It had stopped raining and the sun was out. I was off again on Phyllis the Bike to the station to have another day in London. First to the Wellcome Collection to have a second look at the exhibition on Tibet's Secret Temple and a coffee. Then after lunch with the lovely girl I planned to visit Lincoln's Inn Fields, the largest public square in London, which dates from the 1630s, and is home to the Sir John Soane Museum. http://www.soane.org/. The museum is the white building on the left of this photo.
Sir John (10 September 1753 – 20 January 1837) was a celebrated and prominent architect. The son of a bricklayer, he rose to the top of his profession, becoming professor of architecture at the Royal Academy, where earlier he had been educated, and from which he had gained a scholarship to Italy for two years. His best-known work was the Bank of England, a building which had a widespread effect on commercial architecture, and which cemented his reputation. He also designed one of our favourite places, The Dulwich Picture Gallery.
His museum comprises his former home and office, which comprise three of the original adjacent houses which he aquired over time. Left untouched at Sir John's request, the museum displays the art works and architectural artefacts that he collected during his frequent European trips. These include Greek and Roman bronzes and sculptures, Roman mosaics, Greek ceramics as well as Medieval tiles and glass. Sir John also acquired eighteenth century Chinese ceramics and Peruvian pottery.
His paintings include works by Canaletto and Hogarth’s eight canvases of the Rake’s Progress and Humours of an Election. Sir John also acquired three works by his friend J M W Turner.
There are also over 30,000 architectural drawings in the collection. These pertain to himself and other contemporaries including Sir Christopher Wren.
Sir John purchased 12 Lincoln’s Inn Fields for £2100 in 1792, having acquired a legacy from the guardian of his heiress wife, Elizabeth (Eliza) Smith. The pair had met in 1784 and they soon became close. They had began married life in Margaret Street, Westminster, for £40 per annum, where all their children were born. (Several decades later the first female British doctor lived in the same street disguised all her life as Dr James Barry; read more at http://carrying-on-as-best-i-can.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/medical-tour-2.html )
The young couple's first child, John, was born on 29 April 1786. The second son, George was born just before Christmas 1787 but died just six months later. The third son, also called George, was born on 28 September 1789, and their final son Henry was born on 10 October 1790. This youngest son died the following year from Pertussis, a dreaded illness of the past against which we can now vaccinate.
To me the house, I am sorry to say, felt too cluttered and his message fell mainly on stony ground. Two images did however capture me. For some reason I was drawn to family tragedies. Firstly to this 'Model for the monument to Penelope, daughter of Sir Brooke Boothby in Ashbourne Church, Derbyshire', by Thomas Banks, plaster 1791-93. It is so beautiful and life like.
I needed to investigate the story behind this. Doing so, I realised I could visit the actual tomb in St Oswald's, Ashbourne on my next trip to Macclesfield and Lichfield. This is the tale.
Sir Brooke Boothby, (1744–1824) was a linguist, translator, poet and landowner, based in Derbyshire.. He was part of the intellectual and literary circle of Lichfield, our old stomping ground. He was a contemporary of Erasmus Darwin and Rousseau.
Several portraits were also made of Sir Brooke's only daughter, Penelope, one by Sir Joshua Reynolds. Often called "The Mob Cap", it is one of the most famous of English child portraits. On 19 March 1791, disaster struck when Penelope died at the age of five. This tragic event permanently affected Sir Brooke and his wife and he subsequently published a book of poetry, Sorrows Sacred to the Memory of Penelope.
Well has thy classick chisel, Banks express'd
The graceful lineaments of that fine form,
Which late with conscious, living beauty warm,
Now here beneath does in dread silence rest.
And, oh, while life shall agitate my breast,
Recorded there exists her every charm,
In vivid colours, safe from change or harm,
Till my last sigh unalter'd love attest.
That form, as fair as ever fancy drew,
The marble cold, inanimate, retains;
But of the radiant smile that round her threw
Joys, that beguiled my soul of mortal pains,
And each divine expression's varying hue,
A little senseless dust alone remains
Sir Brooke had the remarkable tomb constructed for Penelope which included a life-size statue of her sleeping. It is considered to be a materpiece. Exquisite and highly realistic, it is made from Italian marble. The connection between the model and the Sir John Museum and the tomb is not clear to me.
Sir Brooke's life went into decline after his daughter's death. After Penelope's funeral, his wife Susanna returned to her parent's home in Hampshire and settled in Dover. Her death was recorded under her maiden name, Bristoe. Clearly, the tragedy had unfortunate and lasting repurcusions. In addition, Sir Brooke, who had had an extravagant life style suffered economic ruin.
The next image to capture me was William Owen's portrait of John and George Soane, 1805.
I found a sadness in the eyes of the older boy, John and a light hearted compassion in George. The volunteer in the room confirmed that the brothers were close. The rest of their story shocked and saddened me and really drew me in.
Sir John had hoped that one or both of his sons would also become architects, but both became increasingly 'wayward' in their attitude and behaviour, showing not the slightest interest in architecture. I feel for them. I have friends who were told what to do and pushed about their parents. This horrifies me. My parents left me alone to do what I wished and be what I wanted. This is not to say there were not pressures. Mine was the post war 'baby boomer' generation; all had the chance of a university education for the first time. The responsibility was implicit and acutely felt.
The elder son John was said to be 'lazy', but also suffered from ill health, probably TB. George had an 'uncontrollable temper' (I wonder why). John was sent to Margate in 1811 to try and help his illness and it was here that he became involved with a woman called Maria Preston. Sir John agreed reluctantly to John's and Maria's marriage, on the agreement that her father would produce a dowry of £2000. This never materialised.
Meanwhile, George who had been studying law at Cambridge developed a friendship with James Boaden. He started a relationship with Boaden's daughter Agnes and one month after his brother's wedding married. He wrote to his mother 'I have married Agnes to spite you and father'. George 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. (Shock, horror!) Agnes gave birth to twins in September, one child died shortly afterwards. By November her husband 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 September,1815 an article was published in the Champion entitled The 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. Eliza declared ' He has given me my death blow. I shall never be able to hold up my head again'. She died on 22 November 1815, having suffering from ill health for some time. She was interred in the churchyard of St Pancras Old Church. Sir John designed the tomb above the vault in which his wife is buried. Interestingly, the tomb avoids any reference to Christianity. John was a Deist. The design of the tomb was a direct influence on the design for the red telephone box! Sir John 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!'. He took the death very badly. Although he was absent a lot and probably self obsessed, this suited Eliza and they had, I believe, a happy marriage.
The elder son John died on 21 October 1823, and was also buried in the vault. Maria, the daughter-in-law, was now a widow with young children including a son also called John, in need of support. So Sir John set up a trust fund of £10,000 to support the family.
Sir John found out in 1824 that his son George was living in an unorthodox set up with his wife and her sister by whom he had a child called George Manfred, as well as his own son, Fred. John's grandson and his mother were both subjected to domestic violence by George, including beatings and in Agnes's case being dragged by her hair from a room. John refused to help them while they remained living with his son, who was in debt. However, by February 1834 he relented and was paying Agnes £200 per annum. He was also paying for Fred's education, in the hope that Fred would become an architect. When Fred left school, John placed him with architect John Tarring. However, in January 1835 Tarring asked Sir John to remove Fred, who was staying out late often in the company of a Captain Westwood, a known homosexual. (Shock, horror!) I am making a modern interpretation of all of this: it is the fall out from a controlling father. This is opinion and conjecture, it warrants further investigation at the British Library.
In 1833, Sir John obtained an Act of Parliament, to bequeath the house and collection to the British Nation in order that it be made into a museum. He was disappointed that his sons did not take it up as a going concern. George Soane, realising that if the museum was set up he would lose his inheritance, tried stop the bill, but failed.
Sir John Soane died a widower, estranged from his surviving son George, whom he felt had betrayed him, and contributed to his wife's death. Having caught a chill, he passed away in 13 Lincoln's Inn Field on 20 January 1837. Following a private funeral which, at his own request was '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 the will. Sir John stated that George 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 rejected the challenge. George appealed but soon dropped his suit. George died in 1860 having made a meagre living as a writer.
A sorry tale. I intend to learn more about this family. Reflecting on Penelope, it is clear that wealth does not buy happiness. The child had a marble tomb but the family was destroyed.
I should mention that a decent cup of tea, with a reduction for museum visitors can be had at
http://www.benugo.com/restaurants/fields-bar-kitchen where this research was performed.
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