Poulter, Matthew;
(2022)
Of a Vellum Book: A Historical and Representational Study of William Leybourn's Survey of Encroachments upon the Old London Wall (1676).
Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
Abstract
This thesis is a historical and representational study of William Leybourn’s Survey of Encroachments upon the London Wall (1676). Leybourn’s drawing was designed to generate much-needed income for the City of London, by claiming ancient rights to lands 16 feet either side of the London Wall. Produced in the aftermath of the Great Fire on the orders of the Corporation of London, Leybourn’s drawn survey – which I refer to as the Vellum Book – transformed the conception of the City of London as an estate, and the status of the Old London Wall as a civic architecture. By studying drawn representations of the Wall and related historical visual materials, this thesis argues that Leybourn's geometric plan is a multivalent architectural object of study. Secondly, it claims the Wall can be read through later representations of encroachment: measured surveys (C17th), regional descriptions (C18th), antiquarian drawings (C19th), and archaeological investigations (C20th). Developed from archival research into Corporation records and a critical analysis of William Leybourn’s drawings, this research charts the circumstances of the Vellum Book’s production and subsequent use in representing encroachment. The thesis opens with a close historical reading of the Vellum Book and other encroachment surveys. Later chapters describe representations of encroachments along the Wall in subsequent centuries and evaluates them as evidence of architectural occupation, which further articulates the multivalency of the Wall as an artefact of continuing cultural significance. My findings demonstrate that the Vellum Book was the first significant attempt to create a systematic drawn management plan of the City’s Land that sought to transform how the City managed its estate and marked a change in the cultural value of the Wall. Through my analysis of the Vellum Book, the thesis shows that the London Wall’s contemporary value lies not just in its fragmentary archaeological survival, but also in its reception as a significant example of post-Fire architectural representation.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | Ph.D |
| Title: | Of a Vellum Book: A Historical and Representational Study of William Leybourn's Survey of Encroachments upon the Old London Wall (1676) |
| Language: | English |
| UCL classification: | UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment > The Bartlett School of Architecture UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10143546 |
Archive Staff Only
 |
View Item |
