John Soane

Sir John Soane RAFSAFRS
Portrait painted byThomas Lawrence
Born	John Soan (1753-09-10)10 September 1753 Goring-on-Thames,Oxfordshire, England
Died	20 January 1837(1837-01-20)(aged 83) 13Lincoln's Inn Fields,London, England
Occupation	Architect
Spouse	Elizabeth Smith ​ ​ (m.1784; died 1815)​
Children	4
Buildings	Bank of England Dulwich Picture Gallery Pitzhanger Manor 12–14 Lincoln's Inn Fields (nowSir John Soane's Museum)

Sir John SoaneRAFSAFRS(/soʊn/;néSoan;10 September 1753 – 20 January 1837) was an English architect who specialised in theNeo-Classicalstyle. The son of a bricklayer, he rose to the top of his profession, becoming professor of architecture at theRoyal Academyand an official architect to theOffice of Works.He received aknighthoodin 1831.

Soane's best-known work was theBank of England(his work there is largely destroyed), a building which had a widespread effect on commercial architecture. He also designedDulwich Picture Gallery,which, with its top-lit galleries, was a major influence on the planning of subsequent art galleries and museums. His main legacy isthe eponymous museuminLincoln's Inn Fieldsin his former home and office, designed to display the art works and architectural artefacts that he collected during his lifetime. The museum is described in theOxford Dictionary of Architectureas "one of the most complex, intricate, and ingenious series of interiors ever conceived".

Background and training

John Soane byChristopher William Hunnemanin 1776

Soane was born inGoring-on-Thameson 10 September 1753. He was the second surviving son of John Soan and his wife Martha. The 'e' was added to the surname by the architect in 1784 on his marriage. His father was a builder or bricklayer, and died when Soane was fourteen in April 1768. He was educated in nearbyReadingin a private school run by William Baker. After his father's death Soane's family moved to nearbyChertseyto live with Soane's brother William, 12 years his elder.

William Soan introduced his brother to James Peacock,a surveyorwho worked withGeorge Dance the Younger.Soane began his training as an architect age 15 under George Dance the Younger and joining the architect at his home and office in theCity of Londonat the corner of Moorfields and Chiswell Street.Dance was a founding member of theRoyal Academyand doubtless encouraged Soane to join the schools there on 25 October 1771 as they were free.There he would have attended the architecture lectures delivered byThomas Sandbyand the lectures onperspectivedelivered bySamuel Wale.

Dance's growing family was probably the reason that in 1772 Soane continued his education by joining the household and office ofHenry Holland.He recalled later that he was 'placed in the office of an eminent builder in extensive practice where I had every opportunity of surveying the progress of building in all its different varieties, and of attaining the knowledge of measuring and valuing artificers' work'.During his studies at the Royal Academy, he was awarded the academy's silver medal on 10 December 1772 for a measured drawing of the facade of theBanqueting House, Whitehall,which was followed by the gold medal on 10 December 1776 for his design of aTriumphal Bridge.He received a travelling scholarship in December 1777 and exhibited at the Royal Academy a design for aMausoleumfor his friend and fellow student James King, who had drowned in 1776 on a boating trip toGreenwich.Soane, a non-swimmer, was going to be with the party but decided to stay home and work on his design for aTriumphal Bridge.By 1777, Soane was living in his own accommodation in Hamilton Street.In 1778 he published his first bookDesigns in Architecture.He sought advice from SirWilliam Chamberson what to study:"Always see with your own eyes... [you] must discover their true beauties, and the secrets by which they are produced."Using his travelling scholarship of £60 per annum for three years,plus an additional £30 travelling expenses for each leg of the journey, Soane set sail on hisGrand Tour,his ultimate destination being Rome, at 5:00 am, 18 March 1778.

Grand Tour

Statue of Sir John Soane at theBank of England,London

His travelling companion wasRobert Furze Brettingham;they travelled via Paris, where they visitedJean-Rodolphe Perronet,and then went on to thePalace of Versailleson 29 March. They finally reached Rome on 2 May 1778.Soane wrote home, "my attention is entirely taken up in the seeing and examining the numerous and inestimable remains of Antiquity...".His first dated drawing is 21 May of the church ofSant'Agnese fuori le mura(Saint Agnes Outside the Walls). His former classmate, the architectThomas Hardwick,returned to Rome in June fromNaples.Hardwick and Soane would produce a series of measured drawings and ground plans of Roman buildings together.During the summer they visitedHadrian's Villaand theTemple of Vesta, Tivoli,whilst back in Rome they investigated theColosseum.In August Soane was working on a design for aBritish Senate Houseto be submitted for the 1779Royal Academy summer exhibition.

In the autumn he met theBishop of Derry,Frederick Hervey, 4th Earl of Bristol,who had built several grand properties for himself.The Earl presented copies ofI quattro libri dell'architetturaandDe architecturato Soane.In December the Earl introduced Soane toThomas Pitt, 1st Baron Camelford,an acquaintance which would lead eventually to architectural commissions.The Earl persuaded Soane to accompany him to Naples, setting off from Rome on 22 December 1778. On the way they visitedCapuaand thePalace of Caserta,arriving in Naples on 29 December. It was there that Soane met two future clients,John Pattesonand Richard Bosanquet.From Naples Soane made several excursions including toPozzuoli,CumaeandPompeii,where he met yet another future client,Philip Yorke.Soane also attended a performance atTeatro di San Carloand climbedMount Vesuvius.VisitingPaestum,Soane was deeply impressed by the Greek temples.Next he visited theCertosa di Padula,then went on toEboliandSalernoand its cathedral. Later they visitedBeneventoandHerculaneum.The Earl and Soane left for Rome on 12 March 1779, travelling via Capua,Gaeta,thePontine Marshes,Velletri,theAlban HillsandLake Albano,andCastel Gandolfo.Back in Rome they visited thePalazzo Barberiniand witnessed the celebrations ofHoly Week.Shortly after, the Earl and his family departed for home, followed a few weeks later by Thomas Hardwick.

It was then that Soane metMaria Hadfield(they became lifelong friends) andThomas Banks.Soane was now fairly fluent in the Italian language, a sign of his growing confidence.A party, includingThomas Bowdler,Rowland Burdon,John Patteson, John Stuart and Henry Grewold Lewis, decided to visitSicilyand paid for Soane to accompany them as a draughtsman.The party headed for Naples on 11 April, where on 21 April they caught a Swedish ship toPalermo.Soane visited theVilla Palagonia,which made a deep impact on him.Influenced by the account of the Villa in his copy ofPatrick Brydone'sTour through Sicily and Malta,Soane savoured the "Prince of Palagonia's Monsters... nothing more than the most extravagant caricatures in stone", but more significantly seems to have been inspired by the Hall of Mirrors to introduce similar effects when he came to design the interiors of his own house in Lincoln's Inn Fields.Leaving Palermo from where the party split, Stuart and Bowdler going off together. The rest headed forSegesta,Trapani,SelinunteandAgrigento,exposing Soane toAncient Greek architecture.From Agrigento the party headed forLicata,where they sailed forMaltaandVallettareturning on 2 June, toSyracuse, Sicily.Moving on toCataniaandPalazzo BiscarithenMount Etna,Taormina,Messinaand theLepari Islands.They were back in Naples by 2 July where Soane purchased books and prints, visitingSorrentobefore returning to Rome.Shortly after, John Patterson returned to England via Vienna, from where he sent Soane the first six volumes ofThe Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman,delivered byAntonio Salieri.

In Rome Soane's circle now includedHenry Tresham,Thomas JonesandNathaniel Marchant.Soane continued to study the buildings of Rome, including theBasilica of St. John Lateran.Soane and Rowland Burdon set out in August forLombardy.Their journey included visits toAncona,Rimini,Bologna,Parmaand its Accademia,Milan,Verona,Vicenzaand its buildings byAndrea Palladio,Padua,theBrenta (river)with its villas by Palladio,Venice.Then back to Bologna where Soane copied designs for completing the west front ofSan Petronio Basilicaincluding ones by Palladio,Giacomo Barozzi da VignolaandBaldassare Peruzzi.Then toFlorenceand theAccademia delle Arti del Disegnoof which he was later, in January 1780 elected a member; then returned to Rome.

Soane continued his study of buildings, includingVilla Lante,Palazzo Farnese,Palazzo Massimo alle Colonne,theCapitoline Museumsand theVilla Albani.That autumn he metHenry Bankes,Soane prepared plans for the Banke's houseKingston Lacy,but these came to nothing.Early in 1780 Frederick Augustus Hervey, 4th Earl of Bristol wrote to Soane offering him various architectural commissions, Soane decided to return to England and began to organise his return journey. He left Rome on 19 April 1780, travelling with the Reverend George Holgate and his pupil Michael Pepper. They visited theVilla Farnese,then on toSiena.Then Florence where they visited thePalazzo Pitti,Uffizi,Santo Spirito,Giotto's Campanileand other sites.

Performing at theTeatro della PergolawasNancy Storacewith whom Soane formed a lifelong friendship. Their journey continued on via Bologna, Padua, Vicenza, Verona,Mantuawhere he sketchedPalazzo del Te,Parma,Piacenza.Milan where he attendedLa Scala,the theatre was a growing interest,Lake Comofrom where they began their crossing of theAlpsvia theSplügen Pass.They then passed on toZürich,Reichenau,Wettingen,Schaffhausen,Baselon the way to which the bottom of Soane's trunk came loose on the coach and spilled the contents behind it, he thus lost many of his books, drawings, drawing instruments, clothes and his gold and silver medals from the Royal Academy (none of which was recovered). He continued his journey on toFreiburg im Breisgau,Cologne,Liège,LeuvenandBrusselsbefore embarking for England.

Early projects

Struggle to establish architectural practice

Ceiling in theBourgeoisMausoleum, Dulwich House (Dulwich Picture Gallery)

He reached England in June 1780;thanks to his Grand Tour he was £120 in debt.After a brief stop in London, Soane headed for Frederick Augustus Hervey, 4th Earl of Bristol's estate atIckworth Housein Suffolk, where the Earl was planning to build a new house. But immediately the Earl changed his mind and dispatched Soane toDownhill House,inCounty Londonderry,Ireland, where Soane arrived on 27 July 1780.The Earl had grandiose plans to rebuild the house, but Soane and the Earl disagreed over the design and parted company, Soane receiving only £30 for his efforts. He left viaBelfastsailing toGlasgow.From Glasgow he travelled toAllanbank, Scottish Borders,home of a family by the name of Stuart he had met in Rome, he prepared plans for a new mansion for the family,but again the commission came to nothing.In early December 1780 Soane took lodgings at 10 Cavendish Street, London. To pay his way his friends from the Grand Tour, Thomas Pitt and Philip Yorke, gave him commissions for repairs and minor alterations.Anna, Lady Miller,considered building a temple in her garden atBatheastonto Soane's design and he hoped he might receive work from her circle of friends. But again this was not to be.To help him out, George Dance gave Soane a few measuring jobs, including one in May 1781 on his repairs toNewgate Prisonof damage caused by theGordon Riots.

To give Soane some respite, Thomas Pitt invited him to stay in 1781 at his Thamesside villa ofPetersham Lodge,which Soane was commissioned to redecorate and repair.Also in 1781 Philip Yorke gave Soane commissions: at his home, Hamels Park inHertfordshire,he designed a new entrance gate and lodges, followed by a new dairy and alterations to the house, and in London alterations and redecoration of 63 New Cavendish Street.Increasingly desperate for work Soane entered a competition in March 1782 to design a prison, but failed to win.Soane continued to get other minor design work in 1782.

Architectural career and success

From the mid-1780s on Soane would receive a steady stream of commissions until his semi-retirement in 1832.

Early domestic works

It was not until 1783 that Soane received his first commission for a new country house,Letton Hallin Norfolk.The house was a fairly modest villa but it was a sign that at last Soane's career was taking off and led to other work inEast Anglia:SaxlinghamRectory in 1784, Shotesham Hall in 1785,Tendring Hall in 1784–86,and the remodelling ofRystonHall in 1787.

Bank of England Entrance facade, 1818–1827

At this early stage in his career Soane was dependent on domestic work, including:Piercefield House(1784), now a ruin;the remodelling ofChillington Hall(1785);The Manor,Cricket St Thomas(1786);Bentley Priory(1788);the extension of the Roman Catholic Chapel atNew Wardour Castle(1788).An important commission was alterations toWilliam Pitt the Younger'sHolwood Housein 1786,Soane had befriended William Pitt's uncle Thomas on his grand tour. In 1787 Soane remodelled the interior of Fonthill Splendens (later replaced byFonthill Abbey) for Thomas Beckford, adding a picture gallery lit by two domes and other work.

Ground plan of the Bank of England

Bank of England

Main article:Bank of England

On 16 October 1788 he succeededSir Robert Tayloras architect and surveyor to the Bank of England.He would work at the bank for the next 45 years, resigning in 1833.Given Soane's youth and relative inexperience, his appointment was down to the influence of William Pitt, who was then the Prime Minister and his friend from the Grand Tour, Richard Bosanquet whose brother wasSamuel Bosanquet,Director and later Governor of the Bank of England.His salary was set at 5% of the cost of any building works at the Bank, paid every six months.Soane would virtually rebuild the entire bank, and vastly extend it. The five main banking halls were based on the same basic layout, starting with the Bank Stock Office of 1791–96, consists of a rectangular room, the centre with a large lantern light supported by piers andpendentives,then the four corners of the rectangle have low vaulted spaces, and in the centre of each side compartments rising to the height of the arches supporting the central lantern, the room is vaulted in brick and windows are iron framed to ensure the rooms are as fire proof as possible.

An imagined view of the Bank of England in ruins byJoseph Gandy,1830.Sir John Soane's Museum,London.

His work at the bank was:

• Erection of Barracks for the Bank Guards and rooms for the Governor, officers and servants of the Bank (1790).
• Between 1789 and February 1791 Soane oversaw acquisition of land northwards along Princes Street.
• The erection of the outer wall along the newly acquired land (1791).
• Erection of the Bank Stock Office the first of his major interiors at the bank, with its fire proof brick vault (1791–96).
• The erection of The Four Percent Office (replacing Robert Taylor's room) (1793).
• The erection of the Rotunda (replacing Robert Taylor's rotunda) (1794).
• The erection of the Three Percent Consols Transfer Office (1797–99).
• Acquisition of more land to the north along Bartholomew Lane,Lothburyand Prince's Street (1792).
• Erection of outer wall along the north-east corner of the site, including an entrance arch for carriage (1794–98).
• Erection of houses for the Chief Accountant and his deputy (1797).
• The erection of the Lothbury Court within the new gate, leading to the inner courtyard used to receiveBullion(1797–1800).
• Extension of the Bank to the north-west, the exterior wall was extended around the junction of Lothbury and Princes Street, forming the 'Tivoli Corner' which is based on theTemple of Vesta, Tivolithat Soane had visited and much admired, halfway down Princes street he created theDoricVestibuleas a minor entrance to the building and within two new courtyards that were surrounded by the rooms he built in 1790 and new rooms including printing offices forbanknotes,the £5 Note Office and new offices for the Accountants, the Bullion Office off the Lothbury Court (1800–1808).
• Rebuilding of the vestibule and entrance from Bartholmew Lane (1814–1818).
• The rebuilding of Robert Taylor's 3 Percent Consols Transfer Office and 3 Percent Consols Warrant Office and completion of the exterior wall around the south-east and south-west boundaries including the main-entrance in the centre ofThreadneedle Street(1818–1827).

In 1807 Soane designed New Bank Buildings on Princes Street for the Bank, consisting of a terrace of five mercantile residences, which were then leased to prominent city firms.

The Bank being Soane's most famous work, SirHerbert Baker's rebuilding of the Bank, demolishing most of Soane's earlier building was described byNikolaus Pevsneras "the greatest architectural crime, in theCity of London,of the twentieth century ".

The Secretary's Offices, Royal Hospital Chelsea 1818

Architects' Club

A growing sign of Soane's success was an invitation to become a member of the Architects' Club that was formed on 20 October 1791. Practically all the leading practitioners in London were members, and it combined a meeting to discuss professional matters, at 5:00 pm on the first Thursday of every month with a dinner.The four founders were Soane's former teachers George Dance and Henry Holland withJames WyattandSamuel Pepys Cockerell.Other original members included: Sir William Chambers, Thomas Sandby,Robert Adam,Matthew Brettingham the Younger,Thomas HardwickandRobert Mylne.Members who later joined includedSir Robert SmirkeandSir Jeffrey Wyattville.

Royal Hospital Chelsea

Main article:Royal Hospital Chelsea

On 20 January 1807 Soane was made clerk of works of Royal Hospital Chelsea. He held the post until his death thirty years later; it paid a salary of £200 per annum.His designs were: built 1810 a new infirmary (destroyed in 1941 duringThe Blitz), a new stable block and extended his own official residence in 1814;a new bakehouse in 1815; a new gardener's house 1816, a new guard-house and Secretary's Office with space for fifty staff 1818; a Smoking Room in 1829 and finally a garden shelter in 1834.

Freemasons' Hall, London

Main article:Freemasons' Hall, London

Soane, who was aUGLEFreemason,was employed to extend Freemasons' Hall, London in 1821 by building a new gallery; later in 1826 he prepared various plans for a new hall, but it was only built in 1828–31, including a council chamber, and smaller room next to it and a staircase leading to a kitchen and scullery in the basement.The building was demolished to make way for the current building.

Official appointments

Holy Trinity Church, Marylebone1824–6

In October 1791 Soane was appointedClerk of Workswith responsibility forSt James's Palace,Whitehalland ThePalace of Westminster.Between 1795 and 1799 Soane was Deputy Surveyor of His Majesty's Woods and Forest, on a salary of £200 per annum.James Wyatt's death in 1813 led to Soane together withJohn NashandRobert Smirke,being appointed official architect to theOffice of Worksin 1813, the appointment ended in 1832, at a salary of £500 per annum.As part of this position he was invited to advise the ParliamentaryCommissionerson the building of new churches from 1818 onward.He was required to produce designs for churches to seat 2000 people for £12,000 or less though Soane thought the cost too low,of the three churches he designed for the Commission all were classical in style. The three churches were:St Peter's Church, Walworth(1823–24), for £18,348;Holy Trinity Church, Marylebone(1826–27), for £24,708;St John on Bethnal Green(1826–28), for £15,999.

Public buildings

Soane designed several public buildings in London, including: National Debt Redemption Office(1817) demolished 1900; Insolvent Debtors Court(1823) demolished 1861; Privy Council and Board of Trade Offices,Whitehall(1823–24), remodelled by SirCharles Barry,the building now houses theCabinet Office;in a new departure for Soane he used theItalianatestyle for The New State Paper Office,(1829–30) demolished 1868 to make way for theForeign and Commonwealth Officebuilding.

His commissions in Ireland included:Dublin,Soane was commissioned by theBank of Irelandto design a new headquarters for the triangular site on Westmoreland Street now occupied by the Westin Hotel. However, when the Irish Parliament was abolished in 1800, the Bank abandoned the project and instead bought the former Parliament Buildings.In 1808 he started work on the design of theRoyal Belfast Academical Institution,for which he refused to charge. Building work began on 3 July 1810 and was completed in 1814. The remodelling of the interior has left little of Soane's work.

Later domestic work

Moggerhanger Housein Bedfordshire (1809)

Country homes for thelanded gentryincluded: new rooms and remodelling ofWimpole Halland garden buildings, (1790–94) for his friend Philip Yorke whom he met on his Grand Tour; remodelling ofBaronscourt,County Tyrone, Ireland (1791);TyringhamHall (1792–1820); and the remodelling ofAynhoe Park(1798).

In 1804, he remodelledRamsey Abbey(none of his work there now survives);the remodelling of the south front ofPort Eliotand new interiors (1804–06); the Gothic Library atStowe House(1805–06);Moggerhanger House(1791–1809); forMarden Hill,Hertfordshire, Soane designed a new porch and entrance hall (1818);the remodelling ofWotton Houseafter damage by fire (1820); a terrace of six houses above shops inRegent StreetLondon (1820–21), demolished;andPell Wall Hall(1822). Among Soane's most notable works are the dining rooms of both Numbers10and11 Downing Street(1824–26) for the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer respectively of Great Britain.

Dulwich Picture Gallery

Dulwich Picture Galleryinterior, 1811–1817

Main article:Dulwich Picture Gallery

In 1811, Soane was appointed as architect for Dulwich Picture Gallery, the first purpose-built publicart galleryin Britain, to house the Dulwich collection, which had been held by art dealers SirFrancis Bourgeoisand his partner Noel Desenfans. Bourgeois's will stipulated that the Gallery should be designed by his friend John Soane to house the collection. Uniquely the building also incorporates amausoleumcontaining the bodies of Francis Bourgeois, and Mr and Mrs Desenfans.The Dulwich Picture Gallery was completed in 1817. The five main galleries are lit by elongatedroof lanterns.

New Law Courts

Plan of the Houses of Parliament pre 1834 fire, showing Soane's Law Courts, bottom left, also Soane's work in the House of Lords top right

As an official architect of the Office of Works Soane was asked to design the New Law Courts atWestminster Hall,he began surveying the building on 12 July 1820.Soane was to extend the law courts along the west front of Westminster Hall providing accommodation for five courts: The Court of Exchequer, Chancery, Equity, King's Bench and Common Pleas. The foundations were laid in October 1822 and the shell of the building completed by February 1824. ThenHenry Bankeslaunched an attack on the design of the building, as a consequence Soane had to demolish the facade and set the building lines back several feet and redesign the building in agothicstyle instead of the original classical design, Soane rarely designed gothic buildings.The building opened on 21 January 1825, and remained in use until theRoyal Courts of Justiceopened in 1882, after this the building was demolished in 1883 and the site left as lawn.All the court rooms displayed Soane's typically complex lighting arrangements, being top lit byroof lanternsoften concealed from direct view.

Palace of Westminster

Main article:Palace of Westminster

In 1822 as an official architect of the Office of Works, Soane was asked to make alteration to the House of Lords at the Palace of Westminster. He added a curving gothic arcade with an entrance leading to a courtyard, a new Royal Gallery, main staircase and Ante-Room, all the interiors were in a grand neo-classical style, completed by January 1824.Later four new committee rooms, a new library for the House of Lords and for the House of Commons alterations to theSpeaker of the House of Commonshouse, and new library, committee rooms, clerks' rooms and stores, all would be destroyed in the fire of 1834.

1821 Design for new Royal Palace probably on the site of Green Park London

Design for a Royal Palace

One of Soane's largest designs was for a new Royal Palace in London, a series of designs were produced c. 1820–30. The design was unusual in that the building was triangular, there were grand porticoes at each corner and in the middle of each side of the building, the centre of the building consisted of a low dome, with ranges of rooms leading to the entrances in each side of the building, creating three internal courtyards. As far as is known it is not related to an official commission and was merely a design exercise by Soane, indeed the various drawings he produced date over several years, he first produced a design for a Royal Palace while in Rome in 1779.

Royal Academy

Strand Block, Somerset House, designed by William Chambers, home to the Royal Academy 1780–1837; Soane delivered all his lectures here

Main article:Royal Academy

The Royal Academy was at the very centre of Soane's architectural career, in the sixty four years from 1772 to 1836 there were only five years, 1778 and 1788–91, in which he did not exhibit any designs there.Soane had received part of his architectural education at the academy and it had paid for his Grand Tour. On 2 November 1795 Soane was elected an Associate Royal Academician and on 10 February 1802 Soane was elected a fullRoyal Academician,his diploma work being a drawing of his design for a new House of Lords.There were only ever a maximum of forty Royal Academicians at any one time. Under the rules of the Academy Soane automatically became for one year a member of the council of the academy, this consisted of the president and eight other academicians.

After Thomas Sandby died in 1798, George Dance, Soane's old teacher was appointed professor of architecture at the academy, but during his tenure of the post failed to deliver a single lecture. Naturally this caused dissatisfaction, and Soane began to manoeuver to obtain the post for himself.Eventual Soane succeeded in ousting Dance and became professor on 28 March 1806.Soane did not deliver his first lecture until 27 March 1809 and did not begin to deliver the full series of twelve lectures until January 1810. All went well until he reached his fourth lecture on 29 January 1810, in it he criticised several recent buildings in London, including George Dance'sRoyal College of Surgeons of Englandand his former pupil Robert Smirke'sCovent Garden Theatre.

Royal AcademiciansRobert Smirke (painter)father of the architect and his friendJoseph Faringtonled a campaign against Soane,as a consequence the Royal Academy introduced a rule forbidding criticism of a living British artist in any lectures delivered there.Soane attempted to resist what he saw as interference and it was only under threat of dismissal that he finally amended his lecture and recommenced on 12 February 1813 the delivery of the first six lectures.The rift that all this caused between Soane and George Dance would only be healed in 1815 after the death of Mrs Soane.

The twelve lectures, they were treated as two separate courses of six lectures, were all extensively illustrated with over one thousand drawings and building plans, most of which were prepared by his pupils as part of their lessons. The lectures were:

• Lecture I – traced 'architecture from its most early periods' and covered the origin of civil, military and naval architecture.
• Lecture II – outlined theClassical architectureof the ancient world continuing on from the first lecture.
• Lecture III – an analysis of the fiveClassical orders,their application and the use ofCaryatids.
• Lecture IV – use of the classical orders structurally and decoratively and forcommemorative monuments.
• Lecture V – the history of architecture fromConstantine the Greatand theDecline of the Roman Empireto the rise ofRenaissance architecture,followed by a survey of British architecture fromInigo JonestoWilliam Chambers (architect).
• Lecture VI – coveredarches,bridges the theory and symbolism of architectural ornament.
• Lecture VII – appropriate character in architecture and the correct use of decoration.
• Lecture VIII – the distribution and planning of rooms andstaircases.
• Lecture IX – the design ofwindows,doors,pilasters,roofs andchimney-shafts.
• Lecture X –landscape architectureandgarden buildings.
• Lecture XI – a discussion of the architecture and planning of London contrasting it with Paris.
• Lecture XII – a discussion of construction methods and standards.

Soane's library

Soane's Library atPitzhanger Manorc. 1802

15th-century illuminated manuscript ofJosephus' Works

Soane over the course of his career built up an extensive library of 7,783 volumes,this is still housed in the library he designed in his home, now a museum, of 13 Lincoln's Inn Fields. The library covers a wide range of subjects: Greek and Roman classics, poetry, painting, sculpture, history, music, drama, philosophy, grammars, topographical works, encyclopaedias, runs of journals and contemporary novels.

Naturally architectural books account for a large part of the library, and were very important when he came to write his lectures for the Royal Academy. The main architectural books include: several editions ofVitruvius'sDe architectura,including Latin, English, French and Italian editions, including the commentary on the work byDaniele Barbaro.Julien-David Le Roy'sLes Ruines des plus beaux monuments de la Grèce,Johann Joachim Winckelmann'sGeschichte der Kunst des Alterthums,in its French translation bought in 1806 just before Soane was appointed to the professorship.AlsoMarc-Antoine Laugier'sEssai sur l'Architecture,andJacques-François Blondel's nine volumes ofCours d'architecture ou traité de la décoration, distribution et constructions des bâtiments contenant les leçons données en 1750, et les années suivantes.

Soane also acquired severalilluminated manuscripts:a 13th-century EnglishVulgateBible; a 15th-centuryFlemishcopy ofJosephus's works; fourbooks of hours,two Flemish of the 15th century and early 16th century, Dutch of the late 15th century and French 15th century; a Frenchmissaldated 1482;Le Livre des Cordonniers de Caen,French 15th century; andMarino Grimani's commentary of the Epistle of St Paul to the Romans, the work ofGiulio Clovio.

Other manuscripts include:Francesco di Giorgio's mid-16th centuryTreatise of Architecture;Nicholas Stone's two account books covering 1631–42, and his son's (also Nicholas Stone) 1648 sketch book (France and Italy) and Henry Stone's 1638 sketch book;Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne's The Second Epistle;James Gibbs'sA few short cursory remarks on buildings in Rome;Joshua Reynolds's two sketch books from Rome; andTorquato Tasso's early manuscript ofGerusalemme Liberata.

Incunabulain the library include:Cristoforo Landino'sCommentario sopra la Comedia diDante,1481; S. BrantStultifera Navis,1488; andBoethius'sDe Philosophico Consolatu,1501. Other early printed books include: J.W. von Cube,Ortus Saniatis,1517, andPortiforium seu Breviarum ad Sarisbursis ecclesiae usum,1555; andWilliam Shakespeare'sComedies, Histories and Tragediesof 1623, theFirst Folio.

Sir John Soane's Museum

Soane Museum, 13 Lincoln's Inn Fields

Main article:Sir John Soane's Museum

In 1792, Soane bought a house at 12Lincoln's Inn Fields,London. Later purchasing 13 Lincoln's Inn Fields, he used the house as his home and library, but also entertained potential clients in the drawing room. The houses along with 14 Lincoln's Inn Fields, is now Sir John Soane's Museum and is open to the public for free.

Antiquities, medieval and non-western objects

Between 1794 and 1824 Soane remodelled and extended the house into two neighbouring properties – partly to experiment with architectural ideas, and partly to house his growing collection ofantiquitiesand architectural salvage. As his practice prospered, Soane was able to collect objects worthy of theBritish Museum,including theSarcophagus of Seti Iin 1824.

After the Seti sarcophagus arrived at his house in March 1825, Soane held a three-day party, to which 890 people were invited, the basement where the sarcophagus was housed was lit by over one hundred lamps and candelabra, refreshments were laid on and the exterior of the house was hung with lamps.Among the guests were the Prime MinisterRobert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool,and his wife;Robert Peel,Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex,Samuel Taylor Coleridge,J. M. W. Turner,Sir Thomas Lawrence,Charles Long, 1st Baron Farnborough,Benjamin Haydonas well as many foreign dignitaries.

He also bought Greek and Roman bronzes,cinerary urns,fragments ofRoman mosaics,Greek vasesmany displayed above the bookcases in the library, Greek and Roman busts, heads from statues and fragments of sculpture and architectural decoration, examples ofRoman glass.Medieval objects include: architectural fragments, tiles andstained glass.Soane acquired 18th centuryChinese ceramicsas well asPeruvian pottery.Soane also purchased four Indianivorychairs and a table.

1864 view of theSarcophagus of Seti I(foreground) in the 'Dome', 13 Lincoln's Inn Fields

Sculpture

Francis Leggatt Chantreycarved a white marblebustof Soane.Soane acquired SirRichard Westmacott's plaster model forNymph unclasping her Zoneand the plaster model of John Flaxman's memorial sculpture of William Pitt the Younger.Of the ancient sculptures, a miniature copy of the famous sculpture ofDiana of Ephesusis one of the most important in the collection.After the death of his teacher Henry Holland, Soane bought part of his collection of ancient marble fragments of architectural decoration.He also acquired Plastercasts of famous antique sculptures.

Paintings and drawings

Breakfast Room, 13 Lincoln's Inn Fields

Soane's paintings include four works byCanalettoand paintings byHogarth:the eight canvases of theA Rake's Progressand the four canvases of theHumours of an Election.Soane acquired three works by his friendJ. M. W. Turner.Thomas Lawrencepainted a three quarter length portrait of Soane that hangs over the Dining Room fireplace.Soane acquired 15 drawings byGiovanni Battista Piranesi.A sketch of Soane's wife by Soane's friendJohn Flaxmanis framed and displayed in the museum.

Architectural drawings and architectural models

There are over 30,000architectural drawingsin the collection. Of Soane's drawings of his own designs (many are by his assistants and pupils, most notablyJoseph Gandy), there are 601 covering the Bank of England, 6,266 of his other works and 1,080 prepared for the Royal Academy lectures.There are an additional 423 Soane drawings in the collection of theVictoria and Albert Museum.

Other architects with drawings in the collection are byChristopher Wren,there are 8,856 drawings byRobert AdamandJames Adam,John Thorpesbook of architecture,George Dance the Elder's 293 and George Dance the younger's 1,303, housed in a specially designed cabinet,Sir William Chambers,James Playfair,Matthew Brettingham,Thomas Sandby, etc.There are a large number of Italian drawings.Of the 252architectural modelsin the collection, 118 are of Soane's own buildings.

Legal creation of the Museum

In 1833, he obtained anAct of Parliament,sponsored byJoseph Humeto bequeath the house and collection to the British Nation to be made into a museum of architecture, now theSir John Soane's Museum.George Soane,realising that if the museum was set up he would lose his inheritance, persuadedWilliam Cobbettto try and stop the bill, but failed.

Awards, official posts and recognition

• On 10 December 1772 Soane was awarded the Royal Academy's silver medal.
• On 10 December 1776 Soane was awarded the Royal Academy's gold medal.
• On 10 December 1777 Soane was awarded the Royal Academy's travelling scholarship.
• On 16 October 1788 Soane was appointed architect to the Bank of England
• On 2 November 1795 Soane was elected an AssociateRoyal Academician.
• On 21 May 1796 Soane was elected to theSociety of Antiquaries of London.
• In May 1800 Soane was one of the 280 proprietors of theRoyal Institution.
• On 10 February 1802 Soane was elected a Royal Academician of the Royal Academy.
• On 28 March 1806, Soane was made Professor of Architecture at the Royal Academy, a post which he held until his death.
• In 1810 Soane was made aJustice of the Peacefor the county ofMiddlesex.
• On 15 November 1821 Soane was elected aFellow of the Royal Society.
• On 21 September 1831, Soane received aknighthoodfrom KingWilliam IV.
• On 20 June 1835, Soane was presented by SirJeffry Wyattvillewith a gold medal, from the 'Architects of England', modelled byFrancis Leggatt Chantreyit showed the likeness of Soane on one side and the north-west corner of the Bank of England on the other.

Personal life

Marriage and children

Eliza Soane, holding her pet dog Fanny, painted byJohn Jackson.

Soane's sons, George and John, byWilliam Owen(1805).

On 24 June 1781 Soane leased rooms on the first floor of 53 Margaret Street,Westminster,for £40 per annum.It was here he would live for the first few years of his married life and where all his children would be born.In July 1783 he bought a greymarethat he stabled nearby.On 10 January 1784 Soane took a Miss Elizabeth Smith to the theatre, then on 7 February she took tea with Soane and friends, and they began attending plays and concerts together regularly.She was the niece and ward of a London builder George Wyatt, whom Soane would have known as he rebuilt Newgate Prison.They married on 21 August 1784 atChrist Church, Southwark.He always called his wife Eliza, and she would become his confidante.

Their first child, John, was born on 29 April 1786.His second son, George, was born just before Christmas 1787but the boy died just six months later. The third son, also called George, was born on 28 September 1789. Their final son, Henry, was born on 10 October 1790, but died the following year fromwhooping cough.

Soane's various houses

Sir John Soane's family tomb in theOld St Pancras churchyard(1816)

On the death of George Wyatt in February 1790 the Soanes inherited money and property, including a house in Albion Place,Southwark,where Soane moved his office.

On 30 June 1792 Soane purchased 12Lincoln's Inn Fieldsfor £2100.He demolished the existing house and rebuilt it to his own design, the Soanes moving in on 18 January 1794.By 1800 Soane was rich enough to purchasePitzhanger ManorEaling as a country retreat, for £4,500 on 5 September 1800.Apart from a wing designed by George Dance, Soane demolished the house and rebuilt it to his own design and was occupied by 1804,Soane used the manor to entertain friends and used to go fishing in the local streams.The building was not only designed to showcase Soane's work, but also as a pedagogical environment for his young son George, who Soane hoped would follow in his professional footsteps. Undeterred by his child's reluctance, Soane only grew more dedicated to establishing a professional legacy and established a formalised program of architecture education when he purchased his house at Lincoln's Inn Fields, in London.

In June 1808 Soane purchased 13 Lincoln's Inn Fields for £4,200, initially renting the house to its former owner and extending his office over the garden to the rear. On 17 July 1812 number 13 was demolished,the house was rebuilt and the Soanes moved in during October 1813.In 1823, Soane purchased 14 Lincoln's Inn Fields, he demolished the house, building the Picture Room attached to No. 13 over the site of the stables, in March 1825 he rebuilt the house to externally match No. 12.

Family problems

Soane hoped that one or both of his sons would also become architects. His purchase of Pitzhanger Manor was partially an inducement to this end. But both sons became increasingly wayward in their attitude and behaviour, showing not the slightest interest in architecture. John was lazy and suffered from ill health, whereas George had an uncontrollable temper. As a consequence Soane decided to sellPitzhangerin July 1810.

John was sent toMargatein 1811 to try to help his illness and it was here that he became involved with a woman called Maria Preston.Soane agreed reluctantly to John's and Maria's marriage on 6 June, on the agreement that her father would produce adowryof £2000, which failed to happen.Meanwhile, George who had been studying law atCambridge Universitydeveloped a friendship withJames Boaden.George developed a relationship with Boaden's daughter Agnes and one month after his brother's wedding married her on 5 July. He wrote to his mother 'I have married Agnes to spite you and father'.

George Soane tried to extort money from his father in March 1814 by demanding £350 per annum, and claiming he would otherwise be forced to become an actor.Agnes gave birth to twins in September, one child died shortly after. By November her husband George Soane had been imprisoned for debt and fraud. In January 1815 Eliza paid her son's debts and repaid the person he had defrauded to ensure his release from prison.

In 1815 an article was published in theChampionfor 10 to 24 September entitledThe Present Low State of the Arts in England and more particularly of Architecture.In the article Soane was singled out for personal attack; although anonymous it soon emerged that his son George had written the article. On 13 October, Mrs Soane wrote 'Those are George's doing. He has given me my death blow. I shall never be able to hold up my head again'. Soane's wife died on 22 November 1815, she had been suffering from ill health for some time.His wife's body was interred on 1 December in the churchyard ofSt Pancras Old Church.He wrote in his diary for that day 'The burial of all that is dear to me in this world, and all I wished to live for!'George and Agnes had another child, this time a son, Frederick (born 1815).

In 1816 Soane designed the tomb above the vault his wife was buried init is built fromCarrara marbleandPortland stone.The tomb avoids any Christian symbolism, the roof has a pine cone finial the symbol inAncient Egyptfor regeneration, below which is carved a serpent swallowing its own tail, symbol of eternity, there are also carvings of boys holding extinguished torches symbols of death.The inscription is:

Sacred to the Memory of Elizabeth, The Wife of John Soane, Architect She Died the 22nd November, 1815.
With Distinguished Talents She United an Amiable and Affectionate Heart.
Her Piety was Unaffected, Her Integrity Undeviating, Her Manners Displayed Alike Decision and Energy, Kindness and Suavity.
These, the Peculiar Characteristics of Her Mind, Remained Untainted by an Extensive Intercourse with the World.

The design of the tomb was a direct influence onGiles Gilbert Scott's design for thered telephone box.Soane's elder son John died on 21 October 1823, and was also buried in the vault. Maria, Soane's daughter-in-law, was now a widow with young children including a son also called John in need of support. So Soane set up atrustfund of £10,000 to support the family.

Soane found out in 1824 that his son George was living in aMénage à troiswith his wife and her sister by whom he had a child called George Manfred.Soane's grandson Fred and his mother were both subjected todomestic violenceby George Soane, including beatings and in Agnes's case being dragged by her hair from a room.Soane initially refused to help them while they remained living with his son, who was in debt. However, by February 1834 Soane relented and was paying Agnes £200 per annum, also paying for Fred's education. In the hope that Fred would become an architect, after he left school, Soane placed him with architectJohn Tarring.In January 1835 Tarring asked Soane to remove Fred,who was staying out late often in the company of a Captain Westwood, a known homosexual.Maria, Soane's daughter-in-law, lived until 1855 and is buried on the edge of the south roundel inBrompton Cemetery.

Personal beliefs, travels and health

On Monday 6 August 1810 Soane and his wife set off on a thirteen-day tour of England and Wales.They normally rose at five or six in the morning and would visit many towns and monuments a day. Starting inOxfordthey visitedNew College, Oxford,Merton College, Oxford,Blenheim PalaceandWoodstock, Oxfordshire,where they stayed the night.Next day they went toStratford-upon-AvonandShakespeare's Birthplace,Church of the Holy Trinity, Stratford-upon-Avon,to visitShakespeare's tomb,Kenilworth Castle,Warwick Castle,Whitley Abbey,Coventryand on toLichfield.They next travelled toLiverpool,staying for four nights at the Liverpool Arms nearLiverpool Town Hall.They attended a performance ofOthello,withGeorge Frederick CookeasIago.Among the people they visited was Soane's former assistantJoseph Gandy,then living in the city. Their son John was living and studying with Gandy, in a failed attempt to become an architect. They visitedJohn Foster (architect).Leaving Liverpool on Saturday 11 August, they crossed theRiver Merseyto theWirral Peninsulaand on toChesterwhere they saw the Rows and greatly admiredThomas Harrison's work atChester Castle.From Chester they visitedWrexham,andEllesmere, Shropshire.On Sunday they moved on toShrewsbury,visiting architect George Steuart'sSt Chad's Church.

On Monday 13 August they headed forCoalbrookdale,withThe Iron Bridgethen on toBuildwas Abbey.The journey continued down theRiver SeverntoBridgnorththenLudlowandLudlow Castle,andLeominster.On Wednesday 15 August, they were inHereford,where they visitedHereford Cathedraland the gaol designed by his friend John Nash.Continuing on they reachedRoss-on-Wye,from where they journeyed down theRiver Wyestopping atTintern Abbey,glimpsedPiercefield House– one of Soane's designs – and arrived inChepstow,before moving on toGloucester CathedralandGloucesterwhere they spent the night. The next day they headed forCheltenham,returning through theCotswolds,visitingNorthleachandWitney,where they spent their last night on the tour. Next day they travelled viaHigh WycombeandUxbridge,on to their home atPitzhanger ManorinEalingfor a day ofangling.They returned at nine o'clock at night on Monday, 17 August, to their home inLincoln's Inn Fields.

Soane was initiated on 1 December 1813 as afreemasonunder the newly establishedUnited Grand Lodge of England.By 1828 he had been given notable responsibilities for the fabric ofFreemasons' Hall,and had been appointed as a Grand Officer of UGLE, with the rank of Grand Superintendent of Works. A portrait depicting Soane in the regalia of this rank hangs in the collection at Sir John Soane's Museum, London.

Soane did not like organised religion and was aDeist.Soane was influenced by the ideas that belonged to theenlightenment,and had readVoltaire's andJean-Jacques Rousseau's works.He was taken ill on 27 December 1813 and was incapacitated until 28 March 1814, when he underwent an operation byAstley Cooperon his bladder to remove afistula.For the first time since his Grand Tour Soane decided to travel abroad, he set off on 15 August 1815 for Paris returning on 5 September.In the summer of 1816, a friend,Barbara Hofland,persuaded him to take a holiday inHarrogate,there they visitedKnaresborough,Plomptonand its rocks,Ripon,Newby Hall,Fountains AbbeyandStudley Royal Park,Castle Howard,Harewood HouseandMasham.

Soane visited Paris again in 1819, setting off on 21 August, he travelled viaDunkirk,AbbevilleandBeauvaisarriving in Paris.He stayed at 10 rue Vivienne, over the following days he visited, thePont de Neuilly,Les Invalides,Palais du Roi de Rome,Père Lachaise Cemetery,Étienne-Louis Boullée's chapel at Sainte-Roche, theArc de Triomphe,Vincennesand theChâteau de Vincennes,Sèvres,Saint-Cloud,Arcueilwith its ancientRoman aqueduct,Basilica of St Denis,Chamber of Deputies of France,Saint-Étienne-du-Mont,Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel,Musée du Louvre,Luxembourg Palace,Palace of Versailleswith theGrand TrianonandPetit Trianonwith itsHameau de la reine,Halle aux blés,Halle aux vins,Jardin des Plantes,Bassin de la Villettewith its Rotonde de la Villette byClaude Nicolas Ledoux,Tuileries Palace,Château de Malmaison,he failed to gain admission to theChâteau de Bagatelle,he travelled home viaAmiensandAmiens Cathedral,Abbeville, stopping off to visitCanterburyandCanterbury Cathedral.

On 24 December 1825 Soane underwent an operation to have acataractremoved from his eye.

In 1835 Soane had this to say: "Devoted to Architecture from my childhood, I have through my life pursued it with the enthusiasm of a passion."

Friends

12, 13 and 14Lincoln's Inn Fields

Soane counted many members of the Royal Academy as friends, includingJ. M. W. Turner,with whom he spent the Christmas after his wife's death;Soane also owned three works by the artist.John Flaxman,professor of sculpture at the Royal Academy, was an old friend and Soane also acquired several plaster-casts of Flaxman's work for his museum. Soane also countedThomas Banksas a friend (and owned sculptures by him),andThomas Lawrence,who painted Soane's portrait.Despite the professional falling-out with his old master, George Dance the Younger, they remained firm friends. After Dance's death Soane purchased his drawings. After the death of his other teacher,Henry Holland,Soane tried to buy his drawings and papers, but found they had been destroyed; he did however purchase some of his antique sculptures.Despite being professional rivals, Soane got on with fellow architectJohn Nash;they often dined together.Soane called onWilliam Thomas Beckfordboth in London and when he was taking the waters inBathin 1829.Soane had other friends includingJames Perry,Thomas Leverton Donaldson,Barbara HoflandandRowland Burdon,whose friendship was formed while on the Grand Tour.

Death and funeral

The grave of Maria Preston, widow of John Soane Jr. and Sir John Soane's daughter-in-law, at Brompton Cemetery

Soane died a widower, estranged from his surviving son, George, whom he felt had betrayed him, having contributed to his wife's death. Having caught a chill, Soane died in 13 Lincoln's Inn Fields at half past three on Friday 20 January 1837.Hisobituaryappeared inThe Timeson Monday 23 January. Following a private funeral service, at his own request 'plain without ostentation or parade',he was buried in the same vault as his wife and elder son.

Within days of his father's death George Soane, left an annuity of £52 per annum, challenged Soane's will. Soane stated that he was left so little because 'his general misconduct and constant opposition to my wishes evinced in the general tenor of his life'. To his daughter-in-law Agnes he left £40 per annum 'not to be subject to the debts or control of her said husband'.The grounds for overthrowing the will were that his father was insane. On 1 August 1837 the judge at thePrerogative courtrejected the challenge. George appealed but on 26 November dropped his suit.

Pupils and assistants

From 1784 Soane took a new pupil on roughly ever other year,these were:J. Adams, George Bailey,George Basevi,S. Burchell, H. Burgess, J. Buxton,Robert Dennis Chantrell,Thomas Chawner, F. Copland, E. Davis, E. Foxall, J.H. Good, Thomas Jeans,David Laing,Thomas Lee,C. Malton, John McDonnell, Arthur Patrick Mee, Frederick Meyer,David Mocatta,Henry Parke,Charles Edward Ernest Papendiek,David Richardson, W.E. Rolfe,John Sanders(his first pupil, taken on 1 September 1784),Henry Hake Seward,Thomas Sword, B.J. Storace, Charles Tyrrell and Thomas Williams. His most famous and successful pupil wasSir Robert Smirke(who, as a consequence of a personality contradictory to that of Soane, stayed less than a year).

Among the more renowned architects who attended Soane's lectures at the Royal Academy, but weren't actually articled to him as a studentwasDecimus Burton,who was one of the most famous and most successful architects of the 19th century.Other successful architects who as students attended the lectures wereJames Pennethorne,George Gilbert Scott,Owen JonesandHenry Roberts.

Soane's main assistants he employed at various times were:Joseph Gandy,who prepared many of the perspective drawings of Soane's designs, Christopher Ebdon, J.W. Hiort, G.E. Ives, William Lodder, R. Morrison, D. Paton,George Allen UnderwoodandGeorge Wightwick.

The office routine for both assistants and pupils was in summer to work from seven in the morning to seven at night Monday to Saturday and in winter eight to eight, often assistants and pupils would be sent out to supervise building work on site.Students would be given time off to study at the Royal Academy and for holidays.The Students' room at the museum still exists, it is amezzanineat the rear of the building, lined with two long wooden benches with stools, surrounded by plaster casts ofclassical architecturaldetails and lit by a longskylight.The students were trained in surveying, measuring, costing, superintendence and draftsmanship, normally a student stayed for five to seven years.

As an example Robert Dennis Chantrell's indentures were signed on 14 January 1807 just after he was fourteen (a typical age to join the office), his apprenticeship was to last for seven years, at a cost of one hundredGuineas(early in Soane's career he charged £50 and this grew to 175 guineas),Soane would provide 'board, lodgings and wearing apparel'; Chantrell only arrived in the office on 15 June 1807. It was normal to serve a probationary period of a few weeks.

In 1788 Soane defined the professional responsibility of an architect:

The business of the architect is to make the designs and estimates, to direct the works and to measure and value the different parts; he is the intermediate agent between the employer, whose honour and interest he is to study, and the mechanic, whose rights he is to defend. His situation implies great trust; he is responsible for the mistakes, negligences, and ignorances of those he employs; and above all, he is to take care that the workmen's bills do not exceed his own estimates. If these are the duties of an architect, with what propriety can his situation and that of the builder, or the contractor be united?

Soane's published writings

Soane published several books related to architecture and an autobiography:

• Designs in Architecture, Consisting of Plans for Temples, Baths, Casines, Pavilions, Garden-Seats, Obelisks and Other Buildings,1778, 2nd Edition 1797
• Plans, Elevations and Sections of Buildings Erected in the Counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, etc.,1788
• Sketches in Architecture Containing Plans of Cottages, Villas and Other Useful Buildings,1793
• Plans, Elevations and Perspective Views of Pitzhanger Manor House,1802
• Designs for Public and Private Buildings,1828
• Descriptions of the House and Museum Lincoln's Inn Fields,editions: 1830, 1832 and 1835–6
• Memoirs of the Professional Life of an Architect,1835
  The director of the Soane Museum, Arthur T. Bolton, edited and published Soane's twelve Royal Academy lectures in 1929 asLectures on Architecture by Sir John Soane.

Selected list of architectural works

• 
  Letton Hall, 1783
• 
  Tendring Hall, 1784, the remaining porch after demolition in 1955
• 
  Ryston Hall, remodelled 1786
• 
  Cricket St. Thomas House, 1786
• 
  Piercefield House, 1788–93
• 
  Bentley Priory, 1788–1801, shown c.1800; it was later remodelled
• 
  Yellow Drawing Room, Wimpole Hall, 1791–93
• 
  Plunge Pool, Wimpole Hall, 1791–93
• 
  Home Farm, Wimpole Hall, 1793
• 
  Gatehouse, Tyringham, 1792
• 
  Tyringham Hall, 1793–1800
• 
  Bank of England rotunda, 1794
• 
  Lothbury Court, Bank of England, 1797–1800
• 
  The Barn, Malvern Hall, 1798
• 
  Aynho Park, Northamptonshire, remodelled 1798
• 
  Gateway at Pitzhanger Manor, c.1803
• 
  Simeon Monument,Market Place, Reading, 1804
• 
  Bank of England 'Tivoli Corner', 1805
• 
  Moggerhanger, entrance front, 1809
• 
  Belfast, Royal Belfast Academical Institution, 1809–14
• 
  Dulwich Picture Gallery, 1811–17
• 
  Entrance, Dulwich Picture Gallery, 1811–17
• 
  Interior of the Mausoleum, Dulwich Picture Gallery, 1811–17
• 
  Interior of the lantern of the Mausoleum, Dulwich Picture Gallery, 1811–17
• 
  Dulwich Picture Gallery, 1811–17
• 
  The Dome, Soane Museum, 1813
• 
  Bank of England, main facade on Threadneedle Street, 1818–27
• 
  Dividend Office, Bank of England, 1818–27
• 
  Wotton House, Buckinghamshire, remodelled 1820
• 
  Pellwall House, Staffordshire, 1822
• 
  St Peter's Walworth, west front, 1822–23
• 
  St Peter's Walworth, south side, 1822–23
• 
  St Peter's Walworth, interior looking east, 1822–23
• 
  Former Treasury, Whitehall, 1823–24
• 
  Holy Trinity Church, Marylebone, west front, 1824–26
• 
  St John, Bethnal Green, 1826–28

• Aynhoe Park,Aynho,Northamptonshire (1799–1804); remodelled the interior
• Bank of England,London (1788–1833)
• Chillington Hall,Staffordshire (1785–89); remodelled.
• Cricket House,Somerset (1794 and 1801–04)
• Dulwich Picture Gallery,London (1811–14)
• Freemasons' Hall, London(1828); demolished 1864.
• Holy Trinity Church, Marylebone(1826–27)
• Honing Hall,Norfolk
• KelshallRectory, Hertfordshire (1788)
• Moggerhanger House,Bedfordshire (1809–11)
• Pell Wall Hall,Market Drayton,Shropshire (1822–28)
• Piercefield House,Monmouthshire, Wales (1785–83)
• Pitzhanger Manor,Ealing (1800–03)
• Royal Belfast Academical Institution(1809–14)
• Royal Hospital Chelsea(1809–17)
• Ryston Hall,Norfolk (1780), alterations
• St. John's Church, Bethnal Green(1826–28)
• St Peter's Church, Walworth(1823–24)
• Soane Museum, Lincoln's Inn Fields,a museum (originally Soane's home); various remodellings from 1792 to 1824
• South Hill Park,Berkshire (1801)
• Tyringham Hall,Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire (1793–1800)
• Wimpole Hall,Arrington, Royston, Cambridgeshire (1791–93)
• Wokefield Park,Berkshire (1788–89)
• Wotton House,Buckinghamshire (1821–22)

References

• Bingham, Neil, (2011)Masterworks Architecture at the Royal Academy of Arts,Royal Academy of Arts,ISBN978-1-905711-83-3
• Bradley, Simon, and Pevsner, Nikolaus, (1997)Buildings of England: London 1 The City of London,Penguin Books,ISBN0-14-071092-2
• Buzas, Stefan and Richard Bryant,Sir John Soane's Museum, London,(Tübingen: Wasmuth, 1994)
• Cole, David, (1980).The Work of Sir Gilbert Scott,The Architectural Press,ISBN0-85139-723-9
• Colvin, Howard, 2nd Edition (1978)A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1600–1840,John Murray,ISBN0-7195-3328-7
• Chaney, Edward, 2nd Edition (2000)The Evolution of the Grand Tour: Anglo-Italian Cultural Relations since the Renaissance,Routledge,ISBN0-7146-4474-9
• Curl, James Stevens,(1999)A Dictionary of Architecture,Oxford University Press,ISBN0-19-280017-5
• Curl, James Stevens, (1983)The Life and Works of Henry Roberts 1803–1876,Philimore,ISBN0-85033-446-2
• Darley, Gillian, (1999)John Soane An Accidental Romantic, Yale University Press,ISBN978-0-300-08165-7
• de la Ruffinière du Prey, Pierre, (1982)John Soane the Making of an Architect,Chicago University Press,ISBN0-226-17299-6
• de la Ruffinière du Prey, Pierre, (1985)Sir John Soane Catalogues of Architectural Drawings in the Victoria and Albert Museum,Victoria and Albert Museum,ISBN0-948107-00-6
• Dorey, Helen, et al., (1991) 9th Revised EditionA New Description of Sir John Soane's Museum,The Trustees of the Sir John Soane's Museum
• Dorey, Helen, et al., (2018) 13th Revised EditionA Complete Description of Sir John Soane's Museum,The Trustees of the Sir John Soane's Museum
• Feinberg, Susan G.The Genesis of Sir John Soane's Museum Idea: 1801–1810Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, vol. 43, no. 4 (October 1984): pp. 225–237
• Flores, Carol A. Hrvol (2006),Owen Jones: Design, Ornament, Architecture and Theory in an Age in TransitionRizzoli International,ISBN978-0-847-82804-3
• Knox, Tim, (2009)Sir John Soane's Museum London,Merrell,ISBN978-1-85894-475-3
• Kostof, Spiro (Editor), (2000) 2nd EditionArchitect Chapters in the History of the Profession,University of California,ISBN978-0-520-22604-3
• Lever, Jill, (2003)Catalogue of the Drawings of George Dance the Younger (1741–1825) and of George Dance the Elder (1695–1768) from the Collection of Sir John Soane's Museum,Azimuth Editions,ISBN1-898592-25-X
• Port, M.H., (2006)Six Hundred New Churches: The Church Building Commission 1818–1856,2nd Ed, Yale University Press,ISBN978-1-904965-08-4
• Reid, Rosamund, (1996)The Architectural Work of George Wightwick in Plymouth and the County of Devonin Volume 128 of The Transactions of the Devonshire Association
• Richardson, Margaret, and Stevens, Mary Anne (Editors), (1999)John Soane Architect Master of Light and Space, The Royal Academy of Arts,ISBN0-900946-80-6
• Schumann-Cacia, Eva, (1991)John Soane and The Bank of England,Longman,ISBN1-85454-056-4
• Soane, John, (1929)Lectures on Architectureedited by Arthur T. Bolton, Sir John Soane's Museum
• Stroud, Dorothy, (1961)The Architecture of Sir John Soane,Studio Books Ltd
• Stroud, Dorothy, (1966)Henry Holland His Life and Architecture,Country Life
• Stroud, Dorothy, (1984)Sir John Soane Architect,Faber & Faber,ISBN0-571-13050-X
• Summerson, John,(1966)The Fortieth Volume of the Walpole Society 1964–1965, The Book of John Thorpe in Sir John Soane's Museum,TheWalpole Society
• Tait, A.A., (2008)The Adam Brothers in Rome: Drawings from the Grand Tour,Scala Publishers Ltd,ISBN978-1-85759-574-1
• Tyack, Geoffrey, (1992)Sir James Pennethorne and the making of Victorian London,Cambridge University Press,ISBN978-0-521-394345
• Waterfield, Giles (Editor), (1996)Soane and Death,Dulwich Picture Gallery,ISBN978-1-898519-08-9
• Watkin, David, (1996)Sir John Soane Enlightenment Thought and the Royal Academy Lectures,Cambridge University Press,ISBN0-521-44091-2
• Webster, Christopher, (2010)R.D. Chanterell (1793–1872) and the Architecture of a Lost Generation,Spire Books Ltd,ISBN978-1-904965-22-0
• Whitbourn Philip, (2003)Decimus Burton Esquire Architect and Gentleman (1800–1830),The Royal Tunbridge Wells Civic Society,ISBN0-9545343-0-1

External links

• "Soane, John".Dictionary of National Biography.London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
• Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911)."Soane, Sir John".Encyclopædia Britannica(11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
• Sir John Soane's Museum
• Catalogue of Library and Museum
• John Soane & the Palace of Westminster – UK Parliament Living Heritage
• Parliamentary Archives, John Soane