Sir John Soane (1753-1857) was an architect who designed the Bank of England, the dining rooms at 10 and 11 Downing Street, and Dulwich Picture Gallery, as well as churches and stately homes. Despite humble origins, he won the Royal Academy's Gold Medal for Architecture and received funding to take the Grand Tour, which influenced his neo-classical style.
He remodelled three houses in Lincoln's Inn Fields to create a spectacular home which also housed his collection of antiquities and architectural objects. This is a view of the dining room from the library.
He left his home to the nation, to be kept as it was when he was alive, and it is a fascinating place to visit (and also free!)
