Bishop Waynflete - A Man of Vision
- gilldavid560
- Jul 17
- 6 min read
On 30 July 1447, William Waynflete was consecrated Bishop of Winchester. More than five and a half centuries later, his architectural vision still dominates Farnham.
For generations, Farnham Castle has looked down from its hill above the town. It is so firmly embedded in Farnham’s identity that a simplified castle tower appears in the logo of Farnham Town Council. The image is not intended as an exact architectural portrait; its significance lies elsewhere. It demonstrates how completely the Castle has become a symbol of the town itself: instantly recognisable, reassuringly permanent and a source of considerable civic pride.
Yet the man responsible for one of its most distinctive surviving features is far less widely recognised.
The magnificent late-medieval brick gatehouse which overlooks Farnham is commonly known as Foxe’s Tower, after Richard Foxe, who became Bishop of Winchester in 1501. Foxe was an important bishop in his own right as can be seen in an earlier blog. He left his own mark upon Farnham Castle, but he had nothing to do with the construction of this famous tower which was built several decades earlier under William Waynflete, Bishop of Winchester from 1447 until his death in 1486.
History has, in this respect, been rather unfair to Waynflete. The building that should stand as one of the clearest monuments to his architectural ambition now carries the name of another man.
Bishop, statesman and builder
William Waynflete was among the most significant churchmen of fifteenth-century England. He served as Provost of Eton, founded Magdalen College, Oxford, and held the office of Lord Chancellor under Henry VI. His life was shaped by education, religion, politics and royal service, but his legacy can also be understood in brick and stone.
Waynflete belonged to a generation of wealthy and influential patrons who transformed English architecture during the fifteenth century. His buildings were not merely practical. They communicated learning, authority, status and permanence.
At Farnham, his gatehouse created a new and imposing entrance to one of the principal residences of the Bishops of Winchester. It was both functional and ceremonial: a point of defence and control, but also a carefully designed architectural statement. Anyone approaching the Castle would have understood immediately that this was the residence of a powerful prince-bishop.
The return of brick
To appreciate how striking Waynflete’s work would have appeared to his contemporaries, it is necessary to understand the place of brick in medieval England.
Brick and tile had been widely used throughout the Roman Empire, but after the end of Roman rule their manufacture largely disappeared from Britain. During the Anglo-Saxon period, bricks were generally reused from Roman ruins rather than newly made.
Brickmaking began to return on a significant scale during the Middle Ages, partly under Flemish influence. The revival was initially most apparent in eastern England, where surviving thirteenth- and fourteenth-century brick buildings can still be found in places such as Suffolk, Hull and Beverley.
The great English age of brick, however, began in the fifteenth century when it was certainly not an ordinary or inexpensive material. Brickmaking required access to suitable clay, specialist knowledge, considerable labour and the construction of kilns. The clay was often dug in autumn and left through the winter so that frost and weather could break it down. It was then prepared, moulded and dried before firing.
Because transporting such heavy materials was difficult and costly, bricks were commonly manufactured close to the site where they would be used. Surrey’s Wealden, Gault and London clays provided excellent raw material, making substantial brick building possible for patrons with the necessary wealth and ambition.
Brick therefore carried a message. It was associated with the houses, palaces, churches and schools of the rich and powerful. Figures such as Ralph, Lord Cromwell, for whom Wayneflete was executor and Wayneflete himself helped to establish it as one of the defining materials of elite English architecture.
Waynflete’s decision to build so prominently in brick was not simply a matter of convenience. It was fashionable, innovative and prestigious.
A distinctive architectural signature
One of the most characteristic features of Wayneflete’s buildings was the use of diaper brickwork. The term was also used for richly patterned medieval textiles, and the architectural effect is similarly ornamental.
At Farnham, darker bricks were set against the red brickwork to form a bold and rhythmic surface pattern. Some of these dark bluish-grey bricks achieved their colour through vitrification during firing. The surface of the brick partially fused, creating a darker, sometimes glossy appearance that caught and reflected the light.
This decorative brickwork was not a minor embellishment. It was part of the visual identity of Waynflete’s architecture. Similar patterns appear in buildings associated with him elsewhere, linking Farnham with a wider programme of construction that included Eton, Oxford and the Bishop of Winchester’s palace at Esher.
Today, the sole substantial survivor of the episcopal palace at Esher is its gatehouse, appropriately known as Like Farnham’s gatehouse, both its front and rear elevations are enriched with diaper patterns formed from contrasting vitrified bricks.
The similarities are too strong to be accidental. Farnham and Esher reveal a patron with a recognisable architectural language: tall gatehouses, powerful vertical forms, projecting turrets, rich red brick and glittering geometric decoration.
These were not purely defensive structures. They were entrances designed to control movement, frame arrival and create an unforgettable first impression.
Even brighter than we imagine
The appearance of Wayneflete’s buildings in the fifteenth century would have been even more vivid than it is today.
At Esher, evidence suggests that the red brickwork was originally protected by a red ochre limewash. The vitrified bricks used for the diaper pattern would not have held the limewash in the same way. As a result, the dark, glazed pattern would have remained visible against the freshly coloured surface.
The effect must have been spectacular. Rather than the muted tones we often associate with ancient buildings, Wayneflete’s gatehouses would have appeared bright, polished and deliberately conspicuous. Their patterned surfaces may have shimmered in sunlight, creating landmarks visible across the surrounding countryside.
Medieval taste was not necessarily restrained. Colour, display and visual magnificence were widely appreciated, particularly in buildings intended to express wealth and authority. Waynflete’s architecture was designed to be seen and remembered.
From its commanding position above Farnham, the Castle gatehouse would have proclaimed the power of the Bishop of Winchester to everyone approaching the town.
Waynflete’s Farnham legacy
More than 550 years later, those familiar with the beautiful town of Farnham will recognise that the tower built thanks to Waynflete's vision still performs much the same symbolic role.
The defensive and political world in which Wayneflete lived has disappeared, but the gatehouse remains a defining feature of Farnham’s skyline. It appears in photographs, publicity, civic imagery and the collective memory of the town. Residents may not always know its architectural history, but they instinctively recognise it as part of Farnham’s identity.
And elsewhere?
Even when Magdalen College decided that its 1960 Waynflete Building had reached the end of its life, it did not discard William Wayneflete's name. The new development, due for completion in 2028, is known as Waynflete Quad, and the original Latin inscription honouring the College's founder will be incorporated into its entrance. More than 560 years after he founded the College, Wayneflete remains central to its identity.
Oxford continues to invest in the Waynflete legacy. Eton still educates boys in Waynflete House. Winchester Cathedral remembers him each year. Perhaps, on the anniversary of his consecration as Bishop of Winchester, Farnham might also pause to celebrate the remarkable man whose architectural vision still defines the town's skyline.
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