A Passion for Building: The Amateur Architect in England 1650-1850

In England more than in any other country, every man would fain to be his own architect, remarked the Swiss J.A. Rouquet in 1755. He was referring to a unique European situation, where a growing number of English gentlemen, having found inspiration in architectural books and Continental travel, were turning their hands to design. This exhibition and catalogue celebrates the most gifted, inventive and eccentric amateurs of the 18th and early 19th centuries with a selection of drawings, engravings and portraits gathered from Soane's collection and other museums, archives and private houses around the country.