Design for The Great Victorian Way
Drawing
1855 (Made)
1855 (Made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
This ideal scheme (never built) was an extension of the principles Paxton used in the design of the Crystal Palace. The intention was to form a covered way, circular in its route, which would keep out the dirt, rain, fog, smoke, damp and cold of the London climate. Paxton proposed using the recently invented smokeless pneumatic railway, in conjunction with covered streets, lined with high-class shops and superior dwellings, to make what was, from the point of view of transport facilities at least, a prophetic forerunner of the Circle Line, which now largely uses the route that Paxton put forward.
Object details
Category | |
Object type | |
Title | Design for The Great Victorian Way (popular title) |
Materials and techniques | Pencil, pen and ink and watercolour |
Brief description | Design for The Great Victorian Way, a cast iron and glass vaulted structure, incorporating a roadway, shops, residences and pneumatic railway, 1855. Joseph Paxton |
Physical description | Watercolour design drawing; a section showing perspective view and details of a vaulted cast iron and glass structure, shops, residences and a pneumatic railway. Scale approximately 1 inch to 6 feet. On wove paper remounted on modern paper. |
Dimensions |
|
Style | |
Marks and inscriptions | Signed in brown ink on original mount Joseph Paxton Sydenham 1855 |
Object history | After Paxton's death, this design was inherited by G. H. Stokes (architect and son-in-law of Paxton) who died in 1874. It finally went to T. H. Thorpe, architect, of 23 St James Street, Derby, and was sold by this firm to the Museum. |
Historical context | See the Report of the Select Committee on Metropolitan Communications, 1855 |
Subject depicted | |
Place depicted | |
Summary | This ideal scheme (never built) was an extension of the principles Paxton used in the design of the Crystal Palace. The intention was to form a covered way, circular in its route, which would keep out the dirt, rain, fog, smoke, damp and cold of the London climate. Paxton proposed using the recently invented smokeless pneumatic railway, in conjunction with covered streets, lined with high-class shops and superior dwellings, to make what was, from the point of view of transport facilities at least, a prophetic forerunner of the Circle Line, which now largely uses the route that Paxton put forward. |
Bibliographic references |
|
Collection | |
Accession number | E.2425-1983 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
Record created | July 1, 2009 |
Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest