This drawing is the earliest amongst the Soane office surveys of existing buildings at the Palace of Westminster. Its date makes clear that it was originally part of the survey Soane undertook in 1793, when plans of the Palace of Westminster were prepared for a limited competition. For this, invited architects were asked to propose a wholesale reconstruction of the Houses of Parliament; Soane, then merely the Clerk of Works with responsibility for Westminster, was not asked to submit a design.

Literature:
Colvin, H.M. (ed.). The History of the King's Works: Volume V, 1660-1782 (1976)

James Jago, 2018