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[1] Finished drawing for the ground storey of the opera house, c1789, unexecuted
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Reference number
SM Adam volume 47/8
Purpose
[1] Finished drawing for the ground storey of the opera house, c1789, unexecuted
Aspect
Plan of the ground storey of the opera house and surrounding buildings. The east front of the principal block is formed with the central eleven bays receding, and this is flanked by porte cochères, beyond which there are paired curved staircases. The southern end of the principal block contains a series of rooms for the storage of stage machinery and vaulted cellars, and these form a horse-shoe-shaped area, with a curved north wall. To the east of this there are tavern parlours, with kitchen offices to the south-east. To the west there are rooms for the housekeeper and a number of dressing rooms and water closets, with the male and female dressing rooms separated by a central corridor. At the northern end of the corridor there are octagonal dressing rooms of an irregular form. At the north end of the central block there is an oval room, with steps leading down to a central space containing a stove. The room is encircled by a passage for chairs, with the space beyond used for irregularly-shaped cellars. To the east of the oval room there is a lobby and further parlours. To the west there is a space for chairs and tap rooms. To the south of the principal block there is a central rotunda with steps linking to the main block via a hexagonal porters hall. The rotunda is flanked by curved wings, which contain single-bay, two-roomed units, with staircases leading to an upper level. To the north of the principal block there is a rectangular annexe building forming a tavern, and the starlings for the three link bridges which connect to the principal block. The annexe block has a central, bifurcated staircase, and this is flanked by a series of rooms, and smaller staircases
Scale
to a scale
Inscribed
Plan of the Ground Story of the Opera House with the shops east [?] Pall Mall & the Tavern at the North end (in pencil) / No 8 (in pencil) / faint pencil inscription / Housekeepers Parlor / Bed room / Housekeepers’ Kitchen / Pantry / General Dressing room for men / Lady’s Dressing room / Gentlemans Dress room / Lady Dress room / Gentlemans Dress room / Gentlemans / Ladys / Coffee room / Ladys Dress room / Gentlemans Dress room / Ladys Dress room / Gentlemans Dress room / Ladys Dress room / Gentlemans Dress room / Hall for Chairs to sett down & take up for the Boxes / Tap room / Bar / Tap room / Barkeeper / Porters Hall / Porters Bedroom / Scullery / Space for Machinery & Trap doors to go under the Stage / Store room for Scenes, flooring Boards, Furniture & all kinds of necessary machinery under the Pitt & Boxes / 1. / 2. / 3. / vaulted cellars for the use of the Tavern / Cellar / Cellar / Passage for Chairs / Servants waiting room / stove / Cellar / Cellar / Kitchen / Tavern Parlor / Tavern Parlor / Hall leading to five sh gallerys & also to the box stairs / Box stairs / Lobby to the 3 shilling Gallery / Waiting room or Parlor / Waiting room or Parlor / [_ _ _ _ _ _ _] (in pencil) / [_ _ _ _ _ _ _] (in pencil) / Coach Way [_ _ _ _ _] court or part of the coachway (in pencil) / street [?] [_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _] (in pencil) / coachway [_ _ _ _ _ _] Charles Street (in pencil) / Passage from the Haymarket for Chairs (in pencil) / passage from Charles Street for Chairs (in pencil) / [_ _ _ _ _] Waiting room or Parlor (in pencil) / Lobby for Servants (in pencil) / Lobby for servants (in pencil) / [_ _ _ _ _] Waiting room or Parlor (in pencil)
Signed and dated
- c1789
c1789
Medium and dimensions
Pen, pencil and wash within a single ruled border on laid paper (1049 x 582)
Hand
Possibly
Office hand, possibly Robert Morison or Daniel Robertson
Office hand, possibly Robert Morison or Daniel Robertson
Verso
Notation, modern curatorial hand
Literature
Bolton, 1922, Volume II, Index p. 40
Sheppard, 1960, Volume XXIX, (i), p. 249
For a full list of literature references see scheme notes.
Sheppard, 1960, Volume XXIX, (i), p. 249
For a full list of literature references see scheme notes.
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