 Although Gore was well received by the British establishment , the work suffered from what Gore called a " tediousness of process " , and he considered requesting a transfer in 1798 . In 1800 it ground to a halt because another board established by the treaty to resolve outstanding Revolutionary War claims against the United States had not yet met , and the British stopped the claims processing until resolution of the other issues got underway . Gore used this break to briefly return to America and assess the condition of his Waltham estate , where the house had been largely destroyed by fire in 1799 . After his return to London , with the commission work still stopped , he and Rebecca embarked on a tour of Europe . They visited Holland , Belgium , and Switzerland , and spent six months in Paris . During this trip , and later ones in England and Scotland , they took note of the architecture of country estates , and began planning a new house for their Waltham property . 
