CIVIL ARCHITECTURE 



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Adam. 



* elevation, font * Krowr contrast with the lameness 

 of bw buiUing*. The wnole facade has more the ap- 

 peinacr of a tnumphal monument, thin a private dwel- 

 ling. Hi* poetical mind, independent of prerioui ca- 

 MM, imgied form* eipnttive of the character he had 

 IMUlii 1 1 { mod certainly, in what regard* general outlines, 

 and the disposition of the principal roemoen, few archi- 

 tectural work* have to completely succeeded ; but in the 

 subordinate feature*, hit tute haa been grossly deficient ; 

 d h u difficult to conceive, how talents like his could 

 admit the rude clumsiness which but too frequently de- 

 fbra* hi* buildings. The central front of Blenheim is 

 scarcely a sufficient mas* for the wings. 



In the conduct of great public works, the next archi- 



tect wa* Sir William Chambers. He has displayed a 



HitHMr disposition to investigate subjects connected with 



architecture. He took much pains to acquire a know- 



ledge of the Chinese mode of building and gardening. 



On this subject he published a treatise, and produced 



ipecimens in the king's gardens at Kew. He bestowed 



still more attention upon the Roman style ; and, in his 



Treatise on Civil Architecture, he has, with great care, 



made a judicious selection from the purest remains of 



antiquity in Italy, and from the works of its ablest 



restorers. He was so totally ignorant of Greek archi- 



tecture, as to dispute its being carried to much per- 



fection, or practised on a large scale by that people. 



Hi* situation, as surveyor-general of the board of 



works, led him to be employed in edifices, where 



there was abundant opportunities of displaying his 



talents. The square of Somerset Place is entirely 



from his designs, and executed under his direction, lu 



situation on the banks of the Thames is favourable, for 



being viewed from the middle of the river, or Westmin- 



ster Bridge. Towards the street, the front, which is on 



a line with the houses on each side of it, is seen to disadvan- 



tage. The inside of the square has all the advantages a 



siankr space can afford. The whole design has not been 



completed, but the central part has ; and we therefore 



see what must have been intended as the principal fea- 



tures of the composition. In the river front, there is a 



fine terrace ; but the extensive facade, which is elevated 



upon it, is deficient in majesty. The disproportioned 



height of the basement takes away from the effect of 



the order. In the dark recesses, the columns appear 



very diminutive. If the basement had been only so high 



above the terrace, as to raise the order to be all seen 



from the middle of the river, the parts would have been 



more distinct and impressive ; and had the face of the 



building been plain, instead of being wholly cut into 



small rustics, there would have been more simplicity. 



The dome in the centre nf the roof is much too small. 



The small extent of the street front renders the impro- 



per height of the basement more conspicuous ; and the 



whole is rather crowded than grand. Within the square, 



which is 300 feet north and south, and "200 east and 



wen, there is a tiresome repetition of rustic work : there 



are many fine door-cat** and window*, and much cxqui. 



site sculpture ; but a* a great design, it is deficient in 



the magnificence which a national edifice of this descrip- 



tion ought to possess. The interior of the building is 



arranged with much care ; and it has several fine stair- 



case*. This architect appear* to have been careful and 



persevering, and endeavouring correctly to follow what 



be conceived the true cbmcal style ; but he was igno- 



rant of, or despised Greek architecture, and seems to 



have been deficient in original genius and taste. He 



died in 1796. 



About this time, Robert Adam alto rose to isuick- 



History. 



eminence a* an architect : in many respects, he appears 

 to have been the reverse of Sir William Chambers. He 

 early travelled into Italy j and probably from a desire of 

 distinguishing himself, by introducing a subject un- 

 touched by former students, he, with much assiduity and 

 care, made accurate measurements and drawings of the 

 once splendid palace of the Emperor Dioclesian, at Spa- 

 latro in Dalmatia : these he published, with finely en- 

 graved plates, in one folio volume in 176+. He design- 

 ed the buildings called the Adelphi, and, in conjunction 

 with his two brothers, conducted the erection of them ; 

 although composing a series of private houses, yet as a 

 piece of street architecture, or fagade to the river, the 

 Adelphi becomes a public build'ng. From the river the Adelphi. 

 effect is very imposing. Economy rendered it necessary 

 to build with brick, instead of Portland stone, and to 

 make the ornamental parts of a composition which he in- 

 vented. Being of less extent than Somerset House, it 

 acquires more apparent elevation and lightness. The 

 outlines of the tall pilasters, in the centre building and 

 wings, add very much to this effect, while the long ho- 

 rizontal lines of light frieze and cornice preserve great 

 simplicity ; but perhaps the most striking feature is, the 

 appearance of the whole mass standing upon the dark 

 caverns, formed by arcades under the terrace, and the 

 arched passages which lead from the wharfs on the shore 

 up to the street called the Strand. The desire of con- 

 verting as much as possible of the space into buildings, 

 has made the streets of the Adelphi too narrow. This 

 is both inconvenient and unpleasant. Towards the 

 Strand the architecture is disfigured by circles, and 

 a profusion of unnecessary and minute ornaments. In 

 this instance, as well as in many of his designs for 

 individuals, it appears, that his fertile mind had been 

 unfortunately too strongly infected by the luxuriant, 

 but depraved style of Dioclesian's palace. The Re- 

 gister Office at Edinburgh will be noticed in the Ar- 

 chitecture of Scotland ; and his other numerous and 

 masterly works will be noticed under the Section of 

 DOMESTIC ARCHITECTUUE and that of SCOTLAND. He 

 died in 1792- .1, 



But previous to the publication of Mr Adam's ?*[ r 

 drawings, England had been instructed and astonished by / ' 

 the most splendid phenomenon which the Roman school 

 ever exhibited : We here refer to the ruins of Palmyra 

 and Balbec, which Messrs Dawkins and Wood visited in 

 1731, and published descriptions of in 17.53 and 1757. 

 The particulars respecting the architecture of these ex- 

 traordinary edifices, will be presented in considerable de- 

 tail under the head of Practice ; but we consider it only as 

 justice to the memory of Mr Dawkin's, here to observe, Mr Daw- 

 that the whole expence attending the journey, drafts- kin' nium 

 men, engravers, and publications, was defrayed by him, 

 without any view of participation in the returns made 

 by the publications, which were very considerable, but 

 which he generously assigned to his colleague Mr Wood : 

 And, what is perhaps equally deserving of admiration, 

 was his indefatigable attention to the measurements on the 

 spot, and afterwards to their being accurately represent- 

 ed in the engravings ; to the truth of which the writer of 

 this article is enabled to bear witness, by the kindness of 

 phew James Dawkins, Esq. M. P. in whose posses- 

 sion thobeautifuloriginaldrawingsnowarc; and who, with 

 hi* tmcle'u liberality of disposition, inherits his taste for the 

 fine arts. From that gentleman we also learn, that Bri- 

 tain had nearly been deprived of these architectural trea- 

 sure >, by the Italian architect who had been employed 

 a* a dufuman. This person, though inimitably expert 

 as an arti.t, wa* so unprincipled as to abscond with all 



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