William of Sens or Guillaume de Sens (died 11 August 1180) was a 12th-century French master mason and architect, believed to have been born at Sens, France.[1] He is known for rebuilding the choir of Canterbury Cathedral between 1174 and 1177, counted as the first important example of the Early Gothic Style of architecture in England, finished in 1184.[2][3] Before Canterbury, he worked on Sens Cathedral.[2] According to one English source, he died at Canterbury[4] on 11 August 1180.[5] According to other sources, he died in France, after returning from England.[6][7][8]
- ^ Gardner's Art Through The Ages, 11th Edition.
- ^ a b Curl, James Stevens; Wilson, Susan, eds. (2015), "Sens, William of", A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (3rd ed.), Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/acref/9780199674985.001.0001, ISBN 978-0-19-967498-5, retrieved 10 April 2020
- ^ Encyclopedia Britannica on-line edition
- ^ The Dictionary of Architecture - issued by the Architectural Publication Society, 1887, p. 51
- ^ Who's Who in British History - Early Medieval England 1066-1272, by Christopher Tyerman.
- ^ "William of Sens | French architect". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
As work began on the vault of the eastern part of the choir, William was incapacitated by a fall from a scaffold. He probably continued to direct the work from his sickbed, but this was impractical, and so he gave up and returned to France, where he died.
- ^ Encyclopedie Universalis, Dictionnaire des Architectes, (1999), Guillaume de Sens p. 295.
- ^ Encyclopedie Larousse on-line, "Guillaume de Sens" " En effet, au cours des travaux, Guillaume de Sens tomba d'un échafaudage et, réduit à l'impuissance, dut rentrer à Sens où il mourut peu après. Mais la valeur de ses plans était si bien reconnue que l'architecte anglais qui lui succéda eut soin de les suivre fidèlement, et l'on retrouve dans ce monument la même ordonnance et la même architecture que l'on admire dans la cathédrale de Sens.