CIVIL ARCHITECTURE. 



659 



Practice., of St John's cross. The chancel, which is a very stately 

 V " P "Y~ < " 1 ' fabric, is still standing ; its roof is very curious, and has 

 much of the scripture history upon it. I have taken the 

 measure of what is standing of this church, although much 

 of th'e west part is so entirely demolished, that we cannot 

 know how far it has reached in that direction. Its just 

 length is 258 feet ; breadth 137f ; circumference about 

 943 ; height of the south window 24, breadth 16; height 

 of the east window 34-4, breadth 15^; height of the 

 iteeple 75; the spire gone. The east window, at which 

 was the great altar, is a beautiful structure ; consisting of 

 four pillars or bars, with a great deal of curious work 

 between them ; and on each side, a great number of 

 niches for statues. On the top, an old man with a globe 

 in his left hand, resting on his knee, and a young man 

 on his right ; both in a sitting posture, with an open 

 crown over their heads. On the north and south of this 

 window, are two others of smaller dimensions. The 

 niches are curiously carved, both the pedestals and ca- 

 nopies, and on which several figures of men and animals 

 are curiously cut. On the south-east of this church are 

 a great many musicians admirably cut, with much plea- 

 santness and gaiety in their countenances, accompanied 

 with their various instruments. Also nuns with their veils ; 

 some of whom are richly dressed. The south window is 

 very much admired for its height and curious workman- 

 ship : Niches are on each side and above it, where have 

 been statues of our Saviour and the apostles. Besides, there 

 are many other figures on the east, or on the west side of 

 this window : Monks curiously cut, with their beards, 

 cowls, and beads : A cripple on the back of a blind man : 

 Several animaU cut very nicely, as boars, greyhounds, 

 lions, monkies, and others. There are about 68 niches in 

 whole -.landing : the statues were only demolished about 

 the 1649. 



So far with respect to the outside of the church. 

 Within, on the north side of the cross, are beautiful pil- 

 lars, and the sculpture as fresh as if it had been newly 

 cut. On the west tide is a statue of St Peter with a 

 book open, his right hand on it, and two keys hanging 

 on the left. On the south side of this statue, is that of 

 St Paul with a sword. In the middle of the cross stood 

 the steeple, a piece of noble architecture, a quarter of it 

 yet standing, but the spire gone. The roof of the south 

 side of the cross is still ..landing, where is a beautiful stair- 

 case, much admired by strangers, the roof of it winding 

 like a snail cap. There was within the church a vast 

 number of fonts curiously carved, and where were altars 

 dedicated to various saints. In the portion of the church 

 where worship is at present performed, are two rows of 

 pillars of excellent workmanship, especially that to the 

 south east, which, for the fineness of it, looks like Flan- 

 der's lace. 



With regard lastly, to what was in part, or altogether, 

 separated from the body of the church, there was a 

 cloyster on the north side, a part of the walls of which 

 is stnl remaining ; and where may be observed pleasant 

 walks and seats, with a great deal of fine flowers nicely 

 cut, as lilies, &c. also ferns, grapes, house- leeks, esca- 

 lops, fir-cones, Stc. The door at the north entry of the 

 church is curiously embossed, and the foliage here, and in 

 several places of the church, very beautiful. There 

 were also here a vast many fine buildings within the 

 onvent, for the residence and service of the abbot and 

 monks, with gardens and other conveniences ; all this 

 inclosed within a high wall, about a mile in circuit. 

 Besides the high church, there has been a large fine 



chapel, where the manse now is, and another house ad- Practice, 

 joining to it, where the foundations of the pillars are '""Y"""' 

 still to be seen. On the north side of this house there has 

 been a curious oratory or private chapel, the founda- 

 tions of which have been discovered this year, and a 

 large cistern of one stone, with a leaden pipe conveying 

 the water to it." See the account of Melrose in the 

 Statistical Account of Scotland, vol. ix. p. 89, by the 

 Rev. Mr Thomson. 



Plate CLXXI. contains a representation of one of the P. ATB 

 turrets of Henry Vllth's Chapel, and of a pendent from CLXXI. 

 the cathedral church at Ely. 



Hitherto we have considered Gothic architecture only 

 in religious structures, but of late years, it has sometimes 

 singly, but more frequently combined with castellated 

 features, been employed in the decorations of private .,,_. 



.... . r L Y^ I r , -Y-rr, PriVatff 



dwellings, viz. of the h.arl of Bridgewater in Hertford- dwellings, 

 shire, the Earl of Moira in Leicestershire, the Earl of 

 Grosvenor in Cheshire, and the Earl of Lonsdale in 

 Westmoreland, all extensive and splendid mansions. With 

 the permission of the noble owner, and aided by the able 

 architect Mr Wyatt, we have selected specimens from the 

 first of these edifices. We were induced to fix upon this, 

 from its being constructed under the direction of a man of 

 acknowledged fine taste, whose genius was left at free 

 scope by a liberal and wealthy employer, and from its be- 

 ing situated within the reach of architectural students 

 connected with the metropolis. In Plate CXCI. we p UTB 

 have given the whole plan of the principal floor, in order CXCI. 

 to shew the relative situation of the parts, selected as 

 specimens of Gothic decoration, and because the distri- 

 bution, shape, and dimensions of the public apartments, 

 are highly deserving of attention ; nor is the merit less 

 in the arrangement of the offices, which comprehend 

 every conveniency in its proper form and place. The 

 name and dimensions of each apartment being marked 

 on the plan, the whole will be evident from inspection. 



In the same Plate is given that part of the north front 

 which is included between A and B on the plan. This, 

 and a part of the south front from C to D on the plan, 

 sufficiently shew the variety of manners in which the ar- 

 chitect has managed the external facades. Our limits do 

 not permit us to give a drawing of the chapel, which, 

 both externally and internally, is of elegant and highly 

 decorated Gothic, of the middle and latter styles. As 

 it is professedly of rich cathedral architecture, it is on 

 this account less appropriate to our present purpose, 

 which is to treat of private dwellings. 



With regard to interior decoration, we have in Plate p tATr 

 CXCI I. given a section of the hall and principal stair- 

 case, from which it will be seen, that, in these apart- 

 ments, i he effects of the ornamental bracketted Norman 

 roofing, richly canopied niches, with the numerous pan- 

 nellmgs, small pillars, and pointed arches, arc perhaps 

 even more striking, than any application of Greek or Ro- 

 man architecture. Similar observations will apply to the 

 conservatory, in which the superiority of the Gothic is, 

 if possible, still more evident. 



We shall now conclude this branch of our subject, by- 

 giving a brief detail of the ingenious theory of Gothic 

 architecture by Sir James Hall, Bart, which has already 

 been noticed under the History of Architecture. H^n 



In Sir James Hall's theory, it is conceived, that theory of 

 the forms of Gothic architecture may have been de- Gothic ar- 

 rived from the imitation of a rustic dwelling constructed clmecturr. 



