William Joy ( fl. 1310 – 1348) was an English master mason, or architect, of the

Decorated 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 ...

style, known for his work on several English cathedrals. Joy's cathedral work shows influences of

Bristol Cathedral Bristol Cathedral, the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is the Church of England cathedral in the city of Bristol, England. Founded in 1140 and consecrated in 1148, it was originally St Augustine's Abbey but after the Dissolu ...

, and he may have originated from that area.

Early career

Joy is first mentioned in the records of the Benedictine abbey church of St Augustine (now Bristol Cathedral) ''c''. 1310, where he may have designed the Berkeley Chapel sacristy. He was next recorded at Salisbury Cathedral, where he created the first of the ‘strainer arches’ he became known for, designed to stop the collapse of an enlarged crossing tower.

Wells Cathedral

William Joy was a colleague of the master mason Thomas Witney, and took over his work 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 ...

in 1329. Joy extended the

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

and retrochoir and designed the choir vault. Joy built the scissor arches to prevent the central tower from collapse after cracks appeared in the tower following repairs made after an earthquake in the 13th century. Several attempts had been made to strengthen the tower, but Joy's unique design has not only held, but decoratively references the Saltire Cross, the cross of

St Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Pete ...

, the patron of Wells.

Exeter Cathedral

The Bishop of Exeter,

John Grandisson The '' John Grandisson Triptych'', displaying on two small escutcheons the arms of Bishop Grandisson. British Museum John de Grandisson (1292 – 16 July 1369), also spelt Grandison, was Bishop of Exeter, in Devon, England, from 1327 to his deat ...

, founded a new church at

Ottery St Mary Ottery St Mary, known as "Ottery", is a town and civil parish in the East Devon district of Devon, England, on the River Otter, about east of Exeter on the B3174. At the 2001 census, the parish, which includes the villages of Metcombe, F ...

, which was built by Joy. In 1342 he was put in charge of works at Exeter Cathedral. Initially he was charged with completing designs by Witney. West front, Exeter Cathedral - geograph

The screen of the west front (''illustration'') is Joy's design. Consisting originally of two tiers of sculptures in canopies, it covered the original arches and contains the chantry of Bishop Grandisson. The first tier had sculptures of 25 angels, of which 23 remain. The second tier has niches for 25 sculptures of kings and knights. Ten sculptures dating from the 1340s survive today. Work on the cathedral was halted in 1348 by the Black Death, which struck just before Christmas. As Joy is not mentioned after this date, it is likely that he was one of the victims of the plague.

Commemoration

William Joy's entry in the

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

was published in March 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joy, William 14th-century English architects Gothic architects English stonemasons 1348 deaths 14th-century deaths from plague (disease) Year of birth unknown