Norwich Cathedral from Cloisters, Norfolk, UK - Diliff

Ethelbert Gate from Tombland, Norwich, UK

William de Ramsey ( fl. 1323 – died 1349) was an

English Gothic English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed ar ...

master mason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

and

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

who worked on and likely designed the two earliest buildings of the

Perpendicular In elementary geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at a right angle (90 degrees or π/2 radians). The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the ''perpendicular symbol'', ⟂. It ca ...

style of

Gothic architecture Gothic architecture (or pointed architecture) is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It ...

. William Ramsey was likely an inventor of the Perpendicular style which was to dominate Gothic architecture in England for three centuries "and, if so, he was one of the most influential architects England has ever produced". The son of John de Ramsey, Master of Works at

Norwich Cathedral Norwich Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Norwich, Norfolk, dedicated to the Holy and Undivided Trinity. It is the cathedral church for the Church of England Diocese of Norwich and is one of the Norwich 12 heritage sites. The cathedra ...

and probable builder at Ely Cathedral (1324–30), William Ramsey began his career in the 1320s, working with his father on the

cloister A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...

s at Norwich and probably on the chapel above the St Ethelbert's Gate to the cathedral close. In 1323 he was working on St Stephen's Chapel (since destroyed) at the old Palace of Westminster. He was also a consultant ('Visiting Master') at Norwich's Cathedral between 1326 and 1331. In 1332 he designed the chapter house (since destroyed) at Old St Paul's Cathedral in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. In 1337 he was consulted on the design of the presbytery of

Lichfield Cathedral Lichfield Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England, one of only three cathedrals in the United Kingdom with three spires (together with Truro Cathedral and St Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh), and the only medie ...

and was charged with supervising building at Stephen's Chapel the same year. The chapter house at St Paul's and St Stephen's in Westminster are known from existing fragments and contemporary illustrations to have been in Perpendicular style, the first buildings to have been built this way. In 1335 he was one of four commissioners responsible for a report on the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...

. The following year, he was made Chief Mason of the Tower and Chief Surveyor of the King's Works there and for all castles south of the

River Trent The Trent is the third-longest river in the United Kingdom. Its source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midlands. The river is known for dramatic flooding after storms and ...

, a lifetime appointment. The great hall and other parts of

Penshurst Place Penshurst Place is a historic building near Penhurst, Kent, south east of London, England. It is the ancestral home of the Sidney family, and was the birthplace of the great Elizabethan poet, courtier and soldier, Sir Philip Sidney. The ori ...

(1341–48) were likely his work. The Hall at Penshurst Place from Ancestral Homes of Noted Americans by Anne Hollingsworth Wharton (1915)

William de Ramsey was a scion of the de Ramsey family of master masons whose work, according to

John Harvey John Harvey may refer to: People Academics * John Harvey (astrologer) (1564–1592), English astrologer and physician * John Harvey (architectural historian) (1911–1997), British architectural historian, who wrote on English Gothic architecture ...

, can be found at Ramsey Abbey, Norwich Cathedral, Ely Cathedral, and possibly also in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. Ramsey died of

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pe ...

in 1349, during the Black Death. William Ramsey's daughter, Agnes Ramsey, carried on his workshop after his death.

References

Bibliography

* * Year of birth missing 1349 deaths 14th-century English architects Gothic architects English stonemasons {{England-architect-stub