The collection comprises forty-eight hand coloured drawings detailing features of the hammerbeam roof at Westminster Hall. Forty-five of the drawings are copies of originals held by the Historic England Archive, created by H M Office of Works, which have subsequently been hand coloured. The remaining three drawings are likely to be original artworks.
The original drawings on which the copies are based were created between 1916 and 1920, and bear the initials of the original draftsman. It is not clear when the colour tinting was added to the copies, although it is likely to have been shortly after the original drawings were created. The set is numbered consecutively, although not all drawings within the run are present.
The three additional drawings comprise: a perspective view of two of the oak roof principals, and two details showing the end of the main collar beam on the east side of principal number three of the hall roof.
The collection was deposited with the Archive in 2016; prior to that the collection was owned by John Francis Brooks. Brooks' relationship with the Office of Works is not known, although he is not thought to have been a draftsman working for them. The identity of the artist or draftsman who coloured the drawings is not known.
The collection, although in essence a duplicate of original drawings held by the Archive, is unique in providing a highly detailed colour record of the hammerbeam roof at Westminster Hall.
Source: Historic England Archive
Draftsman: Brooks, John Francis: Office Of Works
Hammerbeam Roof, Medieval Great Hall
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