"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 gentlmen, 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 centirues with a selection of drawings, engravings and portraits gathered from Soane's collection and oter museums, archives and private houses around the country. Selected for this exhibition include a number of great personalities: Ada Augusta Byron, Lady Lovelace, only daughter of the poet and architect of Ashley Combe, a romantic rambling antique Roman retreat on a Somerset cliff top; or the fabulous Sarah Losh, whose church, cemetery, and mausoleum at Wreay in Cumbria raise her to the heights of genius and invention.
