The Dell (Thurrock) - The House

The House

There is a plan of the ground floor of the Dell in the Natural History Museum. This was drawn and annotated by Wallace himself. It may be a draft of the final plans, which were prepared by Wonnacott. The Natural History Museum also has a front view of the house in black ink on waxed linen, coloured with blue and brown inks. This too was possibly drawn by Wallace, although it is unsigned. It shows a grand entrance porch to a house with three levels and a fourth-level attic room. There are three chimneys on the main house and a one-storey wing extending to the right. The house overlooked the Thames and on the ground floor there was a large dining room, a library or drawing room, a breakfast room, a veranda, and a kitchen. It was connected to the local gas supply and collected rainwater, although this supplied only the sink and lavatory.