English School, circa 1820

These designs relate to the Church Building Act passed by Parliament in 1818, which granted a million pounds for the establishment of new ecclesiastical buildings in Britain. The task of allocating this grant was assigned to a delegation of churchmen better known as the Church Building Commission. The leading designers called upon by the Commission included Sir John Soane, Sir Robert Smirke, Thomas Hardwick, William Wilkins and Charles Robert Cockerell.

We are grateful to Stephen Astley, Helen Dorey and Susan Palmer and the rest of the team at the Sir John Soane's Museum, London for all their assistance with the group of 18th and 19th century architectural drawings and designs.