Soane first surveyed the premises at Fountain Court, Aldermanbury for William Adair Jackson (d.1804) in 1790, then again in 1801. William Adair Jackson was a Director of the East India Company in 1803-4. He then sold Fountain Court to Henry Peters (c.1763-1827) and his partner, Mr Richards. Peters was a banker, a Director of the South Sea Company and the MP for Oxford from 1796 to 1802. For Messrs Peters and Richards Soane surveyed the building (drawings [1]-[3]) and subsequently designed a new one containing warehouses and counting houses (drawings [4]-[25]). The restrictions of the site caused the architect some difficulties with the plan and led to the production of numerous alternative and variant designs, one of which was finally approved by the clients on 8 April 1805 ([24]-[25]). The building no longer survives and the site is now occupied by the Guildhall Library. Soane also undertook work for Peters elsewhere at Park Street, Gower Street and Betchworth, Surrey.

The 25 drawings catalogued here are inscribed either 'W. A. Jackson Esqr' or 'Messrs Peters & Co'. Some of these inscriptions appear to have been added to the drawings at a later date, probably by George Bailey, the Museum's first curator. As such, they cannot all be considered as accurate evidence for the stage of the work shown, nor the dating of the drawings.

Literature:
P. Dean, Sir John Soane and London, 2006, pp. 25-26 & 163; R. G. Thorne, 'Henry Peters', History of Parliament Online, <www.historyofparliamentonline.org>; Wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_East_India_Company_directors

Tom Drysdale, July 2015

Scheme

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