By the Rep. A. C. Smith. 295 



everything-, it was absolutely essential to secure success that the 

 work should be placed in the hands o£ a competent architect, one 

 whose discretion and carefulness, as well as knowledge and ex- 

 perience could be relied upon : and who more fitting- than the well- 

 known Mr. Christian, who chanced to be engaged in restoi'ing 

 Potterne Church at the time ? To him therefjre, and to his head 

 assistant, Mr. Purday, who devoted much attention to the work, are 

 we indebted, next to the owner, for the admirable manner in which 

 this restoration has been conducted. Possibly some few mistakes 

 may have been made, but these are comparatively trifling, and may 

 be attributed, partly to the unavoidable absence of the owner, for 

 when able to spare the time, he not only superintended the progress 

 of the work himself, but assisted the workmen in no slight degree 

 with his own hands ; and partly to the prolonged illness of Mr. 

 Christian, who was thus hindered from giving it that constant per- 

 sonal attention which so tender a patient required. I repeat, however, 

 that so far as I can form an opinion, the mistakes are few and trifling, 

 while the restoration is thoroughly successful, as it is likely to be, 

 and as it certainly deserves to be, when conducted on such admirable 

 principles (which cannot be too highly commended by antiquarians) 

 of extreme care and even lioiTor of demolishing anything that is old, 

 and an equal shrinking from the introduction of anything that is 

 new, for which there is no absolute waiTant of precedent. 



Carried out on these principles, the restoration of the old Porch- 

 louse at Potterne has been most carefully conducted. Wherever 

 >ak was originally used, there oak has again been supplied : elm has 

 }een used for elm : and there is no pine in the building. There was 

 »ut one chimney, the massive one alluded to just now, and but one 

 ire-place, in the north parlour : these however formed no part of the 

 mginal buildings, but were added about the time of Charles II. 

 [t was found to be absolutely impossible to retain the large chimney, 

 [for it completely blocked up the hall, though it was removed with 

 reluctance. When pulling it down, it was found to be composed of 

 ik and wattle, a material which was discovered to be fire-proof by 

 lose who built it two hundred years ago, but a piece of practical 

 tnowledge which had been lost to us from that period. 



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