WILLIAM WILKINS, ARCHITECT
William Wilkins (1778 - 1839) was an English architect, classical scholar and archaeologist. He was born in Norwich, and his father, also called William, was a successful builder who also managed a chain of theatres. The younger Wilkins studied at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, and then toured Greece, Asia Minor and Italy between 1801and 1804. He later published a number of books on both Classical and Gothic architecture. By the beginning of the nineteenth century archaeology and exploration had revealed much about cultures geographically and historically remote from those of Western Europe. We find in European art and architecture at this period a tension between a kind of inspired eclecticism, seeking to embrace the common essence of all the worlds great civilizations, and, on the other hand, a pre-occupation with the roots of national and cultural identity. On the one hand we find artists moving freely between Classical and Gothic styles.		The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, Wilkins’ most famous building
On the other hand we find them perceiving the art of classical antiquity as essentially alien to their own Christian culture and reasoning that there is an inherent link between a particular style and a particular geographical location. This tension can be seen in the work of William Wilkins. Fresh from his travels, Wilkins became a leading figure in the Greek Revival in England in the early years of the nineteenth century. His pioneering work in the Classical neo-Grecian style was Downing College in Cambridge (designed 1805, built 1807-1821 but not completed until 1873 owing to lack of funds).
		The luxury Lanesborough hotel, hyde Park corner, was until 1976 St. George’s Hospital, designed by William Wilkins in 1827
Downing College, Cambridge: Main Court, East Range		This was followed by the East India Company College, now Haileybury College in Hertford (1809) and University College, London (1825 -1832). He also designed a new building for St. George's Hospital at Hyde Park Corner (1827-1828) when the original hospital was demolished, and his most famous building, the National Gallery, was completed in 1838. His design for the National Gallery has received some criticism, the facade being described as too episodic. However, alongside these buildings, during the 1820s, Wilkins designed others buildings in Cambridge which were in the Gothic style.
These included Trinity College, New Court (1823 – 1825), shown on the right, and Corpus Christi College,New Court (with the Chapel and Master’s Lodge) (1823 – 1827), shown below.		Trinity College, Cambridge: New Court, north range
Corpus Christi, New Court: Master’s Lodge
Corpus Christi: Chapel		Corpus Christi, New Court: east range with the Chapel
King’s College Front Court and Webb’s Court (1824 – 1828), seen below and right, were also by Wilkins. He came to prefer the Gothic style, and the Chapel at Corpus Christi, where he is buried, was his favourite among all his works. King’s College: Gatehouse		King’s College, Webb’s Court: Library
King’s College, Front Court: south range
Publications by William Wilkins Antiquities of Magna Graecia (1807) Atheniensia (1816) Civil Architecture of Vitruvius (1812 and 1817) Prolusiones Architectonicae (1837) Reference R. Windsor Liscombe, "Wilkins, William (1778-1839)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/29422 Photographs on this page are from the Cambridge 2000 Project and are reproduced with permission. Further photographs of Wilkins’ buildings can be seen on the Cambridge 2000 website.			Please click for: Main website index Additional information OCMC 2005 - 07 Concert listing 2004 - 05 Concert listing 2005 - 06 Concert listing 2006 - 07