Richard Coad

Scott’s assistant, Coad, came from Liskeard in Cornwall where he was originally articled to Henry Rice. He entered Scott and Moffatt's office in 1843, staying until 1864. He was in charge of what Jackson calls the lower room, presumably meaning the first floor rear room as the lowest of the three drawing offices, and was considered an excellent geologist. It was Richard Coad who taught Jackson how to set-up perspective drawings. This was clearly not part of his official duties, but as far as Scott was concerned it proved to be a very worthwhile diversion of Coad's time, as Jackson a few years later, produced some excellent perspective drawings for Scott's major projects. The working drawings for the Albert Memorial were made in Scott’s office, after November 1863, by John Oldrid and Richard Coad and Coad became Scott’s Clerk of Works for the Albert Memorial. Scott received £5,000 in fees while Coad was paid a mere £602. On 25 September 1862, Scott and Irvine set off on a three week tour of France during which they met George Gilbert junior, John Oldrid and Richard Coad. They travelled as far south as Angouleme and Perigueux. No doubt the purpose of the tour was to visit what Scott had called ‘the celebrated domical churches of Perigord and Angoumois’, with a view to using the ideas that they represented in style and structure for what was to become the Royal Albert Hall. In 1864, Coad set up an independent practice in Liskeard and in 1868 opened his own office in Duke Street off The Strand. He was the first chairman of the Spring Garden Sketching Club in 1866 and remained an honorary member until its closure in 1890. His work for Scott included Lanhydrock, 1857; with Stevens, Bradfield College, 1856; the working drawings for the Albert Memorial, with John Oldrid in 1863; also the Foreign Office and Westminster Abbey; and independently, Lanhydrock in 1881-5 and Cocks, Biddulph’s bank, facing onto Whitehall, rebuilt between 1873 and 1874.