Elevation of Westmoreland Street, extending from Portico of House of Lords to Fleet Street, as approved by Commissioners appointed by Act of Parliament for making wide and convenient streets

General Information: Westmoreland Street was laid out and developed by the Wide Streets Commission between 1799 and 1800. This drawing is the second in a series of four elevations for the range of buildings on the west side of the street which was produced by Henry Aaron Baker for the Commission during the same period. The first elevation has not survived. It was submitted to the Commission on 6 June 1799 and from descriptions in the minutes we know that the design featured a colonnade 12 feet wide and 15 feet high ,which was to extend along the entire range of buildings on both east and west side of the street . A section of these intended colonnades may be observed in Baker’s elevation of buildings facing Carlisle Bridge. (See WSC/Maps/160) . The east side of Westmoreland St. was subsequently leased to the Bank of Ireland, which decided to dispense with plans for a colonnade on that side of the street . The Commission then decided that the planned colonnade for the west side would also have to go, and Baker was requested to prepare a new elevation . This resulted in two identical drawings : Bakers original drawing (which is listed as WSC/Maps/375) and this exact copy (WSC/Maps/194) which was prepared as a working drawing by Thomas Sherrard , and backed onto canvas . The design was approved by the Commission on 1 August 1799. The elevation is for a terrace of eight five-storey houses and a half –plan is given . The end- of –terrace houses and the central block of two mid-terrace houses project from the façade. Here, windows are tripartite and are sometimes set into arches, with ornamental friezes above the windows at first-floor level. The central block is crowned by a triangular pediment. At ground level, there is a range of arched shop windows , each one flanked by business and residential entrances. This rather elaborate design later superseded by simpler designs for the west side of Westmoreland Street. (See WSC/Maps/195/1-2). On reverse: ‘Elevation Westmoreland St.’ Architect: Henry A Baker Copy by: Thomas Sherrard Scale: 5' : 1" Size: 22¼" × 35¼" - 56cms × 91½ cms Paper (2 sheets, backed onto canvas and bound with linen tape); ink; watercolours.