SCHEME OF THE WHITEHALL BUILDINGS 73 



of the scheme and the belief that Jones devised it have acted and 

 reacted upon each other in stimulating admiration. Had the 

 project been of ordinary dimensions, or had not Jones been 

 credited with it, it is conceivable that less eulogistic language 

 might have been employed. 



The scheme, however, is truly remarkable. 1 It is of vast size ; 

 the buildings and courts would have covered an area of some 23 

 acres (Fig. 39). They would have extended from the Charity 

 Commission's offices, south of the Banqueting House, to within a 

 hundred feet of Craig's Court on the north ; and from Whitehall 

 Court on the east, right across the Horse Guards parade and up 

 to the enclosure of the park on the west. They are skilfully 

 disposed, with great architectural magnificence. The noble 

 Banqueting House was to be incorporated, but it was to be one 

 of the minor features. There were to be seven courts ; the 

 largest, in the middle of the building, was 732 ft. long by 370 

 ft. wide; the four corner courts, each 280 ft. by 180 ft.; 

 one of the courts was to be circular, 220 ft. in diameter, and 

 its columns were to be fashioned in the likeness of venerable 

 men in flowing draperies, called Persians, as distinguished from 

 the female figures which, fulfilling a similar purpose, were called 

 Caryatides. 



All these particulars can be gathered from Kent's published 

 version. He gives plans, elevations, and sections, but he gives 

 no internal features save the insignificant matters inherent in 

 the sections. Webb's drawings, on the other hand, include not 

 only sketches for the general plan and for detailed portions of 

 it, not only sketches for external features, and among them 

 several alternatives for the Persians, but also the working out of 

 lobbies, staircases, chapels and the like (Figs. 40, 41). It is true 

 that these details are part of one of the preliminary schemes, but 

 they show how seriously he took his work, and how thoroughly he 

 had mastered the details of classic design. These sketches are 

 unmistakably Webb's ; there are none by Jones relating to the 

 designing of the palace. It is interesting to compare Webb's 

 large plan for Whitehall with Philibert de 1'Orme's plan for the 

 Tuileries, which has two oval courts set within larger ones. 

 Webb may have got his idea of the circular Persian court 

 from this source, and indeed the whole plan may have been 

 a help to him, possibly ; but his scheme is far larger and 



1 It is the version published by Kent which is here dealt with, as being 

 the best known. 



