'Like a Roman sepulchre': John Soane's design for a Castello d'acqua at Wimpole, Cambridgeshire, and its Italian origins

Apollo, April, 2003 by David Adshead

In July 2002, under the watchful gaze of the visiting public, members of the Cambridge Archaeology Field Group exposed the substantial foundations of a curious structure in the gardens of Wimpole Hall, Cambridgeshire (Fig. 1). (1) The brick footings are all that remains of a late-eighteenth-century conduit house designed by the architect John Soane (1753-1837), and, exotically, described by him as a 'Castello d'Acqua'. Although constructed in 1793, the design origins of this idiosyncratic building lie in the fantastical neo-classical projects which--like the architects Sir William Chambers (1723-1796) and Robert Adam (1728-1792) before him--Soane had been inspired to invent when confronted in Italy by the remains of classical antiquity. Remains that, emerging from the overburden of centuries of rubbish, were themselves the object of intense archaeological interest.

[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]

In 1776 Soane--then an assistant in the office of the architect Henry Holland (1745-1806)--won the gold medal for architecture of the Royal Academy Schools, and was awarded a three-year travelling scholarship to Rome in December of the following year. (2) The glories of the Eternal City were to have a powerful impact on the young architect, as his first letter from Rome reveals: 'my attention, entirely taken up in the seeing & examining the numerous and inestimable remains of Antiquity ... with what impatience I have waited for the scenes I now enjoy.' (3) In later life Soane was to re-emphasise the significance of his having been 'sent to Italy to pursue my studies', adding: 'This was the most fortunate event of my life.' (4) In practice, however, Soane took up just a little over two years of his scholarship funding, travelling in Italy between May 1778 and May 1780. If he had been impatient to see the remains of Roman civilisation, he was equally impatient to establish himself as one of Britain's leading architects, returning home prematurely in order to capitalise on the promises of patronage he had received whilst in Italy, most notably from the capricious Bishop of Derry, Frederick Augustus Hervey (1730-1803), later 4th Earl of Bristol. (5)

The first fourteen months of Soane's Italian tour were spent in Rome, nurturing contacts with fellow artists and possible patrons, and visiting the cities and ancient sites of the southern part of the country; and it was during this period, amidst the ruins of Paestum, that Soane met his future client at Wimpole, Philip Yorke (1757-1834), later 3rd Earl of Hardwicke. (6) In August 1779, Soane turned his attention to the north and 'the classic cities of Lombardy', as his friend, travelling companion, and future client Rowland Burdon (c. 1757-1838), was later to describe them. (7) Their itinerary included Bologna, Parma, Milan, Brescia, Verona, Mantua, Vicenza, Padua, and Venice. (8)

As has been explained by Pierre de la Ruffiniere du Prey and other scholars, Soane's principal reason for visiting Parma appears to have been to establish what rules had been prescribed for the annual prize competition, or Concorso, of the city's art academy, the Accademia di Belle Arti Parmense. (9) In 1763, Soane's master, the architect George Dance junior (1741-1825), had won the Parma Accademia's gold medal, a distinction that Soane must have hoped to emulate. (10) Affiliation with the Italian fine art academies (at Rome, Parma, Bologna and Florence), if not victory in their concorsi, had proved to be of considerable benefit to the careers of foreign architects on their return home. (11) Dance need hardly have laboured this point to the ambitious Soane, but he does appear to have provided him with an introduction to one of the teaching staff at Parma, Simon-Francois Ravenet le Jeune (1748-c. 1813), who served as the Professor of Engraving there from 1776 to 1796. (12) Soane learnt that the task set for the 1780 Concorso was to design a 'Castello d'acqua', as detailed in the following text:

Un Castello d'acqua decorato d'una pubblica fontana. Si domandano il Piano, l'Elevazione, e lo Spaccato d'un serbatoio d'acque, che in grandissima copia si supporranno in esso raccolte per comodo, ed ornamento d'una metropoli. La facciata adunque di questo edificio sara posta nel fondo d'una larga piazza, ed ornerassi con tutta la magnificenza di una pubblica fontana, che si vedra divisa in piu polle scaturire da statue, da rupi, o da animali, come vorra la fantasia dell'Architetto, che rappresentando qualche Favola, o qualche Istoria puo distinguerli nell'invenzione. Si vuole eziandio un alloggio unito al serbatoio per gli idraulici, e custodi dell'edificio. (13)

Apparently uncertain about how best to develop his design ideas, Soane immediately sought the advice of Thomas Pitt (1737-93), later 1st Baron Camelford, an amateur or gentleman architect, sixteen years his senior, who had befriended him in Rome, (14) and whose 'classical taste and profound architectural knowledge' Soane admired. (15) A draft of the letter that Soane sent to Pitt explains the brief for the Parma competition, seeks encouragement for his candidature, and voices concern about the appropriateness of his accompanying sketch ideas: