When you think of John Soane's house you automatically think of his amazing home at Lincoln's Inn Fields, the base of Sir John Soane's Museum since his death in 1837. Butthe architect had another house eight miles to the west: a country villa of restrained Classical style, which he created for himself and his family in the first four years of the 19th century. Pitzhanger Manor, which now finds itself in the London borough of Ealing thanks to the subsequent ballooning of the capital, represented an extraordinary statement by Soane. An architectural tour deforce bursting with his influences, ideas and flourishes, it was intended to wow London society and provide his two sons with a good platform to follow in his footsteps. Neither, however, showed any interest in architecture and, with his wife's health declining, he sold the villa in 1810. Pitzhanger passed through multiple owners before being acquired by Ealing Council in 1900, leading to a municipalisation of the building, which clouded Soane's original vision.
展开▼
