Mr Lyte is unknown. It is possible that he was Henry Lyte (1727-91), a fellow of Queens' College Cambridge in 1749-63, master of the robes and Privy Purse in 1780, and treasurer and secretary to the Prince of Wales in 1787, but this is pure speculation.

Moreover, there is some confusion about the accuracy of him being a patron of the Adam office. As shown by the surviving drawings - and an extant ceiling - the Adam office made designs for the drawing room at number 9 Charlotte Street. This was a pre-existing Georgian house of unknown origin for which Adam only made designs for interior decoration. As Mr Lyte is an unknown quantity it was suggested in the 1920s by Arthur Bolton that the inscription of Lyte's name on these two drawings was an error, and that they were intended for George Keate, another patron of the Adam office living on Charlotte Street. Keate, however, lived at number 9 Charlotte Street - being Lyte's neighbour - showing that they were two entirely separate patrons.

Lyte's house at number 8 Charlotte Street (now 10 Bloomsbury Street) survives, with Adam's ceiling intact, and is now used as offices.

Literature:
A.T. Bolton, The architecture of Robert and James Adam, 1992, Volume II, Index pp. 36, 79; J. Ingamells, A dictionary of British and Irish travellers in Italy: 1701-1800, 1997, p. 618; D. King, The complete works of Robert & James Adam and unbuilt Adam, 2001, Volume I, pp. 307, 317

Frances Sands, 2013