William Dickinson (architect)

Dickinson was the son of William Dickinson, Controller Clerk at Windsor Castle and chief clerk of the king's works.[1] This elder Dickinson died in 1702 and according to Adrian Tinniswood his "sole contribution to architecture" was to be Chief Clerk of the Works.[2]

A drawing, probably by Dickinson, for an unidentified villa, c. 1710–24

Dickinson younger married Elizabeth, with whom he had a son, also called William.

He died in 1724 and was buried in Westminster Abbey. His gravestone in the north porch reads: "Here lies William Dickinson, architect. What sort of architect! Look upwards. Died 24 of January A.D. 1724 aged 54".[1]

Dickinson, along with Nicholas Hawksmoor, Edward Woodroffe and John Oliver, worked under Sir Christopher Wren, the Chief Surveyor on the commission to rebuild London churches after the Great Fire of 1666.[2]

In the 1680s Dickinson underwent training with Wren at the Office of Works.[2] He was employed on many buildings, notably Westminster Abbey, where he worked for Wren as Deputy Surveyor.[1] Together with Wren he was responsible for the restoration of the exterior of the abbey.[3]

Other buildings he worked on include:

• St Paul's Cathedral (1696–1711) (as measuring clerk)[2]
• Greenwich Hospital (as clerk of works)
• Windsor Castle (he succeeded his father's role as clerk of works)
• St James's Palace (as clerk of works)[1]
• Pembroke House, Whitehall[4]
• Hampton Court Palace [4]

• Tim Benton, The Architecture of William Dickinson Junior, University of London (Courtauld Institute of Art, 1969), 108pp.