News Release
Sir John Soane - A Special Exhibition at the Bank of England Museum
8 July 2003
This week the Bank marks the 250th anniversary of the birth, in 1753, of its renowned architect Sir John Soane with the opening of a special commemorative exhibition in the Bank's Museum.
From 9 July until the end of October, visitors to the Museum in Bartholomew Lane EC2 will be able to take a virtual tour of the Bank as it was in 1814. The contribution of Sir John's architectural brilliance comes alive through this and other programmes available on two newly-installed touch screens. Supplementing the Soane material are an architectural history of the Bank from its establishment in 1694 and fascinating amateur footage of the construction in the 1930s of the present building.
In addition, the exhibition includes a display of items reflecting Soane's 45 years as the Bank's architect. And the centrepiece of the display is the detailed model, covering some 2.5 square metres, of Soane's Bank of England, just as it was in 1828. Appropriately, the whole exhibition has been created in the 1988 reconstruction, on its original site, of Soane's then daringly unconventional Bank Stock Office. Sadly, the original was demolished during the 1930s rebuilding of the Bank. However, the reconstruction now forms a key feature of the Museum.
Sir John, who was the Bank's Architect and Surveyor from 16 October 1788 to 16 October 1833, was understandably proud of his achievements, describing his work with the Bank as:
"a situation which has long been the pride and boast of my life".
Notes for Editors
The entrance to the Museum, in Bartholomew Lane, EC2, is around the corner from the Bank entrance in Threadneedle Street and 5 minutes' walk from Bank Tube Station.
Entry is free and the Museum is open from Monday to Friday, 10am to 5pm.
Images from the exhibition can be viewed on the Bank's Museum pages.
If you would like to interview the Curator of the Museum, or take photographs of aspects of the exhibition, please contact the Bank's Press Office.
Information about other buildings designed by Sir John Soane can be found on the website of Sir John Soane's Museum at http://www.soane.org.
