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Scheme B. Design for a 'Gentleman's Country Seat', c.1757-8
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Reference number
SM volume 19/8
Purpose
Scheme B. Design for a 'Gentleman's Country Seat', c.1757-8
Aspect
[2] Ground floor plan
Scale
1/6 in to 1 ft
Inscribed
(of scale) Feet and rooms labelled
Signed and dated
- c.1757-8
Medium and dimensions
Pen, light red, yellow and sepia washes, pencil on laid paper (365 x 470)
Hand
Dance, some room labels by Dance the Elder
Watermark
I*Portal and fleur-de-lis in crowned cartouche and LVG below
Notes
Overall, the house measures 69 by 66 feet (that is deeper than other plans) excluding the chamfered bay on the garden (south) front and the (east and west) bowed projections of the Common Parlor (dining room?) and China Room. Behind the china room are the secondary stair, Pantry, Scullery and Kitchen and behind the common parlour are a Dressing Room, Footman's Room and Library. The central axis runs north/south from the Portico through a Vestibule and a geometrical stair (in a circular compartment with alcoves) to the Best Parlor which has a bay facing south.
The 'china room', which is almost as large as the common parlour, was a social and entertainment space that housed 'a dense display of especially cherished pieces' (A. Somers Clocks, 'The Nonfunctional use of ceramics in the English Country House during the eighteenth century' in G.Jackson-Stops et al. The Fashioning and functioning of the British country house, catalogue of an exhibition of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1989, p.214) and had its heyday in the third quarter of the 18th century. Allowing for this, there is still an awkwardness about the planning, for example, in the placing of the utilitarian rooms - the kitchen is on the garden front next to the best parlour - and the circulation is poor.
The 'china room', which is almost as large as the common parlour, was a social and entertainment space that housed 'a dense display of especially cherished pieces' (A. Somers Clocks, 'The Nonfunctional use of ceramics in the English Country House during the eighteenth century' in G.Jackson-Stops et al. The Fashioning and functioning of the British country house, catalogue of an exhibition of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1989, p.214) and had its heyday in the third quarter of the 18th century. Allowing for this, there is still an awkwardness about the planning, for example, in the placing of the utilitarian rooms - the kitchen is on the garden front next to the best parlour - and the circulation is poor.
Level
Drawing
If you have any further information about this object, please contact us: drawings@soane.org.uk