About the BRF Collection
The Byzantine Research Fund Archive (BRF) is a unique collection of architectural drawings, photographs and notebooks created from the late 19th century to the middle of the 20th century by a small team of British architects trained in the Arts & Crafts tradition whose studies of Byzantium shaped the Byzantine Revival in later years.
The collection contains over 1,500 drawings and 1,000 photographs, numerous notebooks and the corporate records associated with the Byzantine Research and Publication Fund, the original body created in 1907 to support this work. Although the Fund was associated with the BSA from the time it was founded, it was not until 1937 that the BSA formerly took over the property and operation of it. The BRF Archive contains records of Byzantine monuments in Greece, Turkey, Italy, the Near East, Egypt, and Cyprus. In some cases, the collection contains the only record of a monument before its destruction in modern times, the most important example being the church of Hagios Demetrios in Thessalonike which was almost completely destroyed in the Great Fire of 1917 shortly after being recorded by one of the BRF architects, Walter Sykes George. It also contains personal records of the following architects; Robert Weir Schultz, Sidney Howard Barnsley, Walter Sykes George, William Harvey, Harold Swainson, Peter Gus Corbett, and A.H.S (Peter) Megaw. The aspirations of the BRF Archive Project today are to make these materials accessible to a wide range of researchers.
West elevation. The drawing is entitled: 'The Cathedral Athens', 'The West Elevation - Half Inch Scale'.
East elevation. The drawing is entitled: 'The Cathedral Athens', 'The East Elevation - Half Inch Scale'.
Marble relief panels from the decoration of the building. Further annotation in pencil survives.
Lintel and inner door frame in marble relief. The door leads from the narthex to the nave.
Lintel and inner door frame in marble relief. The door leads from the narthex to the nave. This is a preliminary drawing.
Ground plan. The drawing is entitled: 'Athens - Church of S. John the Theologian'.
West elevation (left), Jamb mouldings section (right). The drawing is entitled: ' St John the Theologian, Athens', 'West Elevation'. Furher annotation in pencil survives.
Transverse section ((top), Ground plan (bottom). The two drawings are inscribed separately. Further annotation in pencil survives. The sketch of an unknown church in pencil survives at the back.
Transverse section (top), West elevation (bottom). The elevation depicts the gable-windows of the church which are among the earliest examples of the grouped-type. Noteworthy is the tympanum filling in the west gable window of the naos: the Cufic patterns are interrupted by a flowering cross. A small semi-arch hardly more than a quarter-cicle supports the single window of each of the four gables in the exo-narthex. The two drawings are inscribed separately. Further annotationand sketches in pencil survives.
East elevation (top), South elevation (bottom). Arcade type windows are used only in the east side of the church. The grouped window gradually replaced this type. Among the earliest examples are the gable-windows of the church. Noteworthy in the South Elevation is the shallow cut-brick horizontal frieze above the arch of the central south door. The motif is a step pattern. Further annotation in pencil survives.
Ground plan. The Drawing is entitled: 'Kapnikarea Church - Athens', 'The Plan'. Further annotation in ink survives.
Longitudinal section with interior decoration. The Drawing is entitled: 'Kapnikarea Church - Athens', 'Longitudinal Section'.
Transverse section with interior decoration. This is a preliminary drawing.
South elevation. Noteworthy in the south elevation is the shallow cut-brick horizontal frieze above the arch of the central south door. The motif is a step pattern. The drawing is entitled (in pencil): 'Kapnikarea Athens', 'South Elevation'. Futher annotation in pencil survives.
East elevation. Arcade type windows are used only in the east side of the church. The grouped window gradually replaced this type. Among the earliest examples are the gable-windows of the church. The drawing is entitled (in pencil): 'Kapnikarea Athens', 'East Elevation'. Futher annotation in pencil survives.
South elevation. Noteworthy in the south elevation is the shallow cut-brick horizontal frieze above the arch of the central south door. The motif is a step pattern.. The drawing is entitled: 'Kapnikarea Church - Athens', 'South Elevation'. Further annotation in ink survives.
West elevation. The elevation depicts the gable-windows of the church which are among the earliest examples of the grouped-type. Noteworthy is the tympanum filling in the west gable window of the naos: the Cufic patterns are interrupted by a flowering cross similar to that of the Soteira Lykodemou church. A small semi-arch hardly more than a quarter-cicle supports the single window of each of the four gables in the exo-narthex. The drawing is entitled: 'Kapnikarea Church - Athens', 'West Elevation'. Further annotation in ink survives.
East elevation. Arcade type windows are used only in the east side of the church. The grouped window gradually replaced this type. Among the earliest examples are the gable-windows of the church. The drawing is entitled: 'Kapnikarea Church - Athens', 'East Elevation'. Further annotation in ink survives.
Ground plan. The plan is entitled: 'Church of St Nikodemus Athens', 'The Ground Plan'. The church has been misnamed.
Plan at gallery level. The plan is entitled: 'Church of St Nikodemus Athens', 'The Gallery Plan'. The church has been misnamed.
Ground plan. The plan is entitled: 'Church of St Nicodemus Athens', 'The Plan 1/4 Scale'. Further annotation in pencil survives. The church has been misnamed.
Ground plan. Further annotation in pencil survives.
Plan at gallery level. The plan is entitled: 'Church of St Nicodemus Athens', 'The Plan 1/4 Scale', 'Gallery Floor'.The church has been misnamed. Further annotation in pencil survives.
Ground plan (?). This is a preliminary drawing.
Ground plan (bottom) and longitudinal section (top). The plan and the section are captioned as such: 'fig. 8, S. Nicodemus Athens: Plan/Section'. The caption refers to the publication of the two drawings.The church has been misnamed. Further annotation in pencil survives.
West elevation. The elevation depicts the restored between 1850 and 1855 West façade of the church. The elevation is entitled: 'Church of St Nicodemus Athens' , 'The West Elevation'.The church has been misnamed.
West elevation (detail). This unfinished drawing depicts the lower part of the restored bewteen 1850 and 1855 west façade of the Lykodemou church. This is a preliminary drawing. Further annotation in pencil survives.
North elevation (detail). Only parts of the original walling of the north side of the church were preserved. This is a preliminary drawing. Further annotation in pencil survives.
South elevation (detail). Only parts of the original walling of the south side of the church were preserved. This is a preliminary drawing. Further annotation in pencil survives.
South elevation (detail). Only parts of the original walling of the south side of the church were preserved. This is a preliminary drawing. Further annotation in pencil survives.
East elevation. The elevation depicts the restored between 1850 and 1855 east façade of the church.
East elevation. The elevation depicts the restored between 1850 and 1855 east façade of the church. The word 'Superseded' is inscribed in the top right-hand corner.
South elevation. Only parts of the original walling of the south side of the church were preserved. The drawing is entitled:'Church of St Nicodemus Athens', 'The South Elevation'.The church has been misnamed.
South elevation. Only parts of the original walling of the south side of the church were preserved. The drawing is entitled: 'Church St Nicodemus Athens', 'The South Elevation'. The church has been misnamed.
Clockwise from top left: West elevation, North elevation of the Lykodemou church, Ground plan and north-east elevation of the chapel of Androussa, Ground plan of the Lykodemou church, Longitudinal section showing the decoration of the two storeys, East elevation of the same church. A note on the background reads:'Church of St. Nicodemus at Athens', 'Previous to the restoration as the Russian Church'.The church has been misnamed. Further annotation in pencil and ink survives.
Starting clockwise from the upper row: Longitudinal section, Transverse section (naos), Transverse section (narthex). The note 'S. Nicodemus Athens' survives in the bottom right-hand corner. The church has been misnamed.
North elevation. Only parts of the original walling of the north side of the church were preserved. The drawing is entitled: 'Church of St Nicodemus Athens', 'The North Elevation'. The church has been misnamed.
Ground plan (bottom), Plan at gallery level (top). The words 'Nicodemus Athens' are inscribed at the bottom of the page. The church has been misnamed.
Transverse section through naos(bottom), Transverse section through narthex (top).
Longitudinal section (bottom), Plan of the dome and the roof. The plan of the roof has been left unfinished.
Rubbing - Detail of the Kufic/pseudo-Kufic frieze.
Rubbing - Detail of the Kufic/pseudo-Kufic frieze. A sketch (plan) in pencil survives on the reverse.
Rubbing - Detail of the Kufic/pseudo-Kufic frieze. Further annotation in pencil survives.
Rubbing - Brick pattern. The ornamental brickwork of the Lykodemou church consists of cut bricks decorated with Kufic/pseudo-Kufic motifs and Christological characters.
Rubbing - Detail of part of the continious ornamental frieze that decorates the drum of the dome just below the cornice. Two confronted deers are depicted running. This is the first of a series of drawings that reproduce the decorative motifs of the frieze. The drawings are numbered in pencil by the creators. Various sketches (columns) survive on the reverse.
Rubbing - Detail of part of the continious ornamental frieze that decorates the drum of the dome just below the cornice. The drawing reproduces a detail of the guilloche pattern. This is the second of a series of drawings that reproduce the decorative motifs of the frieze. The drawings are numbered in pencil by the creators. The words 'S. Nicodemus Athens' and 'Russian Ch.' are inscribed on the drawing. The church has been misnamed. Further annotation in pencil survives.
Rubbing - Detail of part of the continious ornamental frieze that decorates the drum of the dome just below the cornice. The drawing reproduces a detail of foliate patterns. This is the third of a series of drawings that reproduce the decorative motifs of the frieze. The drawings are numbered in pencil by the creators. The words 'Russian Ch.' are inscribed on the drawing. Further annotation in pencil survives.
Rubbing - Detail of part of the continious ornamental frieze that decorates the drum of the dome just below the cornice. The drawing reproduces a detail of foliate patterns. This is the fourth of a series of drawings that reproduce the decorative motifs of the frieze. The drawings are numbered in pencil by the creators.