1830.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



441 



many ciiflerent drawings, at one time. Thus we are not only deprived 

 of the means of refreshing it, by onr notes, but, with a few exceptions 

 unable to identify the nnmbers affixed to them, such designs as we 

 can indistinctly call to mind. Had we been informed beforelrand — 

 and there might have been a written notice to that effect p>it up at 

 the door of the room — that paper and pencil were rigorously inter- 

 dicted, we should liave proceeded differently, and endeavoured to get 

 one or two of the leading designs by heart; but taken by surprize, and 

 disgusted, we were in no humour to prosecute our examination very 

 diligently. The utmost we can do, therefore, is to make such remarks 

 as now occur to us. Upon the whole we were disappointed; few of 

 the designs came up to what we expected to find, for a building which 

 from all that had been previously said on the sanject, seems to be 

 looked forward to as a work that ought to be honourable to the archi- 

 tectural reputtition of the country, — a monument of improved taste. 

 On the other hand, tliere were many designs so greatly inferior to 

 what we expected, as almost to stagger us. One of them, No. 55, is 

 a most wretched, insipid affair, a bald and poverty-stricken Grecian 

 edifice : nor is either No. 24, or No. 2i>, much better ; while No. 40. 

 looks very much like the west front of St. Paul's without the towers, 

 There are several designs with Corinthian porticos, hexastyle, octa- 

 style, or decastyle ; forming a prominent feature in their composition, 

 being made to occupy the whole of the west end. One of them, how- 

 ever, (No. 27, if we mistake not,) can hardly be so termed, for although 

 an octastyle, crowned by a pediment, which is filled with sculpture, 

 the columns are merely insulated before the front, yet we will not be 

 sure that considering the rest of the design, and the character of the 

 style, which partakes more of Italian than Greek or Roman, it 

 would be the worse on that account. No. 50 has a Corinthian ileca- 

 style portico, and likewise a sculptured pediment. If our memory 

 will serve us, and we do not confound this with something else of the 

 same kind, there are also several columns withhi the portico, with a 

 vista through three open inter-columns behind, into the interior of the 

 Exchange, or the quadrangle, but as to other particulars, or the rest of 

 the design we are now utterly unable to speak. If we have been rightly 

 informed this design is by Mr. Donaldson, and according te the 

 " Spectator" it is the very best, so excellent in itself, that even now it 

 ought to be adopted if its author can satisfy the Committee that it can 

 be executed for the sum specified. Not having paid sufficient attention 

 to it, we can now neither confirm nor contradict the opinion so strongly 

 in its favour. Mr. Grellier's drawings, too. No 3'i, which obtained tlie 

 first premium, did not atti-Tvet our notice much, for at all events it has 

 not impressed itself upon our recollections, and to recollection alone, 

 unfortunately, we are now obliged to trust entirely ; on the contrary, 

 Mr. Chateauneuf 's (No. 43), which obtained the second premium, en- 

 gaged our attention very much, and we had begun to note down some 

 memoranda respecting it, when the surly jakanapes in office insisted 

 upon our putting up paper and pencil. We suppose we mav call it 

 Mr. Chateauneuf 's, ft)r we suspect that as far as design is concerned 

 his associate Mr. Mee had little to do with it. Though the style is 

 Italian, the expression is decidedly German. It aims not so much at 

 grandeur, as at elegance, and a certain piquancy of taste. The east 

 front is considerably loftier than the rest; owing to which, the eleva- 

 tions of the north and south fronts are not of uniform heiglit through- 

 out, but have an additional story at that end. The west elevation is 

 exceedingly tasteful, and would, we apprehend, be so far preferable 

 to a large portico of a single order, as it would not so greatly over- 

 power the centre of the Bank. Here we must break oiV, nor do we 

 know whether we shall be able to collect further information against 

 next month ; for the exhibition will have closed before our publica- 

 tion appears, only seven days having been granted for the public to 

 visit what ought to be kept open for inspection at least six months .' 

 What a public-spirited liberal Committee! 



NEW PLAN FOR PROCURING SPRING WATER FOR 

 LONDON. 



We were somewhat surjirised by the appearance of an advertise- 

 ment, about ten days ago, stating that"' a plentiful supply of whole- 

 some water, so ardently desired," &c., " is now on the eve of attain- 

 ment." The plan was said to be original, though the place from 

 vfhence the supply would be taken had been pointed out by the late 

 Mr. Telford. As there was no engineer's name to the advertisement, 

 it appeared a little mysterious, and we doubted whether it had any 

 proper foundation, without meaning disrespect to the gentleman 

 whose name appeared as parliamentary agent. 



We have shice discovered that this "original plan" is to take the 

 water from a place pointed out by the late iMr. I'elford in liis report 

 in the year 1^31, situated near the town of Watford, and the "origi- 



nality " consists in uniting the ujiper and lower springs. We find 

 that borings have been quietly going on for some weeks, and the 

 result of the experiments has been eminently successful. The place is 

 singularly felicitous for a bed of water, being nearly surrounded by 

 higti hills, and of a size calculated for the largest reservoir the world 

 ever saw. It is about liiO feet above the Trinity datum of the tide 

 of the Thames, aufl can consequently descend to any part of the metro- 

 polis by its own gravity, and without the aid of steam power. Sjirings 

 have been discovered at every three feet to the depth of about fifty 

 feet ; beneath them a stratum of limestone two feet deep, and beneath 

 that a vast body of water, which rises to the level of the water of the 

 upper springs, and of all the other springs. These are valuable indi- 

 cations, added to which the water is particularly soft, and conse- 

 quently fit for all domestic uses, which spring water generally is not. 



We hear that Mr. Ciiles is the chief engineer, and that he is assisted 

 by other gentlemen of scientific eminence. We shall endeavour to 

 obtain for our readers all the details of the experiments that Irave 

 been made, in our next number. 



BUNNETT AND CORPE'S CONCENTRIC STEAM ENGINE. 



Sir — In the letter of your correspondent (Mr. Macdonald), relative 

 to our Patent Concentric Steam Engine which appeared in your last 

 number, the conclusions he has drawn are so erroneous, that we shall feel 

 obliged by your inseition of this in the following number. Whilst he 

 admits that the result of the trials of the modes of applying the power 

 by the tables published in your former numbers, which shows a gain 

 of more than two to one, are correct, and might naturally have been 

 expected, he asserts that one main feature in the case has been over- 

 looked, viz., that the consumption of steam is equal to the power 

 gained ; tliis is quite at variance with the fact, as we shall endeavour 

 to show. We have now just completed a high pressure engine on the 

 concentric principle, the piston of which is 12 inches broad and 8 

 inches deep, containing 95 square inches, the crank throw is '.) inches, 

 the stroke consequently IS inches, the outer curve of steam chamber, 

 an arc of a circle, 2 feet 4 inches in diameter, the inner curve 1 foot 

 diameter. Now supposing this chamber to be completely filled with 

 steam at each stroke, allowing for the concentric form, it would con- 

 tain 1S72 cubic inches. A cylinder on the vertical or horizontal prin- 

 ciple of the same area of piston would require 1728 cubic inches to 

 fill it, (which is the extent of the difference, as any increase of the 

 radius of curve tends to reduce it,) just one-twelfth less than the con- 

 centric engine, wdiose gain of power by its direct application, as shewn 

 by the tables, he does not dispute. This is supposing that all the 

 steam it is possible to admit, is thrown into the cylinder at each stroke 

 of the piston, but it is admitted by most engineers that all the steam 

 thrown into the cylinder after the piston has completed two-thirds of 

 its stroke is useless and detrimental, by the arrangement of our slide 

 valves, we eHectually cut off the steam at two-thirds of the stroke, 

 which cannot be effected by the present locomotive engines with the 

 single slide, therefore taking one-third from ls72, the quantity of 

 steam we should actually use in the concentric engine at each stroke 

 of the piston would be 12 IS cubic inches, considerably more than uiie- 

 fourth lens than the present engines, to say nothing of waste by ex- 

 hausting the steam in the passages, which we entirely avoid. It is, 

 w'e conceive, no fault in our concentric engine, that it does not differ 

 in principle from the best engines of the day. We have only sought 

 by new forms and combinations to get a more direct application and 

 consequent increase of power; how far we have succeeded, we shall 

 shortly be enabled to show by an engine of about 10 horses power that 

 we are erecting on our premises at Deptford, for the purpose of test- 

 ing its power, consumption of fuel, ire. Pending that trial it was not 

 our intention of troubling you or your readers with any communication 

 on the subject, but (adopting your correspondent's words), we are in- 

 clined to believe that the appearance of this letter may be useful (at 

 least to us) in counteracting whatever erroneous views may have been 

 formed by the perusal of your correspondent's communication. We 

 remain, Sir, your obedient servants, 



BUNNETT AND CoRPE. 



Upper Road, Depf/ord, October 29, 1S39. 



Mr. Hanroch's sti'nm-earriage aicomplislied its first trip from London to 

 Cambridge on Monday, SOdi September. The carriage lelt the Four Swans, 

 Hishopcgate-streel, at ten o'chck in the muniing : the time in act ally rim- 

 ning tile fifty-two miles was four hours and a half, and the first ihirty nii'es, 

 ineUidin,^' Wade's Mill Hill, was performed in t«o lioiirs and a half (the first 

 twii miles being through the streets cf London), wlvch is at the riite cf 12 

 miles an hour. During the whole ol' Tvicsday. hundreds ot" nrrjoiis wen' to 

 view the carriage, which was standing in the yard of the University Arms 

 Hotel, Cambridge ; ■■>nd at about three o'clock the " ste;<m was got up,'' and 

 the carriage, crowded with gentlemen, took an experimental trip round Par- 

 ker's Piece, and other parts cf the town. 



2 P 



