Competition drawing
C.R. Cockerell and assistants, 1836
Ground plan, basement plan, sections through ground floor of east front, through museum, through theatre, through law school. Pen and wash on thick paper. 95×64
MS. Add.9272/4/40

Cockerell presented the judges with a page crammed with two plans and four sections, the latter featuring sketches of figures, ornament and even the animal exhibits in the museum. If the intention was to overwhelm his audience with visual riches, it was successful, because he won the third competition in May 1836 by a large majority.

However, the plan had become extremely dense, dispensing with axial symmetry altogether, and was regarded as the weakest part of the whole design. The Civil Engineer and Architect’s Journal commented in 1840 that ‘it certainly does appear that the building will be more irregular than even the awkwardness for the site requires’. Nevertheless, despite major changes to the elevations, Cockerell changed relatively little about the plan after this point.