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[23] Working drawing for a crane
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Reference number
SM 77/2/25
Purpose
[23] Working drawing for a crane
Aspect
Plans and elevations of crane used at Chillington
Scale
1/3 inch to 1 foot
Inscribed
A Copy of the Crane that raised the Stone to the Portico at Chillington / The Roap work'd 7 fold & with 8 Men at the Capstan raised with ease the largest / Stone, weight 7 Ton - Two Men attended at each bracing rope and labelled: The Base of the Crane the bottom side turn'd / uppermost shewing the method of fixing / it on the Rollers, The Beam at the top of the Crane, The Base fix'd on the Rollers, (another hand) 6 tun weight and some dimensions given including the height of 53.0 and width at the top of 16.0
Medium and dimensions
Pen, sepia and yellow washes, shaded on laid paper (534 x 748)
Hand
pupil see note below
Watermark
J Whatman, fleur-de-lis within crowned cartouche and below, ornate W
Notes
It is not known when this drawing was copied; the hand appears not to be that of the four pupils in the office between 1784 and 1790 (Sanders, McDonnell, Chawner and Laing) nor that of, say, Robert Woodgate, an office clerk from 1788 to 1791 or William Heaton, clerk of works at Chillington 1786-7. The crane and capstan for lifting the stones of the Chillington portico were probably in use by the end of 1786 since, for example, a 'Drawing of Base to Column' was sent on 10 June of that year (Journal 1). The columns of the portico were two-storeys high (28 feet 6 inches) and supported a heavy entablature and pediment. The crane was not necessarily designed within the Soane office, a competent builder or clerk of works may have done so and it would have been made by a carpenter.
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