As the science of photography developed, so architectural drawings became less realistic and more impressionistic (since there was no need to produce a realistic facsimile of a scene when a photograph could achieve this in an instant). Architectural draftsmen, however, were required to produce something that looked realistic when in fact it was pure fantasy.

Often the lovingly-drawn perspective flattered the building rather more than it deserved, putting it into a romantic light, or drawing it from an impossible viewpoint. Many architectural designs were never built, or worse, demolished – in such cases, the original drawings are the only evidence that the building ever existed.

We are proud to present a selection of architectural drawings and watercolours by some of the twentieth century’s greatest architectural artists, including Cyril Farey and JDM Harvey.

  • Reginald Hallward (1858 - 1948)

    Ilford War Memorial design

      Pencil on paper 15 x 10 cm Initialled lower right in pencil. Hallward's design is for Ilford's memorial for the fallen of the First World War. Ilford had raised £20,000 for a commemorative project and opted to build a garden and a monument (there had been discussions about opening a children's hospital, but it was decided that upkeep of the hospital over time could not be guaranteed; a wing at the local hospital, combined with the memorial and garden, was deemed to be the better option). This drawing is a proposed sketch; the final monument – whilst retaining the celtic cross – is simpler, but also incorporates a fine monument of a soldier presenting arms by the sculptor Newberry Abbott Trent (best known for the reliefs on 3 St James’s Square, London, depicting London street scenes; and those on the entrance doors to The Adelphi Building on The Strand, depicting) industrial scenes. Reginald Hallward was born on the Isle of Wight, and was a painter, poet, glassmaker and book designer. He is best known for his stained glass window designs and the tempera murals he painted in several churches. A great exponent of the English Arts and Crafts movement, he often used black paint for outlines, rather than leaded glass. A consumate craftsman, he insisted on painting, firing and leading with his own hands. Condition: very good. If you are interested, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. Click here for other pictures by Reginald Hallward.
  • Sir Edward Maufe (1882 - 1974)

    Design for House on Round Island, Poole Harbour

    Watercolour and collage 30 x 47 cm Signed lower right Edward [Maufe]. Provenance the estate of Bernard Bumpus, together with several other Maufe drawings. Drawing for D Beatty Pownall Architect. A design for an Art Deco house by the coast, complete with seagulls and boats. Maufe is probably most famous for his Guildford Cathedral, the Air Forces Memorial, and his work for the Imperial War Graves Commission, for which he received his knighthood in 1954. He served a five-year apprenticeship under William Pite and then attended St John’s College, Oxford as an undergraduate. He then studied Design at the Architectural Association. His architecture is notable for its strong Arts and Crafts influence; this likely arose from his having lived in The Red House, Bexleyheath, which Philip Webb designed for the most famous of the Arts and Crafts designers: William Morris. Condition: generally very good, save for missing area in bottom right hand corner which has been repaired professionally. If you are interested, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. Click here for more architectural designs.
  • Fahye Design Consultants for Cunard

    Queen Elizabeth 2 - Staircase G

      Gouache and lettraset 59 x 83 cm A fabulously mid-century design for a staircase in the QE2, a luxury ocean liner operated by Cunard from 1969 to 2008. Glamorous passengers in black tie mingle on the staircase landing before dinner. Fahye's gouache designs illustrate the mid-century modern aesthetic of the golden age of ocean travel. The Queen Elizabeth 2 was designed in Cunard's offices in Liverpool and Southampton and built in Clydebank, Scotland. She was retired in 2018 and is now a floating hotel in Dubai. Condition: very good; mounted to foamboard. If you are interested, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056.
  • Fahye Design Consultants for Cunard

    Queen Elizabeth 2 - Midships Lobby

      Gouache and lettraset 59 x 83 cm A fabulously mid-century design for a lobby in the QE2, a luxury ocean liner operated by Cunard from 1969 to 2008. Glamorous passengers in black tie mingle in the lobby before dinner. A sunken conversation pit marks the mid-century interior style of the ship. The Queen Elizabeth 2 was designed in Cunard's offices in Liverpool and Southampton and built in Clydebank, Scotland. She was retired in 2018 and is now a floating hotel in Dubai. Condition: very good; mounted to foamboard. If you are interested, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056.
  • Alexander Duncan Bell (1930 - ?)

    Troon House, St Vincent Street, Glasgow (1981)

      Watercolour 62 x 54 cm For Hugh Martin & Partners, 3 September 1981. Bell's view of Troon House on St Vincent Street - the street is known for its grand and traditional architectural style. Pedestrians mill in this 1980s portrayal of Troon House, in use today as an office building. It was designed in 1980 by High Martin & Partners, the architectural firm for whom the artist worked. Condition: generally very good; old tape reside to extreme margins beyond image. If you are interested, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. Click here for more architectural designs.
  • after Samuel Buck (1696 - 1779) and Nathaniel Buck (active 1724 - 1759)

    The East View of Winchester Palace (1733)

      Engraving 20 x 37 cm An engraved view of Winchester Palace, a bishop's palace built in the 12th century. It served as the London townhouse of the Bishops of Winchester and remained in use until around 1700, when it was divided up into tenements and warehouses. The building was largely destroyed by fire in 1814. Samuel and Nathaniel Buck were brothers and notable 18th century architectural artists, best known for their depictions of ancient castles and monasteries entitled 'Buck's Antiquities' and those of townscapes of England and Wales, ''Sea-Ports and Capital Towns''. Little is known about the brothers' lives. Samuel was born in Yorkshire and died in penury in London in 1779, and was buried in the churchyard of St Clement Danes. Nathaniel pre-deceased him, dying between 1759 and 1774. Condition: generally very good; slight age toning; sheet trimmed outside platemark; mounted to board. If you are interested, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. Click here for other pictures of London.
  • S Clapham (active 1940 - 1960)

    Greek Roman Detail

      Pencil 51 x 72 cm A mid-century design for a column in the neoclassical style. Clapham was an architect based in Stockwell in London. Condition: very good; mounted to board. Slight even age toning to paper. If you are interested, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. Click here for other works by the artist.
  • S Clapham (active 1940 - 1960)

    Design for Modernist Seaside House

      Watercolour 27 x 40 cm Signed lower left and inscribed to reverse. Clapham's designs for a modernist war memorial to be erected in a training area at an army base. Clapham was an architect based in Stockwell in London. Condition: very good. If you are interested, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. Click here for other works by the artist.
  • S Clapham (active 1940 - 1960)

    Puslinch House

      Pencil 55 x 77 cm An architectural drawing of Puslinch House, a fine Christopher Wren-style Georgian mansion in Devon. The estate was owned by the Poslylinch, Mohun, and Upton families before being taken over by the Yonge family in 1718, following the marriage of John Yonge and Mary Upton. The Queen Anne House mansion was built on the occasion of their wedding and an earlier mediaeval house still exists in the grounds as a country cottage. During the war, the house was used as a voluntary hospital for wounded officers. Clapham was an architect based in Stockwell in London. Condition: generally good; a little spotting, backed to board by artist and signed to board lower right. If you are interested, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. Click here for other works by the artist.
  • S Clapham (active 1940 - 1960)

    St Paul's Cathedral

      Watercolour 51 x 68 cm Signed lower right. This architectural watercolour is a panegyric to the English Baroque grandeur of St Paul's Cathedral. Three small figures climb the steps, emphasising the size and magnificence of the architecture around them. St Paul's was built between 1675 and 1711 by Sir Christopher Wren. The foundation stone was laid in 1675 when Wren was 43 years old, and the building works were completed 35 years later by Wren's son. Its construction was part of a major rebuilding programme in the city after the Great Fire of London. Clapham was an architect based in Stockwell in London. Condition: generally very good; a couple of spots. Mounted to board by artist and signed to board. If you are interested, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. Click here for other works by the artist.
  • S Clapham (active 1940 - 1960)

    Puslinch House

      Watercolour 49 x 70 cm A beautifully-coloured watercolour of Puslinch House, a fine Christopher Wren-style Georgian mansion in Devon. The estate was owned by the Poslylinch, Mohun, and Upton families before being taken over by the Yonge family in 1718, following the marriage of John Yonge and Mary Upton. The Queen Anne House mansion was built on the occasion of their wedding and an earlier mediaeval house still exists in the grounds as a country cottage. During the war, the house was used as a voluntary hospital for wounded officers. Clapham was an architect based in Stockwell in London. Condition: generally very good; a little faint spotting to top right corner. If you are interested, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. Click here for other works by the artist.
  • S Clapham (active 1940 - 1960)

    A Modernist Church

      Pencil 29 x 43 cm A design for an octagonal church in the modernist mid-century style. Clapham was an architect based in Stockwell in London. Condition: generally very good. If you are interested, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. Click here for other works by the artist.
  • Out of stock

    Gerald Mac Spink (flourished 1920 - 1940)

    Kelham Hall Chapel II

      Watercolour 29 x 24 cm Signed 'G Spink' lower left. A depiction of the magnificent chapel at Kelham Hall, a sumptuous Gothic Revival Victorian country house designed by George Gilbert Scott. The artist highlights the soaring, cavernous proportions of the chapel and the delicate beauty of its focal point: a raised crucifix which also acts as an altar screen. There have been three halls at Kelham over the centuries, all built by the Manners Sutton family, whose links with Nottinghamshire go back to the 12th century. The first Kelham Hall was built shortly after the end of the Civil War for Robert Sutton, 1st Lord Lexington. It was destroyed by fire in 1728 and rebuilt for Bridget, the Duchess of Rutland, the daughter of the 2nd Lord Lexington. Bridget Sutton had married John Manners, the 3rd Duke of Rutland. Today's Kelham Hall was built by the revered Victorian architect Sir George Gilbert Scott after the second Hall was destroyed by fire in 1857. Between 1903 and 1973 the hall was used an Anglican theological college for the Society of the Sacred Mission, which built the domed chapel in 1928. The Hall is now a sought-after wedding venue. Spink was a skilled artist, illustrator, and designer who produced a series of posters in the inter-war period for companies including the London Underground, Southern Railways, LNER, Hawker Engineering, and British Steel. He won a prize in 1933 from the Imperial Institute for his poster artwork. He also worked as an aeronautical engineer in Kingston-on-Thames for Hawker Engineering; his greatest achievement was the creation of the 'Squanderbug', a 500cc racing car which he built in 1947, and which races even to this day. Provenance: the artist's estate. Condition: very good. If you are interested, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. Click here for other architectural views.
  • Out of stock

    Gerald Mac Spink (flourished 1920 - 1940)

    Kelham Hall Chapel I

      Watercolour 29 x 24 cm Signed 'G Spink' lower left. A depiction of the magnificent chapel at Kelham Hall, a sumptuous Gothic Revival Victorian country house designed by George Gilbert Scott. The artist highlights the soaring, cavernous proportions of the chapel and the delicate beauty of its focal point: a raised crucifix which also acts as an altar screen. There have been three halls at Kelham over the centuries, all built by the Manners Sutton family, whose links with Nottinghamshire go back to the 12th century. The first Kelham Hall was built shortly after the end of the Civil War for Robert Sutton, 1st Lord Lexington. It was destroyed by fire in 1728 and rebuilt for Bridget, the Duchess of Rutland, the daughter of the 2nd Lord Lexington. Bridget Sutton had married John Manners, the 3rd Duke of Rutland. Today's Kelham Hall was built by the revered Victorian architect Sir George Gilbert Scott after the second Hall was destroyed by fire in 1857. Between 1903 and 1973 the hall was used an Anglican theological college for the Society of the Sacred Mission, which built the domed chapel in 1928. The Hall is now a sought-after wedding venue. Spink was a skilled artist, illustrator, and designer who produced a series of posters in the inter-war period for companies including the London Underground, Southern Railways, LNER, Hawker Engineering, and British Steel. He won a prize in 1933 from the Imperial Institute for his poster artwork. He also worked as an aeronautical engineer in Kingston-on-Thames for Hawker Engineering; his greatest achievement was the creation of the 'Squanderbug', a 500cc racing car which he built in 1947, and which races even to this day. Provenance: the artist's estate. Condition: very good. If you are interested, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. Click here for other architectural views.
  • Henry Winstanley (1644 - 1703)

    Rycote House, Oxfordshire

      Engraving 19 x 44 cm Rycote House, Oxfordshire, was a Tudor (and later Georgian) country house. The house was built in the 16th century, and in 1920, after a period of decline, the extensive stables were converted into the present Rycote House. Condition: generally very good; some age toning. If you are interested, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. Click here for other architectural drawings.
  • Meadows-Frost (possibly Sir John Meadows Frost [1856 - 1935])

    Charterhouse School Chapel

      Watercolour 37 x 31 cm Signed 'Meadows-Frost' and dated. A watercolour of Charterhouse's magnificent gothic chapel. Designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, the chapel was consecrated in 1927 as a memorial to nearly 700 Carthusians who died in the Great War. It is the largest war memorial in England. Sir John Meadows Frost was the Mayor of Chester from 1913 to 1918. The following record, likely referring to Sir John's eldest son, also appears in the Charterhouse Register of 1872-1910; this watercolour was executed in 1894. It is likely that one of the family painted it, and any more information as to which individual it was would be gratefully received: "Frost, John Meadows, t). 22 April, 1885: i g. of John Meadows Frost, of Chester; (Girdlestoneites); Left C.Q. 1903. Ch. Ch., Oxf.; B.A. — In firm of Messrs. F. A. Frost & Sons (Millers). tn. 1 910, Olivia, I "U. of Henry Shelmerdine, of Southport. J. M. Frost, Esq., junr., Holmfield, Westminster Park, Chester." Another son, Thomas Laurence Frost, was educated at Charterhouse between between 1901 and 1907, spending 3 years with the Charterhouse Cadet Corps, followed by Clare College, Cambridge. Condition: very good. If you are interested, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056.

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