bar scales of 1 inch to 1 foot and 1/9 inch to 1 inch

Section of Roof: AA Wall Plates 9ⁱⁿ by 4ⁱⁿ / BB Plates 4^In by 2½^In morticed to receive / the Ceiling Joists; Plan of one Bay of the Roof: AA Wall plates 9^In by 10^In / BB Beams 6 by 6 Six feet asunder (sic) & Dovetailed to the wall plates / C &c Rafters 6 by 3 from ridge to wall plate and from thence / notched to 4½ by 3 / D Ridge piece 9 by 2; The doors are to be hung in the same / manner as those already done; / the same preparation must / therefore be made in the Jambs / to receive the Hinges & Locks; Section of One Window; Iron Stay under Galleries: Iron Stay / 2^In wide / 5/8 thickness / NB One of these Iron / Stays to be introduced / in every Story against / each Party Wall / and in the Lower Story / against the center of the / piers of the Arcades; Plan of the Round / Stone; A: the Indent for the Galleries to be left in the / brickwork / when the Wall / is building; B . NB / The band Stones / to be built in / the Walls as it / goes up & the / iron Stays to be / let in ---- (illegible) / with lead, to / receive the / Stay, when the Galleries / are putting up, labelled and dimensions given. Norwich Castle

• May 10^th 1792

Pen, yellow and sepia washes (525 x 680) on thin cartridge paper

Frederick Meyer (1775-?, pupil 1791-96) and Thomas Chawner (1774-1851, pupil 1788-94) see Notes below

Soane's office 'Journal No1' records on 11 May 1792: 'sent per Mail 7 Workg drawgs / of Plan & Sections of Men Felons / Gaol'. The seven drawings included plans for four floors, latitudinal and longitudinal sections, plan and section of roof, and drawing of an iron stay under the galleries. On 9 June, Soane took to Norwich, eight working drawings plus a section of window and gallery. Checked against comparable drawings within the set SM 73/3/7, SM 73/3/6, SM 73/3/8, SM 73/3/29, SM 73/3/30, SM 73/3/32 and SM 73/3/31, made three years earlier, there are few changes but greater detail.

The drawing catalogued here is dated May 10 1792. However, Soane's office 'Day Book' for 1792 shows that working drawings for Norwich Castle were being made on fourteen days in May 1792, on seven of these days by Meyer and on the others by both Meyer and Chawner. On 19 May a new pupil Thomas Jeans (pupil, 1792-97) was 'shadowing plans', that is, adding coloured washes?. The drawing was presumably made to send out for tender and thus a copy was required.

In 1792, there were ten people working in the office. Of these, four were pupils (Chawner, Laing, Meyer and Jeans), two were assistants (Lodder, Ebdon) and four were clerks. Presumably the clerks, among other things, wrote out the specifications and tender documents. Christopher Ebdon (1744-1824) was an architect, experiencing a thin time with his own practice who worked for Soane between 1789-1792.

The drawing relates to construction work within the Norman walls of the Keep. After the removal of internal walls and partitions, Soane built a virtually free-standing structure with a basement, ground floor courtyard and arcade, and three floors over, all underneath the open top of the 90 x 95 feet Keep.

Drawing

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

If you have any further information about this object, please contact us: drawings@soane.org.uk