bar scale of 5/9 inch to 10 feet

• 1733

Pen and sepia (brown) wash on wove paper with one fold mark (522 x 728)

William Kent (1685 - 1748)

fleur-de-lis within crowned cartouche / WR = IV

In this second surviving design for the ground floor the building, in contrast to drawing [2], has become more square. It now measures 444 feet by 325 feet. There are seven entrances on the west side, one on the east and two on the south. One of the southern entrances leads through to a very grand staircase, although this would appear to be a secondary point of access - the primary route being through the carriage entrance on the west side via a square ante-room. An identical staircase is in the north-west corner of the building. The precise location of the new Parliament House is suggested by the adjoining building to the north west. Although Salmon identifies this building as the Court of Requests, it is in fact Westminster Hall. At a little over 60 feet it is too wide to be the Court of Requests, which was only 40 feet wide, but closer to the width of Westminster Hall (68 feet). Furthermore the location of the new Parliament House in the "Pantheon" Scheme is confirmed by another drawing in the Soane Museum that Salmon does not mention (drawing [5]).

(Salmon, p. 335)

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