The Architectural History of Longleat. 233 



and Somerset House, be does not seem to have known anything of 

 John Thorpe or his book of drawings. Thtre is no mention of them, 

 in the first edition of Walpole's work, and the notice was introduced, 

 as a " Supplement," in some later edition. 



I have carefully examined Thorpe's drawing and plan. The 

 building was of two stories only, above ground, with a sunk story 

 containing kitchen and cellars. The front, next the Strand, had a 

 gateway in the centre, ornamented with the three orders super- 

 imposed, but, inasmuch as the building was of two stories only, the 

 Corinthian order occurs on two pavilions, carried up above the leads, 

 on each side of the gate, and on a light construction connecting 

 them. In a later engraving, however, by John Kip, about 1720, 

 in Strype's edition of Stow, this upper part is not shown, so that 

 it would appear to have been, by that time, demolished, or possibly 

 to have been never carried out. 



At some distance from the gatewaj', on each side, were two square 

 bay windows, ornamented with the two orders superimposed, and 

 not carried up to the parapet of the building but finished with a 

 pediment or low gable. The occurrence of the orders, on these bay 

 windows and on those at Longleat, appears to be the principal point 

 of resemblance between the two buildings. The rest of the front, 

 as also the lower part of the bays, was of rusticated masonry, and 

 was pierced, at regular intervals, with two-light muUioned and 

 transomed windows, surmounted by pediments. I was struck, at 

 once, by the apparent resemblance of the bay windows to those at 

 Corsham Court, and, I think, the proportions will be found to agree, 

 pretty closely, in all the windows, but the two-lights, at Corsham, 

 are not pedimented. The date of the work, at Corsham, appears, 

 from an inscription on the building, to be 15S2. 



Thorpe's drawing does not give the plan of this front part of 

 Somerset House, for the reason that the elevation is drawn upon 

 that portion of the paper where the plan would be, according to a 

 not unfrequent old practice. Kip's engraving, however, shows that 

 there were no bay windows in that part, next the court, and that 

 the gateway, on the inside, was more of the traditional English type 

 with flanking turrets. This view and Thorpe's plan show that, oa 



