JONES AS A SURVEYOR 79 



letters dubbed it poor, said that Inigo Jones had lost reputa- 

 tion, and that it was indeed so dull that the poet, Ben Jonson, 

 ought to return to his old trade of brick making. 1 



But in spite of the gossips Jones was a skilful scene-painter,, 

 and owed much of his facility in the art to the months he had 

 spent in Italy conversing, as he says, with the great masters in 

 design. To him we o\ve the first introduction of movable 

 scenery into English theatres. He was also a practical surveyor 

 of some ability ; already in 1613 he had been appointed sur- 

 veyor of his majesty's works, and although in those days it was 

 not necessarily a practical man who was appointed to such a 

 post, yet a clever man, even if ill-equipped at first, would soon 

 acquire experience. The State Papers show that he was kept 

 busy with the duties of his office, duties which included many 

 matters of dull routine. It is perhaps worthy of note that in 

 matters requiring detailed reports and estimates he was 

 generally commissioned along with one or two others who may 

 (or may not) have had more practical knowledge than himself. 

 It is also interesting to find that in several cases where repairs 

 or alterations were under consideration, special stress was laid 

 in the reports upon the probable result on the beauty of the 

 buildings they affected. This particular and uncommon touch 

 may certainly be credited to Jones. 



In order fully to understand the subject of the so-called 

 Inigo Jones drawings and their influence on English architecture,, 

 it will be'advisable to set out again what and where they are. 



Firstly, there are those for the palace at Whitehall. Of these 

 the finished designs, utilised by Kent, are at Worcester College, 

 Oxford, and the preliminary drawings are at Chatsworth. These, 

 as already shown, must be credited to \Vebb. There is also at 

 the British Museum another and much scantier set, utilised by 

 Campbell. 



Secondly, there are at Worcester College a number of miscel- 

 laneous drawings, mostly by Webb, but including a few by Jones. 



Thirdly, there are in the library of the Royal Institute of 

 British Architects a large number of miscellaneous drawings, 

 also mostly by Webb, but also including a few by Jones. The 

 most important of these are the series of designs utilised by 

 Kent in his " Designs of Irfigo Jones," and the drawings for the 

 Charles II. block at Greenwich Hospital. Practically all these 

 are by Webb. 



1 "Cal. State Papers, Domestic," xcv. 12. 



