Sir John Soane (1753-1837)

Sir John Soane was the pre-eminent English architect of his era in the field of Neo-Classical design. The son of a bricklayer, he rose to become Professor of Architecture at the Royal Academy and was best known for his design of the Bank of England. His former townhouse, 13 St. Lincoln's Field, London, is today the spectacular - and entirely free - Sir John Soane's Museum which contains a host of his sculpture, architectural plans, paintings and a huge variety of antiques and non-western objects. In contrast to the rest to his parents and siblings, he added an "e" to his surname from the year of his marriage (1784)