Issue 36 2023 - Journal - Page 69
Sketch by Sir Edwin Lutyens of his
original design for the Cenotaph
at Whitehall is discovered among
papers at Scotney Castle
A sketch by Sir Edwin Lutyens of his design for the original Cenotaph in 1919 has been
discovered among papers in the archive at National Trust property Scotney Castle in Kent.
The sketch, in black and white and coloured pencil,
depicts the first Cenotaph at Whitehall, London, with a
military figure stationed at each corner, and two wreaths.
Lutyens had written next to the sketch, “wreaths from
the King” and “Queen Alexandra” with question marks
next to them, leading to the question, was the sketch
done before the first ceremony took place?
Scotney Castle was the former home of architectural
historian Christopher Hussey whose biography of Lutyens
is considered by many to be one of the best on his life and
career.
Lutyens’ design for the first Cenotaph was in wood and
was created at speed in 1919 for the ceremony to
commemorate the end of the First World War. Following
the outpouring of support for it, the decision was made to
replace it with a more permanent version in Portland
stone which is the one that remains today.
How the newly discovered sketch of it came to be at
Scotney Castle is still a mystery.
National Trust curator Jerzy-Kierkuc-Bielinski explained:
“Scotney’s archive contains boxes of Hussey’s research
notes and other documents related to the Hussey family,
and we are preparing to move them to the Kent Records
Office at Maidstone so scholars and the general public
can access and study them more easily. Before we transfer
them, I have been reviewing the documents which is
when I discovered the sketch.
“There are other sketches by Lutyens of his design for the
Cenotaph in other collections and institutions, but why
we have this one at Scotney is a bit of a puzzle. It is
sketched on the reverse of a sheet of notepaper with Lutyens’ London address on it. The drawing on note paper
suggests this may have been done as an informal architectural study where Lutyens was thinking about elements
of the design for himself rather than to show anyone else.
Below, the house at Scotney Castle, credit National Trust Imges-John Miller
