Publications
Lancing College Chapel: a Question of Attribution, by John Elliott, published January 1996 in Architectural History the journal the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain (vol. 39, article, pp.114-123) View Online
Abstract:Conventional knowledge has long credited five architects with varying degrees of responsibility for the design of Lancing College Chapel; the main personae being Richard Cromwell Carpenter (1812-55), his pupil William Slater (1819-72), Carpenter's son Richard Herbert Carpenter (1841-93), Temple Lushington Moore (1856-1920) and Stephen Dykes Bower (1903-94). Of these Richard Herbert Carpenter is usually cited as the key individual, being identified as the one who originated the executed design. However, recent research has shown that while R. H. Carpenter played an important role in converting an architectural dream into structural reality, it was the less well-known William Slater who was responsible for conceiving much of what Carpenter later developed. This paper recounts the results of these researches, reconsiders the origins of the designs, and sketches their evolution during the nineteenth century.