French manner’, that is had seen Mr Story ‘who returnd from Holland that it takes the form of a hotel particulier , set back Saturday last’. From him he learnt of Adrian from the street behind a screen wall and gatehouse. Dortsman’s new Lutheran church in Amsterdam, Alison Stoesser, on the other hand, suggests that the completed in , and of Elias Bouman’s new form of the two-and-a-half-storied house itself with Synagogue, begun in and inaugurated in . its central pediment and domed pavilions may derive Hooke was sufficiently impressed to note that the from Philips Vingboons’ design for Amsterdam Lutheran church was feet in diameter and that its Town Hall, and that the preliminary designs for the dome rose feet, while the synagogue was a end pavilions of Bedlam Hospital are close to remarkable feet square. Books were an even Vingboons’s design for a gentleman’s house more important source of information. On published in the second volume of his work. November that year Hooke purchased a copy of The list of Hooke’s known domestic work is Jean Le Muet’s Maniere de bien bastir pour toutes suspiciously bunched around the late s. sortes de personnes ( , reissued in an enlarged Evidence for Hooke’s architectural career comes edition in ) and of Philips Vingboons’s Tweede overwhelmingly from his diary, which only survives THE GEORGIAN GROUP JOURNAL VOLUME XIV TAKING HOOKE SERIOUSLY Fig. Robert Hooke, the stables at Somerset House, London, c. – . Detail from Leonard Knyff and Jan Kip, Britannia Illustrata , London, , pl. for August to May , November to Abbey. He did not die until . Hooke’s last March and December to August , with surviving diary, for , shows that an engagement , and unpublished. Of all Hooke’s with building, architecture and surveying was still a known buildings, come from the period between continual part of his life. Is it credible that Hooke’s and and three come from the period career as an architect was really confined to a few to and to . This is on top of any years in the late s, with a number of further design work that he was doing for the City churches.

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