It certainly makes sense, as an alternative/prelude to cavity walls, but I have not personally seen it, other than the similar situation in relation to the wattle/daub outer that I mentioned.Down in Devon we have lots of older houses which have lathe and plaster on external walls, often a 2" or 4" batten on the wall, or stood from the wall. Very varying depths from wall front to stone wall behind. In these cases I have found either 47mm, 35mm or 25mm metal boxes fixed to the wall or on battens fixed to the wall in various combinations works well.
Kind Regards, John