Explore Collections
You are here:
CollectionsOnline
/
Record copies of domed design 'No 1' and of the 'as executed' design, ? 1783 (3)
Browse
Reference number
SM (10) 'Miscellaneous / Drawings / of / Architectural / Designs' volume 59/9 (two drawings on one page) (11) volume 41/36 verso (12) volume 41/37 recto
Purpose
Record copies of domed design 'No 1' and of the 'as executed' design, ? 1783 (3)
Aspect
10 Two copy elevations: Letton Hall Entrance Front No 1 with a two-storey, domed and bowed centre with a single-storey Greek Doric portico on a semicircular plan. The house is of two storeys with a basement. Copy elevation of Letton Hall Entrance Front as executedshowing a two-storey house with attic and basement.
11-12 Record copies of Plan of the Principal Floor of Letton Hall; Elevation of the Principal Front of Letton Hall to a larger scale but the same design as drawing 10 - 'Front No 1'
Scale
(10) bar scale of 1/11 in to 1 ft (11-12) bar scales of 1/8 in to 1 ft
Inscribed
(10) as above, and (pencil, copy 1) omit 2 Steps (11-12) as above, (plan) dimensions given and (pencil) N S E W (elevation), Floor (3 times)
Signed and dated
- later copies of designs made ? 1783
Medium and dimensions
(10) Pen, burnt umber, black and blue washes, shaded on laid paper mounted on p.9 of volume 59 (205 x 205, 218 x 211) (11) pen and sepia washes, pencil amendment on laid paper (364 x 243) (12) pen, sepia and blue washes, some watercolour technique, shaded on laid paper (364 x 243). Drawings 10a-10b bound into 'Precedents in Architecture' SM volume 41
Hand
(10-12) John Sanders, pupil 1784-90
Watermark
(11) T French (12) fleur-de-lis
Notes
The drawings were copied by John Sanders, articled as a pupil from 1 September 1784, so clearly the copies were made after that date but relate to earlier designs. Thus on drawing 10, the inscribed 'No 1' presumably refers to the first of four alternative designs (thus designated by Soane) for a new Letton Hall. The elevation (drawing 12) is the same as the domed elevation of drawing 10 including the number of steps to the porch. The plan (drawing 11) does not, as do later designs, have a bow on the garden side; it is quite close to the ground floor plan seen on drawing 6 though the room dimensions are reduced and the porch has a different plan.
Regarding drawing 10 - comparison of the 'as executed' elevation with the entrance front published as plate 7 in Soane's Plans, elevations an sections of buildings executed in the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk ..., 1788 (i.e.1789) shows them as the same though the published design is embellished with urns and the chimneys are fully drawn out. A 'Plan of the Principal Floor', drawing 11, is close to Plate 7 though without the coved ceiling shown in the publication. Similarly, comparison with the domed elevation here inscribed 'No 1' (drawings 10 and 11) with the published 'Entrance front, as intended', plate 8, shows them as the same design.
See also drawing 21 for 'almost' as executed design for the entrance front.
Regarding drawing 10 - comparison of the 'as executed' elevation with the entrance front published as plate 7 in Soane's Plans, elevations an sections of buildings executed in the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk ..., 1788 (i.e.1789) shows them as the same though the published design is embellished with urns and the chimneys are fully drawn out. A 'Plan of the Principal Floor', drawing 11, is close to Plate 7 though without the coved ceiling shown in the publication. Similarly, comparison with the domed elevation here inscribed 'No 1' (drawings 10 and 11) with the published 'Entrance front, as intended', plate 8, shows them as the same design.
See also drawing 21 for 'almost' as executed design for the entrance front.
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