Working drawings of roof timbers, 18 October 1792 (2)

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Sir John Soane office drawings: the drawings of Sir John Soane and the office of Sir John Soane
- Town houses
  - London: Buckingham House, 91 Pall Mall: (executed) house for 1st Marquess of Buckingham, 1790-1793, (executed) alterations to the library, 1794, and (executed) alterations on the ground and first floors, 1813 (52)

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Reference number

SM (19) 77/1/21 (20) 77/1/22

Purpose

Working drawings of roof timbers, 18 October 1792 (2)

Aspect

19 Section of Roof over new Building; detail of the ridge of the roof; and detail of the Foot of the Principal Rafter 20 Plan, shewing the Beams of the Roof / over new Building; two longitudinal sections; two cross-sections; two elevations of beams; and rough section of the roof

Scale

(19) bar scale of 2/7 inch to 1 foot and to a scale of 3 In: to a Foot (20) bar scales of 2/7 inch to 1 foot and 2/3 inch to a foot

Inscribed

19 as above, The Marquiss of Buckingham, Front to Street, Back front, section lettered A to E corresponding to Reference: A. Principal Rafters ... 8 [inches] by 8 at foot 8 by 6 at top // B. King Posts .... 12 by 8 // C. Braces .... 8 by 4 // D. Beams .... 12 by 8 // E. Principals .... 8 by 6 at foot 8 by 4 at top, dimensions given, Part of the Roof, Common Rafter / (old stuff), Ridge / Board / 2 In, 12 Inches, Common Rafter / (old stuff), 6" In, Foot of the Principal Rafter, 8 In, Wall Plate, 12 In: 20 as above, The Marquiss of Buckingham, Wall plate (three times), Line of Ridge 38'6", 23 feet (twice), 16'6 in, plan lettered A and B, sections lettered A (twice), a (three times), a.a.a. Tenants, 9 In, 6 In, 6 In, 7 In, 6 in (twice), 9 in, Tenant (three times), 3 in, Beams of Roof, Truss at A and severed at B, Bottom / plates of / trusses A & B, 42 feet, and dimensions given

Signed and dated

(19) Copy Oct^r18^th1792 (20) Copy Oct^r18^th1792

Medium and dimensions

(19-20) Pencil, pen and yellow, grey and black washes, on laid paper with one fold mark (642 x 511, 631 x 505)

Hand

(19-20) Thomas Chawner (1774-1851, pupil December 1788-1794)

Notes

The working drawings are for the roof covering the rebuilt west building. The roof has two ridges, both supported by king posts, and a flat section in the centre that is also supported by a king post. The section in drawing 19 shows arched braces supporting the extended rafters at both ends. The sections also show the iron straps used to secure the beams. The 'Tenants' on drawing 19 are tenons; as described in the The Dictionary of architecture, these are pieces of timber inserted 'into the side of a beam or girder, and through it, to prevent its drawing out.' Tenons fell out of use in the nineteenth century because, as the Dictionary states, it was found that the piece 'greatly weakens the main girder: accidents have happened'.

Literature

W. Papworth (ed) for the Architectural Publication Society, Dictionary of architecture, published in parts 1848-1892, volume VIII, p. 22.

Level

Drawing

Digitisation of the Drawings Collection has been made possible through the generosity of the Leon Levy Foundation

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Sir John Soane's collection includes some 30,000 architectural, design and topographical drawings which is a very important resource for scholars worldwide. His was the first architect’s collection to attempt to preserve the best in design for the architectural profession in the future, and it did so by assembling as exemplars surviving drawings by great Renaissance masters and by the leading architects in Britain in the 17th and 18th centuries and his near contemporaries such as Sir William Chambers, Robert Adam and George Dance the Younger. These drawings sit side by side with 9,000 drawings in Soane’s own hand or those of the pupils in his office, covering his early work as a student, his time in Italy and the drawings produced in the course of his architectural practice from 1780 until the 1830s.

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