CIVIL ARCHITECTURE. 



Queen 



Circus. 



C -ejcen'. 



New 



roumi. 



sir -et and mrn buildings. He commenced hit opera- 

 tions, by covering thr low grounds on the western bank 

 of the r.%vr Avon with ranges of buildings, in * regular 

 and circuit style of architecture. These were elevated 

 about 18 feot above the level of the natural ground by 

 artificial terraces raised on arches, and covered with 

 smooth pavement, and were named Parades. That to the 

 northward is 580 feet in length, and 52 in breadth. From 

 these parades, after ascending the hill to the north-west 

 of the old town, Mr Wood formed Queen Square, of 

 houses upon a larger scale than those erected upon the 

 parades, and more ornamented with Roman architecture. 

 The upper or northern side of this square, consisting of 

 pilasters, columns, and a pediment, and the other sides 

 sufficiently varied, to avoid the dull monotony found 

 in many modern improvements. Having by this step 

 disentangled himself from the old town, he at some dis- 

 tance from the before mentioned square built a circus, 

 500 feet diameter, pierced by three spacious streets. 

 Here he introduced a correct and very rich piece of Ro- 

 man architecture. The houses being three stories above 

 the level of the pavement, have their fronts ornamented 

 by the three distinct orders of architecture, viz. the 

 Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian, in coupled columns, hav- 

 ing their entablatures passing along without any break, 

 except where the facade is intercepted by the before- 

 mentionrd streets. The columns projecting before the 

 face of the walls three-fourths of their diameters, they 

 possets bold relief. The metopes of the Doric frieze, 

 and mutules of the cornice, are enriched. The friezes 

 of the other two orders are plain, but an enriched foliage 

 passes in a range between the Corinthian capitals. The 

 whole presents a bold and rich piece of architecture, and 

 from each of the three streets the spectator has, when 

 entering, a fine crescent opposed to him. But we can- 

 not help noticing as a defect the want of a pier, where 

 these fine facades terminate at the angles of each street. 

 If the several projections had been thus covered, these 

 orders, instead of resembling a screen, would have been 

 converted into an apparently essential part of the edifice, 

 and the piers would have still formed a sufficiently dis- 

 tinct partition from the great plainness of the adjacent 

 streets. From this fine circus Mr Wood passed, by one 

 of the before-memioned streets, to a piece of ground 

 which commands an extensive view of the valley, and 

 there constructed a crescent extending 670 feet. This 

 consists of a plain basement story, supporting a row of 

 semi Ionic columns placed at equul distances, excepting 

 in the centre, where there are two coupled columns on 

 each side of an arched window, all the other windows 

 being square and plain. There is no break in either the 

 basement or entablature. At each extremity there is a 

 return on the chord line of the crescent (or segment) for 

 the extent of the width of the houses. Here at each 

 angle there is a column, which had better been a pilas- 

 ter ; but as the order and columns are returned on the 

 back part of the houses, and are there terminated by 

 pilasters, which are continued, the whole is thereby ren- 

 dered an essential part of the edifice, and not a screen. 

 The appearance of the shafts of the large Ionic columns 

 now quite plain, would be much improved by (lutings. 

 This crescent, which contains SO houses, is one of the 

 finest architectural features in England. 



Having thus formed a new creation of splendid dwel- 

 lings, the architect, for the accommodation of the inha- 

 bitants, constructed new assembly rooms on a suitable 

 scale, in a convenient situation, on the eastern side of the 

 circus. The ball room, is 10:5 feet 8 inches long, 

 42 feet 8 inchei broad, and 42 feet 6 inches high ; the 



octagon room 47 feet diameter; the tea-room 66x41 : Practice, 

 and the card room 60x30. These n>oms were opened " 

 in 1771 ; the lower assembly- io.:ms adjacent to the pa- 

 rade, had been establijh.-'l -1 y in before that time. 



From these givat leading features, other streets, squares, Ucmarki, 

 and crescents, which* though inferior to those construct- 

 ed by Mr Wood, yet by no means deficient in architec- 

 tural merit, have since been spread along the face of the 

 hill, and also on the eastern, or Bathwick side of the ri- 

 ver Avon, rendering the cily of Bath a suitable recep- 

 tion for the wealthy and luxurious. 



It would much exceed our bounds to include in this General 

 article, a full description and comparative statements re- observa- 

 specting city architecture, as practised in different ages tloul - 

 and countries. We shall therefore content ourselves 

 with stating, that, in the cities of London and Glasgow, 

 some excellent specimens may be seen, of extending im- 

 provements upon a nearly flat surface ; and that at Edin- 

 burgh and Bristol an instructive variety will be found 

 upon hilly ground. We may have an opportunity of 

 again taking up this subject, and entering more into 

 detail. 



OP GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE. 



The attention to Gothic architecture having only been 

 lately revived, the practice has not hitherto been digested 

 into alike systematic order as that of the Greek or Roman ; 

 and it is not a little extraordinary, considering that, du- 

 ring the ages in which it was extensively practised, its 

 operations were directed by men of science and literary 

 habits, that no written rules have been discovered in the 

 religious houses, which were then the only depositories 

 of knowledge. This .has led Mr Knight, and other men 

 of observation, to assert, that each aichitect proceeded 

 independently of rules, snd worked in the manner which 

 to him appeared best calculated to produce a striking 

 effect, and that it was in consequence of the absence of 

 determined rules, that this school rose to the degree of 

 sublimity it attaint d. This is denied by other able and 

 enlightened men, who have paid much attention to the 

 subject, especially Dallaway, Milner, and Hawkins, who 

 maintain, that although few arranged rules and propor- 

 tions have been published in books, yet that the architects 

 and workmen were constantly guided by known rules 

 agreeable to the prevailing mode. It is evident, although 

 not so rigidly confined as the Egyptian, that the Gothic 

 architects were fully as much limited as the Roman ; 

 for the contrast between the massy plain Norman style, 

 and the latter or florid Gothic, is not greater than what 

 was produced by varying from the plainness, simplicity, 

 and oblong forms of the ancient Greek temples, to the 

 circular, delicate, and highly ornamented edifices of the 

 latter Roman. 



The non-existence of written rules may also be attri- 

 buted to a jealousy in the fraternity of free-masons, who 

 spread over Europe, and were the persons chiefly em- 

 ployed in constructing the Gothic churches ; and these 

 men, when constantly so employed from age to age, 

 had no more need ot written rules than many other 

 men confined to one profession, and probably to separate 

 branches of it. We may bring forward as an instance, 

 the most expert of our British shipwright!.. 



We shall now consider the practice of Gothic architec- 

 ture, 



1. As regards the general distribution of the ground 

 plan, and elevation of the edifice. 



2. The forms of the essential parts. 



3. The decorations. 



Gothic ar- 

 chitecture. 



No writ- 

 ten ruUs. 



Ob<er- 



vjtious II 



Denied by 

 .allaway, 

 Sic. 



Gothic 

 changes 

 compared 

 with Ro- 

 man. 



Free-ma- 

 sons. 



