May, Hugh

May, Hugh (1621–84). English architect of the period between the first Palladian Revival of Inigo Jones and the Baroque style of Vanbrugh and Hawksmoor. He became Comptroller of the Works in 1668, and was one of those appointed to supervise the rebuilding of the City after the fire of 1666. He seems to have been responsible for introducing well-mannered Dutch Palladianism into England and, with Pratt, for establishing what became known (inaccurately) as the Wren style. Apart from the double-pile Eltham Lodge, Kent (1664—apparently influenced by the work of Vingboons), however, his only major surviving works are the east front, stables, and chapel at Cornbury House, Oxon. (1663–8). He remodelled the Upper Ward, St George's Hall, and the King's Chapel at Windsor Castle, Berks. (1675–84), with paintings by Antonio Verrio (c.1639–1707) and carvings by Grinling Gibbons (1648–1721), creating what was once the most complete Baroque ensemble in England, now virtually obliterated.

Bibliography

Colvin (1995);
Downes (1966);
Hill & and Cornforth (1966);
Jane Turner (1996);
van Vynckt (ed.) (1993)