VIEWS OF HERTFORDSHIRE. A COLLECTION of DRAWINGS By J. C. BUCKLER (1793 - 1894) in...

Four volumes of topographical drawings, c1835-1840 by John Chessell Buckler (1793-1894) donated to Hertfordshire Record Office in 1932

This collection, consisting of upwards of 750 original drawings by John Chessell Buckler, constitutes a remarkable record of the ecclesiastic and domestic architecture of the Country of Hertford, Originally bound up in six volumes without any definite system, it is now arranged in Parishes, grouped together according to their respective Deaneries, and bound into four volumes.

John Chessell Buckler (1793-1894) belonged to an old Dorsetshire family, and was the son of John Buckler F.S.A. (1770-1851), well known for his " Views of the Cathedral Churches of England" and other similar publications. He inherited his father's taste for architecture and practised as an Architect until his 90th year. He did a considerable amount of work for various Colleges at Oxford, and he also took part in the restoration of Lincoln and Norwich Cathedrals; but his chief claim to distinction lies in the fact that the designs he sent in for the rebuilding of the Houses of Parliament, after the disastrous fire of 1834, were adjudged second to those of Sir Charles Barry to whom the work was eventually entrusted. The numerous volumes of his sketches which have found a home in the British Museum and in the Bodleian Library testify to his remarkable industry and talent, of which the carefully finished drawings in this Collection furnish additional proof.

It is not known by whom the Collection was formed, or through whose hands it passed before coming into the possession of Messrs. Batsford, the well-known Publishers, but to prevent a Collection of so much local interest being broken up and dispersed it was eventually acquired by a Resident in Hertfordshire, who subsequently in the year 1932, presented it to the County.