In 1835 a gold medal was presented to Sir John Soane by 'the Architects of England' in recognition of his 'essential services to Architecture'. The medal was also produced in silver and bronze. A silver impression was forwarded to each of the Academies in Europe and America and a bronze one was given to each of 350 one-guinea subscribers. Subscribers could pay an additional sum for a silver impression.

Early in 1834, as reported in the Athenaeum in 1835, ‘a meeting of architects took place, for the purpose of considering the best mode of testifying their respect, for the public and professional character of Sir John Soane; and in acknowledgement of the munificent gift of his museum, library, and residence, to the nation, it was agreed to strike a medal; and, a Committee being formed, the matter was eagerly taken up, by the friends and admirers of Sir John, so that, eventually, the number of subscribers was about 350. The execution of the medal was confided to Mr.Wyon, of the Mint, who has done justice to the subject, and his own reputation, for a finer specimen, as a work of art, could not be produced.’¹ An advertisement published the previous year had announced the intention of ‘striking ‘a medal bearing on the obverse a portrait of Sir John Soane, after the well-known bust by Francis Chantrey, and on the reverse some portion of his favourite work, the ‘Bank of England’ encircled by an appropriate inscription, and to present this testimonial at a conversazione… Each subscriber will be intitled to two tickets, one of them admitting a lady… the dies will be sunk by W. Wyon Esq A.R.A, Chief Engraver of His Majesty’s Mint. A gold impression is to be presented to Sir John Soane, a silver one will be forwarded to each of the Academies in Europe and America, and a medal in bronze will be given to every Subscriber.’² The choice of the Tivoli Corner at the Bank of England for the obverse was an appropriate one. Soane was appointed Architect to the Bank in 1788 a post which he retained for 45 years, relinquishing it aged 80 in 1833. The building was his most celebrated work.

In presenting Soane with a medal the architects were following the precedent set by the artists who, in 1830, came together to commission a medal in honour of Sir Thomas Lawrence, executed by Scipio Clint and Samuel Parker after a model by E H Baily. This may well have been a disappointment to Wyon since it was known that it had been Sir Thomas’ ‘declared purpose to have a medal by Wyon, from Baily’s work’.³ All the academicians and associates were included in a list of subscribers headed by the king.⁴

Wyon showed ‘impressions of a medal in gold, silver, and bronze, presented to Sir John Soane R.A., as a tribute of respect from British Architects’ at the Royal Academy in 1835.⁵ He had borrowed these from Soane and wrote to him on 25 July 1835 returning the medals and expressing his intention of calling to present him with the original wax model.⁶ Wyon’s wax model and a trial piece are in the museum. The whereabouts of the dies which were given to Soane by the committee is not known.⁷

Alfred Robert Freebairn produced a printed reproduction of Wyon's medal using the anaglyptographic technique invented by John Bate. An image of this was included on page 75 of Soane’s final published Description of his House, with the caption 'ENGRAVED BY FREEBAIRN, FROM A DRAWING BY CORBOULD'.

We are grateful to Sir Mark Jones for allowing us to use his recent catalogue entry on Wyon’s Soane medals as the basis for this entry, 2022.

FOOTNOTES
¹ The Athenaeum 1835, 244.
² The Athenaeum 29 March 1834. 245.
³ Times 18 January 1830, 2. ‘Notes on Sir Thomas Lawrence’. Morning Post 18 January 1830, 4.
⁴ The Athenaeum 6 March 1830, 139.
⁵ RA 1835, cat no 1020.
⁶ SM Archives Private Correspondence II.W.14.2.
⁷ Carlisle 151, 152.

M931, source