Drawings 38 and 39 were made by Soane while on a visit to Pell Wall. Soane left London on 7 September 1828 and returned on the 23rd, occupying much of his time with what appears to be remedial work for a retaining wall around the Stone Lodge. Sillitoe had already moved into the house on August 25th, and it had by then been complete (Priv. Corr. VII.B.1.31).

On the 10th, Soane records in his private notebook: 'wrote to Hall' (SNB 196). On the 11th: 'At Pelwall. Pulled down the Walls that hid the bas[ement] of the Lodge.' The next day, Richard Hall, Soane's clerk of works at Chelsea Hospital, came in the afternoon and Soane 'settled sundries with him respect[in]g the basement of the Lodge'. The drawings are dated 13th and 14th September and show the new retaining wall around the basement, presumably to keep damp and soil out of the building where the ground level is higher. Drawing 38 shows the 'slope' in pencil. A cavity wall is shown in pink and orange wash, consisting of 9 inch thick stretchers separated by a 4½ inch gap. The wall extends around the front of the building, allowing for a space of 2 feet 3 inches beside the basement door (leading to the area and privy). Drawing 39 has erasure marks on the upper right and upper left hand sides of the drawing, showing alterations to the cavity wall behind the rear of the building. These drawings were probably made on site by Hall and Soane.

Drawing 39 is similar to an image included in Soane's 'Designs for Public and Private Buildings' (1832), p.42. The published image shows the retaining wall as included in drawing 38.

Group

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

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