This is a design drawing in ink, pencil and wash on paper for Glebe Place by Philip Webb. The drawing is labelled 'design for GP Boyce Esq, Cheyne Place, Chelsea'. The sheet contains sections and elevations from all sides, as well as plans for each floor. Webb has also included drawings of various architectural elements to show details of the joinery. To the upper right of the sheet there is a diagram showing the arrangment of the chimneys within the house, and a plan, section and elevation of the chimney as it protrudes from the roof at the front of the house. The dimensions and scale of the plan are indicated. On the reverse of the sheet there is a faint sketch in pencil, possibly of the same house. While Webb did design a house at Cheyne Walk in Chelsea, his work for Boyce was in Glebe Place.
The project was Webb’s fifth studio house and is a compact structure close to the street and with basement offices so as to maximize the space of the garden. Boyce, a painter and close friend of Webb's, later commissioned Webb to add a small wing to the house in 1876.
Philip Speakman Webb (Oxford, 1831-Sussex, 1915) was a prominent British architect who designed numerous buildings throughout Great Britain. Known for his contributions to British vernacular architecture, Webb was also a skilled draughtsman, and designer of tableware, tiles, stained glass, and furniture. He also designed gravestones and memorials for his friends and clients. Webb lent his hand to many collaborative projects and worked closely with his colleagues, namely William Morris, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and Edward Burne Jones. His precise drawings of animals, particularly birds, frequently adorn tiles, stained glass, textiles, and wallpaper produced by Morris and Co. Webb is best known for designing Morris’ Red House in Bexleyheath, as well as Clouds House, Naworth Castle, and several London town houses. Among his other accomplishments, Webb is attributed with laying the groundwork for the Arts and Crafts and Modern movements, establishing longstanding principles in historic preservation, and creating some of the most influential designs still studied and celebrated today.