| Description | An extensive collection of volumes of drawings and sketches made and compiled by Charles John Richardson relating to ecclesiastical art and architecture, together with accompanying manuscript listings and notes which he assembled and collated.
The geographical coverage of this collection principally relates to examples of features and elements in England and Wales but coverage also extends to Scotland and continental Europe for a number of specific features. The content of the collection relates primarily to features found in Anglican parish churches but also includes cathedrals and other ecclesiastical buildings and also extends to include a few examples of features in secular buildings or of artefacts now in museums.
Each volume is usually devoted to a single feature or a group of closely related features of church art and architecture and these include fonts, monuments and headstones, church windows, metal work in churches, carvings, sundials and moondials, chairs in churches, church chests, misericords, bench ends, roof bosses, heraldry and church doors. The drawings in these volumes are largely pen and ink, some with colour wash added. These are normally framed by ruled margins into which Richardson has inserted the name of the parish and county. He sometimes gives a title and he also includes information about the source he has used for his drawing such as a photograph or illustration in a published work. Other drawings bear his initials and a date which appears to indicate that he made these in situ. The date range given for each volume is based on these dated drawings. The drawings are largely pasted on to the pages of the volumes; sometimes additional pages have been interleaved. In addition to the drawings and sketches these volumes also contain some cuttings of printed illustrations of examples of features, sometimes with accompanying text.
Many of the volumes also contain Richardson's own listings and notes relating to the relevant artistic or architectural feature. These listings appear to be a much more comprehensive gazetteer or record of location of known instances of the relevant feature; the sketches and drawings in the volumes are only representative examples. The listings have been compiled by Richardson and subdivided in a range of different ways and these include both geographical and subject arrangements. He has created them from information extracted from a wide range of secondary sources which included Victoria County Histories, Pevsner's Buildings of England series, county volumes published by the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments and various archaeological and other journals. These notes therefore appear to be largely derivative and not based on original research. A small number of volumes in the collection do not contain any sketches or drawings but consist exclusively of Richardson's listings and notes. |
| Administrative History | Charles John Richardson (fl 1929-1960), who was probably a school master, was resident at the following addresses during the period he compiled these volumes: The Grammar School, Shoreham by Sea, Sussex (1936-1938); Morecombe Farm, East Allington, Totnes, Devon (1943-1951); and Firlands, Bishops Frome, Worcester (1955-1958).
Reference: This information was found on reused letters & envelopes in the collection on which Richardson wrote notes. No further biographical information is known. |
| Custodial History | The provenance of this collection is unknown |