Nicholas Hawksmoor was one of Britain's greatest architects and the most underrated of them all. Much of his career was spent as assistant to two men, Sir Christopher Wren and Vanbrugh.

His talent was spotted by Wren when he was only 18 years old, and it was under his wing that Hawsmoor learnt his draughtsmanship. Later, his partnership with Vanbrugh at Castle Howard and Blenheim Palace was to see him in the role of guru. Vanbrugh could not possibly have achieved his
buildings without the expertise of Hawksmoor.

Yet Hawksmoor was diffident in the extreme, a man who seemed, at the least, unwilling to blow his own trumpet. Because of this trait he spent much of his life missing the opportunities of advancement which self-promotion can bring.

But his legacy speaks for itself. Of the fifty new churches decreed for London in 1711 he built six. They stand as testament to a man of great learning and with an exquisite understanding of his art; this is architecture verging on perfection, a synthesis of everything that had ever been built previously, resulting in a unique style which has never been bettered.

The original design for the Mausoleum at Castle Howard is his alone, but the whole of Castle Howard and its surrounding buildings and parklands owe much to his understanding and delicacy of vision. It was he, for instance, who so insisted on the use of large expanses of water in the landscape, he who defended Vanbrugh's technical mismatchings of orders against the criticisms of the straight laced Burlingtonians, and, above all, he who gave to the fledgling Vanbrugh the power of inspired flight.

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Nicholas Hawksmoor (1661-1736) worked as an assistant to Christopher Wren. on the building of St Pauls Cathedral. Probably his most recognisable pieces of work are the West Towers on Westminster Abbey but it is the churches that he designed in and around the City of London that are his greatest.

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CHRISTCHURCH, SPITALFIELDS
Regarded by most as Hawksmoor's masterpiece. Christchurch is situated in Commercial Street, a short walk from Liverpool St underground station and was built between 1714-1729 above an old plague pit. The Spitalfields area over the centuries has welcomed Hugenot, Jewish and Muslim immagrants among many others. It was for this expansion that the church was built and even today it totally dominats the area. Christchurch is a large, solid, not particularly elegant, but still beautiful church and it has been said that at night when the church is lit that there is an impending sense of it falling upon you! Restoration has been going on for a number of years and when it began the crypt had to be sealed off while corpses that still retained traces of disease were disposed of. The Friends of Christchurch, who are carrying out restoration work, can be contacted at the church in Commercial St, London, E1 6LY, telephone 0171 247 0165.

OTHERS

ST ANNE'S-LIMEHOUSE
Situated near the Thames this church built between 1712-1730 was a well known sight for ships bringing goods up the Thames to Limehouse docks. In 1850 the church was gutted by fire and was agin badly damaged by bombing during the war. As in the grounds of Christchurch there is a pyramid that has no explination for its existence. In Limehouse there is an engraving from the Old Testament: "A crown of glory shall be theirs, and a fair diadem from the Lord himself." Some people see this as part Hawksmoors arcane influences whereby he would use ancient Greek and Egyptian imagery in his churches. Again, as with Christchurch, it is undergoing restoration. The
church is mentioned by Charles Dickens in Our Mutual Friend.

ST GEORGE IN THE EAST
Again in the East and again by the Thames on the Highway (or Ratcliffe Highway as it was known in the last century) has a similar feel to it as St Annes. A famous murder took place last century, strangely enough on a spot that Hawksmoor originally wanted the church to be built. The murderer committed suicide and was buried at the crossroads of Canon Street and Cable St, next to the church, with a stake through his heart. Many of Hawksmoor's churches have had a violent history surronding them (Jack the Ripper in Spitalfields) and today the churches seem to attract more than their share of down and outs supping cans of Tennents super.

ST GEORGE'S, BLOOMSBURY
Built between 1720-1730 the most prominent part of this church is the steeple with a statue ofd George I at the top. The steeple is based on the tomb of Mausolus (hence the word mausoleum) in Helicarnussus built in 353BC. Ironically, large parts of the original tomb are on display in the British Museum about 30 seconds walk from the church. The church was shown in Hogarth's famous sketch 'Gin Lane' depicting drunks lolling around outside, which is not so different from the attraction Hawksmoor's churches have today as noted above! Writer Anthony Trollope was baptised here and the church was mentioned in another book by Dickens. Information about the church is available on 0171 405 3044.

ST MARY WOOLNOTH, CITY
Hawksmoor's only church technically within the City of London (built 1716-1724) Built above and the smallest of his six London churches. Built above what is now the Northern Line station at Bank the front of this church has the appearance of two towers fused into one mass.

ST ALFEGE, GRENNWICH
The first of the London churches to be built in 1712-1714 and the only one south of the river. The money to build all the churches was raised from an increased tax on coal passed by Parliament in 1711 and originally 50 churches were to be built in ad around London. Chrisopher Wren was on the Commission and Hawksmoor was one of the surveyors. St Alfege's have there own web site with more information on the church.