page_title: John Soane
section_title: New Law Courts
hierarchical_section_title: John Soane / Success at last / New Law Courts
caption_attribution_description: English: This image immediately follows page 464 of the book. The image caption reads: “Parliamentary &amp; Other Offices, Courts &amp;c. Westminster. The part within the dotted line shows the extent of the fire Oct. 16, 1834." The following description is at page 447-448 of the book: “A general Ground Plan of the entire site of the Palace and Parliamentary buildings, forms the subject of Plate II; and shews the relative positions, arrangements, sizes, &amp;c. of the numerous offices and apartments connected with the two Houses of Parliament and the Law Courts, as they appeared previous to the fire in October 1834. A brief notice of this plan, with references to its details, will furnish the stranger with much useful information. The oldest parts, marked darker in colour than the rest, are, A.A. The Great Hall, B. The Old Court of Requests, afterwards the House o. Lords, and made the House of Commons since the fire; (1. The King's Robing Room. 2. Lobby. 3. Stairs. 4. Lord Chancellor's Room.) C. The Painted Chamber, fitted up for the House of Lords in 1834-5. D. St. Stephen's Chapel, late the House of Commons. E.E. The Cloister, attached to the same. F.F.F. The Speaker's House, with its official appendages, being part of the collegiate buildings. G. Part of the offices of the Exchequer. H. Houses of John Rickman, Esq. Clerk Assistant of the House of Commons, and Wm. Godwin, Esq. Author of the " Life of Chaucer," &amp;c. I.I. Stairs to the House of Commons. J.J. Committee Rooms. K.K. The Judges' Entrances to the respective Law Courts, which are numbered on the Plan in the following order: 1. Court of King's Bench, 2. Court of Equity. 3. 'Court of Exchequer, 4. Court of Common Pleas, 5. Vice Chancellor's Court, 6. High Court of Chancery. J. Lord Chancellor's retiring room. 8. Judges' retiring room. 9. Attendants' waiting room. 10. Barons' retiring room. 11 .Bail Court. 12. The Lord Chancellor's entrance. L.L. Grand Inquest Jury Rooms. L.* Library of the Masters in Chancery. M.M. Committee Rooms to the House of Lords. N.N. Arcade to the House of Lords. O. The King's Entrance Porch. P. Entrance to the King's Staircase, which is at Q. R.R. The Royal Gallery. S. Library of the House of Lords. T. T. T. Parliament Offices. U. Library of the House of Commons. V. House of the Clerk of the House of Commons. W. Long Gallery. * * Open Courts.”
context_page_description: Sir John Soane RA FSA FRS was an English architect who specialised in the Neo-Classical style. The son of a bricklayer, he rose to the top of his profession, becoming professor of architecture at the Royal Academy and an official architect to the Office of Works. He received a knighthood in 1831.
  His best-known work was the Bank of England, a building which had a widespread effect on commercial architecture. He also designed Dulwich Picture Gallery, which, with its top-lit galleries, was a major influence on the planning of subsequent art galleries and museums. His main legacy is the eponymous museum in Lincoln's Inn Fields in his former home and office, designed to display the art works and architectural artefacts that he collected during his lifetime. The museum is described in the Oxford Dictionary of Architecture as "one of the most complex, intricate, and ingenious series of interiors ever conceived".
context_section_description: As an official architect of the Office of Works Soane was asked to design the New Law Courts at Westminster Hall, he began surveying the building on 12 July 1820. Soane was to extend the law courts along the west front of Westminster Hall providing accommodation for five courts: The Court of Exchequer, Chancery, Equity, King's Bench and Common Pleas. The foundations were laid in October 1822 and the shell of the building completed by February 1824. Then Henry Bankes launched an attack on the design of the building, as a consequence Soane had to demolish the facade and set the building lines back several feet and redesign the building in a gothic style instead of the original classical design, Soane rarely designed gothic buildings. The building opened on 21 January 1825, and remained in use until the Royal Courts of Justice opened in 1882, after this the building was demolished in 1883 and the site left as lawn. All the court rooms displayed Soane's typically complex lighting arrangements, being top lit by roof lanterns often concealed from direct view.
caption: Plan of the Houses of Parliament pre 1834 fire, showing Soane's Law Courts, bottom left, also Soane's work in the House of Lords top right
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