us 



PIEPOWDKR COUHT. 



PIERS. 



lit 



Tb ideas of ittai and tmooi*" says GUpin, who is generally referred 

 tu a* ui authority U|K<I> this subject, " instead of being picturesque, 

 JtjyM/i/y the objret in which they reside from any pretensions to 

 pioturteque beauty." But how can we reconcile Urn theory with fact 

 when we observe that many thing* whioh are remarkable for the very 

 tawUiiiea here objected to at a disqualification, are Mlected by the 

 artist at being admirably suited for hi* pencil! Still it may be 

 granted that whiUt the painter often hat to ny- 4 nt the idea of neatness 

 or smoothness in the objecU he depicts, ho u careful to avoid that 

 degree of neatoeat and smoothness which the artiau aim* to produce. 

 Smoothness ia one quality of satin and velvet ; and the idea of smooth- 

 ness, it may be presumed, and generally of uniformity of colour also, 

 throughout the material, u excited in the beholder; but then, in order 

 to produce such appearance in painting, the artist must empluy a great 

 number of tinU and colours, aome of them quite different from the 

 local or poaitive colour of the object itself, in order faithfully to 

 expma all the various modifications which the actual colour of the 

 object receives from light, when seen a* it ia intended to be repre- 

 sented in the picture. 



Another opinion, which appears equally incorrect, is that the 

 picturesque is something distinct from and opposed to beauty, whereas 

 this is very far fn>in being the case ; for although there is an extensive 

 claw of objects which are disagreeable in reality, and which yet become 

 attractive in representation, where they are divested of all that renders 

 Ui. ni physically repulsive (such as beggars, hovels that seem the abode 

 of penury and filth, da.), there are likewise numerous others which, 

 while they are beautiful in themselves, are far from being deficient in 

 picturesque quality. It is true there are also not a few that are 

 eminently delightful or beautiful in nature, yet become insipid iu 

 representation ; but that is because they are deficient in that variety 

 of colour and form which painting demands. A level well-kept lawn 

 presenting a uniform surface of rich verdure ia beautiful, that U, 

 excites lively pleasurable emotions, but it is so far from picturesque 

 that it ia generally made use of as an argument to prove that neatness 

 and smoothness are incompatible with picturesqueneat. Such an 

 object undoubtedly, when transferred to the canvas, and made to occupy 

 a prominent place in the composition, doea not produce a good effect, 

 inasmuch as it then shows only as a monotonous surface of nearly 

 unbroken green colour : but if we break iu uniformity of surface by 

 figures, by shadows, by gleams of light, by gradations of hue, and make 

 it duly subordinate to the objects placed upon it, though it will still 

 convey the idea of being a level piece of grass, it will be divested of 

 iu monotony, and may even become picturesque, if it should produce 

 a good contrast to other parts. 



The same theory holds true with respect to form, it being by no 

 means correct that objects are picturesque in proportion as they are 

 irregular and devoid of symmetry ; though, as before said, the painter, 

 whilst maintaining the appearance, gets rid of the formal presentation 

 of symmetry. Thus, of a piece of regular architecture : if it be shown 

 merely in elevation, a structure which is symmetrical will produce a 

 tiff and inartistic appearance; but on the contrary, by means of 

 judicious foreshortening or perspective, of shadows thrown upon it so 

 as to break up the too great equality of its masses, and by means of 

 figures and other accidents, it may be made to present an agreeable 

 species of irregularity to the eye, at the same time that it suggests to 

 the mind the idea of the most perfect symmetry. 



Although, therefore, the term picturesque ia often applied, by way of 

 distinction, to that class of objects which are well suited for painting, 

 but pauses* qualities more or leas disagreeable in themselves, and so far 

 implies nomething distinct from if not absolutely opposed to beauty, it 

 comprehends also another class, which, while they are beautiful in 

 themselves, require to be accommodated to pictorial representation, 

 inasmuch as, in order to produce their images upon canvas, there must 

 be great contrast* and irregularities, both in respect of form and colour. 

 The truth probably is, that while every object may be, under certain 

 circuiustancea, admissible into a picture, and by means of proper 

 artistic treatment be so far rendered agreeable to the eye as to be then 

 properly termed picturesque yet there are particular objects which by 

 t l..-i r fumts or surfaces are suitable for representation as leadirg features 

 in a picture, without that artistic modification which mure formal 

 objecU require, unless they be introduced as mere accessories : and 

 hence these are not improperly distinguished by the term picturesque. 



I'l I.I'M \\HKK COL'RlV By the common law every ownerbf a 

 lair or market ia bound to hold a court for the decision of matters 

 arising therein, which being instituted principally for the convenience 

 of the itinerant dealer, was called in Norman French ' pied pouldreux,' 

 the court uf pipowders, " ouria pedis pulvorizati." The court is held 

 before the owner of the f.iir or market, or his steward, who. by 

 17 Kdward IV. c. 2, is prohibited from entertaining any action unless 

 til- plaintiff Of his attorney swear that the cause of action arose within 

 Uie precincts and during thu time of the same fair or market. Before 

 that .Utute these courts appear to have emulated those of Westminster 

 Hall in seeking to extend their jurisdiction; and in the preceding 

 reign, W. Lerke, the servant of a burgess coming to the parliament, 

 was arrested in the fair of the abbot of Westminster. He was trans- 

 ferred by his creditor, Margerie Janyns, to the Fleet, where he 

 remained till, by the interference of the House of Commons, he 

 obtained his discharge. (4 Rot Parl., 867.) 



This court in iu turn hat been gradually encroached upon by the 

 superior courts, and is now fallen into total disuse. (See Blacks*. 

 Com.,' vl. iii., and Mr. Morley's account oi 1'iepowder < 

 vol. vii. of ' Notes and Queries,' new series, p. 498.) A book is 

 deposited in Guildhall library, in the city of London, the last entry in 

 which is, " September 8, 1864 The lord mayor not having proclaimed 

 Bartholomew-fair, the court of piepowder consequently was not held." 

 PIER (from the French piart, stone) the general name for the solid 

 between a series of openings in a wall, whether windows or 



arches; but in its technical meaning the term is more particularly 

 applied to the pillar-like masses of masonry or briok-wurk from which 

 arches spring, rising from what is termed the import capping tlu 

 and which generally consists oi a serins of mouldings, although some- 

 times it ia merely a platband, and occasionally the impost it omitted 

 altogether, especially in rusticated basement*. 



Piers are frequently decorated with either pilasters or 

 columns. In many instances columns are substituted for piers, ] 

 either singly or in pairs; and the arches spring either iunnod 

 from their capitals or from an entablature over them. There are 

 again many examples in which both piers and a leaser order or tub- 

 order of columns are employed, the latter being insulated on each side 

 of the pier, and their entablature forming the impost from which the 

 arches spring. Palladio's Basilica, or Palazzo di Itogione, at Vicenxa, 

 affords an example of the kind, in whioh the faces of the piers them- 

 selves consist of a larger order in half columns, so that the whole com- 

 position resembles a series of what are termed arched Venetian win- 

 dows entirely filling- up the spaoea between the larger columns. 

 Besides these and other modes of decoration, niches are occasionally 

 introduced as ornaments to piers. 



In Pointed Gothic architecture the insulated piers supporting what 

 are distinguished by the name of pier-arches are not rectangular in 

 plan, but splayed off or turned diagonally. Early English, or First 

 Pointed piers, as at Salisbury, frequently consist of an insulated cylin- 

 drical column, surrounded by slender detached shafts, all uniting under 

 the same capital ; but sometimes the central column is octagonal or 

 square. In Middle Pointed or Decorated churches the pier is frequently 

 formed of four semi-cylindrical shafts united together ; sometimes of 

 eight shafts joined together, four large and four small, either plain or 

 filleted up the face ; in some cases it resembles a cluster of alemU-r 

 shafts united on a lozenge plan : but many varieties occur, though 

 almost invariably the smaller shafts are attached instead of being 

 detached as in the preceding style. The Third Pointed or Perpen- 

 dicular piers are commonly in section a square or parallelogram with 

 the angles splayed or cut in a deep hollow ; or else they arc 

 moulded shafts, which latter are sometimes a continuation of the 

 mouldings forming the arch, carried down without any interruption 

 by capital* or horizontal mouldings to the shafts, yet sometimes ter- 

 minating below in moulded bases ; at others dying info or uniting with 

 the plain surface forming the footing or general base of the pier. 

 [GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE.] 



The term pier is also applied to the solid masses supporting the 

 arches of a bridge ; with the exception of the extreme ones, which ore 

 distinguished by the name of abutments. [ABUTMENTS.] The piors 

 of bridges have no impost mouldings, and they are carried quite 

 through the structure, thnir depth being equal to the breadth of the 

 bridge itself from the parapet on one aide to that on the other. 



Pier is likewise the name given to a mole or jetty carried out into 

 the sea. See the article I'lEiis. 



P1ERKIER was the term originally applied to an engine for casting 

 stones ; then to a small kind of cannon used with stone shot. It is now 

 generally applind to a description of mortar for throwing stones, and 

 also to a fougaaa [Fou<u8g] loaded with stones made for the prot 

 of breaches, Ac., to be tired when the assaulting column approaches. 



PIEHS, of H(irbour and of Landing- Placet. In the artificial har- 

 bours formed upon the shores of bays or roadsteads, it is often necessary 

 to execute a defensive mass of stone-work, or occasionally of tii>il>r, 

 either for the purpose of securing the tranquillity of the harbour 

 providing the means for landing goods and passengers from ships which 

 require a considerable depth of water. These works are known by the 

 names of pitrt or of jcttitt, and their construction involves some of the 

 most interesting questions of the science of marine hydraulic engineer- 

 ing, on account of the mechanical difficulties of their execution, and of 

 the influence which every change in the outline of a sea-vhore must 

 exercise upon the relative conditions of the tides, currents, and alluvial 

 deposits which take place on that shore. It would deem, from these 

 remarks, that the most important points to be discussed in designing 

 any work of these descriptions are 1, the directions to be given to 

 them in plan ; 2, the technical methods of their execution ; and 

 precautions to he taken to prevent, or the methods to be adopt 

 removing, any accumulation of alluvial matters caused by the e> 

 of the i 



1. Before enterina upon the consideration of the details of piers or 

 jetties, it may be observed that their execution is only desirable when 

 the port they are intended to serve ia situated in a bay which is natu- 

 rally sheltered from the extreme violence uf the sea. There are, no 

 doubt, many harbours formed upon exposed coasts where the piers are 

 made to inclose, at once from the sea, an outer harbour, leading to still 

 water inner basins ; as, for instance, at Ramsgate, Dieppe, Ac. But 



