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Letton Hall, Norfolk: (executed) house for Dillingham Brampton Gurdon Dillingham, 1783-1789 (74)
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Purpose
Letton Hall, Norfolk: (executed) house for Dillingham Brampton Gurdon Dillingham, 1783-1789 (74)
Signed and dated
- 1783
Main Year - Other Years: 1783 1785 1786 1787 1788 1789
Notes
Dillingham Brampton Gurdon Dillingham, added 'Dillingham' so as to conform with the terms of his maternal grandfather's will. Letton Hall, near Shipdham, Thetford, was inherited from his father Thornhagh Brampton Gurdon in 1783. The 'family came into England with the Conqueror' (Burke's Peerage ..., 92nd ed., 1934). Dillingham died in 1820 and was succeeded by his son Theophilus Thornhagh Gurdon.
The selected design was built of white brick with Portland stone dressings. The Doric porch was later replaced by a two-storey addition. Despite this and other nineteenth-century alterations, the estate buildings as a whole are intact and the interior is largely original. Since 1980, Letton Hall has been run as a Conference and Activities Centre and latterly as a Christian Conference Centre.
The Gurdon Papers (compiled by Sir Brampton Gurdon and transcribed by Lord Cramworth, a Gurdon descendant, from the Gurdon papers in his possession, copy in SM green box files) show that between 11 July 1783 and 12 June 1792, Soane made 38 'journeys' to Letton Hall.
On 18 January 1785, Soane left '2 setts of fair plans on six Sheets of Paper', on 13 February 1786 he was 'Making designs for the Offices', 15 February, 'd[itt]o another design', 25 February 'Making a fair draw[ing] of Offices'. On 30 March 1787, there was 'Delivered to Mr Dillingham in Jermyn Street plan of Stables for digger', on 7 June 'Sent a drawing for Fence & Park Gate', 27 August 'Drawings of Curtain Laths for the circular headed windows', on 5 November 'Drawings of finishings of the brewhouse' were followed on 7 January 1788 by 'a drawing of the finishings of the Brewhouse for the Workmen'. A 'fair Drawing of Sideboard on a sheet of paper' was sent by post on 11 June 1788. On 16 April 1792 Soane made a site visit to 'settle Offices, making several fair plans and also plans and directions for the Workmen' and on 12 June of that year he 'survey[ed] the Alterations to the Offices'. This seems to have been the last site visit.
A summary of expenses shows that, in all, Soane charged two guineas a time for his 38 site visits and there were four site visits by 'Clerks to assist in measuring'. The 'Clerks time in making various fair drawings of designs not executed ' was 47 days charged for at five shillings a day. 'For making the several Designs execu[te]d making Drawings at large for the Workmen & for direct[in]g the Works from time to time - 5 p[e]r Cent on the Am[oun]t of the tradesmens Bills & the estim[ate]d Value of old Mat[eria]ls used £6000' [total of] £402:9:6' (Gurdon Papers, op.cit).
There are in the Soane Museum Note Books 8-14, 19 that relate to Letton. Similarly, SM 'Journal /1787/No 1' has entries for Letton Hall from 11 July 1783 to 7 April 1792, pp.9-15, and May 1792 to 22 May 1793, p.59 that are similar but not identical with account given in the Gurdon Papers. 'Bill / Book 1 - Journal 1 / 1786 / 87 / 88' has the building accounts for: ironmongery &c dated 21 August and 9 December 1786 (p.58); carpenters work by Thomas Dove dated 12 December 1788, bricklayers work by Thomas Butcher dated 19 December 1788, plasterers work by James Wilkins, undated, painters work by Daniel Coppin, undated, masons work by J.Decarle, undated - total of £1065.8.10¼ (pp.83-108) and further bricklayers work by the same tradesmen dated December 1789 for daywork from 10 March 1788 to 3 November 1789 - total of £985.9.3½ (pp.169-178).
MS indexes to the Note Books, Bill Books and Journals are currently only available for study at the Soane Museum. There are plans to put these online.
Soane published designs for Letton Hall in his Plans, elevations and sections of buildings executed in the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk ..., 1788 (i.e.1789) plates 7-11. Plate 7 (elevation) relates principally to drawing 21, plate 8 to drawings 10, 11, 12, plate 9 (bed chamber plan) to drawing 20, plate 11 to drawing 5. There are no drawings that tally with plate 10 and perhaps it relates to the missing design 2 of Soane's alternative designs designated by him as designs 1, 3, 4 and 'as executed'.
Literature. P.du Prey, John Soane: the making of an architect, 1982, pp.282-288; D.Stroud, Sir John Soane, architect, 2nd ed., 1996, pp.120-1, 241; P.Dean, Sir John Soane and the country estate, 1999, pp.166-7
Jill Lever, December 2008 - January 2009
The selected design was built of white brick with Portland stone dressings. The Doric porch was later replaced by a two-storey addition. Despite this and other nineteenth-century alterations, the estate buildings as a whole are intact and the interior is largely original. Since 1980, Letton Hall has been run as a Conference and Activities Centre and latterly as a Christian Conference Centre.
The Gurdon Papers (compiled by Sir Brampton Gurdon and transcribed by Lord Cramworth, a Gurdon descendant, from the Gurdon papers in his possession, copy in SM green box files) show that between 11 July 1783 and 12 June 1792, Soane made 38 'journeys' to Letton Hall.
On 18 January 1785, Soane left '2 setts of fair plans on six Sheets of Paper', on 13 February 1786 he was 'Making designs for the Offices', 15 February, 'd[itt]o another design', 25 February 'Making a fair draw[ing] of Offices'. On 30 March 1787, there was 'Delivered to Mr Dillingham in Jermyn Street plan of Stables for digger', on 7 June 'Sent a drawing for Fence & Park Gate', 27 August 'Drawings of Curtain Laths for the circular headed windows', on 5 November 'Drawings of finishings of the brewhouse' were followed on 7 January 1788 by 'a drawing of the finishings of the Brewhouse for the Workmen'. A 'fair Drawing of Sideboard on a sheet of paper' was sent by post on 11 June 1788. On 16 April 1792 Soane made a site visit to 'settle Offices, making several fair plans and also plans and directions for the Workmen' and on 12 June of that year he 'survey[ed] the Alterations to the Offices'. This seems to have been the last site visit.
A summary of expenses shows that, in all, Soane charged two guineas a time for his 38 site visits and there were four site visits by 'Clerks to assist in measuring'. The 'Clerks time in making various fair drawings of designs not executed ' was 47 days charged for at five shillings a day. 'For making the several Designs execu[te]d making Drawings at large for the Workmen & for direct[in]g the Works from time to time - 5 p[e]r Cent on the Am[oun]t of the tradesmens Bills & the estim[ate]d Value of old Mat[eria]ls used £6000' [total of] £402:9:6' (Gurdon Papers, op.cit).
There are in the Soane Museum Note Books 8-14, 19 that relate to Letton. Similarly, SM 'Journal /1787/No 1' has entries for Letton Hall from 11 July 1783 to 7 April 1792, pp.9-15, and May 1792 to 22 May 1793, p.59 that are similar but not identical with account given in the Gurdon Papers. 'Bill / Book 1 - Journal 1 / 1786 / 87 / 88' has the building accounts for: ironmongery &c dated 21 August and 9 December 1786 (p.58); carpenters work by Thomas Dove dated 12 December 1788, bricklayers work by Thomas Butcher dated 19 December 1788, plasterers work by James Wilkins, undated, painters work by Daniel Coppin, undated, masons work by J.Decarle, undated - total of £1065.8.10¼ (pp.83-108) and further bricklayers work by the same tradesmen dated December 1789 for daywork from 10 March 1788 to 3 November 1789 - total of £985.9.3½ (pp.169-178).
MS indexes to the Note Books, Bill Books and Journals are currently only available for study at the Soane Museum. There are plans to put these online.
Soane published designs for Letton Hall in his Plans, elevations and sections of buildings executed in the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk ..., 1788 (i.e.1789) plates 7-11. Plate 7 (elevation) relates principally to drawing 21, plate 8 to drawings 10, 11, 12, plate 9 (bed chamber plan) to drawing 20, plate 11 to drawing 5. There are no drawings that tally with plate 10 and perhaps it relates to the missing design 2 of Soane's alternative designs designated by him as designs 1, 3, 4 and 'as executed'.
Literature. P.du Prey, John Soane: the making of an architect, 1982, pp.282-288; D.Stroud, Sir John Soane, architect, 2nd ed., 1996, pp.120-1, 241; P.Dean, Sir John Soane and the country estate, 1999, pp.166-7
Jill Lever, December 2008 - January 2009
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Scheme
Digitisation of the Drawings Collection has been made possible through the generosity of the Leon Levy Foundation
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Sir John Soane's collection includes some 30,000 architectural, design and topographical drawings which is a very important resource for scholars worldwide. His was the first architect’s collection to attempt to preserve the best in design for the architectural profession in the future, and it did so by assembling as exemplars surviving drawings by great Renaissance masters and by the leading architects in Britain in the 17th and 18th centuries and his near contemporaries such as Sir William Chambers, Robert Adam and George Dance the Younger. These drawings sit side by side with 9,000 drawings in Soane’s own hand or those of the pupils in his office, covering his early work as a student, his time in Italy and the drawings produced in the course of his architectural practice from 1780 until the 1830s.
Browse (via the vertical menu to the left) and search results for Drawings include a mixture of Concise catalogue records – drawn from an outline list of the collection – and fuller records where drawings have been catalogued in more detail (an ongoing process).
Contents of Letton Hall, Norfolk: (executed) house for Dillingham Brampton Gurdon Dillingham, 1783-1789 (74)
- Design and record copies of design for stables and coach-house, 1783 (6)
- Early alternative designs for a new house, 1783 (3)
- Record copies of domed design 'No 1' and of the 'as executed' design, ? 1783 (3)
- Alternative 'Third Design' including copies (4)
- Alternative design 'No 4'
- Record copies of alternative designs (2)
- More or less final design, 1785 (2)
- Set of working drawings: plans, elevations and sections for the house on cartridge paper, 1785 (10)
- Working drawing for exterior: details and record copies including Greek Doric entablature for the portico, April and July 1785 (5)
- Working drawings for the hall (2)
- Rough working drawing and record copies of working drawings for staircase (6)
- Design and working drawing for the eating room (2)
- Record copy drawing of a design, and working drawing for the library (2)
- Working drawings for the breakfast room, 29 November 1786 (2)
- Working drawings for Mr Dillingham's bedroom, December 1786 and March 1787 (3)
- Working drawings for Mrs Dillingham's dressing room, c. 29 November 1786 (3)
- Copy of a working drawing for composition mouldings, 1786-7
- Record copies of working drawings for attic floor, Mr Dillingham's dressing room, breakfast room, hall, library and chamber with some related extracts from specifications, copied after 18 March 1786 (2)
- Preliminary design, revised designs, copies of (presumably) the final design for the offices, 1786 (7)
- Record copies of early and intermediate designs for stables, made c. 1786 (3)
- Miscellaneous designs: curtain lathe, drains, louvred door, lamp for staircase, 1787-9 (5)