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Lot Essay
Sir John Soane (1753 1837) the son of a bricklayer, rose to prominence following his travels to Italy during the 1780s and his architectural training by George Dance junior (1741-1825). His highly successful career included his appointment as architect for the new Bank of England and his subsequent Knighthood, awarded in 1832.
Soane, from 1820 until his retirement, was occupied almost entirely with official work and only two noteworthy private commissions Wotton and Pell Wall were squeezed into a demanding programme which sprang to life with the accession of George IV.
When Soane published his Designs for Public and Private Buildings in 1828, he wrote of Pell Wall 'that in composing the Plans of this Villa, my best energies have been exerted, intending that when it was completed my professional labours should cease.' Thus Pell Wall is the culmination of Soanes career as a domestic architect. To mark this he commissioned his draughtsmen J. Gandy and C.J. Richardson to record the house with watercolour perspectives, these have survived and show the chimneypiece in situ.
Soane's client at Pell Wall was Purney Sillitoe (1772-1855) who became a great friend of Soane and a regular visitor to Soane's house at Lincolns Inn. Sillitoe was an iron merchant acting as a middleman for the booming Shropshire iron works, with the Napoleonic wars bringing great prosperity for him. Building started in 1822 and by the following year the shell was finished. In his Public and Private Buildings, Soane declared of Pell Wall Hall that 'the materials used in this work are of the best and durable kind the construction as substantial as possible and the interior finishings and fittings keep pace with the exterior.' Sillitoe was a regular visitor to the site, swaying between optimism and pessimism at the progress or lack of it by his builder, John Carline. However, by 1826 his chimneypieces were being installed and on the 3rd August he wrote to Soane 'He is very pleased with all the chimney-pieces and grates. The cost was £68 for the marble and £19 for the 'solid metal mouldings'.
A drawing, most likely by Richardson, in the Sir John Soane Museum archives shows the chimneypiece in situ with a gilt mirror above (illustrated).
Soane, from 1820 until his retirement, was occupied almost entirely with official work and only two noteworthy private commissions Wotton and Pell Wall were squeezed into a demanding programme which sprang to life with the accession of George IV.
When Soane published his Designs for Public and Private Buildings in 1828, he wrote of Pell Wall 'that in composing the Plans of this Villa, my best energies have been exerted, intending that when it was completed my professional labours should cease.' Thus Pell Wall is the culmination of Soanes career as a domestic architect. To mark this he commissioned his draughtsmen J. Gandy and C.J. Richardson to record the house with watercolour perspectives, these have survived and show the chimneypiece in situ.
Soane's client at Pell Wall was Purney Sillitoe (1772-1855) who became a great friend of Soane and a regular visitor to Soane's house at Lincolns Inn. Sillitoe was an iron merchant acting as a middleman for the booming Shropshire iron works, with the Napoleonic wars bringing great prosperity for him. Building started in 1822 and by the following year the shell was finished. In his Public and Private Buildings, Soane declared of Pell Wall Hall that 'the materials used in this work are of the best and durable kind the construction as substantial as possible and the interior finishings and fittings keep pace with the exterior.' Sillitoe was a regular visitor to the site, swaying between optimism and pessimism at the progress or lack of it by his builder, John Carline. However, by 1826 his chimneypieces were being installed and on the 3rd August he wrote to Soane 'He is very pleased with all the chimney-pieces and grates. The cost was £68 for the marble and £19 for the 'solid metal mouldings'.
A drawing, most likely by Richardson, in the Sir John Soane Museum archives shows the chimneypiece in situ with a gilt mirror above (illustrated).