(16, 18-20) bar scales of 1/10 inch to 1 foot (17) to a scale of 1/10 inch to 1 foot

(16) A, labelled: The River Thames, M^r Delaval's / House, Parliament Passage, Abingdon Street, Old Palace Yard, M^r Wilberforce, M^r Wharton, M^r Cowper, M^r Rose, Part of King Henry the / Seventh's Chapel, rooms labelled: Coffee Houses, Porte Cochere, Hall for / the Lords, The / Lords Entrance, Hall, Servants, The Court of Requests, Library / and / Journals, Council / attending the House, Passage, The / Painted Chamber / and / Conference Room, Lobby / for / Servants, Closets, Passage, The Lords / Robing Room, Witnesses / Attending the House, The / Committee Room, The Bishops, The / Arch / Bishops, The Doorkeeper, Lobby, The / Black Rod, Court, The / Clerks / Room, The / Assistant Clerk / of Parliament, Passage, Serjeant / at Arms, The Clerk / of Parliament, The House of Lords, Lobby, Passage, Anti Room, The / Waiting Room, Anti Room, The / Lord Chancellor, Passage, The / Doorkeeper (twice), Anti Room, Robing Room / for / His Majesty, Attendants / on the Prince, Court (twice), Anti Room, The / Prince of Wales, The / Earl Marshall, Passage, The Duke of Gloucester / and the rest / of the Royal Family and The Lord / Great Chancellor
(17) B, labelled: The River Thames, M^r Delaval's / House, Parliament Passage, Abingdon Street, Old Palace Yard, M^r Wilberforce, M^r Wharton, M^r Cowper, M^r Rose, Part of King Henry the / Seventh's Chapel, rooms labelled: Porte Cochere, Coffee Houses, The / Hall for the Lords, The / Lords Entrance, (pencilled over ?) Square, Hall / The / Kings Entrance, Footmens / Waiting Room, The / Court of Requests, The / Library of Law Books / for both Houses, The / Bishops, Passage (twice),The / Archbishops, The / Witnesses attend^g / the House, The / Lords Attendants, The / Committee Room, The / Duke of Gloucester / and the rest of / the Royal Family, Waiting Room, Lobby, Doorkeeper (twice), The / House of Lords, Water / Closet (twice), Urinal, Anti Room, The / Council Attend^g / the House, Waiting Room, The / Serjeant at Arms, Court, Anti Room, Passage, The / Black Rod, The / Lord Chancellor, Lobby, Staircase, Doorkeeper, Anti Room, The / Kings Robing Room, The / Prince of Wales, Court (twice), Staircase, Anti Room, The / Earl Marshall, (pencil) M^r Rose, The / Clerk of Parliament / M^r Rose, (pencil) M^r Cowper, Anti Room, Passage, The / Assistant Clerk of Parliament / M^r Cowper and The / Lord Great / Chamberlain
(18) as drawing 17 with a few pencil additions and amendments, some illegible: Lords (entrance stair), Kings Entrance (Hall), P of Wales (Lord Great Chamberlain's room) and Duke of Gloucester (Assistant Clerk of Parliament's room) and (pencil) Q^y(query) Gallery, Kings Robing Room
(19) C, labelled:The River Thames, M^r Delaval's / House, Parliament Passage, Abingdon Street, Old Palace Yard, M^r Wharton, M^r Cowper, M^r Rose, Part of King Henry / the Seventh's Chapel, rooms labelled: Porte Cochere, Coffee Houses, The Hall, The Kings Entrance, The Hall, Servants Room, The Court of Requests, The Library / of Law Books / Common to both / Houses of Parliament, Arch Bishops, Bishops, Lobby, House of Commons, Painted Chamber / Conference Room, Witnesses Attending / the House, Passage, Staircase for the Lords Attendants, The Lords Attendants, The Lords / Robing Room, Committee / Room, Duke of Gloucester / and the rest / of the Royal Family, Waiting Room, Doorkeeper / Lobby, The Council attending / the House, Waiting Room, Serjeant / at / Arms, Black Rod, Anti Room, Passage, Anti Room, Lord Chamberlain, Passage, Water / Closet (twice), Urinal, Passage, House of Lords, Doorkeeper (twice), Stair / case, Passage, The / Clerk of Parliament, Assistant Clerk / of Parliament, Water / Closet, The Prince of Wales, Court (twice), The Earl Marshall, The / Lord Great / Chamberlain, Anti Room (twice), Water / Closet (twice) and His Majesty's / Robing Room
(20) H, labelled: River Thames, M^r Delavall's / House, Parliament Stairs, Abingdon Street, Old Palace Yard, M^r Wilberforce, M^r Wharton, M^r Cowper, M^r Rose, Part of / King Henry the Seventh's / Chapel, rooms labelled: The / Hall / for / His Majesty, Entrance, The / Hall / For / the Lords, Servants Room, Earl Marshall, Privy Seal, Lord Great / Chancellor, Staircase,(pencil) Council attending, (pen) Lobby, House of Commons, The Painted Chamber / for Conferences etc^a, Vestibule, Room / for / Witnesses, (pencil) Lord Great, (pen) Committee Room, Passage, The Princes Chamber, Black Rod, Coals etc^a, Closet, The Doorkeeper's / Lobby (twice), Lobby / and Gallery over it, Truth, Justice, The House of Lords, Throne, Serjeant at Arms, M^r Cowper, Anti Room, M^r Rose, Water / Closet, Archbishops, Bishops, His Majesty's Robing / Room, Lord Chancellor and Anti Room

(16) Pen, sepia, red, black, blue and yellow washes, pricked for transfer, with quadruple-ruled and black wash border on wove paper (742 x 527) (17) pen, sepia, red, black, blue, green and yellow washes, pricked for transfer, with quadruple-ruled and black wash border on wove paper (737 x 532) (18) pen, sepia, red, black, blue and raw umber washes, pricked for transfer, with quadruple-ruled and black wash border on wove paper (718 x 520) (19) pen, sepia, red, black and blue washes, pricked for transfer, with quadruple-ruled and black wash border on wove paper(740 x 532) (20) pen, sepia, red, black, yellow, blue, green and raw umber washes, pricked for transfer, with quadruple-ruled and black wash border on wove paper (738 x 525)

(16-17) Frederick Meyer (1775-?, pupil April 1791-1796 with a few pencil amendments to room labels by Soane (18-20) Thomas Jeans (c.1775-1866, pupil August 1792 - 25 August 1797)

(16, 17) J Whatman

Presumably these drawings form part of a set A to H consisting of eight designs of which D E F G are missing. As with earlier drawings they show on the left-hand side in a sepia wash, variant designs for a new lobby for the old House of Commons and black wash outlines those parts that are to be kept, that is, the Court of Requests, the Painted Chamber, the old House of Lords, the Prince's Chamber and four adjacent offices. In all of these designs, the new House of Lords lies east to west and is aligned with the Painted Chamber and a court is placed above the Long Gallery. Designs A, B and C have the eastwards side placed quite close to the Thames, Design H with one range of rooms less is further away. The entrance is on the west front in all cases, with the same porte-cochère for Designs A to C and an entrance with three porches for Design H. There are two routes from the entrance to the House of Lords, starting at the entrance, one shorter and more direct route goes through the Court of Requests, into the Painted Chamber and thence via a lobby into the Lords. A parallel route, begins with a hall and then a passage with two or more banks of stairs and continues until parallel with the eastern end of the Lords when a right turn takes the King into his Robing Room and a left turn into the House. Design D (drawing 19) has a larger but less conveniently reached Robing Room at the far east end. Of the elevations to the river, drawings 16-18 are fronted by four plus four columns, drawing 19 by eight columns and drawing 20 by two columns. A comparison of plans with elevations shows that the riverside elevation of 65 and 66 having nine bays and four plus four columns corresponds with (plans) 14-18.

S. Sawyer, 'Soane at Westminster'. PhD thesis, Columbia University, 1999, pp. 169-71, puts drawing 16 (together with 14, 34 and 35) as scheme 'A4' in the sequence of Soane's designs for the House of Lords. Drawings 17 and 18 (with 15) make up scheme 'A5' (Sawyer, pp. 171-2). Related sections are drawings 67, 81, 82, 86 and 88 and interior perspectives 106 and 107 (discussed pp. 173-4). Drawing 19 is ascribed together with 32 and 33 to scheme 'A6' (Sawyer, p. 178).

Drawing

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

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