Christopher Kempster

Kempster's County Hall in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, built 1678–82, now a museum.

Christopher Kempster (1627–1715) was an English master stonemason and architect who trained with Sir Christopher Wren, working on St Paul's Cathedral.^[1]

Kempster was from Burford in Oxfordshire, England. He sold Cotswold stone from his quarry at Upton, near Burford, to rebuild London after the Great Fire of London in 1666.^[2] He was also Christopher Wren's master mason during the rebuilding of St Paul's Cathedral in London. His County Hall built 1678–82 in Abingdon is now the Abingdon County Hall Museum.^[3]

The Kempster family quarry supplied stone for Blenheim Palace, Oxford colleges, and Windsor Castle.

His buildings, many with Sir Christopher Wren, include:

• Abingdon County Hall^[4]
• St James Garlickhythe, City of London (Kempster also made the font)
• St Mary Abchurch, City of London
• St Mary's Church, North Leigh^[5]
• St Stephen Walbrook, City of London
• Tom Tower, Christ Church, Oxford^[6]

John Perrott, Lord of the Manor, engaged Kempster to refit St Mary's Church, North Leigh and build a burial chapel for the Perrott family to the north of the north aisle.^[5] Kempster linked the Perrott chapel and the north aisle by an arcade of Tuscan columns.^[7]

St John the Baptist's Church in Burford has a memorial to Christopher Kempster.^[2][8]

References

1. ^ P.D. Mundy, Chistopher Kempster, Wren's Master-Mason. Notes and Queries, CCII, page 297. Oxford University Press, July 1957. doi:10.1093/nq/CCII.jul.297
2. ^ ^{a b} My Family Tree: Jordan, Elizabeth, Rick Bull, 14 November 2007.
3. ^ David Nash Ford, Abingdon: Ancient Abbey shaped a Town, Royal Berkshire History.
4. ^ Abingdon County Hall: Information for Teachers, English Heritage. Palladian Press, 2004.
5. ^ ^{a b} Crossley, Alan & Elrington, C.R. (Eds.); A.P. Baggs, W.J. Blair, Eleanor Chance, Christina Colvin, Janet Cooper, C.J. Day, Nesta Selwyn, S.C. Townley (1990). Victoria County History: A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 12: Wootton Hundred (South) including Woodstock. Victoria County History of the Counties of England. pp. 231–235. ISBN 0197227740. 
6. ^ Seven letters of Wren to John Fell, Bishop of Oxford, and other documents. Published in Wren Society 5 (1928).
7. ^ Sherwood, Jennifer; Pevsner, Nikolaus (1974). The Buildings of England: Oxfordshire. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. pp. 719–720. ISBN 0 14 071045 0. 
8. ^ Burford, The Cotswold Gateway.

Persondata
Name	Kempster, Christopher
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Short description
Date of birth	1627
Place of birth
Date of death	1715
Place of death