The Layton Collection

THE THOMAS LAYTON TRUST & LAYTON'S COLLECTION

London Fire

Fire in London, coloured aquatint by J Bluck from an original by Rowlandson & Pugin, published 1 September 1808 at Ackermann’s Repository of Arts, 101 Strand, London. Layton collection no 957d

A strong image of a London event, showing the fire that destroyed the Albion Flour Mills, on the Southwark side of Blackfriars Bridge on 2 March 1791. It also destroyed John Rennie’s steam-driven milling machines – it was rumoured that the fire was started deliberately to prevent these innovations putting windmill-owners out of business.

The Collection

Thomas Layton collected books, coins, and archaeological items (usually described as ‘antiquities’) for 70 years. In that time he had accumulated what has been described as “probably the largest collection of London antiquities ever amassed by a single individual”.

The vast majority of items are believed to have been bought at auctions. Some came to him from his men working on the river. His businesses provided opportunities for finds from dredging, building of bridges and embankments along the banks of the Thames, for which Layton paid good money. Even by the standards of the day Layton kept poor records of where items were found. Despite this, the collection is considered highly important particularly to archaeologists and pre-historians.