Robert Hooke and Holland: Dutch influence on his architecture

• Main Author: Allison Stoesser-Johnston
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: KNOB 2000-08-01
• Series: Bulletin KNOB
• Online Access: https://bulletin.knob.nl/index.php/knob/article/view/511

This paper describes briefly the development of classicism in England and the Netherlands, the cross-fertilization which took place between the two countries in the 17th century and the introduction of Dutch classicism into England with Hugh May's Eltham Lodge. After considering Robert Hooke's career as a scientist, surveyor and architect and his contacts with the Netherlands, his plan for the City of London, based on Simon Stevin's city plan, and his architecture are discussed, with particular attention to his extensive use of Dutch models taken from designs by Jacob van Campen, Pieter Post, Daniel Stalpaert and Philips Vingboons. The thesis that he only used Dutch designs for detail while his conception is intrinsically French is disputed. His application of Dutch models in facades, plans, ornament and use of orders is analysed and, where appropriate, French and Italian influence recognized. His introduction of a new topos for mental hospitals is also considered. Designs by Hooke discussed under the headings of Institutional Buildings, Town and Country Houses and Churches are the Royal College of Physicians, Bethlehem Hospital, Montagu House, Escot House, and lastly, St. Edmund the King and Martyr. The conclusion reviews which elements he extracted from Dutch architects, how he applied these and combined them in some cases with ideas taken from French models.