183P.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



439 



inch in depth and width' instead of i an inch, have been tried, and are 

 certainlv improvements on the original plan. 



" The stall first done has been constantly in use for upwards of a 

 year, and does not appear to stand tlie wear and tear quite so well as 

 was anticipated, the lower part of the stall inunediately under the 

 horse's hind feet being already worn down at least i of an inch. More 

 time, however, will be required to judge of its durability. The ex- 

 pense of tliis mode of paving amounts to :2s. 3d. per foot superficial. 



" The pebble pavement laid in concrete, with Purbeck horse pitch- 

 ing paving placed immediately under the horse's feet, which was put 

 down in August, 1837, appears to answer tolerably well, and is doubt- 

 less a decided improvement upon the common pebble paving. The 

 expense of this amounts to Grf. per foot superficial ; the common peb- 

 ble pavement to 3id. per foot superficial. 



" I am disposed to think that a stall paved two-thirds of its length 

 from the bottom with Purbeck horse pitching, and the remaining one- 

 third at the top with common pebble paving laid in concrete, would 

 be the most durable, and on the whole the least expensive. The cost 

 would be llrf. per foot superficial." 



Want of space compels us to pass over hastily for the present seve- 

 ral papers of mucli interest to our readers. — Among these are the 

 papers and comments on Earthern Ware Pipes, and on the Package of 

 goods. 



The twenty-first paper is a description of the Weedon Drawbridge 

 on the London and Birmingham Railway, well deserving of notice on 

 account of the ingenious construction of the bridge. 



Habersioii's Half- Timhered Homes. 



(SECOND NOTICE.) 



Although we have fully expressed our opinion as to the ability 

 with which Mr. Habershon has exercised his pen, in animadverting 

 upon the very unfair and calunmious representations of Mi'. Welby 

 Pugin, we must }et be allowed to make a remark bearing upon the 

 question of our modern Protestant church architecture, which is, that 

 so far from the numerous structures of that class, erected of late years, 

 having been allowed to aftbrd opportunities for the display of talent, 

 the restrictions of the Church Commissioners, and the conditions im- 

 posed by them, have tended greatly to degrade our architectural 

 taste, as far as such buildings are concerned. Not only has economy 

 been, in many instances, pushed to downright parsimony, but the 

 desire of obtaining the maximum of showiuess at the minimum of 

 cost, has led to the adoption of some of the very worst vices a build- 

 ing can have — ostentatious paltriness, and flaunting shabbiness. Grant- 

 ing there may be necessity for the most rigid economy, that very 

 necessity ought to dictate something quite the reverse of what has 

 hitherto been aimed at, — decent homeliness, cpiiet yet dignified sim- 

 plicity, sobriety not negligence of detail ; and not least of all, such 

 moderation in the general composition of the design as befits a mode- 

 rate sized. There is no reason why, because it is small, either a 

 church or other building, should be made to have an air of liltlentss, — 

 which, it unfortunately seems necessary for us to remark, is quite a 

 different thing from smallness : the difti?rence between the two being 

 that of a dwarf and a child. Such unfortunate and oftentimes quite 

 ridiculous and offensive littleness is all the less excusable, because 

 instead of being at all called for, it is allowed to destroy the character 

 that would be appropriate. Yet, so far from having laid down any 

 instructions or cautious as to such points. The Church Commisioners 

 appear to have had no suspicion that any were needed ; while archi- 

 tects, aware of the kintl of judges whose taste — or rather tasteless- 

 ness they have had to please, have not studied to produce merits which 

 they were aware beforehand would never be examined into or appre- 

 ciated. Any thing above the most ordinary routine and commonplace 

 in design, ]Hits such people quite out, and they accordingly generally 

 select something that has been " rendered easy to the plainest capa- 

 city." Instead, therefore, of being charged with want of talent on 

 account of the poorness and littleness of taste manifested in the ma- 

 jority of our new churches, the profession are rather to be pitied for 

 being obliged to accommodate themselves to the ideas and apprehen- 

 sion of such patrons of art as the Chur«h Commissioners have proved 

 themselves to be. 



Begging pardon of Mr. Habershon fur h;iving brought forward so 

 prominently and dwelt so Ion" upon a topic which although fmniished 

 by himself, he may not consider of so nmch importance as the rest of 

 his book, we now proceed to consider the subjects of his plates. They 

 are drawn, some on stone, others on zinc, and consist either of mere 

 pictorial views, or specimens of detail, such as doors, windows, gables, 

 chimneys, &c. Some of the former, that of Hadzor Village, for in- 

 stance, partake quite as much of landscape as of architecture in their 

 subjects. Only the generalities of form and composition are expressed 



in the buildings themselves, whether their accompaniments be rural 

 or street scenery : consequently, however interesting they may be as 

 topographical memorials, the illustrations of this class, do not furnish 

 that precise information required by the architect. It is true his 

 mode of treatment is for the most part justified by the nature of the 

 subjects themselves, which are certainly not at all calculated for direct 

 imitation in hardly any respect, although they may serve to furnish 

 useful ideas and hints, — not, however, to every one, but merely to 

 such as are capable of discriminating between what is and what is not 

 suitable for actual application, — between what pleases merely, because 

 it is quaint, unusual, odd, fantastical, and curious as a relic of former 

 times; and what is intrinsically pleasing and agi-eeable in itself, apart 

 from the novelty of rarity on the one hand, and the accidental charm 

 of anticpiity on the other. Very few persons take this into accomit, 

 or make the distinction they ought to do : hence repeated blunders 

 and disappointments, and people have foimd out that instead of the 

 pict\u'esqueness they have aimed at, and by which they have been 

 smitten in what they have taken for their models, they have got onl}" 

 a prim, spruce, smirking, pert looking building — as little picturesque 

 as may be, though evidently intended to |)ass for such. We wish 

 therefore Jlr. Habershon had said something as to the application 

 which may be made of this style at the present day. Very few of the 

 subjects in his volume are calculated for imitation however serviceable 

 they may be in the way of affording hints : some of them, indeed, 

 seem hardly capable of doing that, — for instance the old house in the 

 market-place at Preston, which though curious, is still more ugly than 

 curious, and, putting taste entirely out of the cjuestion, seems to com- 

 bine every inconvenience and disadvantage that a dwelling-house can 

 possibly possess. Bramhall Hall in Cheshire, on the contrary seems 

 deserving of more particular description ; for although two views are 

 given of it, they go but little way towards making us acquainted with 

 the peculiarities of style and detail. A ground plan of that house 

 would have been exceedingly welcome, as would also geometrical 

 drawings of some of the compartments of its exterior. Somblebury 

 Old Hall is another striking subject, in which there is much of a very 

 peculiar and good character. In general, however, the buildings here 

 represented do not rise at all above the usual grade of design to be 

 met with in many old farm houses and buildings of that class ; here 

 and there some little bit in them may be found worth borrowing from, 

 but it is only in such mere fragments that anything deserving the name 

 of style discovers itself, the ensemble being for the most part mean 

 and liad, both which it is possible for a building to be, though at the 

 same time it may be eminently picturesc[ue. The picturesqueness, 

 therefore, of which the architect ought to aim, is that which is com- 

 bined WMth other ec[ually desirable qualities, — with beauty, not rude- 

 ness, of form, and elegance, not coarseness, of execution. We camiot 

 therefore so conscientiously recommend Mr. Habershon's work to the 

 architectural student, as we can to the lovers of English antiquity and 

 topography, who will find much in it to interest them. 



We have received the two following letters relative to ovu- first 

 review of Mr. Habershon's work : — 



Sir — In your review of Habershon's " Ancient half-timbered houses 

 of England," you say, " He makes a terrible hard hit at the vaunted, 

 unity of the Roman Catholic Church, which once presented to Europa 

 the singular spectacle of rival anti-popes, both of course equally m^i- 

 FALLIBLE." Now, my dear Sir, your Journal is not a proper vehicl*' 

 for religious controversy, but I rely ujion your sense of justice, induc- 

 ing you to inform your readers in your next number, that the imputing,- 

 to Catholics the belief of "infallibility" appertaining to any man, is ^ 

 gross calumny. -.u 



A CATHOLIC, ij 



7lh Seplcmhci; 1839. «i 



Sir — Your review of my work on Ancient Half-timbered Houso^ 

 having just been put into my hands, I beg to inform you in reply w 

 your leading observation, that it was brought out in six parts, aifii. 

 commenced according to the original date in 1S3(3. In consequencfe' 

 however of my time having been otherwise occupied, as w ell as from 

 other causes, Ihave not been able to bring out the last part until withiff 

 the last two or three months — and tliis is the reason why the dates? 

 varv. I thought it best, as far as concerns Mr. Pugin, to aftix the trUai 

 date to the essay, as that portion of it which concerns him has only 

 lately been written. j^; 



I have the honour to remain. Sir, 



Your very obedient servant, 



Matthew HABERSHONi'- 

 Bonmr's Hall, near Hackney, ['^ 



Sept. 3, 1839. ■ ai rj 



2 P 



