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New designs for the chimney stacks, February-July 1834 (7)
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Reference number
SM (200) 82/2/28 (201) 82/2/29 (202) 82/2/30 (203) 82/2/57 (204) 82/2/31 (205) 82/2/56 (206) 82/2/32
Purpose
New designs for the chimney stacks, February-July 1834 (7)
Aspect
200 Part elevation of the South Front and North & / West fronts with variant designs for chimney stacks; (verso) design for a cupboard
201 Elevations of the entablature with variant designs for chimney stacks on the North Front and West Front; (verso) preliminary design for an extension to 30 Belgrave Place, London
202 Plan, elevation and perspective of chimney stacks to a new design
203 Elevation of Chimney Shaft A to a larger Scale
204 Plan and Elevation of one of the Stacks of / Chimnies on Cross Walls (North front); (verso) plan and laid out wall elevations for Room in Basement South West Angle
205 Plan & Elevation of the North West Stack and Back Elevation of the North West Stack
206 Plan and elevations of chimney stacks
Scale
(200, 201) bar scales of 1/4 inch to 1 foot; (200 verso) bar scale of 5/12 inch to 1 foot; (201 verso) bar scale of 3/8 inch to 1 foot (202) bar scale of 1/3 inch to 1 foot (203, 205) bar scales of 1 inch to 1 foot (204) to a scale of 1 inch to 1 foot; (verso) to a scale of 1/2 inch to 1 foot (plan) and 1 inch to 1 foot (details) (206) bar scale of 1/6 inch to 1 foot
Inscribed
200 as above, labelled: See Model (twice), A (twice)
201 as above
203 as above, labelled: New State Paper Office, Plan, Present Blocking (twice), Portland Stone Shafts, Cast Iron / & / Painted / 4 Oil Stone / Colour, Copper Cramps throughout, To be returned to / 13 Lincolns Inn Fields and dimensions given
204 as above, labelled: The New State Paper Office, Present Coping (twice), Present Flue (twice), To be returned to / 13 Lincolns Inn Fields and some dimensions given; (verso) Section and Elevation of Presses and dimensions given
205 as above, labelled: New State Paper Office, Present Blocking, New Ashlar (twice), New Blocking (twice), Present Flue (twice), One Stone (3 times), To be returned to / 13 Lincolns Inn Fields and some dimensions given
206 labelled: The New State Paper Office, 1.10½, 1.6, New Blocking (twice), 7'0'', West Front, Portland Stone Shaft, Portland Stone, North Front, 1.10½ (twice), East or Entrance Front, A See drawg larger scale
Signed and dated
- February 1834 - July 1834
(200) L. I. Fields 24 Feby 1834 (201) 3rd April 1834 (203) 27 June 1834 (204, 205) July 1834
Medium and dimensions
(200) Pen, black and sepia washes, (verso: pen, grey and pink washes) pricked for transfer on wove paper (526 x 415) with flier on wove paper, affixed (208 x 142) (201) pen, sepia and black washes, (verso: pen, grey and pink washes) pricked for transfer on wove paper (360 x 525) (202) pen, grey and light red washes, pricked for transfer on thin wove paper (328 x 328) (203) pen, sepia and pink washes, pricked for transfer on wove paper (532 x 731) (204) pen, sepia, pink and grey washes, (verso: pen, pink, yellow and sepia washes) pricked for transfer on wove paper (499 x 535) (205) pen, sepia, pink and grey-blue washes, pricked for transfer on wove paper (530 x 730) (206) pen, sepia, pink and grey washes, pricked for transfer with double ruled border on wove paper (727 x 526)
Hand
(200, 201) Charles James Richardson (1809-71, pupil and assistant 1824-1837) (203-206) George Bailey (1792-1860, pupil then assistant 1806-37, curator 1837-60)
Watermark
(202) 1827 (204) IIS & S (203, 205) Smith & Allnutt 1830 (206) Smith & Allnutt
Notes
The chimneys were constructed in the summer of 1834 to a new design, first seen in drawing 200 (although crossed out), in which the shafts are each decorated with three incised lines. Drawings 203-206 are working drawings for their construction. The chimneys are grouped in twos or threes at the edges of the roof, and stacks of four and five in the middle of the roof. The total height is 9 feet 3 inches, consisting of a shaft of 7 feet and a cast iron pot, 2 feet 3 inches high. The chimneys on the cross walls are approximately 6 feet 10 inches tall (drawing 204). The instructions to 'see model' on drawing 200 may refer to MR18, a model of the west front and adjacent bays as executed.
Soane's initial designs had featured tall chimneys but subsequently they were shortened. This is likely to have been an aesthetic choice as reducing the height of the chimneys would not have significantly reduced the cost. In November 1833, however, Robert Lemon reported to Soane that there was a problem with smoke from the chimneys. In particular the bedrooms on the second floor were 'absolutely suffocating, the bed being literally invisible at three yards distance and the whole room and furniture covered with soot' (SM Private Correspondence XI.K.1.66). Despite modifications by Feethams the stove-makers, Soane was forced to increase the chimneys to their originally-intended height.
Literature: King's Works, VI, p. 570.
Soane's initial designs had featured tall chimneys but subsequently they were shortened. This is likely to have been an aesthetic choice as reducing the height of the chimneys would not have significantly reduced the cost. In November 1833, however, Robert Lemon reported to Soane that there was a problem with smoke from the chimneys. In particular the bedrooms on the second floor were 'absolutely suffocating, the bed being literally invisible at three yards distance and the whole room and furniture covered with soot' (SM Private Correspondence XI.K.1.66). Despite modifications by Feethams the stove-makers, Soane was forced to increase the chimneys to their originally-intended height.
Literature: King's Works, VI, p. 570.
Level
Drawing
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