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[1] Alternative rough designs sent by Soane to Thomas Pitt from Milan, August 1779
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- Sir John Soane office drawings: the drawings of Sir John Soane and the office of Sir John Soane
Reference number
SM volume 42/184
Purpose
[1] Alternative rough designs sent by Soane to Thomas Pitt from Milan, August 1779
Aspect
(recto) Plan of building and fountains, elevation showing alternative designs for dome and portico, corresponding section, (pencil, rubbed) alternative elevation. Labelled No 2 / At the same, supposing there to be no absolute necessity for the introducing of Rocks &c / In this design the / temples are omitt'd / being doubtful of being / at Liberty to treat the / subject as an / Antique Edifice and b b Reservoirs arch'd over / & paved level with the / Portico, less three steps and Fountains not shewn in the Elevation to keep / the Architecture entire and Reservoir / 120:0 [feet], Hydraulic, Turncock, Keeper, Secret[ary], Committee. (of the elevation and section) The Elevation presents two Ideas the one to cover / over the Great Reservoir, the other to leave it open / The section the same
(verso, left hand side) Plan and elevation for an alternative scheme set in a piazza, alternative thumbnail cruciform and triangular plans, labelled Water
(verso, right hand side) Part-plan and elevation for an alternative scheme. Plan labelled a Reservoir / b Apartments / for the Keepers / &c / c Committee Room / d Temples to the / 2 chief River Gods / e Fountain and A A A A (against 4 pedestals) On each of these / Pedestals a river God. And It will be (I believe) necessary to lower the Steps considerably. / The Reservoir will hold abt 15,000 Hogsheads of Water. Query / if that is any thing like the Quantity ? / I believe the Reservoir must be cover'd to prevent the water being / heated, in the last page is a design with it open / The fountains are marked in to shew their situation only, & are suppos'd / to be much unlike what would be introduced in the Fair designs
(verso, left hand side) Plan and elevation for an alternative scheme set in a piazza, alternative thumbnail cruciform and triangular plans, labelled Water
(verso, right hand side) Part-plan and elevation for an alternative scheme. Plan labelled a Reservoir / b Apartments / for the Keepers / &c / c Committee Room / d Temples to the / 2 chief River Gods / e Fountain and A A A A (against 4 pedestals) On each of these / Pedestals a river God. And It will be (I believe) necessary to lower the Steps considerably. / The Reservoir will hold abt 15,000 Hogsheads of Water. Query / if that is any thing like the Quantity ? / I believe the Reservoir must be cover'd to prevent the water being / heated, in the last page is a design with it open / The fountains are marked in to shew their situation only, & are suppos'd / to be much unlike what would be introduced in the Fair designs
Scale
(verso, right hand side) bar scale divided and numbered 1 to 15 with each subdivision equalling 1/9 inch
Inscribed
as above
Medium and dimensions
Brown pen, pencil on entire sheet of laid secretary paper with four fold marks (224 x370)
Hand
Soane
Watermark
part of IV
Notes
It seems that Soane's sketch designs and letters were sent to Thomas Pitt, nephew of the recently deceased Earl of Chatham. Pitt arrived in Rome, early in December 1778. He was an accomplished amateur architect and became a life-long friend to Soane. Both travelled to Naples in the winter of 1778 and there Pitt became ill and stayed for some months.
The first designs shown here experiment with two schemes. Scheme 1 is a single storey building with a shallow, stepped dome akin to the design for the so-called Chatham mausoleum but with an X-plan close to the one for James King's mausoleum (q.q.v). Scheme 2 (labelled No 2) has a stretched oval plan and the elevation and section have both a domical and a non-domical solution; a further (pencil) elevation has a dome and a tall arched entrance. Verso, there is a related variant design based on a stretched oval plan with a large uncovered reservoir enclosed by offices and colonnades.
du Prey (op.cit. 1977; 1982) fully discusses these drawings.
The first designs shown here experiment with two schemes. Scheme 1 is a single storey building with a shallow, stepped dome akin to the design for the so-called Chatham mausoleum but with an X-plan close to the one for James King's mausoleum (q.q.v). Scheme 2 (labelled No 2) has a stretched oval plan and the elevation and section have both a domical and a non-domical solution; a further (pencil) elevation has a dome and a tall arched entrance. Verso, there is a related variant design based on a stretched oval plan with a large uncovered reservoir enclosed by offices and colonnades.
du Prey (op.cit. 1977; 1982) fully discusses these drawings.
Literature
P. du Prey, John Soane's architectural education 1753-80, 1977, pp.243-54
P. du Prey, John Soane: the making of an architect, 1982, pp.110-11, 177-84
P. du Prey, John Soane: the making of an architect, 1982, pp.110-11, 177-84
Level
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