Peter de Colechurch

Peter de Colechurch (also Peter of Colechurch , * in the 12th century in London ; † 1205 ibid) was an English clergyman and architect .

life and work

Peter de Colechurch, whose origin is unknown, was the rector of the now defunct London Church of St. Mary Colechurch . It is likely that he had sound and recognized architectural qualifications, having been entrusted with the fundamental repair or rebuilding - the sources are inconclusive on this point - in 1163 of the 1136 damaged wooden Thames Bridge, London Bridge .

From 1176, under Colechurch's planning and management, the London Bridge was completely rebuilt in stone , as the wooden structures had proven to be too sensitive and inadequate in terms of their durability. Based on his designs, a 273 meter long bridge with 20 Gothic arches, which rested on 19 pillars, was built over a construction period of 33 years . The bridge planned by Colechurch was still considered an architectural wonder centuries after it was built.

Colechurch did not see the completion of the bridge; he died four years before it was completed and was buried inside the pillar that housed the crypt of the St. Thomas à Becket chapel built in the middle of the bridge . His grave was largely forgotten over the following centuries, especially after the chapel was profaned in 1553 on the orders of Henry VIII and converted into a residential and commercial building, which externally no longer resembled a church building.

When the old London Bridge was demolished in 1832, knowledge of Colechurch's tomb was not completely lost, but it was also uncertain whether the tomb even existed. It was planned to keep an eye out for the architect's bones when the central pillar was demolished and to recover them if necessary. In fact, the remains of Peter de Colechurch were found when the medieval crypt came to light when the pillar was demolished . However, the workers did not attach any importance to the bones and threw them onto a barge along with the rubble. When this became known a little later, there was already no way to find the bones again.

literature

• Patricia Pierce: Old London Bridge . Review, 2002. ISBN 0-7472-3493-0
• Cyclopaedia of London . C. Knight, 1851
• John Timbs: London and Westminster: City and Suburb. Strange Events, Characteristics, and Changes, of Metropolitan Life . Bentley, 1868
• Edward Wedlake Brayley: Londiniana , Volume 2. Hurst, Chance, and Co., 1829