I840.J 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITIXTS JOURNAL. 



IS!) 



poi'tico, tliiit lias iiccnsioniHl a relapse into tbe still', foniial, and fantas- 

 tical quaintness, and little frigid conceits of this semiljarharoiis manner, 

 wliicli, as it lias always ajipeared to ns, originated only in a blnndering, 

 awkward imitation of the Renaissance style on the continent. Un- 

 doubtedly there is frequently, in spite of all this, a good deal of piquant 

 and picturesque in our examples of this class. The proper course, 

 therefore, would be to study and select those qualities, carefully 

 eschewing at the same time, all the coarse dross and rubbish, and the 

 gingerbreail puerilities among which they are found, but which cer- 

 tainly do not tend to give them any additional charm. 



( To he con I i II IK d. J 



STONE FOR THE NEW HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT. 



Sir — Several paragraphs on the subject of the stone to be used in 

 the erection of the new Houses of parliament having appeared in 

 many of the Lomlon and provincial neus|va|)ers, which contain some 

 inaccuracies and mis-statements, it may not be amiss to set the public 

 riglit in a matter which, though not of great importance, lias yet some 

 national interest. 



It is, of course, well known that the Commissioners ajipointed to 

 visit the quarries, ami to inquire into the qualities of the stone to be 

 used in building the new Houses of Parliament, in their report ad- 

 dressed to the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Woods and Forests, 

 after giving a variety of details respecting the numerous quarries 

 they had visited, the buildings they had inspected, and the experi- 

 ments which had been made to determine the physical and chemical 

 properties of many kinds of stone, specimens of which liad been ob- 

 tained, conclude their report by slating that having weighed, to the 

 best of their judgment, tiie evidence in favour of the various building 

 stones which had been brought uniler their consideration, tliey felt 

 bound to state that for durability, ;is instanced in Southwell Church, 

 &c., and the results of experiments, for crystalline character, combined 

 with a close approach to the equivalent proportions of carbonate of 

 lime and carbonate of magnesia, for uniformity in structure, facility 

 and economy in conversion, and for advantage of colour, the magnesian 

 limestone or dolomite of Bolsover Moor and its neighbourhood, was, 

 ill their opinion, the most fit and proper material to be employed in 

 t!ie proposed new Houses of Parliament. 



Bolsover Moor is an uncultivated and rocky waste in the parish of 

 Bolsover, in Derbyshire, a short distance north of Mansfield, and is the 

 property of Earl Batliurst; its locality, immediately on the publication 

 of the Commissioner's report, became, of course, an object of great 

 interest, both to the noble proprietor and to the various parties inte- 

 rested in procuring stone for the great national erection; but on a 

 more extensive and particular inspection of the beds on the Moor, 

 than the Commissioners had been able to make of them, they were 

 found to be deficient in their capacity of furnishing blocks of a size 

 and form, sufficient and proper for the |nirposes required in the pro- 

 posed erections. New speculations, therefore, arose, and fresh hopes 

 were excited amongst the many candidates for the honour of supply- 

 ing the material for the buildings ; it, however, was the fortune of 

 Mr. Charles Lindley, of Mansfield, an extensive builder and quarry 

 owner, to discover at Mansfield Woodhouse, about a mile north of 

 Mansfield, another bed of the Bolsover Limestone, extending over a 

 considerable tract, of a quality and character precisely similar to that 

 of the beds on the Moor, and which promised to furnish blocks of a 

 size and form suitable for the ])urposes intended. Mr. Lindley im- 

 mediately, and upon speculation, at a considerable price made a pur- 

 chase of the land, which was of little worth for agricultural purposes, 

 though occupied for them, and having submitted specimens of the 

 stone to the proper authorities, which, being tested, w'ere found to 

 possess the requisite qualities, and therefore proper to be used in the 

 erection of the new Houses of Parliament. Shafts were thereupon 

 sunk, to ascertain what the nature and extent of the beds were that 

 the field contained, and the result of the trials being also satisfactory, 

 workmen were immediately employed to get stone, and numerous 

 blocks of considerable size and excellent form were speedily obtained. 



The contractors for the .Torks, with a professor of geology, visited 

 the quarry, and there being every appearance that the field would 

 yield a sufficient supply of materivd, a contract was entered into with 

 Mr. Lindley, and he is now actively engaged in forvvar<ling a regular 

 supply of stone to London. 



Mr. Lindley is also the proprietor of an extensive quarry of white 

 sandstone (magnesio-calciferous sandstone), at Mansfield, which is 

 also highly spoken of in the Commissioners' report for its appearance 

 and durability; this quarry will yield blocks to the size of 10 tons, 



and the stone will work well with the Woodhouse (Bolsover) stone, 

 a great advantage is thereby gained, because the sandstone may be 

 used for purposes to which the limestone may not always be suited. 



On reference to Table A in the report of tlie Commissioners, pp. 12, 

 13, it will be seen that the Bolsover stone is described as magnesian 

 limestone, that its component parts are chiefly carbonate of lime and 

 carbonate of magnesia, semi-crystalline, its colour a light yellowish 

 brown, and its weight, in an ordinary state, per cubic foot 1.5 Ith. lloz. 

 Table B states that Southwell church, Nottinghamshire, (of the lOth 

 century) is built of the magnesian liinestone of Bolsover Moor, and 

 that it is now in ;;e)/£C/ condition, the mouldings and enrichments of 

 the doorway o;;/;Mm;^ as peiftct as if jiixt compkUd, and that the 

 choir, wdiich is of the 12tli century, and built of a stone similar to that 

 of Mansfield (Mr. Lindley's magnesio-calciferous sandstone), is gene- 

 rally in good condition. 



'fable C, of chemical analyses, shows that the Bolsover stone is 

 composed of silica 3-li, carbonate of lime 51-1, carbonate of magnesia 

 lU-i, iron alumina 1-S. water and loss 3-3. Specific gravity, dry 

 masses 2-31('i, particles i-SSS. 



All the qualities enumerated of the Bolsover stone mentioned in 

 the report, belong to the Bolsover stone found at Woodhouse, and, 

 like the former, the latter is remarkabU; for its [lecu'.iarly beautiful 

 crystalline structure, and is, rather than otherwise, superior iu its 

 quality and appearance. 



I am, Sir, your obedient servant, 

 Mamjidd, Amicus. 



•20th May, 1S4U. 



TEACHERS OF CIVIL ENGINEERING, &c. 



Sii! — In the last number cf your Journal, you have inserted a letter 

 from "one wdio has suffered," complaining of being the dvpc of an 

 advertisement in the newspapers headed " Offices for Surveying, 

 Architecture, and Civil Engineering." Now, as I sometime ago ad- 

 vertized with that hading, and as I reckon your publication too re- 

 spectable to deal in aiwnyinovx ulandei; you will oblige me by pub- 

 lishing the name of the complainant, so as I may learn whether the 

 charge is applied to me, and if so, set myself right in the eyes of your 

 readers. 



I am. Sir, your's respectfully, 

 Mai/ llt/i, ISIO. Edwat.d Junes, 



24, Charlotfe Street, Author of the " Principles and 



Bloonisbmij. Practice of Levelling." 



[Mr. Jones must be aware, or ought to know, that we will not \nih- 

 lish the names of our contributors; we consider that if there be any 

 parties wdio hold out to the world that they can teach " Surveying, 

 Architecture, and Civil iMigineering," or any one branch "in a ftw 

 lcsso7i!S," they ought to be held up to the severe animadversion of the 

 jirofession. This is the charge made in last montli'.s Journal by our 

 correspondent " one who has suffered." If Mr. Jones' advertisements 

 do not contain such a statement, he cannot be in any way injured by 

 the letter, but ought to be ready to support us in exposing such a 

 practice, which exposure can only benefit, and not injure, the respect- 

 able practitioner. — Editor.] 



ENCROACHMENTS OF THE SEA. 



Sir — The encroachments of the sea on the coast of England having 

 aroused ])ublic attention, a little local information may be not only 

 interesting but useful. I have always regretted having neglected to 

 inform you, in my former letter on this subject, that the village and 

 church of Warden, in the Isle of Sheppy, are now covered by the sea; 

 that since I came here in June last, a great jiart of Warden Point has 

 slipped into the sea, and great part of the island, from Warden to 

 Minster, is monthly going the same way, from underground springs ■ 

 and want of drainage. 



In the old History of Hampshire it mentions that the peo]ile daily 

 forde-d or waded across with their cattle from the Forest to "Vectis" 

 to graze ; now first rate men-of-war can sail over this place. The 

 destruction of the western side of the island is much hastened, in con- 

 sequence of the removal of stones and gravel for building and road- . 

 making. 



Your obedient servant, 



Sheerness Garrison, C. F. P.\RKiNbu.\, Capt. 73rd Reg. 



May 14, 1340. 



