William Wynford or William of Wynford (flourished 1360–1405) was one of the most successful English master masons of the 14th century, using the new

Perpendicular Gothic Perpendicular Gothic (also Perpendicular, Rectilinear, or Third Pointed) architecture was the third and final style of English Gothic architecture developed in the Kingdom of England during the Late Middle Ages, typified by large windows, four-c ...

style.

Life and career

He is first mentioned in 1360 when at work at

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original c ...

as warden of masons' work. He became master mason at

Wells Cathedral Wells Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Wells, Somerset, England, dedicated to St Andrew the Apostle. It is the seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells, whose cathedra it holds as mother church of the Diocese of Bath and Wells. Built as a ...

on 1 February 1365 where he is believed to have designed the South West tower, it was probably here that he met

William of Wykeham William of Wykeham (; 1320 or 1324 – 27 September 1404) was Bishop of Winchester and Chancellor of England. He founded New College, Oxford, and New College School in 1379, and founded Winchester College in 1382. He was also the clerk of wor ...

who was then a provost of the cathedral. He was made master of the works at Windsor Castle in 1364 under Wykeham, in 1372

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring r ...

granted Wynford a pension of £10 per annum. In 1375–76 he was at work at Abingdon Abbey and working for the crown at Corfe Castle in 1377–78 making new rooms in the

keep A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...

. In 1378 Wynford was working with

Henry Yevele Henry Yevele (''c''. 1320 – 1400) was the most prolific and successful master mason active in late medieval England. The first document relating to him is dated 3 December 1353, when he purchased the freedom of London. In February 1356 he was su ...

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

. With the death of Edward III the new king

Richard II of England Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father ...

favoured Wykeham, with newfound wealth he founded in 1379

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at ...

, which was designed by Wynford, who also designed

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of ...

founded by Wykeham in 1382. In 1389-90 he was repairing

Winchester Castle Winchester Castle is a medieval building in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded in 1067. Only the Great Hall still stands; it houses a museum of the history of Winchester. History Early history Around AD 70 the Romans constructed a ...

, from 1392 he designed

Wardour Castle Wardour Castle is a ruined 14th-century castle at Wardour, on the boundaries of the civil parishes of Tisbury and Donhead St Andrew in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Salisbury. The castle was built in the 1390s, came into ...

, and in the 1390s he commenced his last major work, the remodelling of the Norman nave of

Winchester Cathedral The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity,Historic England. "Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity (1095509)". ''National Heritage List for England''. Retrieved 8 September 2014. Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun, commonly known as Winches ...

in the latest

style.

Features of Wynford's works

Wynford used a distinctive plan of placing the chapel and great hall end to end; this occurred at Windsor Castle (the chapel and hall were united as a single hall by Sir

Jeffry Wyatville Sir Jeffry Wyatville (3 August 1766 – 18 February 1840) was an English architect and garden designer. Born Jeffry Wyatt into an established dynasty of architects, in 1824 he was allowed by King George IV to change his surname to Wyatvill ...

for

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...

), and at Winchester and New Colleges. The two colleges also have cloisters that are next to rather than surrounded by the main college buildings, which form a separate courtyard consisting of as well as the great hall and chapel, an entrance gate with tower above, sets of rooms for scholars and fellows opening off staircases, a library, accommodation for the Warden. The kitchen, bakery and other service buildings are in a separate wing at New College, but surround a second courtyard at Winchester College. New college also has a bell tower next to the cloister. These were the very first educational buildings in England to be designed as a complete entity and, as such, they influenced later college buildings such as

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the ...

Appearance

There is a portrait of Wynfordpage 354, English Medieval Architects A Biographical Dictionary Down to 1550, John Harvey 1984 in the stained glass in the east window of Winchester College; this shows an old man with thinning hair, a long nose and dropping moustache and forked beard with the words 'Willms Wynfort ' below.

Gallery of architectural work

File:New College Oxford chapel.jpg, New College, Oxford, the chapel exterior looking north-west File:New College, Oxford - the chapel.jpg, New College, Oxford, the chapel interior looking east File:New College cloisters.jpg, New College, Oxford, the cloisters File:Winchester - College 02.JPG, Winchester College, gateway File:Winchester - College.JPG, Winchester College, exterior of the chapel File:Winchester College Chapel.jpg, Winchester College, exterior of the chapel File:Wells - Cathedral c.1230, Cloisters.jpg, Wells Cathedral, the south-west tower File:Wardourcastle2.JPG, Wardour Castle File:Old Wardour castle.JPG, Wardour Castle File:Winchester Cathedral.JPG, Winchester Cathedral, west front File:Winchestercathedralwestwindow.jpg, Winchester Cathedral, great west window in nave File:Winchester Cathedral -exterior wall-21July2008.jpg, Winchester Cathedral, South nave aisle windows File:Winchester Cathedral 03.JPG, Winchester cathedral, nave looking east File:IMGP0204 - Winchester Cathedral - 20050322 a.jpg, Winchester cathedral, nave looking west File:Winchester cathedral 009.JPG, Winchester cathedral, south aisle looking east File:Catedral de Winchester - volta.JPG, Winchester cathedral, nave vaulting

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wynford, William 14th-century English architects 1405 deaths Gothic architects People associated with New College, Oxford Year of birth unknown