The depth of history at Queen Anne's Gate is unusual even in London, and few houses resonate with more memories than the extraordinary number 14. Featuring political revolutionaries, occult initiations, clandestine war meetings, and a decapitated head, its story begins as a museum of Roman sculpture, unrivalled outside Italy, designed for connoisse

Charles Townley's (1737-1805) love for classical antiquities began during his Grand Tour of Italy in 1767 and the items that he purchased were the start of a much larger collection that he amassed. After his death, the Townley collection of antiquities, as well as Townley's diaries, accounts, letters and correspondence with friends and family, agents and other collectors, reverted to the British Museum. This is a catalogue of all records relating to Charles Townley and includes much important source material for the second half of the 18th century.