[The designs marked with an asterisk are known not to have been carried out at all; others may have been also fruitless. The date given is that of the first occurrence of the design in his diaries; in many cases the design was altered, or recurred to after being set aside.]
(B.)
LETTER TO HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE PRINCE CONSORT AS TO THE SOUTH KENSINGTON SCHEME.
Westminster, 15th October, 1853.
Sir,—In considering Your Royal Highness’s noble project and detailed plans, for concentrating all that appertains to Art and Science in one Institution at Kensington, certain doubts and difficulties as to the efficient realisation of such a comprehensive project upon that site have occurred to me, which, as a Member of the Royal Commission for the Great Exhibition of 1851, I venture, with great respect and deference, to submit for Your Royal Highness’s consideration, together with a suggestion for meeting what appear to me to be the difficulties of the case.
I entirely agree with Your Royal Highness as to the great advantages, that would result from a concentration of such objects in one locality; but, having regard to the particular locality in question, I fear that it would be found to be neither convenient nor large enough for such a comprehensive purpose.
In laying out a great city, de novo, if an Acropolis in its centre of 150 acres could be set apart for the purpose, or if a second Fire of London were to afford the opportunity of appropriating that extent of space to the object in the locality of Russell Square, the project would, in my opinion, be not only feasible, but most desirable.
The doubts and misgivings which I entertain as to the site at Kensington for the comprehensive purposes to which it is proposed to be applied, are—Firstly, That it is far too much to the west for the general convenience of the Metropolis, particularly for the industrial community and the working-classes at the eastern and central portions of the town. Secondly, That to carry out efficiently the principle of concentration as regards both Art and Science, it would not be large enough to accommodate the National Library and the entire collection of arts and antiquities at the British Museum, which should, in my opinion, form a part of such an institution; neither is it probable that the Learned Societies, whose meetings are usually in the evening, would be induced to form part of the Institution in such a distant locality. Thirdly, That it would render several old established and popular National Institutions, which have been erected at considerable cost, more or less useless; such as the British Museum, the present National Gallery and Royal Academy, the Museum of Economic Geology, and the Society of Arts, &c. And, Lastly, The enormous and indefinite cost that it would be necessary to incur, and the great lapse of time and inconvenience resulting therefrom, that might, and probably would, ensue, before such a large and costly institution would be completed, so as to render its advantages and usefulness thoroughly available.