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.
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Louis Osman FRIBA (1914 - 1996)
Architectural Design IV
Pencil, ink, whitening 72 x 106 cm An architectural design for a public building, with room numbers labelled in red. Osman's detailed and precise mark-making makes for an elegant and artistic design. Osman was as much an artist as an architect. He studied at the Bartlett School of Architecture; he was awarded a First Class degree and the Donaldson Medal of the RIBA (for the best result in his year group), and then went on to the Slade School of Art. He subsequently trained with Sir Albert Richardson - we also have several Richardson works in our collection. After the war, Osman busied himself as an architect. His work included contributions to Westminster Abbey, and Lincoln, Exeter, Ely, and Lichfield Cathedrals, Staunton Harold Church in Ashby de la Zouch for the National Trust, and of course his folly: the Grade I listed Elizabethan manor house, Canons Ashby in Northamptonshire, now a National Trust property. At Canons Ashby he established a workshop and had a team of silversmiths and goldsmiths working for him. In 1976 he made the gold enamelled coffin that holds the copy of the Magna Carta on view in the United States Capitol, Washington, DC. Condition: image generally very good; a few repaired short edge tears to margins. If you’d like to know more, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. Click here for other works by Louis Osman. -
Louis Osman FRIBA (1914 - 1996)
Architectural Design III
Pencil, ink, whitening 72 x 106 cm An architectural design for a public building, with room numbers labelled in red. Osman's detailed and precise mark-making makes for an elegant and artistic design. Osman was as much an artist as an architect. He studied at the Bartlett School of Architecture; he was awarded a First Class degree and the Donaldson Medal of the RIBA (for the best result in his year group), and then went on to the Slade School of Art. He subsequently trained with Sir Albert Richardson - we also have several Richardson works in our collection. After the war, Osman busied himself as an architect. His work included contributions to Westminster Abbey, and Lincoln, Exeter, Ely, and Lichfield Cathedrals, Staunton Harold Church in Ashby de la Zouch for the National Trust, and of course his folly: the Grade I listed Elizabethan manor house, Canons Ashby in Northamptonshire, now a National Trust property. At Canons Ashby he established a workshop and had a team of silversmiths and goldsmiths working for him. In 1976 he made the gold enamelled coffin that holds the copy of the Magna Carta on view in the United States Capitol, Washington, DC. Condition: image generally very good; a few repaired short edge tears to margins and a tear to top right corner in margin. If you’d like to know more, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. Click here for other works by Louis Osman. -
Louis Osman FRIBA (1914 - 1996)
Architectural Design II
Pencil, ink, whitening 72 x 106 cm An architectural design for a public building, with room numbers labelled in red. Osman's detailed and precise mark-making makes for an elegant and artistic design. Osman was as much an artist as an architect. He studied at the Bartlett School of Architecture; he was awarded a First Class degree and the Donaldson Medal of the RIBA (for the best result in his year group), and then went on to the Slade School of Art. He subsequently trained with Sir Albert Richardson - we also have several Richardson works in our collection. After the war, Osman busied himself as an architect. His work included contributions to Westminster Abbey, and Lincoln, Exeter, Ely, and Lichfield Cathedrals, Staunton Harold Church in Ashby de la Zouch for the National Trust, and of course his folly: the Grade I listed Elizabethan manor house, Canons Ashby in Northamptonshire, now a National Trust property. At Canons Ashby he established a workshop and had a team of silversmiths and goldsmiths working for him. In 1976 he made the gold enamelled coffin that holds the copy of the Magna Carta on view in the United States Capitol, Washington, DC. Condition: image generally very good; a few repaired short edge tears to margins. Scuffing to right-hand margin. If you’d like to know more, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. Click here for other works by Louis Osman. -
Louis Osman FRIBA (1914 - 1996)
Architectural Design I
Pencil, ink, whitening 72 x 106 cm An architectural design for a public building, with room numbers labelled in red. Osman's detailed and precise mark-making makes for an elegant and artistic design. Osman was as much an artist as an architect. He studied at the Bartlett School of Architecture; he was awarded a First Class degree and the Donaldson Medal of the RIBA (for the best result in his year group), and then went on to the Slade School of Art. He subsequently trained with Sir Albert Richardson - we also have several Richardson works in our collection. After the war, Osman busied himself as an architect. His work included contributions to Westminster Abbey, and Lincoln, Exeter, Ely, and Lichfield Cathedrals, Staunton Harold Church in Ashby de la Zouch for the National Trust, and of course his folly: the Grade I listed Elizabethan manor house, Canons Ashby in Northamptonshire, now a National Trust property. At Canons Ashby he established a workshop and had a team of silversmiths and goldsmiths working for him. In 1976 he made the gold enamelled coffin that holds the copy of the Magna Carta on view in the United States Capitol, Washington, DC. Condition: image generally very good; a few repaired short edge tears to margins. If you’d like to know more, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. Click here for other works by Louis Osman. -
Louis Osman FRIBA (1914 - 1996)
A Pavilion in a Private Park
Pen, ink and wash 67 x 100 cm Provenance: the family of the artist. Signed lower right. Osman was as much an artist as an architect. This is likely a portfolio piece from his time studying at the Bartlett School of Architecture, and is as such a piece of architectural history as well as a beautiful Osman design. Osman was awarded a First Class degree and the Donaldson Medal of the RIBA (for the best result in his year group) by the Bartlett, and then went on to the Slade School of Art. He subsequently trained with Sir Albert Richardson – we also have several Richardson works in our collection. After the war, Osman busied himself as an architect. His work included contributions to Westminster Abbey, and Lincoln, Exeter, Ely, and Lichfield Cathedrals, Staunton Harold Church in Ashby de la Zouch for the National Trust, and of course his folly: the Grade I listed Elizabethan manor house, Canons Ashby in Northamptonshire, now a National Trust property. At Canons Ashby he established a workshop and had a team of silversmiths and goldsmiths working for him. In 1976 he made the gold enamelled coffin that holds the copy of the Magna Carta on view in the United States Capitol, Washington, DC. Condition: generally very good to main central area; loss to top left, creasing, soiling, and edge tears to right (10cm at most). If you’d like to know more, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. Click here for other works by Louis Osman. -
Louis Osman FRIBA (1914 - 1996)
Design for the Restoration of the 'Bird Cage' Arbour, Melbourne Hall, Derbyshire
Mixed media, including pen, ink, watercolour, and gold leaf 108 x 63 cm Provenance: the artist's daughter. In 1958 Osman was commissioned to advise on the restoration of a metal arbour, originally designed in 1708 by Robert Blackwell for the grounds of Melbourne Hall in Derbyshire. The arbour is known as the 'Bird Cage' and was originally painted in a dreamy array of vivid colours; Osman extensively researched Blackwell's work and consulted his original plans for the metalwork in order to restore the arbour to its former glory. The paint was stripped and the iron repainted as per Blackwell's original scheme. The ironwork specialists George Lister & Sons Ltd worked with Osman on the project. This large design features watercolour and gold leaf to illustrate the embellishments Osman had in mind. Osman was as much an artist as an architect. This is likely a portfolio piece from his time studying at the Bartlett School of Architecture, and is as such a piece of architectural history as well as a beautiful Osman design. Osman was awarded a First Class degree and the Donaldson Medal of the RIBA (for the best result in his year group) by the Bartlett, and then went on to the Slade School of Art. He subsequently trained with Sir Albert Richardson - we also have several Richardson works in our collection. After the war, Osman busied himself as an architect. His work included contributions to Westminster Abbey, and Lincoln, Exeter, Ely, and Lichfield Cathedrals, Staunton Harold Church in Ashby de la Zouch for the National Trust, and of course his folly: the Grade I listed Elizabethan manor house, Canons Ashby in Northamptonshire, now a National Trust property. At Canons Ashby he established a workshop and had a team of silversmiths and goldsmiths working for him. In 1976 he made the gold enamelled coffin that holds the copy of the Magna Carta on view in the United States Capitol, Washington, DC. Condition: generally very good; one or two small brown spots to periphery. In artist's original lead-edged frame. If you’d like to know more, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. -
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. -
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. -
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. -
H Clark
Design for a Country Residence (1925)
Pencil and wash 36 x 54 cm An excellent 1925 design for a country house. Clark uses a wash to depict the warm red of the bricks in his design. Condition: mostly very good; old, soft crease to top left. If you are interested, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. Click here for more architectural designs. -
Bloomfields Car Showroom and Esso Garage, 88-106 Camberwell Road, London SE5
Gouache 39 x 52 cm A stylish gouache depiction of the Bloomfields Car Showroom, still extant as a car repair shop at 104-106 Camberwell Road. The artist completes the architectural perspective with brightly coloured mid-century cars and a mackintosh-clad gentleman. Condition: good; some wrinkling to paper and slight discolouration in areas. If you are interested, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. Click here for more architectural views. -
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. -
Sir George Gilbert Scott (1811 - 1878)
Preliminary Architectural Design for Forth Road Bridge
Pencil and coloured pencil 24 x 74 cm The architect's design for the Forth Road Bridge, a suspension bridge in Scotland. Gilbert Scott was the consulting architect from the early stages in 1947, but died four years before the bridge was completed. Sir George Gilbert Scott RA was an English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals. Condition: generally very good. If you are interested, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. Click here for more architectural designs. -
Louis Osman FRIBA (1914 - 1996)
Stained glass window
Watercolour 23 x 16 cm On Pioneer Fine laid paper. An intricately-detailed watercolour of a stained glass window, featuring four Biblical figures. Osman was as much an artist as an architect. This is likely a portfolio piece from his time studying at the Bartlett School of Architecture, and is as such a piece of architectural history as well as a beautiful Osman design. Osman was awarded a First Class degree and the Donaldson Medal of the RIBA (for the best result in his year group) by the Bartlett, and then went on to the Slade School of Art. He subsequently trained with Sir Albert Richardson - we also have several Richardson works in our collection. After the war, Osman busied himself as an architect. His work included contributions to Westminster Abbey, and Lincoln, Exeter, Ely, and Lichfield Cathedrals, Staunton Harold Church in Ashby de la Zouch for the National Trust, and of course his folly: the Grade I listed Elizabethan manor house, Canons Ashby in Northamptonshire, now a National Trust property. At Canons Ashby he established a workshop and had a team of silversmiths and goldsmiths working for him. In 1976 he made the gold enamelled coffin that holds the copy of the Magna Carta on view in the United States Capitol, Washington, DC. Condition: generally very good. If you’d like to know more, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. -
Louis Osman FRIBA (1914 - 1996)
Proposed alterations for Stables for Mrs Mallowan (Agatha Christie)
Pencil on tracing paper 41 x 30 cm Signed in red crayon lower right. A smart architectural design to improve famed author Agatha Christie's stable block. Christie became Lady Mallowan when she married her second husband, Sir Max Edgar Lucien Mallowan. The church was bombed in 1941 and gutted by fire; subsequently, the church was a ruin open to the sky for over 20 years. It was saved by Lady Parker of Waddington, who formed the Friends of St John's in 1962 to raise money and restore the church to its former glory - a reconstruction in the style of the church's original architect, Thomas Archer. Osman was as much an artist as an architect. This is likely a portfolio piece from his time studying at the Bartlett School of Architecture, and is as such a piece of architectural history as well as a beautiful Osman design. Osman was awarded a First Class degree and the Donaldson Medal of the RIBA (for the best result in his year group) by the Bartlett, and then went on to the Slade School of Art. He subsequently trained with Sir Albert Richardson - we also have several Richardson works in our collection. After the war, Osman busied himself as an architect. His work included contributions to Westminster Abbey, and Lincoln, Exeter, Ely, and Lichfield Cathedrals, Staunton Harold Church in Ashby de la Zouch for the National Trust, and of course his folly: the Grade I listed Elizabethan manor house, Canons Ashby in Northamptonshire, now a National Trust property. At Canons Ashby he established a workshop and had a team of silversmiths and goldsmiths working for him. In 1976 he made the gold enamelled coffin that holds the copy of the Magna Carta on view in the United States Capitol, Washington, DC. Condition: generally very good. If you’d like to know more, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. -
Louis Osman FRIBA (1914 - 1996)
Proposal for St John's Smith Square (1953)
Watercolour 70 x 52 cm Signed in red crayon lower right. Louis Osman's proposal for the post-war, post-bombing redevelopment of St John's church on Smith Square. Osman had envisioned an interior with a ceiling painted by Picasso; sadly, this project was never executed. The church was bombed in 1941 and gutted by fire; subsequently, the church was a ruin open to the sky for over 20 years. It was saved by Lady Parker of Waddington, who formed the Friends of St John's in 1962 to raise money and restore the church to its former glory - a reconstruction in the style of the church's original architect, Thomas Archer. Osman was as much an artist as an architect. This is likely a portfolio piece from his time studying at the Bartlett School of Architecture, and is as such a piece of architectural history as well as a beautiful Osman design. Osman was awarded a First Class degree and the Donaldson Medal of the RIBA (for the best result in his year group) by the Bartlett, and then went on to the Slade School of Art. He subsequently trained with Sir Albert Richardson - we also have several Richardson works in our collection. After the war, Osman busied himself as an architect. His work included contributions to Westminster Abbey, and Lincoln, Exeter, Ely, and Lichfield Cathedrals, Staunton Harold Church in Ashby de la Zouch for the National Trust, and of course his folly: the Grade I listed Elizabethan manor house, Canons Ashby in Northamptonshire, now a National Trust property. At Canons Ashby he established a workshop and had a team of silversmiths and goldsmiths working for him. In 1976 he made the gold enamelled coffin that holds the copy of the Magna Carta on view in the United States Capitol, Washington, DC. Condition: generally very good. If you’d like to know more, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. -
Louis Osman FRIBA (1914 - 1996)
Proposal details for St John's Smith Square (1953)
Watercolour 74 x 46 cm Signed in red crayon lower right. Details from Louis Osman's proposal for the post-war, post-bombing redevelopment of St John's church on Smith Square. Osman had envisioned an interior with a ceiling painted by Picasso; sadly, this project was never executed. The church was bombed in 1941 and gutted by fire; subsequently, the church was a ruin open to the sky for over 20 years. It was saved by Lady Parker of Waddington, who formed the Friends of St John's in 1962 to raise money and restore the church to its former glory - a reconstruction in the style of the church's original architect, Thomas Archer. Osman was as much an artist as an architect. This is likely a portfolio piece from his time studying at the Bartlett School of Architecture, and is as such a piece of architectural history as well as a beautiful Osman design. Osman was awarded a First Class degree and the Donaldson Medal of the RIBA (for the best result in his year group) by the Bartlett, and then went on to the Slade School of Art. He subsequently trained with Sir Albert Richardson - we also have several Richardson works in our collection. After the war, Osman busied himself as an architect. His work included contributions to Westminster Abbey, and Lincoln, Exeter, Ely, and Lichfield Cathedrals, Staunton Harold Church in Ashby de la Zouch for the National Trust, and of course his folly: the Grade I listed Elizabethan manor house, Canons Ashby in Northamptonshire, now a National Trust property. At Canons Ashby he established a workshop and had a team of silversmiths and goldsmiths working for him. In 1976 he made the gold enamelled coffin that holds the copy of the Magna Carta on view in the United States Capitol, Washington, DC. Condition: generally very good. If you’d like to know more, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. -
Louis Osman FRIBA (1914 - 1996)
Proposal for St John's Smith Square (1953)
Watercolour 62 x 37 cm Signed in red crayon lower right. Louis Osman's proposal for the post-war, post-bombing redevelopment of St John's church on Smith Square. Osman had envisioned an interior with a ceiling painted by Picasso; sadly, this project was never executed. The church was bombed in 1941 and gutted by fire; subsequently, the church was a ruin open to the sky for over 20 years. It was saved by Lady Parker of Waddington, who formed the Friends of St John's in 1962 to raise money and restore the church to its former glory - a reconstruction in the style of the church's original architect, Thomas Archer. Osman was as much an artist as an architect. This is likely a portfolio piece from his time studying at the Bartlett School of Architecture, and is as such a piece of architectural history as well as a beautiful Osman design. Osman was awarded a First Class degree and the Donaldson Medal of the RIBA (for the best result in his year group) by the Bartlett, and then went on to the Slade School of Art. He subsequently trained with Sir Albert Richardson - we also have several Richardson works in our collection. After the war, Osman busied himself as an architect. His work included contributions to Westminster Abbey, and Lincoln, Exeter, Ely, and Lichfield Cathedrals, Staunton Harold Church in Ashby de la Zouch for the National Trust, and of course his folly: the Grade I listed Elizabethan manor house, Canons Ashby in Northamptonshire, now a National Trust property. At Canons Ashby he established a workshop and had a team of silversmiths and goldsmiths working for him. In 1976 he made the gold enamelled coffin that holds the copy of the Magna Carta on view in the United States Capitol, Washington, DC. Condition: generally very good. If you’d like to know more, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. -
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. -
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. -
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. -
Crest Mill, Castleton, Rochdale, Lancashire (1906)
Watercolour 56 x 96 cm Crest Mill in Castleton, Rochdale, was built in 1906. It was designed by Sir Philip Sidney Stott, the English architect, civil engineer and surveyor. Crest Mill was demolished long ago. The mill engines were sent to the United States, but the ship carrying them sank in the Atlantic. Scott's mill chimneys all had two distinctive bands towards the top. Stott was born in Chadderton, Lancashire, and joined the family firm of architects upon leaving school. In 1883, he set up his own business, P. S. Stott, specialising in the design of cotton mills - he designed 22 mills in Oldham and 55 elsewhere in the county, plus many more in Europe, India and the Far East, amounting to 124 in total. He became a baronet in 1920, and was elected a Fellow of the Society of Architects and a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects. He was a significant figure in Lancashire mills, being responsible for 40% of the spindles laid down in Oldham between 1887 and 1914, and 44% of the increase in Lancashire's spinning capacity between 1887 and 1925. He retired a wealthy man having accumulated shares in the mills he designed. Condition: generally very good; some slight staining marks to mount, and possible faint time staining in areas. If you are interested, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. Click here for more architectural perspectives. -
Edmund J Thring (1906 - 1985)
Design for St Nicholas House, High Street, Bristol
Gouache 46 x 54 cm Signed lower left and inscribed 'Alec F French & Partners, Architects, Bristol' (home to the Commercial Union Group and remodelled in 1959 by Alec French and partners). An architectural drawing of St Nicholas House, a 1930s Art Deco building on the corner of St Nicholas Street and High Street in the heart of Bristol. It was originally built as a banking headquarters, and is recognisable for its curved facade. Today St Nicholas House is a co-working space owned by The Office Group; the interiors have been remodelled in an Art Deco-inspired style, in honour of the building's architectural origins. Edmund J Thring was an architectural perspectivist who produced over 2,500 perspectives in his lifetime. He spent much of the Second WorId War in the Photographic Reconnaissance Interpretation Unit at RAF Nuneham Park, interpreting aerial photographs and making models. In 'A History of Architectural Model Making in Britain', David Lund notes that Thring was the chief instructor for the hundred or so recruits in the model-making department. He was described as ‘a sweetly patient man with a merciless eye and inflexible standards of quality’ who pushed his recruits hard. The team made over four hundred models for the D-Day invasion, and a thousand further models over the rest of the war. Pilots bombing German warships in Norwegian fjords found maps almost useless, so carried cardboard models of the topography in their cockpits. Thring also served with the Observer Corps, scanning the English Channel from the Sussex coast. Following the war, he began taking commissions for architectural perspectives (there were plenty of these available on account of the extensive postwar rebuilding works). We are grateful to the artist’s daughter for providing this information. Condition: generally very good, mounted to board, old time-staining to very margins under mount area. If you are interested, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. Click here for our other architectural drawings.
