18.')9.] 



THE CIVIL EN(;iNi']KR AND AUCIHTF.CT'S JOURNAL. 



■21 S 



way for competitions ; mottoes, not names, were to appear, and 

 every a|>peaiance of fairness was sliown by the committee. At 

 tliat time 1 lKi[ipenocl to be transacting business with one of tlie com- j 

 n)ittee, a clergyman of perfectly nnimijcacbable character, and in the 

 conrse of one of our business meetings, I asked him who the com- 

 mitlee for the erecting the churches were ; he mentioned several 

 names of the highest respectability in the palish, but when I asked him 

 by what iinalilieation they acted, he admitted that not one of them was 

 acquainted with the snbject ; and tlie result of their deliberations is the 

 j)rodiiction of the two new chnrches, one near King's Cross, called 

 Giithic, and the other near the Nor!h-road, c.illed Grecian. I admit 

 that the limiied funds would not allow of nuich display ; but although a 

 niau may wear a shabby coat, it would be in l)ctter taste lo put it on 

 the right way. This is only a trilling one, among iinmnicrable inslauces 

 of this nature. 



I will now turn from this subject to another of more importame, 

 but with less promise, namely, the Royal Exchangee. A copy of the 

 advertisement of the .loint Gre.^ham Connnittee I see is pliceil ii\ your 

 last number, witli some observations, to which I beg to add some 

 others. 



It will be needless to comment upon the shabby commeneement of 

 this committee, by refpiiring- a fee for the necessary inslrnclioiis, as 

 every architect who enters this competition must lay out a sum of 

 money tb?l one pound would be but a triile to complain o!'. I pass 

 over the rcsohilions, till I come lo No. 10, which awards three pre- 

 miums ;—;iOOif. for the best design, -JdO/. for the second, and IfM)/. for 

 the third. Then comes a siy kick at tlie competitois. " The suecissful 

 compelitor to whom the lirst premium is awarded, shall not be con- 

 sidered as having necessarily a claim to be entrusted v/ith the execu- 

 tion ol the work; but if not so employed, and his liejigns are carried 

 into execution, a further sum of oOO/. shall be paid to him, the com- 

 mittee ref.-iining- jiossossiou of all tho drawings for which Ihcpveminms 

 have been given." So if lliey, in their mature judginc'iit, fail in dis- 

 covering a single design with merit enough for Execution, they con- 

 sign tlio three successful designs to some successful operator, to be 

 compiuiuded according to receipt — at least, this is the inference any 

 iin|iartial person would put upon this clause At the end of the KJlh 

 el luse comes a list of rooms with their dimensions, but what ihcse 

 rooms (41 in number) are tor, the arehitects are to guess; three, I 

 ha\c understood, are for three companies, but what companies we are 

 not informed; and as the other rooms are without names, tliey may 

 be fitted up as barns or drawing-rooms, at the discretion of the archi- 

 tects, for the Gresham Committee appear to have very little discretion 

 upon the subject. Who are the Joint Gresham Committee? Kcho 

 answers " Who':"' At the head of a ]iub!ic charity or city feast, men 

 do not appear to be ashamed of their names; because, in the latter 

 instance at leas!, they are fully (pialilied to discuss the merits of the 

 subjects before them. But where architects only are to be dished up, 

 and where the mind is to form a judgment of a liberal profession, they 

 shrink from publicity, (jan it be that they are aware of Iheir own 

 inability ? Can any man in his senses be induced to joiu a committee, 

 and vote for what he is totally unacquainted v/itli ? AVho are the Joint 

 Gresham Committie :' 1 ask again. If they are acquainted with the 

 subject, surely they ought to be thi^ first to show that eonlidenee can 

 br placed in their judgment ; for who biit those engaged in the study, 

 though only as a recreation, can have the least idea of the intricacy 

 and dillicidties of forming a just decision ? If men of this standing 

 were some of the judges, and the profession were avvareof it, immediate 

 coolldence would be placed in them ; for what hjuest man would 

 decide against his own character ? 



1 make uo comment on the last paragraph of the instructions — it is 

 sulheient in itself to av,'aken suspicion in the breast of the least 

 sceptical. 



What is to be done in this case ? asks almost every arcliiteet. 

 Agitate, agitate, agitate, say the reformers of a system notoriously 

 bad — so bad, indeed, that the committees themselves would be glad to 

 get out of the dilemma. But how ? First, you acknowledge yourselves 

 jiiconipetent, being unac(piaintcd with architecture. 



"But we know no amateurs to h Ip us." Then apply to known 

 professional men who are not competitors, and wdio have no more 

 interest in the matter tlun the lees which you give them for an o[)ioion,- 

 a report, in fact, in writing. But this rejrort should not be entered 

 into until a prrblic exhibition ol' all the designs had taken phn-e, and 

 sutHcient time allowed for the public to form au opinion ; and if, during 

 that e.xhibition, a time was set apart for the judges to frame their 

 report and have it published, the exhibition still being oiieu, the com- 

 petitors would have an opiiortuoiiy of i-eluling the opinions of the 

 judges, if uccesjary ; the public would be called to the subject, and 

 would get bettir initiated into the art; the profession would be great 



gainers, but the result woidd be most in favour of the public. Kveiy 

 other iirofession is judged by a professor, or at least by one ac(iuaintcd 

 with the subject : i'ew men buy pictures without the advice of a con- 

 noisseur ; few, indeeil, go to law without a lawyer ; some, but very 

 fev/, take medicine without a doctor's opinion ; bnt as to architectural 

 knowledge, it is innate with every one, and thousands upon thousands 

 are sipiandered away, more to the satisfaction of the builder tlian the 

 eniplo_\er. 



Another thing I would strongly urge, and for which a competent 

 committee would see the necessity, is, that ample time should be 

 allowed for jireparing the designs." We might almost suppose that 

 architects, like outfitters, kept a stock of designs on hand, ready for 

 any emcr-gcncy, if we may judge liy the time in which they ar.- expected to 

 be done. Sonic good i-egrilations"have lately crept into the instructions 

 given to architects; for instance, the scale has been determined, the 

 style of architecture in some instances, the manner of finishing, and 

 the number of perspective views have been limited. These are 

 good regulations, Init of little avail if the judges are nnacriuainteJ 

 with the subject. There are a few things in addition to full instiuctions 

 required to constitute a fair competition salisfactoi-y to all parties. 



I. Competent judges. 



■2. Amide time for preparing the design. 



o. An exhibition, previously to any examination, by the judges. 



■1. A published report, with time for refutation, if necessary. 



These it is within the power of every committee to grant, and they can- 

 not be considered unreasonable for architects to demanri ; and when it is 

 considered that ever-y architect devotes gr.at time and study to the 

 subject, and has spent the greate-t and best portion of his lite in 

 aecpiiring the knowledge he possesses, if he feels a little irritated by 

 the way in which his labours are sometimes treated, it may more fre- 

 quently bo laid to injustice (nnintentinnal pei'haps) than disappointment. 



It isKvanted that no measure of cttieicrit reform rn the [rrcseot system of 

 couujet'iiiorr— asvatem which Icavcsoperr thedoor to all kind of unfairness 

 aird intrigue, car'i be dcN ised that will not at lirst be attended with sonre 

 diHicn!tv%iid require =ome energy; yet that is no reason wherefore 

 no remedy should be attempted to be applied ; orr the contrary, the 

 strongest rea.sorr for oirr setting aliout doing it at oirce, instead of pr'ocras- 

 tiuating. and thereby sulfeiing the evil to become more and more in- 

 veterate, lir fact, if the opportuirity which irow presents itself for 

 brinxing about such very rrecessary reform be snfi'ered to pass by when 

 so nuich has bet^n said upon the subject, and after some little beginning 

 towards it has been made, as far as regards the public exhibitioir ol the 

 designs for the Houses of Parliament ;rnd the Nelson Monument 

 (tbo'iigh not iir that stage of the proceedings where such prrbhcity 

 woirkf have been most serviceable), tlie chance of any reform at all 

 will become hopeless, and matters will be allowed to fall back into 

 their old course ; for it is rrot very likely that cither in the present or 

 the next generation, will the profession be called upon to crimpete for 

 a work ol' similar magnitude and importance to that of the Royal 

 Exchange. 



It is hoped, therefore, that the Gresham Committee will pay some 

 attention to the remonstrances which have already been made by in- 

 dividuals, and that the profession may receive satisfactory pledges that 

 the strictest impartiality shall be accompanied by the most deliberate 

 judgement. Of course a public rriE-ExniBiTitiN should be granted as 

 a sfiic qua noil : siircc that withheld, the main security for the rest is 

 taken away ; while that granted, it will almost of itself insure impar- 

 tiality and mature consideration. Another and trot the least advantage 

 would be, that while an additional stimnhis to exertion worrld be af- 

 forded lo the competitors many would be deterred from enterrng rnto 

 the lists well aware that whatever chance there might be for them, 

 where secrecy in the proceedings gives a vantage gioimd to personal 

 interest aird intrigue, their pretensions would not endure the scrutiny 

 ofapiddic gaze. 



That compctitiou in architecture is beneficial to the public at large,, 

 and ccrlaiidv to the profession, there can be little doubt; and, when, 

 conducted iqron just principles, it is the only means of setting aside- 

 nronopolv and stimulating the rising members of the protcssion to exer- 

 tion ■ indeed, this opinicm is so general, that I feel the greater surprise 

 that Mr-. Bartholomew, in his recently published " lliirts," could assci-t 

 one of a conlrar-y nature, nnsupporteil as it is by any argnment by which 

 I can coincide with iiim. Bnt I have already trespassed too tiiuch 

 irpon yoirr colvunris, and shall therefore now dismiss the subject ;. 



and am. Sir, 



Yours most obediently, 



•J.J, lIciirieHaslrccI, Bmnswkk-sqvare, ^- B- LAMB. 



\OLh May, 1839. 



