William Scamp : an appraisal of his architectural drawings and writings on St Paul's Pro-Cathedral, Valletta

Abstract

William Scamp (1801–1872) was an architect in the employment of the British Admiralty. Although his stay in Malta was limited to a three-year period from 1841 to 1844, he was actively involved in three major projects – the construction of the Number One dry-dock in Cospicua, the Naval Bakery in Birgu and St Paul’s Pro-Cathedral in Valletta. The last project was a highly prestigious one for the local British colonial government. Works had started prior to Scamp’s involvement. However, soon after the beginning of construction works under the supervision of Richard Lankesheer, several worrisome cracks started to appear in various parts of the building fabric. The structure demonstrated serious faults and it was clearly apparent that Lankesheer was not technically competent to handle a project of this scale and importance. Scamp was approached by the members of the church’s Building Committee to draw up a report on the state of the unfinished works and this was the start of his involvement in the project.