Following some useful input from various people (for which many thanks), one inevitably has to make a decision based upon the available information.
Based on the evidence provided by Siborne, and judging by many churches in the area, the Plancenoit church might have been based on a unitary nave with no side chapels. However, Siborne did simplify his buildings a great deal:
A close up of the only good contemporary picture by Thomas Stoney suggests something different:
|
Stoney shows a main nave and side chapels, along with a very typical Walloon church spire |
|
This Google Earth Street View is taken from a similar position to the Stoney picture, but further back into dead ground (street view won't let you 'walk' closer to the crest). |
And there are indeed other local churches with a similar layout:
|
This picture of the battle may show two gable ends of the church although I think they are more likely to be other buildings in the village. |
Sadly, William Mudford, who painted many scenes of Waterloo, did not go to Plancenoit, but he did paint a scene of Napoleon's carriage being hauled away. The picture has Genappe church in the background, which again has similar side chapels:
I am however the first to admit that the evidence is fragmentary, as this lithograph shows:
|
This picture feels in the category of 'fanciful' - the second spire to the left is not supported by any other evidence and the woods behind the main church feel wrong. |
So in the end one has to make a decision. I find the evidence of Stoney the most convincing and so we are going for the following look:
|
Many thanks to my father who, as always, is the master builder. As one of you has put it: "just imagine trying to recreate that tower. Four isosceles trapezoids for the base.....bad enough. Then four more for the spire! All must fit and stay a true vertical". |
Inevitably, further information has come to light:
|
This picture painted in 1819 shows a much simpler church. The second spire on the left may be the Prussian memorial which would easily be seen from that position without some artistic licence. |
|
Good view of the cemetery wall |
|
This cadastral map is especially useful for the layout of the village and would suggest no side chapels on the church. |
Looking good! Foamcore and plastic card for the shingles? What are the dimensions of your model?
ReplyDeleteBest Regards,
Stokes