Sir John Soane, born 1753 in Goring Berkshire, emerged as one of Britain’s most celebrated architects. Son of a bricklayer, no doubt providing familial foundations for his soaring career, he became a ‘pupil’ of leading architect George Dance the Younger (Mansion House, Newgate Gaol) and later of Henry Holland (Marine, later Brighton, Pavilion). Enjoying such auspicious direction, he was destined to shine and shine he did, the foremost architect of the Regency age. He designed and enlarged the Bank of England (1788-1833), and such was its magnificence that it was often lit up during moments of celebration - such as the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815. On the back of his achievements, he acquired number 12 Lincoln’s Inn Fields which he rebuilt & enlarged as his ‘home office’, until it subsumed the two houses next door, providing necessary space for his burgeoning reputation, wealth and the trappings they brought. As the years rolled on, Sir John turned his increasingly personal museum into a ‘living history’ of architecture, styles, objects and art, tangible tuition for students of his work and source of awe for his fascinated admirers. It remains today in that noble state, quite as he left it, still open to the public who are informed, entertained and many left aghast. Soane had risen, even as his constructions had risen, from his rumoured beginnings as a hod carrier for his father, while he died aged 83 in 1837, missing what he would probably have thought a tasteless Victorians era. *Now license this image for full commercial use for just £10 #history #authors #scanned #creatives #art #drawings #architecture #people #soanemuseum #londonlife #lincolnsinn
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