Edward Jerman By Helen Collins A study of the work of the architect and craftsman who built some of the most important buildings in the City of London after the Great Fire. ISBN-13: 9780718830380 Specifications: 246x189mm, 208pp, Hardback Price: £40.00 • US$82.50 Publication: February 2004 Order this Title Now

About this Book

Edward Jerman, a metropolitan master-craftsman, was the designer of some of the most prestigious secular buildings in the City of London following the Great Fire of 1666.

Considered 'the City's most able known artist' by the Mercers' Company, in 1667 Edward Jerman was invited by a committee composed of the Corporation of the City and the Mercers' Company to make designs for the new Royal Exchange. The halls of the 'Twelve Great Companies' had also been destroyed by the Fire, along with thirty-five halls of the Livery Companies. Having designed four of the new livery buildings, Jerman was now commissioned to design four more for the prestigious Twelve.

These companies were the wealthiest and most superior, whose members included the most eminent citizens. Thus Edward Jerman was chosen as architect by many of the rulers of the City, an august body of men of authority and privilege who controlled its affairs both politically and commercially. Together with Sir Christopher Wren, whose City work was mainly confined to ecclesiastical architecture, Jerman was responsible for the most important City buildings of the post-Fire period.

This book celebrates that contribution. Jerman's major designs - the Royal Exchange, eight Livery Company halls and St Paul's School - received acclaim from contemporary critics. His town planning for the Goldsmiths' Company was innovative and his designs for the Lord Mayor's pageants exemplified his versatility and ingenuity. His palette was wide and the City of London in the third quarter of the seventeenth century proved fertile ground wherein Jerman's artistic talent could take root and flourish.

About the Author

After 22 years as a dental surgeon, Helen Collins forsook the medical profession to pursue her lifelong interest in the history of art. She embarked on a four year course at Birkbeck College, London, where she won prizes and attained a diploma with distinction. She went on to the Courtauld Institute where she achieved a Master's degree in English Architectural History. This led to the doctorate conferred on her in 2001, and upon which this book is based. Helen Collins is married, has two children, and lives in London.