Christopher Kempster
Christopher Kempster | |
|---|---|
 Memorial at the Church of St John the Baptist, Burford | |
| Born | 27 March 1627 Burford, Oxfordshire, England |
| Died | 12 August 1715 (aged 88) Burford, Oxfordshire, England |
| Burial place | Burford, Oxfordshire, England |
| Occupation(s) | Stonemason; architect |
| Notable work | St Paul's Cathedral |
| Spouse | Joane (c.1646) |
| Children | William Kempster |
| Parents |
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Christopher Kempster (1627–1715[1]) was an English master stonemason and architect who trained with Sir Christopher Wren, working on St Paul's Cathedral.[2]
Biography
Kempster was from Burford in Oxfordshire, England. He sold Cotswold stone from his quarry at Upton, near Burford, to rebuild London after the Great Fire of London in 1666.[3] He was also Christopher Wren's master mason during the rebuilding of St Paul's Cathedral in London. His County Hall, built 1678–1682 in Abingdon, is now the Abingdon County Hall Museum.[4] The Kempster family quarry supplied stone for Blenheim Palace, Oxford colleges, and Windsor Castle.
His buildings, many with Sir Christopher Wren, include:
- Abingdon County Hall[5][6]
- St James Garlickhythe, City of London (Kempster also made the font)
- St Mary Abchurch, City of London
- St Mary's Church, North Leigh[7]
- St Stephen Walbrook, City of London
- Tom Tower, Christ Church, Oxford[8]
John Perrott, Lord of the Manor, engaged Kempster to refit St Mary's Church, North Leigh, and to build a burial chapel for the Perrott family to the north of the north aisle.[7] Kempster linked the Perrott chapel and the north aisle by an arcade of Tuscan columns.[9]
St John the Baptist's Church in Burford has a memorial to Christopher Kempster.[3][10]
References
- ^ "Christopher Kempster". ancestors.familysearch.org. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
- ^ Mundy, P.D. (July 1957). "Christopher Kempster, Wren's Master-Mason". Notes and Queries. CCII. Oxford University Press: 297. doi:10.1093/nq/CCII.jul.297 (inactive 11 March 2025).
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of March 2025 (link) - ^ a b My Family Tree: Jordan, Elizabeth, Rick Bull, 14 November 2007.
- ^ David Nash Ford, Abingdon: Ancient Abbey shaped a Town, Royal Berkshire History.
- ^ Abingdon County Hall: Information for Teachers, English Heritage. Palladian Press, 2004.
- ^ Mobus, Melody (2023). "The Kempsters' work in the provinces post-1666". Wren's Burford Masons: Unsung Heroes of 17th and Early 18th Century English Architecture. Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781003360414. ISBN 978-1003360414.
- ^ a b P. Baggs; W.J. Blair; Eleanor Chance; Christina Colvin; Janet Cooper; C.J. Day; Nesta Selwyn; S.C. Townley (1990). Crossley, Alan; Elrington, C.R. (eds.). Victoria County History: A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 12: Wootton Hundred (South) including Woodstock. Victoria County History of the Counties of England. pp. 231–235. ISBN 0-19-722774-0.
- ^ Seven letters of Wren to John Fell, Bishop of Oxford, and other documents. Published in Wren Society 5 (1928).
- ^ Sherwood, Jennifer; Pevsner, Nikolaus (1974). The Buildings of England: Oxfordshire. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. pp. 719–720. ISBN 0-14-071045-0.
- ^ Burford, The Cotswold Gateway.
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