Sir John Soane, master architect
Sir John Soane was an English architect who lived from the 18th century to the early 19th century and was known mostly for his work ion the neoclassical idiom. His work was characterised by meticulous detail, with precise lines and basic forms brought together with the proportional sense of a true master, and on the whole illuminated very skilfully.
Soane came into his own towards the latter part of the Georgian period and as such was somewhat neglected due to the influx of the Revivalist style which was becoming more and more popular with the turn of the century.
It would take the rest of the century before the full weight of John Soane's significant contributions to the world of architecture would be acknowledged.
The Bank of England was perhaps Soane's most well known work and this structure stood as a monument to Soane vast impact on the architecture of that time period until it was brought down in the 1920s.
John Soane was born on September 10th, 1753 in Goring-On-Thames in England. He received his earliest education in the town of Reading and later studied to become an architect under the tutelage of George Dance the Younger and later under Henry Holland.
While under instruction from these two architects, Soane also attended the Royal Academy Schools from 1771. He performed exceptionally well in this school and was awarded a silver medal in 1772, a gold medal in 1776 and most significant in his later career, a travelling scholarship to Italy were he developed his skills further.
In his travels around Rome, Soane was accompanied by his friend and former classmate, Thomas Hardwick who was himself also an architect. The trip was generally fruitful in that it enabled Soane to finely hone his craft, and in addition he had the opportunity to meet Frederick Augustus Hervey, who was the builder and Bishop of Derry. Hervey would later bring Soane with him to Ireland.
Sir John Soane would fail to find any work in Ireland and in 1870, he instead returned to England where he set up a small office in East Anglia.
1788 was the year when Soane would attain a significantly more important position. This was the year when he replaced Sir Robert Taylor in the latter's role as Architect and Surveyor to the Bank of England.
During his tenure at the bank, John Soane would work on what was to become his most famous accomplishment; the construction of the bank's exterior. Unfortunately, much of Soane’s work on this building was destroyed some years later during the rebuilding efforts headed by Sir Herbert Baker.
Many people were displeased with this demolition and Pevsner was sufficiently moved to call it the greatest architectural crime in London in the 20th century. Nevertheless, the work that John Soane did on the building greatly increased his visibility in the city and secured for him a great number of very lucrative contracts. His success continued until he was eventually made a knight in 1831.
Sir John Soane died on January 20th, 1837.
Original Authors: Doods Pangburn
Edit Update Authors: M.A.Harris
Updated On: 30/07/2008
