Somerset House. Steel engraving. Drawn by Tomblesons and engraved by H. Winkles. From Eighty Picturesque Views of the Thames and Medway.
Text accompanying the engraving
The river, on leaving Westminster-bridge, winds circuitously to the right, passing on the left part of the ancient palace of Whitehall, and a little in advance the elegant and newly erected market of Hungerford, as well as a fine row of houses, called Adelphi terrace, flows through the splendid arches of Waterloo bridge, a structure acknowledged by Canova as unrivalled in Europe. On emerging from the arches, the stately building of Somerset house, with its noble terrace, presents an imposing and beautiful object. The erection of the present edifice was commenced in 1774, from designs by Sir William Chambers, on the site of one of the most beautiful remains of the architecture of the 16th century — the palace of the protector Somerset. The Surry [sic] banks of the river are ocupied by wharves, foundries, breweries and diflferent manufactories. As we progress, the delightful gardens belonging to the Temple Inns of Court attract our attention on the left.
Other images of Somerset House
- Waterloo Bridge, watercolor by Tony Grubhofer
- Somerset House with King's College London at the right (modern photograph)
- Somerset House, lithograph by T.R. Way
Text and formatting by George P. Landow. [You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the University of California Library and the Internet Archive and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite it in a print one.]
Bibliography
Fearnside, W. G. Eighty Picturesque Views of the Thames and Medway, Engraved on Steel by the First Artists. London: Black and Armstrong, [n.d. after 1837]. Internet Archive version of a copy in the University of California at Berkley Library. Web. 30 March 2012.
Last modified 1 May 2012