Britannia Royal Naval College (1898 – 1905) by Aston
Webb – the work of an artistic chameleon or a
Masterpiece of High Baroque Edwardian
Architecture?
A History and Theory Essay submitted by
Benjamin Bishop Bsc (Hons) Dip Arch Architect
Towards the degree of Master of Science in the
Conservation of Historic Buildings at the
University of Bath
Department in Architecture and Civil Engineering
Session 2007 - 2008
Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1 - Dartmouth: Its origins and importance as a naval
training base.
Chapter 2 – Description of the development as originally
designed and built.
Chapter 3 – The choice of Aston Webb as the Architect for the
Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth.
Chapter 4 – Central principles of Edwardian Architecture and
how Britannia Royal Naval College relates to this.
Conclusions
Bibliography
List of Illustrations
Further Reading
Introduction
This essay comprises a description of Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth and examines
contradicting viewpoints as to whether it represents the work of multiple influences or whether it
can be seen as an example of High Baroque Edwardian Architecture. The Britannia Royal
Naval College dominates Dartmouth‟s skyline and can be seen as an expression of the power
of the British Empire a century ago, plus the fact that it is of a prestigious nature due to its
historical importance, both as training for Naval officers from Britain and abroad, and is located
within a Ministry of Defence Historic area and within an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
This essay also investigates whether its stylistic qualities reflect the work of a blend of historical
styles, a culmination of the High Baroque Edwardian period, or a combination of both these
factors. The essay has been broken down into specific chapters, detailing the history of
Dartmouth and its significance in British naval history, a brief factual description of the
development as originally designed and built, the choice of Aston Webb as the architect of the
building and culminates in a discussion of how while a variety of influences were apparent it
can be displayed as a classic representation of the principles of High Baroque Edwardian
Architecture.
Chapter 1 - Dartmouth: Its origins and importance as a naval
training base.
Historically, Dartmouth was of great strategic importance as a deep-water port for the crusades
of 1147 and 1190. Wikepedia n.d. Britannia Royal Naval College outlines how it has been a
home of the English Navy since the reign of Edward III and was invaded twice in the 100 years
war leading to the estuary being closed each night with a chain. Dartmouth‟s history includes
reference to Geoffrey Chaucer in 1373, was a major base for privateering and legend has it
that the Pilgrim Fathers docked at Dartmouth on their way from Southampton to America in
1620.
With such a rich history of Naval activity and its possession of a sheltered harbour and its
facilities on land it is unsurprising that it was to become a major centre for naval officer training,
both initially on two moored ships in the River Dart and later in a shore based college.
Fig 1 - Photograph of the River Dart and Britannia Royal Naval College)
Similarly, it has been reported in Wikepedia n.d. Britannia Royal Naval College that –
“Britannia Royal naval College (BRNC) Dartmouth, is the location of initial officer
training in the Royal Navy”
and that –
“The training of Naval officers at Dartmouth dates from 1863 when the wooden hulks of
HMS Britannia and HMS Hindostan were moored in the river Dart”
(Fig 2 – HMS Hindostan and HMS Britannia on the River Dart by Charles William Fothergill)
Indeed the article goes on to state the way in which –
“King George V and King George VI were naval cadets at Dartmouth, as were the
present Duke of Edinburgh, Prince of Wales and Duke of York. It is said that the Duke
of Edinburgh first met the then Princess Elizabeth at Dartmouth”
This is one of the many reasons that the Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth was of
great significance to the Royal Navy.
The original two hulks of the ships HMS Britannia and HMS Hindostan were utilised as a naval
public school, where recruits were sent from middle class families, by private arrangement
between their parents and the captains of the two ships. Here the cadets spent time training on
a moored ship before going out to sea.
However, with the problems associated with the ill health of the cadets stationed on the two
ships plus the recent required improvements in naval education, there led to the need to
establish a shore based school.
The reasons that the current site of the buildings (Mount Boone, Dartmouth) at Britannia Royal
Naval College, Dartmouth were chosen is for the good water supply, the fact that the site is
removed from the local population, rail access, access to the sea and the ample provision of
areas for exercise in the surrounding country.
Also, Porter and Harold (2005: 36) suggest that the Mount Boone site at Dartmouth was “free
of those special temptations”, which could affect boys of that age.
The site had been identified as early as 1875, but due to problems encountered by the
Admiralty on behalf of the government in negotiations with the Raleigh estate, the Defence
Works Act of 1842 had to be invoked for compulsory purchase of the site.
Harold and Porter (2005: 36) describe the way in which „The funding for the new college was to come from the 1895 Naval Works Loan Act” and the
decision to build on the site reflected the governments confidence in the Royal Navy, coupled
with the recognition of the need to maintain the supremacy of the Royal Navy as a
demonstration of the power of the British Empire in both Europe and in the World.
(Fig 3 –Early Site Plan of Britannia Royal Naval College)
Chapter 2 – Description of the development as originally
designed and built.
Harold and Porter (2005:50) demonstrate the ways in which the Architect, Aston Webb –
overcame the problems encountered at the site –
“The site sits 180 feet above sea level and slopes steeply down to the River Dart, both
to the south and to the east. Aston Webb accommodated the slope to the east by first
choosing a site where the slope is less steep, and secondly by the use of stairs from the
dining hall and chapel. The main corridor is level but at the eastern end there is a short
flight of steps down to the level of the chapel and two short flights at the western end,
leading up to the dining room. The slope to the south has resulted in the Architect
building the college as a series of terraces that are hardly obvious from the front
elevation.”
(Fig 4 - Early plan of Britannia Royal Naval College)
Harold and Porter (2005: 50) also indicate how the Architect accommodated the steeply sloping
site with the considerable use of steps–
“steps to the main building, more steps to the main entrance, steps to the great hall and
steps beyond to the buildings at the rear of the great hall, the entire building being a
series of levels rising to the north”
(Fig 5 – Steps from main entrance to corridor
(Fig 6 – Internal steps in central entrance)
A crucial factor in the building of the development and the re-location of the cadets to a shore
based college, as opposed to the two ships originally moored in the river dart is shown in the
way that the sick quarters were built and opened first.
Harold and Porter (2005:50) recount how –
“The sick quarters were opened in 1902, a sign that the heath of the cadets was still of
great concern to the Admiralty”.
The supply of water was of crucial importance for the development has been extensively
chronicled and includes the provision of a fresh water supply, salt water for the swimming pool
and the plunge pools and hydrants.
Harold and Porter (2005: 54) explain the characteristics of the external appearance of the
building –
“Externally the dressings are of Portland stone and…red bricks....the roofs… slates
from Cornwall and the walls of the terrace are of Torquay limestone…. topped with
parapets of Cornish granite”
Indicating the way in which although many building products from afar were brought in up the
River Dart, there was also a considerable use of local products.
(Fig 7 – Photograph of central entrance to the front elevation of Britannia Royal Naval College
Harold and Porter 2005:54 also give an account of the internal features at length “the internal stonework is of bath stone”
and –
“the use of glazed bricks along the main corridor and some of the stairways leading off
this corridor. Those on the main passageway are a delicate shade of green and those
on the stairs a rich, deep brown colour”.
Internally, the panelling in the dining hall is of oak while the floors and staircases of the rest of
the buildings are of concrete covered with teak and pitch pine. The chapel has marble and brick
on the walls and marble on the floor. See photos of quarterdeck and dining areas. (Figs 9 and
10)
The main building works were carried out by a firm of builders called Higgs and Hill (appointed
due their evidence of recent work to the Tate Gallery in London), works on site were
commenced in 1898 and the development opened in 1905.
(Fig 8 – Photograph of the front elevation of Britannia Royal Naval College )
(Fig 9 – Photograph of dining hall of Britannia Royal Naval College )
(Fig 10 – Photograph of Quarterdeck of Britannia Royal Naval College )
Chapter 3 – The choice of Aston Webb as the Architect for the
Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth.
Aston Webb (1849-1930) was seen by many as the perfect architect to carry out the works on
the onshore development of the Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth for a number of
reasons. The fact that Aston Webb had a large architects practice in London (and one of the
largest architects practices in England in partnership with E. Ingress-Bell at the end of the
nineteenth century) meant he was in the perfect position to draw upon a variety of inspirations.
(Fig 11 – Photograph of portrait of Sir Aston Webb {1849-1930})
However, while there was much praise for the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, there was also
considerable criticism.
In Pevsner (1989:325) the development is described as “of brick and stone in a revised and vamped up C18 tradition, not successful as an
ensemble, because the Edwardian Palladian motifs are not of sufficient bombast to fit
the scale adopted. The tower is not high and broad enough for a distant view, and the
side cupolas are niggling. The towers at the ends are small too “
although in Pevsner (1989:105) he describes how –
“The only building to express the grandiloquence of the Edwardian period is Aston
Webb‟s Royal Naval College at Dartmouth”
Fellows (1995: 24) states the way in which –
“Webb had little impact upon the progress of architecture as an art‟
and how –
“His design work was fundamentally rational and appropriate, but in some stylistic
respects he belongs to what the architectural commentator H.S. Goodhart Rendel
called the „bric-a brac‟ generation of the 1880‟s”
Fellows (1995: 125) continues to suggest that –
“Webb….was something of a stylistic chameleon, who adopted whatever was
fashionable or specifically appropriate to his own ends”
and how –
“Most of Webb‟s architecture….. is unsettling – almost anarchic.”
(Fig 12 – Photograph of “anarchic” balustrade detail of Britannia Royal Naval College)
although on page 26 of his book, Fellows describes how at -
“The Royal Naval College Dartmouth….. Aston Webb uses English Baroque in a
wholehearted way, producing a more consistently successful result than some of his
earlier designs.”
and Service (1977:149) describes how –
“Webb‟s Royal Naval College in Dartmouth…. Is an example of Edwardian Baroque on
an immense scale, spreading across a hillside on the river Dart in Devon”
(Fig 13 – Photograph of view of Britannia Royal Naval College from the River Dart)
and how –
“Sir Aston moved easily from style to style, performing ably in each, and from large
commission to large commission”.
However, despite the mixed opinions on Webb‟s Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, often
comprising contradictions within the same publication, it was widely acknowledged as a
successful composition and the fusion of many different elements into a cohesive development.
The fact that the office of Aston Webb was one of the largest and busiest offices in London at
the end of the nineteenth century is testament to his abilities to design public buildings of a high
calibre.
The importance of the relevance of competitions in this period cannot be over-stated and while
Webb‟s work displays the influence of works from an earlier period (Sir Christopher Wren,
Nicholas Hawksmoor, Sir John Vanbrugh and James Gibbs), it was the recent spate of
competitions won by Brumwell Thomas, John Belcher and Lanchester and Rickards which had
most influence on Webb‟s work. It was for these reasons that Webb‟s work can be seen as
mixture of several different styles, but they were always variations on the then fashionable
Grand manner Baroque. Equally impressive to his companies winning in competition of many
large collegiate jobs (the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth; the Imperial College of Science,
South Kensington; Christ‟s Hospital at Horsham; and numerous projects at Birmingham
University) plus jobs such as the Victoria and Albert Museum, London around the end of the
nineteenth century, which marked out his practice as Service (1975: 336) describes as
“commercially prosperous”, was his capacity to excel in the world of professional politics. Aston
Webb was the RIBA president from 1902 to 1904 and president of the Royal Academy from
1919-24 and was knighted for his presidency of the RIBA and his services to architecture in
1904.
Chapter 4 – Central principles of Edwardian Architecture and how
Britannia Royal Naval College relates to this.
Aston Webb‟s Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth can be seen as a classic example of
High Edwardian Baroque Architecture and as a culmination of the movement towards a classic
revival.
Simpson in the Architectural Review (1897:90) states the way in which –
“The movement towards a classic revival had been gaining ground for years. We can
see it in many of the recently erected public buildings and it is present in every
competition entry.”
Furthermore, Service (1977: 144) describes how –
“the very acceptance of the term baroque entails enjoyment that can be obtained
openly at the price of suspension of purist classical; ideas of proportion and detail.”
Webb‟s Royal Naval College, Dartmouth had been designed in the year before he gave a
paper to the Architectural Association in 1898, and can be seen as an example of Edwardian
Baroque as an expression of military might on a massive scale. These forms of architecture
before 1906 were dominated by bold baroque forms largely developed from the vigorous British
architecture of the early C18th.
Webb‟s style undoubtedly used the central elements of the Baroque manner in an
individualistic way and in relation to Edwardian Baroque Architecture,
Fellows (1995::21) describes how –
“large buildings, constructed around 1900, therefore, were usually „Baroque‟, with an
outer skin of either stone or of red brick with stone banding”.
An article in Wikepedia, n.d, Edwardian Baroque Architecture - describes how Aston Webb‟s
Royal Naval College, Dartmouth is a classic example of Edwardian Baroque Architecture, and
that this term refers to “The Neo Baroque architectural style of many buildings built in the British Empire during
the reign of Edward VII (1901 – 10)”
The article goes on to elaborate how the development displays typical details of Edwardian
Baroque Architecture, such as –
“rusticated basements, mansard roofs, a profusion of dormer windows…..colonnades
of (sometimes paired) columns in the ionic order”
Alastair Service (1977:149) describes the inspiration for Webb in his design –
“Somewhere, a long way in the background, the inspiration of Wrens Chelsea Hospital
can be seen in Webb‟s palatial composition”
of Britannia Royal Naval College –
“But the repose of Wrens design is submerged in Webb‟s work by the restless insertion
of stone bands in the areas of brickwork and by curiously mannerist detailing of the
turrets and skyline pediments in some of the ranges”
(Fig 14 – Photograph of Sir Christopher Wrens Chelsea Hospital )
Chapter 6 – Conclusion
Therefore, while Aston Webb‟s Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth on the one hand can
be seen as the work of what has been termed an „artistic chameleon”, due to its diverse and
varied influences, it can also be seen as an example of High Baroque Edwardian Architecture
on a massive scale. Edwardian classicism can be seen as a development of the bold baroque
forms of the English architecture of the early C18th. Central to his submission for the
competition entry for the Britannia Royal Naval College at Dartmouth was the fact that the
British Empire was nearing its peak of commercial and imperial power, Central to this was the
fact that the style displayed very English classical characteristics, as discussed earlier.
To quote Alastair Service (1977:142) –
“ many designs…. tried to escape from „copyism‟ by a free eclectic mixture of historical styles
which they attempted to blend into an overall harmony”.
The fact that the architect has successfully amalgamated elements and compositions of
several different styles to produce a coherent development and his mastering of the problems
associated with the site displays the success of the Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth
as an architectural feat and as a culmination of the movement towards a classic revival in Great
Britain at the end of the nineteenth century.
Bibliography
PEVSNER.N. AND CHERRY.B, 1989 The Buildings of England : Devon (2nd
edition) Butler and tanner Limited, Frome and London.
FELLOWS.R 1995 Edwardian Architecture: Style and Technology Lund
Humphries Publishers, London
JANE HARROLD AND RICHARD PORTER 2005 Britannia Royal Naval College
(1905-2005) A Century of Officer Training at Dartmouth
Richard Webb publisher, Dartmouth, England.
PHYSICK. J (1982) The Victoria and Albert Museum – The History of its Building
Phaidon. Christies. Oxford
SERVICE, A (1977) Edwardian Architecture – A Handbook of Building Design in
Britain 1890 – 1914 Thames and Hudson Limited London
SERVICE. A (ed) 1975 Edwardian Architecture and its Origins The Architectural
Press, Limited
SUMMERSON. J (1976) W.A. Cargill Memorial Lectures in fine Art Number 5.
The Turn of the Century: Architecture in Britain around 1900.University of
Glasgow Press.
(Wikepedia, n.d, Britannia Royal Naval College. In:Wikepedia the free encyclopaedia (online)
St Petersburg, Florida Wikemedia foundation. Available from
http://en,wikepedia.org/wiki/Britannia Royal_Naval_College (Accessed 01/11/2007)
(Wikepedia, n.d, Edwardian Baroque Architecture. In: Wikepedia the free encyclopaedia
(online) St Petersburg, Florida Wikemedia foundation. Available from
http://en,wikepedia.org/wiki/Edwardian_Baroque_Architecture (Accessed 15 /11/2007)
(Wikepedia, n.d, Aston Webb. In: Wikepedia the free encyclopaedia (online) St Petersburg,
Florida Wikemedia foundation. Available from http://en,wikepedia.org/wiki/Aston_Webb
(Accessed 07/11/2007)
ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW (1905) Vol. 18: p 194 - 216
Further Reading
MARTIN S BRIGGS (1911) Wren the Incomparable Allen and Unwin, London.
HUGHES.E.A (1950) The Royal Naval College, Dartmouth Winchester
Publications, London
PERKIN, H (1990) The rise of professional society, England since 1880
Routledge, London.
WATKIN, D (1979) English Architecture Thames and Hudson, London.
List of Photographs / Illustrations
Fig 1 Photograph of the River Dart and the Britannia Royal Naval College,
Dartmouth (Copyright British Library, London)
Fig 2 HMS Hindostan and HMS Britannia on the River Dart by Charles William
Fothergill Painted 1900 (Copyright Richard Webb, Dartmouth)
Fig 3 Site plan of Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth (Copyright British Library,
London)
Fig 4 Early plan of Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth
(Copyright British Library,
London
Fig 5 Steps from main entrance to corridor (Copyright British Library, London)
Fig 6 Internal steps Copyright British Library, London)
Fig 7 Photograph of central entrance to the front elevation of Britannia Royal
Naval College Copyright Royal Navy website
Fig 8 Photograph of the front elevation of Britannia Royal Naval College
Copyright Royal Navy website
Fig 9 Photograph of dining hall of Britannia Royal Naval College
Copyright Royal Navy website
Fig 10 Photograph of Quarterdeck of Britannia Royal Naval College
Copyright Royal Navy website
Fig 11 Photograph of portrait of Sir Aston Webb by Solomon Joseph Solomon
Copyright Wikepedia)
Fig 12 Photograph of balustrade detail of Britannia Royal Naval College
(Copyright Richard Webb, Dartmouth
Fig 13 Photograph of view of Britannia Royal Naval College from the River Dart
Copyright Royal Navy website
Fig 14 Photograph of Sir Christopher Wrens Chelsea Hospital
Copyright Allen and Unwin, London