Alan Borg, ‘Theodore Jacobsen and the building of the ...Jacobsen, were initially elected. In practice only around ten regularly attended the General Committee; Jacobsen remained

text © the authors 2003

Alan Borg, ‘Theodore Jacobsen and the building of the Foundling Hospital’, The Georgian Group Journal, Vol. xII, 2002, pp. 12–53

Theodore Jacobsen (c.–)was responsiblefor designing a number of important public

buildings, including East India House, the FoundlingHospital, the Royal Hospital at Haslar, and TrinityCollege, Dublin (Fig. ). He advised on and mademajor modifications to George Sampson’s plans forthe new Bank of England. He built himself a countryhouse in Surrey and he left plans for an unusualtriangular house, which may relate to additions andalterations carried out at Longford Castle inWiltshire. Among his unexecuted projects was aHouse for the recently formed Society of Antiquariesof London. He is often referred to as an amateurarchitect, although the term gentleman architect,proposed by Howard Colvin, seems more accurate,

and his projects were certainly prestigious.Jacobsen’s career and designs are surveyed

elsewhere; this paper is solely concerned with hiswork for the Foundling Hospital, which is particularlyfully documented. Although he was identified as thearchitect in The History of The Foundling Hospital in, that work also disclosed that three otherarchitects competed unsuccessfully in , but didnot name them. This article reveals that they wereJohn James, George Dance and George Sampson,and establishes that the architect John Sanderson wasthe surveyor before James Horne, and had himselfproduced a design in January ; as had GeorgeDance. Thereafter Sanderson had the bricklayingcontract. It shows that Horne, who was alsoresponsible for some practical design details, hadbeen succeeded as surveyor by Henry Keene by May. The elevations of the forecourt colonnades

were drawn, and perhaps designed by Keene. Itidentifies all the other building contractors, and anappendix lists the unsuccessful tenderers as well. Italso reveals that John Spencer, the carpenter, wassurveyor to the Antiquaries’ House in . It datesHudson’s portrait of Jacobsen. It sets out the processby which Jacobsen was appointed and shows that hedesigned all the separate blocks up to , endingspeculation, for instance, that the chapel was designedby someone else.

The origins of the Foundling Hospital are wellknown. Captain Thomas Coram, who had spentmuch of his life developing trade and settlement inthe American Colonies, retired to London, but,shocked by the plight of abandoned children in thecapital, set about establishing a Hospital to receivehomeless infants, where they might be safely broughtup and given a useful education. He secured thesupport of numerous members of the aristocracy andgentry, petitioned the King in and secured aRoyal Charter to establish the Hospital in .

One of the original signatories named in theCharter was Theodore Jacobsen. Of Germandescent, he was a successful merchant in theSteelyard, the London headquarters of the Hanseatictrade. His interest in and knowledge of architecturehad already been displayed when his proposals forrebuilding East India House, the Company’sheadquarters, had been accepted in . Despitebeing involved in a lengthy legal dispute with theHanse towns, his business activities clearly left himwell off and with enough leisure to pursue otherinterests. The new Foundling Hospital was among

THEODORE JACOBSEN AND THE BUILDING OF THE FOUNDLING HOSPITAL

T H E G E O R G I A N G R O U P J O U R N A L V O L U M E X I I I

A L A N B O R G

T H E O D O R E J A C O B S E N A N D T H E B U I L D I N G O F T H E F O U N D L I N G H O S P I TA L


Fig. . Thomas Hudson,Theodore Jacobsen, ,presented to theFoundling Hospital bythe artist. By courtesy of the Trusteesof the Foundling Museum.

pipes, etc.”. Curiously, nothing more is heard ofSanderson’s plan, but at the same meeting ( January) the Committee “received a Plan from Mr GeorgeDance for a new Hospital of a square of feetwithin the Walls with a Collonade all round, and anarea of feet between the columns and to containWards; which he estimated to cost £, andcomputed that in the Wards Beds may beconveniently placed”.This was George Dance senior,Clerk of Works to the City of London, who had justcompleted his best-known work, the Mansion House.

It soon became clear that there were objections tothe Montagu House scheme, not least that the Dukemight not be entitled to sanction the proposedconversion. Moreover, an alternative proposal was tohand, for the Earl of Salisbury was prepared to sell hisfields “against Great Ormond Street” as the site for anew building. It was therefore “Resolved that it is theopinion of this Committee not at present to engage inbuilding”, and other Governors, including CaptainCoram, were deputed to negotiate the purchase of theland. At a meeting on October the GeneralCommittee was “empowered to purchase of the earl ofSalisbury his two pasture fields, containing thirty fouracres of land on the north side of Ormond Street,between Lamb’s Conduit and Southampton Row fora scite to build an Hospital upon”.

A temporary home for the charity was found in ahouse belonging to Sir Fisher Tench in HattonGarden. In December , the Committee directedfour Governors, Captain Coram, Theodore Jacobsen,Robert Nesbitt and Nathaniel Newnham to view itand see what was necessary to be done to the house.The composition of this group is interesting, in viewof the dramatic dispute which broke out amongst thegoverning body less than a year later. The report onthe property was favourable and a lease was taken outon it. Staff were engaged and the first foundlingsadmitted in April . At the same time negotiationsproceeded for the purchase of the Earl of Salisbury’sfields and a satisfactory price of £, was agreedfor four fields, comprising acres, with the Earl

the most important of these activities. He was one ofthirty people present at the first recorded meeting ofthe charity in November , and contributed £

as a founding Governor.Thereafter Jacobsen was among the most active

Governors and attended meetings regularly for thenext eighteen years. All Governors were members ofthe Court, which met four times a year, but the day-to-day business was conducted by the GeneralCommittee, meeting fortnightly and often morefrequently, to which fifty Governors, includingJacobsen, were initially elected. In practice onlyaround ten regularly attended the General Committee;Jacobsen remained a member of it until April ,hardly ever missing a meeting, apart from a gap ofsome three months in the winter of /.

The new Charity needed a home and the firstmeetings were devoted to finding one. The Duke ofMontagu offered to lease Montagu House (latertaken by the British Museum) and in December

Jacobsen was one of those sent, with John Sanderson,already the Hospital’s surveyor, to view it and assessthe cost of conversion. This immediately introducesus to the closely-knit world of architects, surveyors,and craftsmen, for Jacobsen would also work withSanderson on Trinity College, Dublin, together withanother who would be later involved with thebuilding of the Hospital, Henry Keene.

The General Committee also called for informationto be collected about similar establishments abroad,including those in Paris and Amsterdam, and inJanuary Sanderson was requested to view otherhospitals, as well as to estimate for the cost ofconversion of Montagu House. He concluded thatrepairs to the house would cost £, s d, andredoing the rooms a further £, but that the resultwould provide beds. Already the idea of a purpose-built Hospital was being discussed and Sandersonproduced his own plan for a new building, to containas many beds as the conversion of Montagu House.He estimated this to cost £,, “besides alloutside paveing, fence, walling, draines, shores, lead



Consideration upon Monday next the th instant ateleven in the forenoon precisely, and that the Secretarydo send a particular Summons to every Member ofthis Committee to attend upon this Occasionacquainting them with the Business.

Seventeen members (including Captain Coram)attended the next meeting but, before the report wasconsidered, Jacobsen and Martin Folkes, a VicePresident, withdrew. It was

Resolved, nemine contradicente, that after the strictestExamination and Inquiry it appears to this Committeethat the Information given by Mary Rayner and otherslate Nurses in this Hospital containing severalscandalous Insinuations and Aspersions upon MartinFolkes and Theodore Jacobsen Esquires, two of theGovernors of this Hospital are Unjust, False,Groundless and Malicious. Resolved that thepromoting and spreading of Accusations orAspersions upon the Characters of Gentlemen whoare diligent in the Execution of this Charity tends tothe ruin of it, by preventing their attendance. Resolvedthat it appears to this Committee that Mr ThomasCoram one of the Governors of this Hospital has beenprincipally concerned in promoting and spreading thesaid Aspersions on the said two Governors. Resolvedthat it appears to this Committee that Dr Nesbittanother of the Governors of this Hospital was veryearly acquainted by Mary Rayner and other Nurseswith the said Aspersions and did not take Measuresproper to discountenance the same contrary to what inJustice was due to the Governors of this Hospital andthe Character of the Gentlemen aspersed. Resolvedthat the diligent and constant Attendance of MartinFolkes and Theodore Jacobsen Esquires, two of theGovernors of this Hospital, and their indefatigableZeal in the Execution of their Trust have been highlybeneficial to this Charity and deserve the Thanks of allwho wish well to it, and that the Thanks of thisCommittee be returned accordingly, and that thisCommittee hope they will continue to act in the sameManner. They being satisfied nothing can contributemore to the Welfare and Prosperity of the Hospital.Resolved that the Papers this Day read to theCommittee from the Gentlemen to whom it wasreferred to inquire into the Promoters of the beforementioned reports be sealed up by Mr Milner, MrFolkes, and Mr Burrell, Vice Presidents, and be keptby the Secretary.

making a donation of £ to the charity, thus reducingthe price to £,.

Shortly after this a dispute occurred, involvingJacobsen, which resulted in a permanent rift betweenThomas Coram and the rest of the Governors. Asnoted above, Coram and Jacobsen had workedtogether to find a home for the Hospital and there isno obvious sign of friction between them. However,the minutes of the General Committee on October record that

Whereas the Committee is informed that someGentlemen who have attended the Execution of thisCharity have been grossly aspersed in theirCharacters, resolved that it be referred to Lord CharlesCavandish, Mr Milner, Mr Hume Campbell, MrTaylor White, Mr Waple, Mr Joseph Hankey, MrAdair, Mr Hucks and Mr Nettleton or any three ofthem to inquire into the Promoters of such Reportsand to report the Facts as they shall appear to themand that they do meet on Saturday next at five in theAfternoon exactly and have a power to adjourn andthat the Secretary do acquaint them therewith.

It is usually stated that the origin of these aspersionswas a letter, signed only with the initials G.W.

However, the reference to the slander is the first itemin the minutes, after which the Committee moved onto regular business, and only at the very end of themeeting did the Secretary “read a letter from G.W.dated th of September representing manyIrregularities in the Hospital and proceeded toexamine Evidence concerning same”. It seems likelythat the slander and the complaint by G.W. may havebeen connected, but it is not certain.

Whatever the truth of the matter, the GeneralCommittee on October proceeded to examine theevidence concerning the irregularities in theHospital set out in the letter, while on November

Mr Taylor White reported from the Gentlemen towhom it was referred to inquire into the Promoters ofReports grossly aspersing the Characters of someGentlemen who have attended the execution of thisCharity; and delivered to this Committee the originalproceedings under the said reference; resolved thatthis Committee will take the said Report into



Coram; ordered that one of the Prints framed be sentto Captain Coram from the Committee”. This wasthe plan and elevation of the new building engravedby Roberts after a drawing by Jeremiah Robinson,published on July , which gives us the bestimpression of Jacobsen’s overall design for the stillunfinished building (Fig. ). Then, when Coramdied in , aged , he was buried at his ownrequest in the vaults of the new chapel, and on thisoccasion many of the Governors attended to paytheir respects.

The Court meeting in December , attendedby both Coram and Jacobsen, had agreed to ask theGeneral Committee “to consider of a plan forbuilding an Hospital for this Charity”, and gavethem the power “to call to their assistance any of theGovernors and Guardians of this Hospital toconsider the said plan”. The following Februarythe General Committee appointed a sub-committeefor the new building; this included Jacobsen, but notCoram. They in turn agreed to meet on thefollowing Friday at Meyer’s Coffee House in King’sStreet, Bloomsbury, together with Sanderson, toconsider the plans. Perhaps someone (CaptainCoram?) objected to this procedure, because onMarch the General Committee agreed that theywould elect by ballot, rather than appoint, theCommittee for Building. A ballot was duly held for anew Committee on March and the Duke ofRichmond, Lord Lovell, Joseph Hankey, AlexanderHume Campbell, Theodore Jacobsen, JohnLaroche, Taylor White, The Earl of Abercorn, LordCharles Cavendish, William Adair and John Waplewere elected.

The minutes of the meeting on March had alsoreturned thanks to “Mr Dance and Mr Horne,having offered to this Committee to design or surveythe intended building gratis”. It has often beenassumed that Jacobsen’s designs were preferredbecause he offered his services free, but this indicatesthat Dance also offered his services for nothing, asdid James Horne, the surveyor. Horne worked as

We shall probably never know the full details of thisaffair and the sealed papers have long sincedisappeared, but on December the Committeerecorded that the information given by Nurse Raynerand other nurses whereby Mrs Sarah Wood the chiefnurse “is charged with Immodesty, Dishonesty andDrunkenness, and their Insinuations that she hadmiscarried in this Hospital are groundless andmalicious”. Nonetheless, they concluded that “theAffairs of the Hospital under the care of the saidSarah Wood have been very improperly managed”and they resolved to dismiss her immediately, onlypaying her wages to Christmas (i.e. a further two days).

Despite all this, both Coram and Jacobsencontinued their regular attendance of the Committeeuntil the following May, but when Coram attendedthe Court meeting on May he was not re-elected tothe General Committee. This effectively ended hisofficial connection with the charity to which he haddevoted so much time and effort. There is a laterreport from Mr Collingwood, Secretary of theHospital from , which paints a pathetic pictureof Coram “sitting in the Courts of the Hospital in hisred Coat distributing with Tears in his EyesGingerbread to the Children, himself being at thetime supported by Subscription”.

Was the design of the new Hospital the cause ofthe dispute between Coram and Jacobsen? CertainlyCoram’s last act at the Court meeting in May was toregister the only vote against letting a contract formaking bricks for the new building. He also held onto the original petition to the King to set up thecharity and the book of the subscriptions towardsthe building. The General Committee had to ask theSecretary to write and ask for their return, “theyhaving an immediate occasion for them”. Coram wasin due course persuaded to part with the records,but he kept the Committee waiting for almost twoyears. Equally, there was some belated attempt torestore relations with the ageing founder, when in “Mr Mead proposed that one of the Prints ofthis Hospital should be sent as a Present to Captain



agreed to Thomas Scott making a quantity of beststock bricks at twelve shillings a thousand. But theGeneral Committee were incensed at this improperprocedure and ordered that Scott should stop work.Instead they resolved that a notice should bepublished seeking sealed bids for making stockbricks and further resolved that no sub-committeeshould have the power to make any contracts, “butsuch are Conditional to be Approved by the GeneralCommittee”. It is tempting to see the hand ofCaptain Coram here, and it was certainly the lastmeeting of the General Committee which heattended. In fact the contract with Scott went ahead,although it was thought necessary for it to be ratifiedby the Court on May, when Coram registered theonly vote against.

This was the first of a great many contracts forbricks, which, like every other contract related to the

surveyor to the project until when he left to actin the same capacity for Jacobsen at the RoyalHospital at Haslar. It was presumably because hedid not offer his services free that Sanderson wasdropped in favour of Horne in . The fact thatSanderson was subsequently to be given the contractfor doing the all brickwork for the new buildingsuggests he was not in a position to offer his servicesfor nothing. He was also to work with Jacobsenagain, this time on Trinity College, Dublin.

By then another proposal had been received, on March, from George Sampson, Surveyor to the Bankof England, offering plans and an elevation of a“proper building for an Hospital”. Jacobsen hadrevised Sampson’s plans for the new Bank of Englandand the two had worked closely on the project.

No doubt encouraged by all this interest, theBuilding Committee reported in May that they had



Fig. . Jeremiah Robinson, engraved by Henry Roberts, view of the Foundling Hospital from the south, July .By courtesy of the Trustees of Sir John Soane’s Museum.

That the Plan delivered by Mr Dance marked No and delivered therewith is too Expensive and standson too much Ground. It consists of a Quadranglewhose Side within the Building is yards or feet. The area contains , square yards, ie ,square feet. The Building would contain squaresexclusive of a Colonade of columns. It is estimatedby Mr Dance at £, but at £ a square will cost£, besides the colonnade and paveing the area.In this Plan there is no Chapel. This is proposed tocontain beds or children.

Mr James’s and Mr Jacobsen’s Plans are a Quadrangleopen on the Side next Red Lyon Street, on theOpposite Side is proposed the Chappel; the otherTwo Sides are proposed for the Hospital of which oneonly is proposed at present to be built.

These being the two Plans which to them seemed bestcalculated to answer the Purposes of this Hospital, wehave considered wherein they differ.

There follows an extremely detailed table ofcomparison of the two plans, giving relativedimensions and costs and coming to the followingconclusion:

That the Committee were of the Opinion that theMethod of placing four Beds together as proposed byMr James is not so proper for an Hospital for Childrenas being too close liable to be kept dirty, especially ifdivided by Partitions as proposed. And they were alsoof Opinion that Double Wards as proposed by MrJacobsen are more convenient than single as proposedby Mr James, as they will be warmer in Winter, coolerin Summer and easier kept clean. And they were ofOpinion that Mr Jacobsen’s Plan will be executed at aless Expense, as it is built in a much smaller Area andthat it will in this Wing now proposed to be builtcontain children and such Rooms as for the presentwill serve for your General Court, Committees, Officers& Servants and also necessary offices. And thereforewere of Opinion that it will best answer the Purposes ofthis Hospital. And they were also of Opinion that theWestern Wing thereof ought to be immediatelyproceeded upon, which they submitted to the generalConsideration of this General Meeting. Resolved thatthis General Meeting do agree to the said Report andthat the General Committee be desired to carry untoimmediate execution Mr Jacobsen’s plan.

building, was let and approved by the GeneralCommittee, who subsequently approved the payingof the bills. This detailed process is all recorded inthe Minutes and gives us a very complete picture ofthe building of the Hospital.

The General Committee also had a clear idea ofthe building that they wanted and specified theirrequirements precisely. On May they resolved thatconstruction should start as soon as possible and theHospital should be built in stages, the first phase “asshall be capable of containing two hundred children.And that the building be composed of two storiesand an attick storey, the wards to be twenty four feetwide, and that there be an arcade to each wing thewhole length of the building”. They further resolvedthat the “plan proposed by Mr Jacobsen and theplan proposed by Mr Waple be given to Mr TaylorWhite to procure the opinion of builders on them orto procure any other plans for the consideration ofthe building committee”. Nothing further is heard ofMr Waple’s plan (he was another Governor and amember of the Building Committee elected on

March), but on June Mr James “attended theCommittee with the Plan of an Hospital designed byhim for their Consideration”; this, with all others,was referred to the Building Committee. It was alsoagreed that a notice should be put in the DailyAdvertiser, stating that the Governors had “fixedupon a Plan of an Hospital designed to be erected bythem, they are ready to contract for the digging of theFoundations of the same, and that any Person willingto undertake the same may deliver in their Proposalsat their Hospital in Hatton Garden”.

On June the General Committee receiveda report from the Building Committee that

they have had Four Plans only delivered to them,which were presented to this Hospital by Mr Sampson,Mr Dance, Mr James and Mr Jacobsen.

They are of the Opinion that the Plan delivered by MrSampson which was delivered therewith marked No ,is much too small to answer the Purposes of thisHospital.





Fig. . P. Fourdrinier, engraved plan and elevations of the Foundling Hospital, between June and July . By courtesy of the Trustees of Sir John Soane’s Museum.

and they resolved that one be sent to everyGovernor. An example of what is probably the planreferred to is in George Dance’s collection ofengravings in Sir John Soane’s Museum (Fig. ).

The Committee agreed to meet on Septemberto lay the foundation stone, but this was subsequentlypostponed to September. They did, however,decide to seek other bids for making bricks. But noother proposals came forward and, since it wasHorne’s opinion “that it would be proper to have theBricks made as early in the Spring as possible inorder for the Covering in the Building early”, it wasagreed that Thomas Scott should make a furthermillion bricks. On September Jacobsen reportedthat it would be necessary to build a shed by the wallof the burying ground, for grinding bricks; he alsoinformed the Committee that the estimate for a newsewer of ft, designed and planned by Horne, was£, and this was approved. Sanderson’s contractwas signed, specifying that he would dig the vaultsand foundations of the western wing and do thebrickwork for the same.

The meeting received the following report of thelaying of the foundation stone:

The Secretary acquainted the Committee that onThursday last pursuant to the Order of thisCommittee for laying the Foundation Stone and MrHorne’s apprehending that an Inscription in the saidStone might be destroyed by Salt Petre, a Copper Platewas prepared to be bedded in the said Stone betweentwo Plates of milled Lead and covered with anotherStone, and that the Foundation Stone being placed atthe South East corner of the West Wing, John MilnerEsq in the presence of Mr Jacobsen and Mr Sainthillput in the said Plate whereon is the followingInscription: The Foundation of this Hospital was laidon the th of September, George nd .

On October the Committee decided that thecornice of the Hospital should be done in stone,instead of brick as initially intended, “that of stonebeing more durable and not much greater expense”.The design of the cornice was left to Horne, whoproposed a stone “truss”, to be made by John

James was in attendance and was called in to receivethe thanks of the General Meeting “for the greatpains he had taken in preparing the plan approved offor this Hospital and for his great service therein”.This must have been the well-known architect andarchitectural writer John James (c.–), whohad been Surveyor to the Fifty New Churches andhad worked for many members of the nobility. Hehad worked with Jacobsen as Surveyor for East IndiaHouse a dozen years earlier, and may even have beenresponsible for Jacobsen’s architectural training.

The two men obviously knew each other well andcame up with broadly similar plans, both of whichcould be constructed in a series of discrete phases,starting with the west wing.

Jacobsen’s design was preferred for the reasonsgiven, and, despite phased construction, was verylargely completed in accordance with the originaldesigns. The plan consisted of three sides of arectangle, with the west and east wings forming themain Hospital and the chapel the third side, linkedto the wings by arcades. In external appearance thebuilding was severe and unornamented, as befitted acharitable institution. The wings were terminated bypairs of rectangular pavilions at the ends and hadcentral pedimented projections on the outward-facing elevations; the courtyard sides were arcaded atground level (Fig. ). Several of these featuresrecurred in Jacobsen’s designs for the Royal NavalHospital at Haslar and Trinity College, Dublin.

Having decided on the plan, the Committeeinvited tenders for the building work. JohnSanderson, who had first acted as surveyor, couldnot afford to work for nothing and had been replacedon June by James Horne, who offered his servicesfree. Sanderson tendered for the brickwork and wasawarded the contract on July. Jacobsen was partyto all these decisions and his overall supervision ofthe work seems to have been continuous. InSeptember he was thanked by the GeneralCommittee for having copies of his plan for theHospital engraved and printed at his own expense,



In March the brickmaker Scott was asked to railoff “so much of the Ground where the Building isnow erecting as will be sufficient for making Bricks,framing the Timber, and other works necessary forcarrying on the Building”, and Horne was instructedto provide enough stock bricks to lay the foundationof the arcade, which Sanderson should proceed tobuild (Fig. ).

On June Mr Alexander’s tender “for the ironnecessary for the Chimneys to be built in thisHospital” was accepted and still more bricks had tobe ordered from a second supplier, Daniel Harrison.

In September Edward Ives was contracted for

Devall, the mason, at the cost of seven shillings andsix pence a running foot. John Sanderson was alsoinstructed to check that Scott was not trying to passoff any bad bricks.

The building was obviously progressing and inFebruary the Committee advertised forcarpenters. Contracts for this work were issuedjointly to Messrs Timbrell and Spencer and Mr JohnPhillips. At the same time a deal was done with theNew River Company, who wanted to lay their pipesacross the Hospital’s land; this provided for thecompany to supply water to the Hospital for £

annually without any advance.



Fig. .The Foundling Hospital. Arcade beneath the west wing, subsequently enclosed to become the boys’ dining room. English Heritage.

John Devall proposed “a coping of Portland Stoneft. ins. wide, with a Throat with proper Breaks asin the Design, cramping and running with Lead”,and that too was accepted at the same meeting.

The new building was now so advanced thatHorne advised it was necessary to have a watchmanon site, to attend all day Sundays to prevent mischief.In December we also have the first of a number ofreferences to Horne’s father, Thomas, who “wouldbe glad of £ upon account of surveying theWorkmen”. He is formerly recorded as a joiner, andwas presumably earning a pension by helping out onthe project.

plumbing work, “including Lead Gutters, Hipps,Ridges, Valleys, Rain Water Pipes and CisternHeads, including Soder [sic] Holdfasts and fixing upCarriage and Nails”. Richard Hughes’s proposal forslating was accepted, namely

to slate the said house with the best WestmorlandSlates to lay them upon good Oak Laths or good FirLaths of half an inch thick and half wide and to nail allthe Laths with Four Penny Clout Nail, to nail all theSlates upon the Rafters and Purlines with Eight Pennyand Six Penny Clout Nails, to point all the SlatesWither Side with good Lime and Hair and to performall in a good and workmanlike Manner.



Fig. .The Foundling Hospital. View of the Boys’ Wing from the west, . By courtesy of the Trustees of the Foundling Museum.

their Work and in particular in putting up theStaircase, ordered that notice be immediately given toMessers Dowbiggen and Spiers that this Committeedo expect Twenty Men at least be constantly employedby them in order to compleat the Work …. On failurethereof Mr Horne the Surveyor is to imploy otherpersons to perfect the Work.

It was not until October that the building was readyenough for meetings to be held there, rather than inthe Hatton Garden house, and even then the CourtRoom was unfinished, for in January theSteward paid Mr Wilton’s foreman the not verygenerous sum of one guinea “as a gratuity to bedistributed by the said Foreman to himself and theother Workmen employed in doing the Ceiling of theCourt Room, the Work and the Materials being theGift of Mr Wilton to this Hospital” (a contributionthat was later valued at £). And it was not until thefollowing December that Devall’s men also receiveda guinea as a reward “for their extraordinary troublein the chimney piece put up in the Court Room, thebenefaction of the said Mr Devall”.This mantelpieceincorporated the fine marble relief representingCharity made and donated by Rysbrack, while JohnSanderson presented the carved pine sidetable, withgreen Grecian marble top, that still faces the fireplaceon the other side of the room.

It is not clear who actually designed the CourtRoom (Fig. ). The main feature is the famous seriesof paintings in specially designed wooden frames(probably made by William Linnell), contributedby Hogarth and others. It is known that Linnellmade frames for pictures given by Monamy andCasali (for the chapel) and that he had offered a“curious carved frame” as a gift to the Hospital,which was rejected, probably because it wasconsidered too ornate. He was asked to frame theMonamy “agreeable to the pattern of those in thegeneral court room”, which suggests that he hadmade those too. But the whole room presents acoherent and carefully thought out scheme and it istempting to attribute its overall conception to

In February the Committee chose LancelotDowbiggen and William Spiers for the work in fittingup the interior, once again providing very detailedspecifications; for example, doors of different patternand quality were required, including “two inch PanelDoors framed in Six Panels, the framing wroughtwith an Ovolo and the Panels raised with a Bead onboth Sides ganging included…in all respects asgood as the Specimen or be returned”.

There was some concern that work was notmaking enough progress and Horne was asked toinform the slater that if his work was not done by

March the penalty clause in his contract would beinvoked. The carpenter was instructed to make sashframes and flooring and the best crown glass wasordered for the sashes from Bowles at Cockhill.Jonathan Crooke was appointed plasterer and theCommittee approved a proposal of Benjamin Lovettfor painting “to be done three times in Oyl Colours”.The carpenter was asked to board up the lowerwindows to prevent any damage and in May itwas decided to insure the still unfinished structureagainst fire for £,.

By August Horne had prepared a scheme forinclosing the front of the hospital, “leaving forty feetagainst the road, to be filled up with a gate forcoaches and two side gates for foot passengers”, andwas employing labourers to level the ground.Jacobsen supervised this, as well as agreeing with MrAlexander the design of the iron railings for thefront. In October Dr Taylor White, the Treasurer,presented plans of the garden around the hospitaland in December we find him securing “the plantsappropriate to the Physick Garden of the Hospital,as specified by Dr Conyers”.

So by the beginning of it appeared that thewest wing was almost ready to move into (Fig. ). Infact, there was an irritating number of small jobs stilloutstanding, and at the General Committee on April

Several of the Gentlemen having observed that theJoiners at this Hospital make very slow Progress in



£, representing Britannia receiving the offeringsof India. A watercolour by T.H. Shephard showsthe East India House Court Room to have been amuch more classical, less rococo interior than theFoundling Hospital’s equivalent, but there is a gap offifteen years between the two (Fig. ).

It was in December that a group of well-known artists pledged to present examples of theirwork to the Hospital, most of whom subsequentlydid so. At the same time, a Committee was set up,comprising Jacobsen, Hogarth, Rysbrack andFrederick Zinke, the miniaturist, to “consider of

Jacobsen, rather than Hogarth, since he already hadexperience of creating a not dissimilar interior. Thiswas the Court Room for his first building, East IndiaHouse; in six oils, representing Calcutta,Madras, Bombay, Tellicherry, Cape Town, andSt Helena, were painted by George Lambert andSamuel Scott for the Room and set in architecturalframes. Both artists subsequently offered works tothe Foundling Hospital (although only Lambert’spiece survives). Another parallel was provided by theRysbrack overmantel; he had also supplied a marblerelief at East India House in April , at a cost of



Fig. . The Foundling Hospital. View of the Court Room. By courtesy of the Trustees of the Foundling Museum.

fixed it up in the Hospital, for which he did notcharge. Snagging continued for some time in thecompleted wing and in June Jacobsen wasrequested “to give such directions concerning therepairing or rebuilding such part of the walls of thishospital which were damaged by the frost orotherwise”. As late as November four doublebranches were provided to illuminate the CourtRoom, and in the following May thanks werereturned to Messrs. Monamy, Whale andGainsborough for presenting their pictures; we mayassume that the project was finished by that date.

what further Ormaments may be added to thisHospital without any expence to the Charity”. Earlier,in July, it had been resolved “that Mr Jacobsen bedesired to favour this hospital with his picture for thegreat services done by him for the good thereof”,and this resulted in Thomas Hudson’s portraitpreserved in the collection (Fig. ).

The west wing is shown completed in JohnRocque’s map of London, and one of the lastjobs reported was on March of that year, when thedistinguished clockmaker John Ellicott took downthe clock in the Hatton Garden house, cleaned it and



Fig. . T.H.Shephard, The Court Room, East India House, c.. By courtesy of the Trustees of the British Library.

places. Its large rooms are wainscoted with the namesof benefactors, set forth in goodly order like the tablesof the law. Its broad staircases, with balustrades suchas elephants might construct if they took to buildingarts, not only lead to long dining rooms, long bedroomgalleries, long lavatories, long schoolrooms and lecturehalls, for the [blank] children; but to other rooms, withlisted doors and Turkey carpets, which the greatestEnglish painters have lent their aid to adorn.

In March Jacobsen had been “desired to laybefore the General Committee a plan for the buildinga Chappel for this Hospital” and the foundation

Apart from the Court Room, the interior of theHospital was mostly plain, but its spirit was wellcaught by W. H. Wills, writing in Dickens’s magazineHousehold Words in March :

It is a commodious roomy comfortable building, airilysituated though within advertisement distance ofTemple Bar, which, as everybody knows, is preciselyten minutes walk. It stands in its own grounds, cosilysurveying its own shady arcades, its own turf, and itsown high trees….It preserves a warm, old fashioned,rich-relation kind of gravity, strongly indicative ofBank Stock. Its confidential servants have comfortable



Fig. . The Foundling Hospital. Interior of the Chapel, looking east, . By courtesy of the Trustees of the Foundling Museum.

of concerts given by the composer in support of theHospital. These soon came to consist of performancesof Messiah, although the first concert was comprisedof extracts from recent works, including the oratorioSolomon and the Music for the Royal Fireworks,together with the anthem Blessed are they that considerthe Poor, composed specially for the occasion.

Despite all these efforts, the money for the Chapeldid not come in easily at first and there was somediscussion in the Committee of adopting a lessambitious plan, omitting the arcades (Fig. ).

stone was laid on May . The building of theChapel followed much the same pattern as the WestWing and involved many of the same workmen(Figs. and ). The first problem was to find themoney, and a book of subscriptions was opened forthis purpose. A feature of the appeal was a series ofLadies’ Breakfasts, with tickets at two shillings andsixpence, but the most famous contributor wasHandel, who offered to perform a concert of musicto raise funds for the finishing of the chapel. Thistook place on May , and was the first of a series



Fig. . The Foundling Hospital. Interior of the Chapel, looking west, . English Heritage.

After this, the work progressed smoothly,although in September the Committee observedthat the framing of the roof “varys from the drawing,which they are generally displeased with; andrequire that the same may be finished conformable tothe drawing and that Mr Spencer do take MrJacobsen’s direction therein”. In December it wasagreed to go ahead with turning the arches in thevault, even though this would exceed the moneyalready subscribed, but it was “absolutely necessaryto proceed”.

The funding situation improved dramatically in

However, in August they decided to revert to theoriginal plan and dimensions, including the arcadesat either end and vaults beneath, at an estimated costof £, s d. Some changes were allowed, aswhen Devall purchased two Venetian windows at theCanons House sale for £ s and offered toincorporate them into the Chapel for the same price;unfortunately they proved to be too large. Mr Millerand Mr Baker made further vast quantities of bricksand in March Sanderson was instructed to beginthe foundations, with Jacobsen directing what wasnecessary in terms of planking and piling.



Fig. . The Foundling Hospital. Arcade below the Chapel gallery, . English Heritage.

[sic] between groynes; etc.” (Fig. ). There were stilldetails of the fitting out to be considered. InFebruary Mr Wragg, the King’s smith, offered tomake the iron rails for the altar and Jacobsen andHogarth were asked to consult with him about thedesign. These rails can be seen in photographs of thechapel taken in the s. On April the GeneralCommittee reported that Chevalier Cassali hadfinished the picture for the altar and requested that itbe sent to the hospital to be framed by Mr Linnell“in the manner that Mr Jacobsen shall direct”.Again, Jacobsen was asked to supervise the erection

March , when “the Governors were encouragedby Thomas Emerson, a late worthy Governor, toundertake the East Wing, in which the Girls are nowkept separate from the Boys; who at his decease leftthe Residue of his Estate, amounting to upwards of£,, to this Hospital”. It was resolved to askSanderson to make a start on digging the foundationsof the east wing forthwith. In April, Spencer wasdoing the general bracketing work in the Chapel, andMr Wilton was busy making “stucco on brick; Ionickcornice enriched; superficial plain swelling friezeand cornice; circular glasses and flowers to suffeits



Fig. . The Foundling Hospital. Chapel gallery in , showing Wilton’s “flowers to suffeits between groynes” and the pews of Norway oak. English Heritage.

Hospital with its Colonnades and Building andmaking the Avenue to the Hospital. It was Keene,however, who produced “several uprights of theBuildings and Colonnades according to the plansbefore approved for the new Inclosure” on June.

As often happens towards the end of a job, someof the workmen began to slacken off, so that in Octoberthe Treasurer had to inform the General Court

of the great neglect of the Carpenter, Mason, andBricklayer in carrying on the works at this Hospital,resolved that it be recommended to the GeneralCommittee that no more money be paid to any of thesaid Workmen, until the Committee shall be satisfiedof their speedy and effectual carrying on their severalworks; and that Mr Keene the surveyor be desired tocertify when they shall do so; and that the Messengeracquaint the Committee from time to time whatnumber of Hands are severally employed in therespective works daily.

This seems to have had the desired effect, for byFebruary Jacobsen was asked to give directionsfor the fitting up of the new wing “in such manner ashe shall think proper”.

The end of the project was signalled by aresolution of the General Court on May ,“that the thanks of this Court be given to MrJacobsen, for his great attention and care in carryingon the Buildings of this Hospital on the approvedplan made out by him”. A formal report was made tothe Court in June of the following year, relating theprogress of the charity from its establishment in. This reveals that a total of £, s d hadbeen spent on building the Hospital.

There were still things to be done, of course, andJacobsen’s final contribution was the design,presented in May , of a receiving room and porchat the gates, to cope with the expected influx ofchildren, following a parliamentary vote of £, tothe work of the Hospital. In April of the followingyear he finally left the General Committee, and afteralmost eighteen years his connection with theFoundling Hospital seems to have ceased entirely.

of the pews and benches, to be made from Norwayoak and to give directions for the installation of amoving pulpit. A turret clock, capable of going forthirty hours, was ordered, under Mr Ellicott’sdirection, at a cost of £ and this is also visible inthe pre-demolition photographs.

Handel had presented an organ to the Chapel,made by Morse of Barnet, and this was inauguratedon May , at the first performance of Messiahgiven in the Foundling Hospital. This was sopopular that it had to be repeated on May, whenGeorge Harris attended with Hudson and recordedthat “Handel [was] out of humour about the organ.The altar piece in the chappel of the Hospital doneby Cassali. Saw the pictures given by Hudson,Hogarth, Heighmore, & hung up in someapartments of the Hospital”. A week earlier, theGeneral Court had resolved that thanks “be given toThomas Jacobsen Esq for his excellent plan of thebuilding of the chapel of this hospital, and his greatcare and trouble in seeing the execution thereof”.

The east wing now progressed quickly. No doubtall concerned had learnt lessons from the workalready completed. Richard Hughes, the slater, wasat work by October and Mr Baker wascomplaining that he had made upwards of onemillion bricks, for which he had not yet been paid.Indeed, the strict organisation seems to have beenslipping somewhat it was reported “that there hasbeen a neglect of entering into proper contracts”. Itwas resolved that “all contracts shall be entered in abook and signed by the respective workmen”.Perhaps this lack of discipline was connected withthe departure of the surveyor, James Horne, whowent to work on another of Jacobsen’s designs, theRoyal Hospital at Haslar, until his death in .Henry Keene, who was shortly to work with JohnSanderson on Jacobsen’s design for Trinity College,Dublin, had replaced him at the Foundling Hospitalby May .

On June Jacobsen laid before thecommittee a plan “for inclosing the area before the



twentieth century, but was sold and pulled down in, when the Court Room, the Picture Gallery, theWest Wing Staircase and some other fittings wereincorporated into the new building at BrunswickSquare, now the Foundling Museum. The site of theHospital itself became a children’s playground,although the forecourt colonnades (Fig. ), frontgates, and some perimeter buildings survive. It isonly from contemporary engravings, pre-demolitionphotographs, and a good model in the Museum thatwe can get any real impression of what the Hospitalbuilding was like (Fig. ). Had it survived, perhapsJacobsen’s reputation too would have emerged fromthe obscurity that he has long enveloped it.

Although there is no hint of any rift, it is a littlesurprising that when Theodore Jacobsen died in

he left nothing to the Foundling Hospital. He did,however, make a bequest of £ to “the Presidentand Governors [of the Hospital] for the Relief of andSupport of sick, maimed and disabled seamen”.

This was the Royal Hospital at Haslar, for which hehad made the designs in . His allegiance hadclearly been transferred there, but his most personalmonument remained the Foundling Hospital. As thisstudy has shown, he was closely involved in allaspects of the building and played a much moreactive part than has previously been supposed.

The Foundling Hospital survived into the



Fig. . The Foundling Hospital. One of the forecourt colonnades in . English Heritage.

Jam (ed.), Les Divertissements Utiles: des amateursau XVIIIe siècle, Clermont-Ferrand, , –.This is a useful essay, but it does not revisit theprimary sources. I am most grateful to RichardHewlings for drawing my attention to this study andfor much other assistance.

R. H. Nichols and F.A. Wray, The History of theFoundling Hospital, London, ; R. K. McClure,Coram’s Children: The London Foundling Hospitalin the Eighteenth Century,New Haven and London,. On the collection, see Benedict Nicholson,The Treasures of the Foundling Hospital, Oxford,, and David Solkin, Painting for Money,NewHaven and London, .

Norman, loc. cit.. All the papers relating to the Hospital are lodged inthe London Metropolitan Archives. These includefull sets of Minute Books for the Court and theGeneral Committee, which are the source of most ofthe detail given in this paper. There are also papersof particular officers of the Hospital, although mostof these date from a later period than that consideredhere.

N O T E S

All the above information comes from The FoundlingHospital General Committee Minutes [London, LondonMetropolitan Archives, A/PH/A//], except as statedbelow.

The date of his birth is unknown, but in his uncle’swill of it is stated that if Theodore should diebefore attaining the age of twenty one, hisinheritance should be divided between his brothersand cousins [P. Norman, “Notes on the later historyof the Steelyard in London”, Archaeologia, LXI,London, , –]. He is recorded doingbusiness with the East India Company in May [London, British Library, Court Minutes B], so itseems safe to place his birth in the s.

Howard Colvin, “What we mean by amateur” inThe role of the amateur architect. Papers given at theGeorgian Group Symposium, London , –.

Forthcoming, in the Festschrift for Peter Harbison,Princeton, . There is also a recent study ofJacobsen by Jacques Carré, “Theodore Jacobsen:commerce, philanthropie et architecture,” in J–L



Fig. . The Foundling Hospital. View from the south, . By courtesy of the Trustees of the Foundling Museum.

to re-scan

Sanderson’s own plan, mentioned above, but refersto his time as the building contractor.

W. Marston Acres, The Bank of England fromwithin, London, , I, –; Richard Hewlings,“Roger Morris and the Bank of England”, GeorgianGroup Journal, VIII, , –.

As an example of their thoroughness, here are thespecifications given to Scott: “That he is to makeFour Hundred Thousand of the best Stock Bricksat twelve shillings a Thousand; that he is to dig theEarth for making the same one hundred feet fromthe Centre of East Conduit Field from the Wall ofthe Burying Ground to Red Lyon Street; and thatthe digging be carried on Two Hundred Feet inlength extending from East to West and Thirty Feetfrom North to South the said Thirty Feet to becomputed from the Outline of the One HundredFeet towards the Centre; that he be not tied down tothe Colour grey provided he delivers a sufficientNumber of that Colour for Outside Work; that he isto be paid only for such well burnt Bricks as aresound and good and shall be delivered for the use ofthis Hospital at the Place of Building; that nosammell [ie. half fired] or rotten Bricks will bereceived for the use of the Hospital nor are anyBricks to be carried off from the Hospital Landwithout leave; that all Bricks made and not receivedfor the use of this Hospital the said Thomas Scott isto have the Liberty of purchasing, he paying for thesame after the Rate of Four Shillings a Thousand orof leaving them on the Premises at his own Option.And that the Brick Kilns for burning the said Bricksand the Places necessary for making the same beerected at the costs and charges of the said ThomasScott at the North East Corner of the said Fieldcontiguous to the Road leading from Grays InnLane to Hampstead and adjoining to the Roadgoing from thence to the Burying Ground”.

Colvin, op.cit., –. London, Sir John Soane’s Museum, Dance Folio of

Engravings, No . It should be noted that this isthe same as the plan which Jacobsen is shownholding in Hudson’s portrait of him.

Interestingly, this seems to have been Horne’s onlycontribution to the design of the Hospital, althoughhe is otherwise known as an architect. He had actedas clerk of the works for the formation of theSerpentine in Hyde Park, so perhaps he had aspecial expertise in the handling of water [Colvin,op.cit.,].

Edward McParland, Public Architecture in Ireland–, New Haven and London, .

Minutes of March , “referred the translationsof the establishments of the Hospitals in Paris andAmsterdam to the Committee for transacting theaffairs of the Hospital”.

Howard Colvin, A Biographical Dictionary ofBritish Architects –,New Haven andLondon, , –.

Nichols, op.cit., , draws attention to, but does notquote from the manuscript account left by MorrisLievesley, Secretary to the Hospital from –;the text of this (in the London MetropolitanArchives) reads as follows, “Coram, the great thegood founder was driven out of his own temple ofmercy by cabal. Sir Thomas Bernard to whom thehospital owes its building revenue was obliged toresign his office of treasurer by cabal – a pettyquarrel about supremacy between Mrs Jones theMatron and Mr McLellan the apothecary agitated anumerous portion of the governors. Those on theside of the matron were arrayed against those on theside of the apothecary. The real interests of thecharity were neglected and forgotten. This quarreloccasioned the absence of all the dignified mindedgovernors and threw the whole management of theinstitution upon the treasurer, whose habitsrendered him unfit to bear the burthen”.This doesnot really fit with the account drawn from theMinute Books that is given here and probably reliesmore upon traditions and memories rather than facts.

Folkes was at this time also President of the RoyalSociety and was to become first President of theSociety of Antiquaries [Joan Evans, A History of theSociety of Antiquaries, Oxford, ].

This story is reported by Morris Lievesley in hismanuscript memoir referred to in note

The other members were the Earl of Abercorn,Lord Charles Cavendish, Mr Adair, Mr Drake, MrLaroche, Mr James Theobald, Mr Waple and MrTaylor White, together with the President, VicePresidents and Treasurer.

Christine Stevenson, Medicine and Magnificence,British Hospital and Asylum Architecture –,New Haven and London,

London, Royal Institute of British Architects,SD/, is an undated drawing by Sanderson forthe façade of the Chapel of the Hospital. This is nomore than a rough sketch, but it appears to followJacobsen’s design, so it is probably not related to



A good description of the new Hospital wasincluded in John Noorthouck, A New History ofLondon including Westminster and Southwark,London, , –: “This building consists of twolarge wings connected by a chapel in the center; onewing being for the boys and the other for the girls,They are directly opposite to each other, and arebuilt in plain but regular, substantial and convenientmanner, of brick, with handsome piazzas. It is wellsuited to the purpose, and as fine as hospitalsshould be. In the farthest end is placed the chapel,which is joined to the wings by an arch on eachside, and is very elegant within. Before the hospitalis a large piece of ground, on each side of whereof isa colonnade of great length, which extends towardthe gates, that are double, with a massy pier between,so that coaches may pass and repass at the sametime. These colonnades are now inclosed andcontain ranges of workshops where the children aretaught to spin, weave, and exercise other handicrafts.The large area between the gates and the hospital isadorned with grass, gravel walks, and lamps erectedupon handsome posts: beside which there are twoconvenient gardens.In erecting these buildings, particular care wastaken to render them neat and substantial, withoutany costly decorations; but the first wing of thehospital was scarcely inhabited, when severaleminent masters in painting, carving, and otherpolite arts, were pleased to contribute many elegantornaments, which are preserved as monuments ofthe abilities and charitable benefactions of therespective artists”.

London, Family Record Centre, PROB /,quire , April .

Helena Hayward and Pat Kirkham, William andJohn Linnell, th century London FurnitureMakers, London, , –

William Foster, The East India house, its Historyand Associations, London, . The connectionbetween the Court Rooms of East India House andthe Foundling Hospital was first made by BrianAllen, “The East India Company’s SettlementPictures”, in Under the Indian Sun; BritishLandscape artists, Bombay, , –. I wasunaware of this essay when I first wrote mine andthe fact that we reached the same conclusionindependently would seem to strengthen the case. Iam very grateful to Dr Allen for drawing myattention to his work and for many other valuablecomments.

This is now in the Council Chamber of the Foreignand Commonwealth Office, London

British Library, East India Company collections Nicholson, op.cit., , was unaware of this reference,

which not only dates the picture but indicates thatthe engraving by Fourdrinier which Jacobsen holdsmust be earlier than this date. Hudson was one ofthe artists who had offered to donate work to theHospital and so we can presume that he paintedJacobsen for no fee.

Nichols, op.cit., credits Dickens himself with thispassage, but see Harry Stone, Charles Dickens,Uncollected Writings from Household Words,–, Bloomington,, II, –.

Recorded in The Gentleman’s Magazine, XVII,where it is said that Jacobsen himself laid the stone.

Donald Burrows and Rosemary Dunhill, Music &Theatre in Handel’s World; the family papers ofJames Harris –, Oxford, , .



entered” and that no contracts “were subsisting”except with the plasterer William Wilton and thebrickmaker William Baker. Yet at that date work on theeast wing had been in progress for nearly two years.

The committee also madepayments to othertradesmen whose employment does not appear to havebeen won by public competition. Among these weresome well-known tradesmen, the mason John Devalland the plasterer William Wilton, for instance, whogave the more conspicuous parts of their work gratis.Devall gave the marble chimneypiece of the CourtRoom, prominently inscribed “I. DEVALL Fecit &

The General Committee of the Foundling Hospitalminuted the receipt of proposals from nearly all

the building tradesmen, including those which theydid not accept, and it also minuted its choice. Thelarge number of competitors for the west wing (sevenpainters, nine joiners, ten carpenters and elevenglaziers, for instance) contrasts with the smallernumber who competed for the chapel. There seems tohave been no competition for the east wing, by whichtime contractual practice had evidently become morerelaxed; on February the sub-committeereported that contracts had been “neglected to be


Fig. . The Foundling Hospital. Court Room chimneypiece in ; the relief is by Rysbrack, the chimneypiece and overmantel are by John Devall. English Heritage.

APPEND IX

THE BUILDERS OF THE FOUNDLING HOSPITAL

R I C H A R D H E W L I N G S

BRICKLAYERS. Proposals, including diggingfoundations, received on July .John Sanderson.; proposal accepted on the sameday; agreement signed on September.Thomas French. Philip Forrester.

BRICKMAKERS. Proposal accepted on September .Thomas Scott. Scott had been working for theHospital since May , four months beforetendering for the main contract. On June he waspaid for railing off his pits at the north-east corner ofEast Conduit Field, and an agreement was reachedabout their future location and the grey colour of theoutside bricks. By September Scott was the onlybrickmaker to have responded to the Committee’sadvertisement, and it decided to accept one millionbricks at s. d. per thousand from a pit “contiguousto the Foundation now digging”, d. per thousandcheaper than from his previous pit.

CARPENTERS. Proposals received on February .Timbrell and Spencer. Proposal accepted on thesame day, jointly with John Phillips. John Phillips. Proposal accepted on the same day,jointly with Timbrell and Spencer.Mrs Mary Gordon. Her proposal was unsuccessful,but Mary Gordon was regularly paid for small jobsfrom September to July . The jobs are notrecorded except in the east wing, where she madebedsteads.Marquand. Edwards. Sparkling. Stevens. Sanderson. Robinson. Lyster.

Donavit” (Fig. ), but charged considerable sumsfor paving and other masonry. Wilton gave the ceilingof the Court Room, valued at £, but was paid over£ for the rest of his work on the west wing alone,and gratitude for his benefaction might have helpedhim to secure the large contracts for the chapel andthe east wing. The painter and gilder SamuelLeightonhouse, the brazier Thomas Bedwell and thecarvers Messrs. Dryhurst, who also gave some part oftheir work without charge, were less well-known,but, as luxury tradesmen, their “benefactions” wouldhave been conspicuous.

Some tradesmen, who were not otherwiseemployed by the Hospital, also gave “benefactions”.They included the carver William (or possibly John)Linnell and the upholsterer William Reason.

Seventy-seven master tradesmen, not countingjourneymen and apprentices, aspired to work on,worked on, or donated work to the FoundlingHospital. All are listed here, but it is the record of theunsuccessful tenderers which is unusual, and worthlisting with those who were successful. The latter’snames are set in bold type.

WEST WINGTheCommittee resolved on June to seekproposals for digging foundations and for bricklayers’work by advertisement in The Daily Advertiser;proposals to be submitted by July. On Septemberthey noted that they had only had one response to theiradvertisement for brickmakers, so they had presumablyalso advertised for that trade shortly before. Theyresolved to place an advertise ment for carpenters on February , proposals to be left by February.Proposals for plumbers’ and slaters’ work were receivedon September , presumably in response toanother advertisement, as there were three and twocompetitors respectively. The committee resolved toadvertise for joiners on December , proposals tobe received by January following. They did notresolve to seek proposals for plasterers, painters andglaziers’ work until May , to be received by June.



JOINERS. Proposals received on January .Lancelot Dowbiggin and William Spie. Proposalaccepted on February; agreement signed on February.Jupp and Blackden. Thomas Ellis. Charles Marquand. John Grey. William Lyster. Francis Hill. Joseph Sanderson and Co. Phillips, Timbrell and Spencer.

PLUMBERS. Proposals received on September .Edward Ives. Proposal accepted on the same day.John Painter. George and John Devall.

SLATERS. Proposals received on the same day.Richard Hughes. Proposal accepted on September .Patrick Laroch.



Fig. . The Foundling Hospital. Staircase in ; the main stair was made by the joiners Lancelot Dowbiggin and William Spier, and the iron balustrade to the lower flights

was made by the smith John Philips. English Heritage.

“stone Truss cornice” alone, which was evidentlydesigned by James Horne rather than Jacobsen, for itwas Horne who “delivered in Proposal for making”it, and “annexed a draught of the same.” And it wasHorne who was “left to make an agreement with MrJohn Duvall for performing the same Work, at sevenshillings and six pence per foot running.” On

September John Devall [sic] submitted aproposal for coping; again there were no competitors.

SMITHS Wiliam Alexander. Mr Alexander “attended forcontracting for the Iron necessary for the Chimneys”on June , and William Alexander was paid£ s. �d. for ironmonger’s work on August. William Alexander was also paid as a brazier inNovember and December and January . On September Jacobsen and White wereinstructed to agree with Alexander for making ironrailings, and for fixing iron bars in the windows. John Phillips. Phillips, a blacksmith, was regularlypaid for small jobs. They may have included theplain bar balusters of the secondary staircases,because in June he was asked to make these forthe east wing “in the same manner as in the formerWing”. He also attended the Committee on May “for making black grates and cast backs”.

BRICKMAKERSDaniel Harrison. Eight months after letting thecontract to Thomas Scott the need for bricks wasstill unsatisfied, and on June the Hospitalbought another , from Daniel Harrison, whilean order was placed with Mrs Harrison for a further, at s. per thousand. Samuel Miller. On November Miller agreedto provide paving bricks.

PUMP MAKERFrancis Sutton.He submitted a bill for £ s. d.onMay .

PAINTERS. Proposals received on June .Benjamin Lovett. On June he was asked toattend the next meeting; his proposal was acceptedon June. John Hamilton. On June he was asked toattend the next meeting.John Wright. On June James Horne was askedto investigate his character and Wright was asked toattend the next meeting. James Theebridge. Henry Wilson. Josh. Gough. John Thompson.

GLAZIERS. Proposals received on June .Thomas and John Lovett. Proposal accepted on thesame day. Lambert. Charles Carne. John Jeffkins. William Sharpe. Thomas Palmer. James Simpson. John Mackly. Benjamin Oakes. Wiliam Hills. John Hamilton.

PLASTERERS. Proposals received on June .Jonathan Crooke. Proposal for “common plastering… common rendering … rough rendering …plastering groined cove of arcades … plain plasteredcornices” accepted on the same day; it appears not tohave included decorative work.Laban.

Proposals were not invited for the following trades,but these tradesmen were employed, evidentlywithout competition.

MASON John Devall. He agreed on December for the



CHAPELThe Committee agreed for bricks in September. On July it resolved to advertise forproposals in The Daily Advertiser, proposals to bereceived by August. All of the following submittedproposals by the advertised date, but they were takenup in stages, the bricklayer’s almost immediately, onAugust , the brickmaker’s, carpenter’s, mason’sand slater’s on February , the smith’s apparentlyby April , the plumber’s by February , andthe glazier’s on September .

BRICKMAKERSamuel Miller. His first proposal, to make ,

bricks to be delivered within twelve feet of thefoundations of the chapel, was accepted on

September . Half of these were to be deliveredby June , the rest by July. Payments onaccount on June and July suggest that hedelivered. His second proposal, perhaps in responseto the advertisement, was accepted on February, but on May he was reported to have left offwork, owing the Hospital £ s. d.

BRICKLAYERJohn Sanderson. His proposal was accepted on

August . In the course of this contract Sandersonhad a foreman called John Lee or Leigh, who valuedbricks and slates between July and November .

CARPENTERSTimbrell and Spencer. The proposal of Phillips andSpencer were accepted on February , but, asTimbrell and Spencer were partners, it is possiblethat Timbrell was also included.George Shakespear. The proposal of Phillips andSpencer were accepted on February , butJohn Phillips, who did not tender, was Shakespear’spartner, so it is possible that Shakespear was alsoincluded.Taylor and Johnson.Dowbiggin and Spier.

PLASTERERWilliam Wilton. Wilton did not tender; yet he waspaid £ “more … in further part for his work” on July and another £ s. �d. on February, “over and above his benefaction of ornamentingthe ceiling of the General Court Room”, whichmight have circumvented the need to tender (Figs.

and ). As Jonathan Crooke agreed for the plainwork, other decorative work by Wilton may havebeen in a room other than the Court Room, perhapsthe Secretary’s room or the stair.

PAPER HANGERSPrice and Hall.Their bill for £ s. d. was paid onDecember .

CARVERThomas Ady. He submitted a bill for £ s. on June .

UPHOLSTERERTristram Chambers. His bills for £ s. and £

s. d. were settled on July and January, the former before the chapel was designed, andthe latter when its plaster ceiling was still drying, sodoubtless both relate to the west wing.

PAINTERCharles Scarlett.His bill for £ s. �d. was paidon July .

CABINET MAKERHallett. His bill for £ s. d. was paid onDecember .

BRAZIERThomas Bedwell. His bill (£ s. d.) for work onthe west wing was paid, very late, on December.





Figs. . The Foundling Hospital. Details of the Court Room ceiling in , the gift of the plasterer William Wilton. English Heritage.

which they had apparently not advertised, so therewas presumably no competition.

PLASTERERWilliam Wilton. Wilton did not submit a proposalin , but he was asked to attend the Committeewith a proposal on May . He attended on June and his proposal was accepted. His work inthe chapel was not free; he was paid £ s. �d. ininstalments between November and May. Some of it must have been complete by December , when he asked for charcoal to beburnt in the chapel to dry the plaster.

PAVIOURJohn Devall. Devall did not submit a proposal in, but on January he was asked to submitone, which the Committee had already decided wasto include black marble dots in the middle “isle” and“crossings”. On January his son attended with hisfather’s proposal, which was accepted, subject to thedirection of Henry Keene, the altar step to be ofmarble “as Mr Jacobsen shall direct”.

The following did not submit proposals, but werenonetheless employed on the chapel.

BRICKMAKERSWilliam Baker, of St Marylebone. Baker took overMiller’s contract, including the sheds which Millerhad built, on May , one week after Miller wasreported to have left off work. There is no record ofany proposal which he may have submitted; nodoubt he indicated his willingness to adhere toBaker’s. But on November the Committee agreeda second proposal for making another seven or eightthousand bricks in at s. per thousand. Hecame in to sign this agreement on December.Mrs Callins. She was paid £ s. for bricks for thechapel on September , certified by Sanderson’sforeman, John Lee.

MASONJohn Devall. His proposal was accepted on February .

SLATERSRichard Hughes. His proposal was accepted on February .Gar[ret]t Fitzgerald.

SMITHSJohn Phillips. The acceptance of Phillips’s proposalis not recorded, but he received £ between April and October , when the chapel was beingbuilt.Richard Burnett.

PLUMBEREdward Ives. The acceptance of Ives’s proposal isnot recorded, but, in addition to many smallunspecified bills, his bill for “plumber’s work in theChapel” was paid on February .

GLAZIERSJohn Lovett. Lovett’s “estimate” for the chapel wasaccepted on September . Presumably this wasthe same as the “proposal” he had delivered in on August , over two years before. Meanwhile hehad received some payments, for instance forrepairing the chapel sashes on July .Thomas Palmer.

PLASTERERSJonathan Crook.John Laban.

PAVIOURSThomas Phillips.Thomas Lord.

The proposals of these plasterers and paviours werenot taken up. After a gap of nearly two years theCommittee accepted proposals for these trades for



which Jacobsen was asked to give directions on

February ; in the event it was Keene whoproduced a “plan” of it, approved by Jacobsen, andthe Committee ordered its execution in wainscot fornot more than £, of which the Dryhursts’ bill musthave been the largest part.

The following tradesmen made gifts of their work,apparently without any other employment there.

CARVERLinnell, of Long Acre, was not employed by theHospital, but he presented a “curious carved frame”for the picture by Monamy to be hung in the CourtRoom (west wing) on December . However,on December the Committee decided that theMonamy should have a frame like the others in theroom and that Linnell’s frame should be adapted forthe altar piece of the chapel. On March thepainter Samuel Leightonhouse “offered aBenefaction of Gilding” it.

UPHOLSTERERReason, of Long Acre, described (on December) as the King’s upholsterer. He offered to presentcoverlets for the communion table, pulpit andreader’s desk on October . On October Keene arranged for the dimensions of theseitems to be sent to him and desired him to have hisupholstery ready in time for the opening of thechapel on December. However, it was only onDecember of the following year that the Committeeviewed Reason’s benefaction and agreed that, it“appearing very valuable”, he should be invited tobecome a Governor.

SMITHWagg. On May he received the Committee’sthanks for his benefaction of iron rails to thecommunion table. The top rail must have beenupholstered, as he had been asked in the previousOctober to give Reason its dimensions.

JOINERSJohn Spencer & Co.No separate proposals forjoiner’s work were submitted, but they may have beenincluded in Spencer and Phillips’s carpentryproposals. Spencer and Co.’s final bill for carpenter’swork for the chapel, submitted on August , cameto £, s. d., exclusive of “carcass already paidfor”. Without the carcass this carpentry must reallyhave been joinery. This supposition is supported bythe Committee’s request on March forSpencer to put up the picture in time for the Oratorioand to fit up the chapel with benches as before.

PAINTERSamuel Leightonhouse. He submitted a bill for £

s. on July , for unspecified work, but at thatdate likely to be on the chapel. Much later, onMarch , he “offered a Benefaction of Gilding”Linnell’s frame to Casali’s altarpiece, which theCommittee accepted and hoped that he might beable to implement before the Oratorio on April.

BRAZIERThomas Bedwell. On January “Mr Bedwell”offered to give a branch capable of holding candles.This may have been under consideration for sometime; as early as November Jacobsen hadbeen asked to provide iron chains for lustres, and on February the Committee had resolved to haveiron double branches at the sides of the chapel.Whatever emerged, Bedwell was also employed bythe Hospital, and was paid £ on March , and“Thomas Bedwell” was paid £ s. specifically forthe chapel on December .

CARVERMessrs. Dryhurst “had given to the Hospital theCarving of all the Seats Except the Front Seats in theChapel”. It was therefore presumably for the frontseats that they were paid £ s. on July .On December they were paid £ s. forwork on the pulpit. This was a “moving pulpit” for



materials of the Building way”, whose first bill waspresented on January . However, when theirnext account came in, on June, Sanderson wasasked to attend the Committee. On June he failedto show as requested, and Mr Smith, perhapsRobert, but now described as Pankeman and Pratt’sclerk, was asked whether Sanderson was a partner inthe company. The answer was affirmative, and allbills delivered by them between and March hadapparently been sent on his orders. Punishment fellon Pankeman and Pratt, rather than on Sanderson,however, and there is no indication of the Committee’sdispleasure with him. But from October to August all lime was supplied by Joseph Goodman.

SLATERHughes. He was appointed on April . OnOctober he was asked to begin work at once. Hisfinal bill, £ s. d., covered work on “outbuildings”as well as the new wing; it was settled on April.

GLAZIERS. On February the Committeeresolved to advertise in The Daily Advertiser forglaziers to deliver proposals within a fortnight, withprices of best Newcastle, Blackfriars and Ratcliffglass.Thomas Palmer. Palmer’s proposal for glazing “theEast Building” with Ratcliff glass, was agreed on February. His is the only proposal recorded, butWilliam Cobbett, who had been paid for glazier’swork, presumably elsewhere, on the same day, wasalso paid for glazing garrets and attic windows in the“East Building” on May .

PAVIOURSDevall. His proposal for paving with Purbeck thegreat kitchen, scullery and pantry, the Treasurer’skitchen, scullery and pantry, the areas to the yards,the passages to the coal vaults and the beer cellars, allin the “East Building”, was agreed on March .On May the Treasurer’s hall was added to the list.

EAST WINGProposals were apparently not sought at first,although tradesmen were appointed. On February the sub-committee reported that no contracts“were subsisting” except with the plasterer WilliamWilton and the brickmaker William Baker, and, sinceWilton entered into a contract for the east wing thefollowing month, the contract they referred to musthave been his old one for the chapel.

BRICKMAKERSWilliam Baker.He agreed to prepare earth for, bricks for “new wing”, offices and one sideof “pavilion and colonade” on November .He was asked for another , from Walham Greenon June . On July he told the Committeethat he had used , bricks from this source andneeded another ,. Despite being paid £ s.d.(half for the Chapel, half for the new wing and thefarm) on July, he represented to the Committee onNovember that he had not been paid for over,, bricks. On December he was asked foranother . bricks. He billed for , stockbricks in November . On January hewas ordered to make another or ,.Trimmer and Clarke. On September

Trimmer sent in proposals for bricks for the archesof the “new building”. On October Trimmerand Clarke were paid for grey stock bricks for the“new wing”; they presented another bill (£ s. d.)for , grey stocks “for arch work in East Wing”;and they were paid again on March for stockbricks.

BRICKLAYERSanderson. He was appointed to direct the diggingof the foundations on March and instructed tolay foundations on May following. Cellar andshores were complete by November. For the eastwing Sanderson had a foreman called Robert Smith,who valued bricks on October . Sandersonbought lime from Pankeman and Pratt, “dealers in



PLUMBERIves. There is no record of his bringing in aproposal, but he was paid at least £ on account“of work in the new wing” between May andMay .

SMITHJohn Phillips. “Mr Phillips” was instructed to makeiron rails for the staircase of the new building in thesame manner as in the former wing on June .He must have been the John Phillips who receivedregular small payments for smith’s work. The railsmay have been like the plain bar balusters to thelower flight shown in Fig. .

BRAZIERThomas Bedwell. His bill of £ s. d. for workon the east wing was paid on December .

CARVERSMessrs. Dryhurst. They were paid £ s. d. forwork on the east wing on December .

UPHOLSTERERSChambers. This was presumably the TristramChambers who had supplied the upholstery for thewest wing. He was paid £ s. on June and£ s. on July , presumably for the east wing.

BEDSTEAD MAKERSMrs Gordon. A suitable bed type for the east wingevidently exercised the Committee. On November Lord Southwell presented a plan of beds andchambers in the Foundling Hospital in Paris. On

April Mr Whatley showed them a plan of aniron bedstead used in the General Hospital inMarseilles. On July the Committee evidentlyheld a trial, and chose the wooden bed type made byMrs Gordon. It is therefore possible that thenumerous small payments for carpenter’s workwhich she had received since September wereactually for beds.

Sanderson.His proposal for paving the coal vaultsand the Treasurer’s wine vaults with brick wasagreed on the same day.

MASONDevall. His paving proposal included Portland andveined marble chimneypieces, the latter presumablyin the Treasurer’s apartment. On September

it was reported that he should send in hands toexpedite his work, and on October the Committeewrote to express their surprise at the neglect of it andto request his attendance the next day.

PLASTERERWilton. His proposal for the east wing was agreedon March , and included “trowelled stuco togroins” (presumably of the arcade), plain cornicesand plain modillioned cornices, as well as all thecommon plastering which in the west wing had beendone by Jonathan Crooke.

PAINTERLeightonhouse. His proposal must have been beforethe Committee on March , because they thenleft it to the sub-committee to agree on as best termsthey could. On March the sub-committeereported that they had agreed terms “lower than hereceives for like work in cosideration of its being for acharity”, and that he had also offered to gild Linnell’sframe for Casali’s altarpiece as “a Benefaction”.

CARPENTERS AND JOINERSSpencer & Co. As carpenters, Spencer and hispartners may have worked without a contract.Proposals for carpenter’s and joiner’s work infinishing the new wing (presumably largely joiner’swork) were requested on February andagreed on March. On September it wasreported that they should send in hands to expeditetheir work, and on October the Committee wroteto express their surprise at Spencer’s neglect and torequest his attendance the next day.



would have been known to Jelfe, who formed apartnership with Strong and Cass after Fletcher’sdeath. In , before his time was up, “Jonathan”Devall was paid by the Board of Ordnance for workat the Ordnance Wharf in Plymouth, of which Jelfewas the architect. He became free on February. In he worked, under John Sanderson, atStratton Park, Hants. In – he worked atWimbledon House, Surrey, at first under RogerMorris. In – he worked at Bedford House,Bloomsbury, together with John Sanderson. In

a tradesman called Devall worked on QueenCaroline’s Library, St James’s Palace, designed byWilliam Kent, although this could have been theplumber George Devall. John Devall worked underRoger Morris on the Palladian Bridge at Wilton,where his initials are insribed, with the date .

Between and he was involved with RogerMorris and James Gibbs in building houses on theDuke of Argyll’s estate off Oxford Street. In– he worked at No. Old Burlington Streetunder Roger Morris. In he worked at No.

Berkeley Square under William Kent, and atWimpole Hall, Cambs., under Henry Flitcroft. In, and he worked at Adderbury House,Oxon., probably under John Phillips. He wasperhaps the “Mr Devall” who worked at WakefieldLodge, Northants., in –, under John Marsden,who carried out Kent’s design. Between and he worked at No. St James’s Square underJames Paine. In he worked at Spencer House,Green Park, under John Vardy. In – he waspaid by the th. Earl of Holdernesse either for workat Holdernesse House, Hertford Street, or at SionHill, Isleworth, Middlesex.

His son of the same name (–) was Masterof the Masons’ Company in , and presumablybecame free around . Payments to “John Devall”between then and could therefore be to either ofthem, but they covered work at Hovingham Hall,Yorks., in the s, Croome Court, Worcs., andCoventry House, No. Piccadilly, in ,

Bates, of Southwark. On July Bates sent in an“iron hammered” bedstead, which the Committeedid not choose.Sunderland, of St Thomas Apostle. On July

Sunderland sent in a cast iron bedstead, which theCommittee did not choose.

* * *

Thirty-six of these tradesmen can be identified fromother jobs, as follows.

BrickmakersThomas Scott is otherwise only known from St Mary,Rotherhithe, designed by John James, where Scottwas the brickmaker in –.

William Baker was the brickmaker at No.

Argyll Street in .

BricklayersJohn Sanderson (died ) was described as thehospital’s Surveyor in December and he alsosubmitted a design in January . He continued asSurveyor until Horne’s offer to act in this capacitygratis was accepted on June . He was anarchitect as well as a bricklayer, and as such, hiscareer is described by Colvin.

MasonsDevall (–) was the eldest of three mason-carvers of that name, and was Master of the Masons’Company in ; his career is outlined by Gunnis.

More is known about Devall since the publication ofGunnis’s Dictionary, however, as follows.

He was the son of George Devall of Eynsham,Oxon., who was paid by Roger Morris in – forwork on New Park Lodge, Richmond. John Devallwas apprenticed to Joshua Fletcher on August, not, as Gunnis states, to Andrews Jelfe; butFletcher was at that date in partnership withChristopher Cass, then foreman of the Blenheimwork force of Jelfe’s master, Edward Strong, so he



Bond St. on the Conduit Mead estate, and St George’sSt. and the site of St George’s, Hanover Square on theScarbrough estate, all in Westminster, presumably asa developer, though possibly as a carpenter also.

On the Burlington estate he held leases in CliffordSt. in and , Old Burlington St. in ‒

and , Boyle St. and Savile Row in . Heheld leases in Sackville St. in –. In hewas the co-developer with the architect RogerMorris of Nos. – Strand.

In – he and Roger Morris were themeasurers of St John’s church, Marylebone, designedby Gibbs.

William Timbrell, presumably Benjamin’s heir, isonly known as a carpenter. He worked at Marble HillHouse, Twickenham, under Matthew Brettingham’sdirection, in –. He was presumably theTimbrell who worked at Northumberland House,Strand, under first Daniel Garrett, then James Paine,from to , as the latter part of this time wasafter Benjamin’s death in . Either could havebeen the Timbrell who acted as carpenter at No. StJames’s Square in , although, as he did so inpartnership with William Timbrell’s later partnerJohn Spencer, it may well have been William. It canonly have been William who was the Timbrell paidin and for carpentry work on the newUniversity Library at Cambridge, designed byStephen Wright; in the latter year he was again inpartnership with Spencer.

John Spencer was Timbrell’s partner as carpenterat Northumberland House and Cambridge UniversityLibrary. But at No. St James’s Square he wasapparently the surveyor. Dr. Borg has discovered thathe was also the surveyor of the proposed house forthe Society of Antiquaries of London.

John Phillips (c.–) was the nephew ofThomas Phillips (c.–), who had beenBenjamin Timbrell’s occasional partner; John’spartnership at the Foundling Hospital with WilliamTimbrell and John Spencer reveals that therelationship was continued by the next generation.

Harewood House, Yorks., in , Stanmore Park,Middlesex, in , the Excise Office in – ,

Coutts’s Bank (No. Strand) in –, No.

Mansfield Street in , the Temple of Victory atAudley End, Essex, in , Erddig Hall,Denbighshire, in –, and undated work atKedleston Hall, Derbs. .

CarpentersTimbrell and Spencer were awarded “One Moiety ofthe Carpenters Work” of the west wing, John Phillips“the other Moiety”; Spencer and Phillips won thecontract for the chapel; Spencer “and Co.” won thecontract for the east wing. The former may havebeen the carpenter-architect Benjamin Timbrell(died ), but on July £ s. �d. was paidto William Timbrell and John Spencer forcarpenters’ work, so it is possible that the earlierreferences are also to William.

Benjamin Timbrell’s career as an architect isdescribed by Colvin, to which can be added anunexecuted design for St George’s Hospital, HydePark Corner, submitted in .

His career as a carpenter and builder-developercan be amplified, however, as follows. From to he had the carpentry contract for the SenateHouse, Cambridge University, with Thomas Phillips.

From to he had the carpentry contract for theFellows’ Building, King’s College, Cambridge. In– he was the builder of No. Grosvenor St.,and in – the builder of the monument room at StLawrence, Whitchurch, Middlesex.These last fourbuildings were designed by Gibbs. In – he waspaid for carpentry work at Nos. – Brook St. forViscount Townshend.He received payments forunspecified services, possibly carpentry, from HenryWatson in , the nd. Duke of Argyll in ,possibly in connection with his house in Bruton St.,

and William Drake in –.

Mr. Frank Kelsall has discovered that in

alone Timbrell held building leases in Bond St. andClifford St. on the Burlington estate, Maddox St. and



in St Margaret St., Westminster, which the Worksbuilt between and , the Excise Office, OldBroad St., designed by William Robinson, and builtbetween –, and the Fleet Prison, builtbetween and .

In John Phillips leased a house in Bruton St.with Isaac Ware. In he leased a house inStanhope St., Mayfair, to William Ayray, glazier.

Like Phillips, George Shakespear (died ) wasan architect as well as a carpenter, and his career asthe former is also described in Colvin, to whichcan be added his position as arbitrator of the designsfor Bristol Bridge in , in partnership with JohnPhillips. As a carpenter, he acted with John Phillipsas general contractor of Egremont House, Piccadilly,in –, as carpenter of the infirmary ofGreenwich Hospital in –, and as carpenterof Lansdowne House, Berkeley Square, in . In he examined the gardener Fuller White’saccounts at the invitation of Stephen Wright. Hewas presumably related to the George and JohnShakespear who were successively Master Scavelmenof the Board of Ordnance, although neither were hisfather, who was a leatherseller; this GeorgeShakespear worked for the Board at WoolwichArsenal between and ; John Shakespearworked there between and . Both of themworked for the Board at Landguard Fort, Suffolk, in– and – respectively.

Marquand is likely to be Charles Marquand(died ), who also tendered for the joinerycontract in January . His career as a bridgebuilder, civil engineer and architect is described inColvin, to which can be added his provision ofdrawings and a model for a new bridge at Boston forBoston Corporation in . He was presumablythe “Marquan” who bought demolition material atthe sale of Canons House, Middlesex, in .

The Sanderson who tendered for the carpentryof the west wing in was presumably the same asJoseph Sanderson, who also tendered for the joinerycontract in . Joseph (who died on August )

John Phillips was frequently in partnership withGeorge Shakespear, and, although Phillips did nottender for the carpentry of the Foundling Hospitalchapel in , Shakespear did.

John Phillips was also an architect, and, as such,his career is described by Colvin, to which may beadded the rebuilding of the south front of AdderburyHouse, Oxon., for the dowager duchess of Argyll in–, some unidentified work for her daughter,the Countess of Dalkeith, in , his position asarbitrator, with Shakespear, of the designs for BristolBridge in , and his provision of a plan for theWatch House for the parish of St George, HanoverSquare, in .

As a carpenter (occasionally joiner) and builder,the following work can also be added. He may havebeen involved with Thomas and Leonard Phillips inthe development of Argyll St., and he certainlywitnessed the assignment of the lease of No.

Argyll St. to Elizabeth, widow of his uncle ThomasPhillips, in . In he was involved in thedevelopment of No. Berkeley Square. He wasprobably the Phillips who was the joiner at WimpoleHall in , and builder at Bedford House,Bloomsbury Square, in , in both these placesunder the direction of Flitcroft. From to

he was the carpenter at Ragley Hall, Warks., thenbeing altered by Gibbs, and from to heand George Shakespear were the principalcontractors of Egremont House, Piccadilly, designedby Matthew Brettingham. In –, ,– and – he was paid for unspecifiedwork by the Earl of Holdernesse, presumably oneither Holdernesse House, Hertford St., Sion Hill,Isleworth, Middlesex, or Hornby Castle, Yorkshire.

In – Phillips and Shakespear were thecarpenters of the Infirmary of Greenwich Hospital,designed by James Stuart, and in they werethe carpenters of Lansdowne House, BerkeleySquare, designed by Robert Adam. After heexecuted carpentry contracts for the Office of Works;these were for the office for the Board of Ordnance



Alexander at the Foundling Hospital was a brazier aswell as a smith, Alderman Alexander may have beenthe Alexander who was from c. to the lock -smith at Ormsby Hall, Lincs., designed by JamesPaine. He may have been the Alexander who in–, with his partner Shrimpton, was the lock -smith at Ashburnham Place, Sussex, designed byStephen Wright, and at Lansdowne House, BerkeleySquare, in –. In – Alexander andShrimpton supplied steel grates at Corsham Court,Wilts., designed by Capability Brown, and in atMersham le Hatch, designed by Robert Adam.

Thomas Wagg was the smith at the Paymaster-General’s Office, Whitehall, in –, designed byJohn Lane.He worked several times under Gibbs,at No. Arlington Street in –, at WilliamHanby’s house in Mortimer Street in –, and atthe Radcliffe Camera, Oxford, in –. In –he worked under Kent on Queen Caroline’s Library,St James’s Palace.Thereafter he worked underPaine, at Hickleton Hall, Yorks. (1745–8), DoncasterMansion House (1745–9), Nostell Priory, Yorks.(c.1747), and Felbrigg Hall, Norfolk (1753).He wasprobably the Wagg who bought material at theCanons sale in .

PlumbersEdward Ives worked at No. Berkeley Square in and at No. St. James’s Square in –,under Matthew Brettingham. He was plumber andglazier at Holkham Hall from to , alsounder Brettingham. A tradesman called Ivesbought material at the Canons sale in .

There was a plumber called Painter active inCambridge slightly later. In and he workedon the new University Library, designed byStephen Wright, and in and he worked atAddenbrooke’s Hospital.

George Devall was the most successful plumberof the decades –. John Devall became SerjeantPlumber in the Office of Works in , and led thefield until his death in . Jeremiah Devall,

was John Sanderson’s cousin, a carpenter and architectwhose career as the latter is described in Colvin.

Robinson was presumably William Robinson,who contracted to repair Mr. Gould’s and theadjoining house in Lamb’s Conduit Fields for theFoundling Hospital, and was ordered to be paid fordoing so on June . The two contemporaryarchitects of that name recorded by Colvin are notknown to have been carpenters, although that wouldnot have been impossible.To Colvin’s account of thebetter known of them, Clerk of Works at GreenwichHospital and holder of various posts in the Office ofWorks, may be added his responsibility between

and , with Thomas Ripley, as measurer of HenryPelham’s house at No. Arlington Street,

designed by William Kent, his work as surveyor(replacing Gibbs) at St Bartholomew’s Hospital from to , and his work as architect of CoombePlace, Offham, Sussex, in .

The less well known of the two was Surveyor ofthe East India Company from to , andwould therefore have been known to Jacobsen.

There was, however, a joiner called WilliamRobinson, paid for unspecified services in –

by the Earl of Holdernesse, for carpentry andjoinery in at No. Trinity Square, Minories,designed by Robert Taylor for the Sick and HurtBoard, and paid for moulds for the Rustic Gate ofthe Elysian Garden at Audley End, Essex, in .

He might have been either of the two architects, or hemight have come from Cambridge, where in acarpenter of that name repaired Merrill’s house for theUniversity and worked as a carver in Sidney SussexCollege hall, designed by Sir James Burrough, andin worked in Great St Mary’s church.

SmithsWilliam Alexander of Wood Street, Cheapside, wassuccessively Citizen (), Alderman (–), andSheriff (–) of London, and in hecontracted for the iron work at the Mansion House,designed by George Dance. As the William



(). A John Devall was paid by the Earl ofHoldernesse in –, but it could have beeneither the plumber or the mason. He was probablythe Devall who in was the plumber at GraftonHouse, Bond St., under Robert Taylor, and whobought the lead from Merlin’s Cave, Richmond,when that building was being demolished in .

GlaziersThomas Palmer may in – have been theplumber at St Mary, Rotherhithe, designed by JohnJames. It is possible that he was the glass painter TPalmer, who worked at Arbury Hall, Warks., in

under Sanderson Miller.

William Cobbett seems to have been one of adynasty of Cobbbett glaziers. He was the glazier atNewnham Paddox House, Warks., under CapabilityBrown in , at No. Mansfield Street in ,

and at Audley End House, Essex, in , on theselast occasions working under Robert Adam.

SlaterRichard Hughes was the slater of No. ArlingtonStreet between and , and slated the roofof Westminster Hall in –. William Kent wasthe architect of both these works.

JoinersLancelot Dowbiggin was also an architect and hiscareer is described by Colvin.

William Spier was also his partner in asjoiner at the Mansion House, designed by GeorgeDance.

Jupp was probably Richard Jupp of Clerkenwell,Master of the London Carpenters’ Company in ,and father of the architects Richard and WilliamJupp.

PlasterersCrooke was perhaps related to the plasterer ThomasCrooke of London, who had worked at WalbrookHouse, in the City, in . Thomas Crooke had

possibly the latter’s son, was a leading plumber from to . They were presumably related to themasons of that name.

George Devall’s earliest known work was on theFifty New Churches, initially St Anne, Limehouse(–) and St John, Westminster (–). Hewas probably the plumber named Devall who workedfor the st Earl Stanhope at either Chevening House,Kent, or Dorset House, Whitehall, in . He wasinvolved in development in Bedford Row in .

He worked at St George, Bloomsbury (–),

at Carshalton House (–), and at ChristChurch, Spitalfields (–). He worked atCarshalton Park (), St Luke, Old Street(–), Houghton Hall, Norfolk, in –,

Wolterton Hall, Norfolk (), either ChiswickHouse or Burlington House, Piccadilly, for the rd.Earl of Burlington in , the Treasury in ,

and the Paymaster-General’s Office, both inWhitehall, in –.He was probably the plumbernamed Duvall who worked at Raynham Hall, Norfolk(–). He was probably the plumber namedDevall who worked at Holkham Hall, Norfolk, in, and who worked for the Chelsea WaterworksCompany in . He may have been the tradesmancalled Devall who worked at Queen Caroline’sLibrary, St James’s Palace in , although thatcould have been the mason Devall. As the executorof his brother-in-law, the paviour John Mist, he wasco-developer of Nos. and Argyll St., and No.

Argyll Place in –, and in the same capacityhe leased ground in Westminster from WilliamPulteney and Elizabeth, widow of the carpenterThomas Phillips in .

John Devall’s earliest known work was inbuildings designed by William Kent, No.

Arlington Street (–), and No. BerkeleySquare (–). He was presumably the plumbercalled Devall who worked at Wakefield Lodge,Northants., from to . For the Office ofWorks he worked at Westminster Hall (), theHorse Guards (–), and the Royal Mews



Pump MakerFrancis Sutton bought houses on Kensington Greenin , together with William Bates, carpenter.

CarversLinnell was probably the famous cabinet makerWilliam Linnell (c.–), although possibly hisson John (–).

Thomas Adye’s career is described both inGunnis and in Beard and Gilbert.

One of the Messrs. Dryhurst may have beenJames Dryhurst, who in – was the carver atBoreham House, Essex, designed by Henry Flitcroft.

Cabinet maker Hallett was doubtless the famous cabinet makerWilliam Hallett (c.–), although possiblyWilliam Hallot.

UpholsterersTristram Chambers had premises in Cary Street.

Reason was presumably William Reason.

N O T E S

Sally Jeffery, English Baroque Architecture: the workof John James, PhD thesis, London University,, cat. no. .

F.H.W. Sheppard (ed.), Survey of London, London,, XXXI, .

Howard Colvin, Biographical Dictionary of BritishArchitects –, New Haven and London,, –.

Rupert Gunnis, Biographical Dictionary of EnglishSculptors –, London, , –.

Steven Parissien, The Lives of Roger and RobertMorris, DPhil. thesis, University of Oxford, ,.

Sally Jeffery, The Mansion House, Chichester, ,.

Richard Hewlings, “Andrews Jelfe”, in New DNB,Oxford, forthcoming; H.M. Colvin, A BiographicalDictionary of English Architects –,London, , ; David Green, Blenheim Palace,

taken an apprentice named Henry Wells in ,

and it may or may not be a coincidence that WilliamWilton, the decorative plasterer, had a “man” namedSamuel Wells in .

Laban was the plasterer of St John’s church,Hampstead, in ; its architect was JohnSanderson.

Wilton’s date of birth is not known, but he wasthe father of the famous sculptor, Joseph Wilton,who was born in . In that year William Wiltonworked at Stanmer Park, Sussex, whose architectwas Nicholas Dubois. Much of his early work,however, was done for Gibbs in London—theOxford Market House, Marylebone Place (–),repairs to St Peter’s church, Vere St. ( and ),and No. Arlington St. (–). He maytherefore be the Wilton who was involved withGibbs in the development of No. Henrietta Placein . As he was presumably the Wilton,plasterer at Madingley Hall, Cambs., in , it ispossible that Gibbs designed the alterations to thathouse. Meanwhile, in –, Wilton worked atBedford House, Bloomsbury Square, where thearchitect was probably John Sanderson. In hewas involved with Gibbs and Roger Morris in thedevelopment of No. Argyll Place and No. GreatMarlborough St. In he bought demolitionmaterial at the Canons sale. In he worked atAudley End House, Essex, as did James Horne, JohnPhillips and George Shakespear. In heworked at an unknown location for the dowagerDuchess of Argyll. In – he worked at LinleyHall, Salop., under Henry Joynes. He died in ,and was buried at Wanstead.

PaintersIt is possible that Wright was the painter atDinnington Hall, Yorkshire, c.–, where thearchitect was the London-based James Paine.

Samuel Leightonhouse was in – the painterat Boreham House, Essex, designed by HenryFlitcroft.



Colvin, Biographical Dictionary, , cit., . George C. Peachey, History of St George’s Hospital,

London, , . Terry Friedman, James Gibbs, New Haven and

London, , ; Cambridge, University Library,UAc., VCV, () and (), and Misc. Coll. .

Terry Friedman, op. cit., . Ibid., and . Raynham Hall, archives, drawer . London, Royal Bank of Scotland, Drummonds’

Branch, Ledgers. London, Coutts’s Bank, Ledger , fol., / Jan

, “Benj: Timbrell £”. London, Hoare’s Bank, Ledger , fol. ; Ledger

, fol. . Kindly communicated by Mr. Kelsall on the basis of

his research in the Middlesex Deeds Registry. Sheppard, op. cit.,XXXII, London, , , ,

and . Ibid., –, –, . Ibid., –. Ibid., –. Ibid., – and –. Frank Kelsall, “No. – Strand…”,London

Topographical Record, XXIV, , . Terry Friedman, op. cit., . Marie P.G.Draper and Peter Eden, Marble Hill

House, London, , –. Peter Leach, The Life and Work of James Paine,

DPhil. thesis, University of Oxford, (hereafterLeach, thesis), .

Sheppard, op.cit., XXIX, London, , . Cambridge, University Library, UAc., (). Supra, 12. Colvin, Biographical Dictionary, , cit., . Hewlings, “Adderbury House”, cit., . Ibid., . Walter Ison, The Georgian Buildings of Bristol,

London, , and . Garnier, “Grafton Street”, infra, 265, note . Sheppard, op. cit., XXXI, London, , –. London, London Metropolitan Archives, MLR

//. London, British Library, Add. MS ,. Worsley, “The ‘best-turned’ house . . . ,” cit., –,

n.. Geoffrey Tyack, “Warwickshire country houses

in the age of classicism”, Warwickshire LocalHistory Society Occasional Papers, Warwick,, .

London, , passim; London, British Library,Stowe MS , fol. (no.).

Jonathan Coad, “Historic Architecture of HMNaval Base Devonport –”, Mariner’sMirror, November , .

Jeffery, Mansion House, loc. cit.. Marie P.G. Draper, “The Houses of the Russell

Family”, Apollo, CXXVII, June , ; MarieP.G. Draper, “When Marlborough’s DuchessBuilt”, Country Life, CXXXII, August , .

Frances Harris, “…Wimbledon House, –”,Georgian Group Journal, II, , .

Giles Worsley, “The ‘best-turned’ house of theDuke of Bedford”, Georgian Group Journal, VI,, –.

London, National Archives, PRO (hereafter PRO),WORK /.

Christopher Hussey, “Palladian Bridge architect”,Country Life, CI, June th. , .

Sheppard, op. cit., XXXI, London, , –. Parissien, op.cit., . London, Sir John Soane’s Museum, B. London, British Library, Add. MS. ,. Richard Hewlings, “Adderbury House”, in

Malcolm Airs (ed.), Baroque and Palladian: the earlyeighteenth-century great house, Oxford, , –.

Richard Hewlings, “Wakefield Lodge…”, GeorgianGroup Journal, III, , –.

Peter Leach, James Paine, London, , . Joe Friedman, Spencer House, London, , –. London, British Library, Egerton MS. ,. Gunnis, loc.cit. Giles Worsley, “Hovingham Hall, Yorkshire-II”,

Country Life, CLXXXVIII, September , . Joan Lane, “The furniture at Croome Court”,

Apollo, CXLV, January , and . Mary Mauchline, Harewood House, , ,

and . London, British Library, Add. MS. ,. H.M.Colvin (ed.), The History of the King’s Works,

V, London, , . Leach, James Paine, cit., . Tara Draper, “Mansfield Street”, Friends of Adam in

London Newsletter,No., Summer , . Michael Sutherill, “The garden buildings at Audley

End”, Georgian Group Journal, VI, , . Gervase Jackson-Stops, “Erdigg Park, Clwyd-I”,

Country Life, CLXIII, April , . Geoffrey Beard, Craftsmen and Interior Decoration

in England, London, , .



Peter Salway, “A College Hall Restored”, CountryLife, CXXVII, February , .

Cambridge, University Library, UAc. (). Beard, op. cit., .

Jeffery, Mansion House, cit., . Leach, thesis, cit., . Christopher Hussey, “Ashburnham Place, Sussex-

II”, Country Life, CXIII, April , . Hiesinger, loc.cit. Beard, op. cit., . PRO, T/, pp. and . Friedman, op.cit., , and . PRO, WORK /. Leach, James Paine, cit., , , and . Canons, sale particulars, cit. London, London Metropolitan Archives, MLR

// and //. Sheppard, op. cit., XXIX, London, , . Ex inf. Prof. Dr. Leo Schmidt. Canons, sale particulars, cit. Cambridge, University Library, UAc. (). Cambridge, Addenbrooke’s Hospital Archives,

Trustee’s minutes –, fols. and . Colvin (ed.), King’s Works, V, cit., . HM Colvin, “Fifty New Churches”, Architectural

Review, March (hereafter AR). . Maidstone, Centre for Kentish Studies, Stanhope

MSS, E/. Ex inf. Mr Frank Kelsall. AR, cit... Ex inf. Mr. Andrew Skelton. AR., cit.,. Ex inf. Mr. Andrew Skelton. AR, cit.. . Cambridge, University Library, Cholmondeley

MSS, Account Book . Gordon Nares, “Wolterton Hall, Norfolk-II”,

Country Life, CXXII, July , . Chatsworth, Lord Burlington’s account books,

Book of Accounts with Nath. Gould & AlbertNesbitt Esqrs. Septr .

Colvin (ed.), King’s Works, V, cit, . PRO, T/, pp. and . James M Rosenheim, The Townshends of Raynham,

Middletown (Conn.), , . Ex inf. Prof. Dr. Leo Schmidt. Ex inf. Mr. Andrew Skelton. PRO,WORK /. Sheppard, op. cit., XXXI, London, ,

–.

Christopher Rowell, “The nd. Earl of Egremont andEgremont House”, Apollo, CXLII, April ,

London, British Library, Egerton MS ,. PRO, ADM / Kathryn Bloom Hiesinger, “The [Lansdowne

House] drawing Room…”, Bulletin of thePhiladelphia Museum of Art, LXXXII, Summer, and .

Colvin (ed.), King’s Works, V, cit., . Ibid., . Ibid., . BH Johnson, Berkeley Square to Bond Street,

London, , . F.J.A. Skeet, History of the families of Skeet,

Summerscales and Widdrington, London, , . Colvin, Biographical Dictionary, , cit., –. Ison, op. cit., . Rowell, op. cit., . PRO, ADM /. Hiesinger, loc. cit. Michael Symes, “The garden designs of Stephen

Wright”, Garden History, XX, Spring , . OFG Hogg, The Royal Arsenal, I, London, ,

, , –, , , , – and –. Christopher Storrs, Landguard Fort, unpublished

report for English Heritage, . Colvin, Biographical Dictionary, , cit., . Boston, Boston Corporation Archives, Council

Minutes, V (–), fols. and . New Haven (Conn.), Yale University, Center for

British Art, MSS Department, Canons SaleParticulars (hereafter Canons, sale particulars). I amgrateful to Mr. John Harris for showing me his copyof this document.

Colvin, Biographical Dictionary, , cit., . Ibid., –. David Watkin, Antony Ratcliff, Nicholas

Thompson and John Mills, A House in Town,London, , .

Terry Friedman, op.cit., and –. David Brock, “The improvement of Coombe

Place”, Georgian Group Journal, VI, , . Colvin, Biographical Dictionary, , cit., . London, British Library, Egerton MS ,. Richard Garnier, “The Office of the Sick and Hurt

Board”, Georgian Group Journal, XII, , . Michael Sutherill,”The buildings of the Elysian

Garden at Audley End”, Georgian Group Journal,VII, , and . .

Cambridge, University Library, UAc. ().



Colvin, Biographical Dictionary, , cit., . Jeffery, Mansion House, cit., and . Colvin, Biographical Dictionary, , cit.,

–. Bridget Cherry, “John Pollexfen’s house in

Walbrook”, in John Bold and Edward Chaney(eds.), English Architecture Public and Private,London, , .

John G. Dunbar, “The Building-activities of theDuke and Duchess of Lauderdale, –”,Archaeological Journal, CXXXII, , , n..

Cambridge, Cambridgeshire Record Office, CottonMSS, /A, fol..

C.H. Collins Baker, “John Sanderson andHampstead Parish Church”, Country Life,LXXXIII, December th. , .

Gunnis, op. cit., . Beard, op. cit., . Terry Friedman, op. cit., and . John Summerson, “Henrietta Place, Marylebone,

and its associations with James Gibbs”, LondonTopographical Record, XXI, , .

Cambridge, Cambridgeshire Record Office, CottonMSS, /A, fol. .

Worsley, “The ‘best-turned’ house . . .”, cit., . Sheppard, op. cit., XXXI, London, , . Canons, sale particulars, cit. Paul Drury, “…Audley End”, Architectural History,

XXIII, , , n.. London, Coutts’s Bank, Ledger , fol.. Beard, op.cit., . Leach, thesis, cit., . Ex inf. Mr. H.P.R. Hoare. London, Kensington Public Library, MS ,. Geoffrey Beard and Christopher Gilbert (eds.),

Dictionary of English Furniture Makers –,Leeds, , –.

Ibid., –. Gunnis, op. cit., ; Beard and Gilbert (eds.), op.

cit., . Ex inf. Mr. H.P.R. Hoare. Beard and Gilbert (eds.), op. cit., –. Ibid., . Ibid., . Ibid., –.

Nottingham, University of Nottingham, HallwardLibrary, Galway MSS, Catalogue, p. .

Watkin et al., op.cit., . Richard Hewlings, “Clark’s London House:

Berkeley Square”, in Brian Ll. James (ed.), GTClark: Scholar ironmaster in the Victorian age,Cardiff, , .

Hewlings, “Wakefield Lodge…”, cit., –, . Colvin (ed.), King’s Works, V, cit., . Ibid., . Leach, thesis, cit., . London, British Library, Egerton MS, ,. Hewlings, “Wakefield Lodge…”, cit., , where

Grafton House is incorrectly located in Piccadilly;see Richard Garnier, “Grafton Street, Mayfair”,infra, 84 and 264, for the correct location of thisGrafton House.

Colvin (ed.), King’s Works, V, cit., . Jeffery, John James, cit., cat. no. . Tyack, op. cit., . Richard Cobbett was the glazier at the Paymaster-

General’s Office, Whitehall, in [PRO, T/,p.], and at No. Arlington St. in –[Watkin et al., House in Town, cit., ]. A RichardCobbett was the glazier at Hovingham Hall, Yorks,in the s [Worsley, “Hovingham Hall”, cit., ]John Cobbett and (presumably) another RichardCobbett were the glaziers at Somerset House in– [Colvin, King’s Works, cit., V, ], and thelatter was the glazier at Nos. and Downing St.,and the Foreign Office in , working with PittCobbett, the painter there [London, Sir JohnSoane’s Museum, Soane Correspondence, XII, D,]. “Cobbetts” were the glaziers at AdmiraltyHouse, Whitehall, in – [PRO, ADM /],and a Cobbett was the painter and glazier at theLaw Courts, Westminster, in – [H.M. Colvin(ed.), J. Mordaunt Crook and M.H. Port, History ofthe King’s Works, VI, London, , ].

Tyack, op. cit., . Tara Draper, op. cit., . Chelmsford, Essex Record Office, Braybrooke

Papers. Watkin et al., A House in Town, cit., . Colvin (ed.), King’s Works, V, .



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