i8o THE TIMBERS OF THE WORLD 



lower branches as the trunk elongates, so that knots are lacking on the 

 long bole ; and the trunk produces straight-grained wood arranged in 

 annual rings of more or less even width. In these respects it resembles the 

 typical forest-grown Russian, Austrian, and Japanese oak. When, how- 

 ever, grown out in the open, or in well-Lighted woodlands, the trunk retains 

 its old branches, which develop into low pitched boughs and produce 

 huge knots. Moreover, the energy of the tree is diverted to producing 

 a thick stumpy trunk with wide fibrous annual rings and broad medul- 

 lary rays. The annual rings are, however, apt to be very unequal 

 in thickness, so that the grain is uneven and far removed from the 

 straight by the intervention of numerous larger and smaller knots. 

 The result is that this wild-grained timber is not so strong as the pre- 

 ceding kind, but has a much more varied, decorative effect, which is 

 enhanced by bold silver grain, unsurpassed by any other European 

 commercial oak. 



It is strange to note that although British oak is generally admired 

 and highly valued when it bears the stamp of antiquity, yet at the present 

 time foreign varieties are more often used in preference to it. WTien, 

 howe%'er, it is so employed, there is the assurance that not only is it 

 beautiful and ornamental, but it is capable of enduring sound and 

 excellent for future ages, and thus preserve a record of the art and 

 craft of the period in which the work was executed. The foreign oak 

 which is more commonly used results in work which differs little 

 in its spiritless uniformity from any ordinary stained and varnished 

 wood. 



An illustration of the enduring qualities of British oak can be found 

 in the hammer-beam roof of Westminster Hall, which, erected in 1399, 

 lasted for over 500 years and has only recently been repaired. In contrast 

 to these may be mentioned the elaborate fifteenth-century carved work 

 in the Frari Church and the Church of S. Stefano in Venice (alluded to 

 elsewhere), which, executed in Italian walnut, is now perforated with 

 worm holes and is crumbling to dust. Other examples of the superior 

 eft'ect resulting from the use of British oak can be seen in the Court of 

 Criminal Appeal at the Royal Courts of Justice, London ; the sub- 

 committee room at Lloyd's Registry' in Fenchurch Street, E.C. ; in the 

 benches and ends of the seats in Lanteglos Church, near Fowey, in 

 Cornwall, and the following places : 



The Thistle Chapel in St. Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh, designed by 

 Sir Robert Lorimer and built by Mr. N. Grieve. The British oak used 

 in this building was sawn and sticked for over fifty years and was grown 

 in Essex. 



Liverpool Cathedral, designed by ^Ir. Gilbert Scott, the oak for which 

 work came from the same source as the above. 



