Volume 1

The Farington diary / edited by James Greig.

  • Joseph Farington
Date:
[1922?-1928]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The Farington diary / edited by James Greig. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    G. Dance [R.A.] called.—A quarrel between Soane and Yenn took place at the last Architects Club.* Yenn accused Soane of having spoken disrespectfully of the Royal Academicians and of the institution. Soane returned a flat denial.—Soane has since written to Yenn, again denying his assertion. December 14.—Holland, the Architect, is accustomed to speak disrespectfully of the Royal Academy. This is readily accounted for : He is not, nor is likely to be, a Member. [He never became a member.] His motion intended against Dance at the Architects Club He withdrew on finding a large majority wd. be against him. . . . Hollands prejudice against Dance, Wyatt [R.A.] says, is most unreasonable. Before the arbitration of Lord Thurlows business, Holland was accustomed to speak of Dances integrity and abilities in the highest terms. [Holland had raised a first charge of £6,ooo for build¬ ing a house for Lord Thurlow, to £18,000. G. Dance and Wyatt, as arbiters, decided that Holland should refund part of the latter sum to his Lordship. On account of this quarrel Thurlow never lived in the house built by Holland.] December 17.—Dr. Pitcairne told Humphry that the Income to Pitt from the Cinque Ports is abt. £1200 a year, & that He is said to be £60,000 in debt. Horne Tookef dined with the Athenian Club on Monday. He mentioned that during 13 weeks of his confinement, no person was allowed to visit him,—that He was denied the use of pens, Ink & paper, and of Books,—and that one of the Warders during part of that time slept in the same room with him. Tooke said that the following enormous fees were paid to the Law Officers on the late trials. The Lord President,—Sir Jas. Eyre £500 a day, The other Judges each £100 a day. The Council employed each £1000, except Mr. Garrow who had £800. Sir Joseph Banks, was a Member of the Athenian Club, but quitted it, because while the dispute in the Royal Society between Sir Joseph &c. & Dr. Horsley, &c., was carrying, Mr Griffith the Editor of the Monthly Review, took a neutral part in that review, where the dispute was mentioned. Mr. Griffith is a Member of the Athenian Club.— Dr. Blaydon also left the Club. The Athenian Club consists of 25 members.—One Black Ball excludes, * The Architects’ Club was established on October 20, 1791, and its foundation members included Robert Adam, Sir William Chambers, Sir John Soane, Samuel Pepys Cockerell, G. Dance, Henry Holland, Robert Brettingham, and John Yenn. All figure in the Diary. The club dined on the first Thursday of each month, and members could bring guests. The annual subscription was five guineas. t Horne Tooke (1736-1812) was the third son of John Home, a poulterer, and was educated at West¬ minster, Eton, and King’s College, Cambridge. At one time a clergyman, he was also actively engaged in politics. Horne gave up his living in 1773, and nine years later he won the favour of a wealthy man, Mr. Tooke, of Purley, who gave him, it is said, £8,000. This friendship resulted in Horne’s assumption of the surname Tooke in r782. Tooke was first imprisoned for a year in 1787 in the King’s Bench for raising a subscription for the Ameri¬ cans “ barbarously murdered at Lexington by the King’s soldiers in 1775.” During incarceration he began his clever medley “ Epea Plerrenta, or the Diversions of Purley,” which was published in two parts (1786- 1805). In 1794 ke was tried for high treason, and acquitted.