1844.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



47 



much have been intentional as occasioned by the difficulty of obtainin" au- 

 thentic materials fov the purpose. In other countries, those who have done 

 most and best, have published their own designs — at least have contributed 

 some of their principal ones to collections of the kind ; but such practice, 

 we regret to say, does not prevail among the architects of this country. Even 

 could such reserve be imputed to humility, it would be a more strange than 

 satisfactory excuse. Rather, vvc fear, must it be attributed to indifference on 

 the one hand, and an illaudable economy on the other. Profit, indeed, 

 could hardly be promised them, therefore, if there be no higher inducement 

 than that of bringing out works of the kind, we have no reason to expect 

 them ; yet surely those — and some there are — wlio have accumidated wealth 

 by a long and prosperous career, could well aftbrd to renounce all ideas of 

 profit, and even to abide by a certain loss. There is another reason — a most 

 valid and cogent one, but we will leave it to the sagacity of our readers to 

 find out, it being one that will hardly be confessed to. 



PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 



ROYAL INSTITUTE OF BRITISH ARCHITECTS. 

 January 22. — T. L. DoNAtDSON, Esq., in the chair. 



Se'I'Bral donations were announced, and among others a rubbing of a 

 brass intended to be erected in the country as a sepulchral mural monument. 

 — As the impression was a very effective one, Mr. G. Godwin, jun., inquired 

 whether any particular process liad been used to obtain it ? — Mr. Cox said it 

 was done with the common heel ball, but as the brass was not fixed, the heel 

 ball could he used more freely, and a sharper impression obtained. He hoped 

 it would be seen, by the specimen before them, how very effective this mode 

 of celebrating the departed was, and that it would not be without its effect 

 in influencing the revival of this neglected branch of art. ' 



The Chairman concurred in this wish, and observed that the practice of 

 consecrating painted glass windows as monumental memorials of departed 

 friends was now becoming prevalent, and was also worthy of praise. 



Mr. PovNTER then made some remarks on a plan and section of the tran- 

 sept of Minchinhampton church, in Gloucestershire, presented by Messrs. 

 Foster & Son, of Bristol. The transept was, he said, a very curious one of 

 the 14th century, and it was most remarkable that the roof, altliough sup- 

 ported by stone joists, was built as if it were of timber. The transept was 

 not large, being 29 ft. long and 15 ft. wide, and the roof was carried by six 

 stone ribs ; the height to the crown of the arch being 32 ft. The appearance 

 was very irregular, the windows also being narrow. The roof was originally 

 covered witli slabs of stone, but is now tiled. 



The next paper read was by Dr. Bromett describing a bridge over the Moine, 

 at Clisson, near Nantes, in Brittany. The river here runs in a deep ravine, 

 and is a rapid, unnavigable stream, formerly crossed by a bridge at the 

 bottom of the hollow made for purposes of fortification, as difficult of access 

 as possible. The present construction is not so properly a bridge as a via- 

 duct, and consists of 15 arches with two large abutments, being 106 metres 

 (348 ft.) in length. The abutments rest on a coarse granitic foundation, but 

 the structure itself is of a fine white granite, and the stones of large size, 

 well jointed with fine white mortar. The foundations are six feet below 

 the bed of the river, tlie height from the bed of the river to the springing of 

 the arches 33 ft. and the total height from the foundation to the top of the 

 parapet 61ft. The total width at the top is 30ft. Sin. at the widest part. 

 The viaduct is placed at right angles to the stream. The chief peculiarity of 

 its construction is, that the piers are pierced with the pointed arch intersect- 

 ing the cylindrical intrados of the main arches in the direction of the length 

 of the viaduct, so that the roadway rests on a groined vault, which, teen 

 from the abutments, have the appearance of the aisle of a Gothic cathedral. 

 The same principle is adopted in the bridge of St. Maxence, built by the 

 celebrated Peyronnet, about 70 years ago. The Clisson viaduct was com- 

 pleted in 1842, but it was opened for traffic a year or two before. 



Mr. Billings proceeded to make some remarks on the Church of St. Peter 

 and St. Paul, at Kettering, in Northamptonshire. As Mr. Billing's illustra- 

 tions of his subject were principally sketched by himself at the moment, and 

 describing minute points, we regret that we cannot follow him through his 

 whole subject, as to many of those details great interest is attached. He 

 described the Northamptonshire district as being characterised by churches 

 with lofty towers and spires, and stunted bodies. At the same time, they are 

 invaluable as studies at the present moment, as the cost of them is entirely 

 within the means devoted to church building. There was an early church at 

 Kettering, on the plan of which the present church was built, in the 15tb 

 century, all the remains of the old church being destroyed, except the chancel 

 and the north doorway of the church. It so happened that the new building 

 was first begun on a different line, and the tower at the west end being the 

 first part of it, it was built at a very difi'erent angle from the rest of the 

 building, so that the tower looks completely atwist. Ultimately, however, 

 the church was built on the old foundations, but in the perpendicular style. 

 The porch, also, was another anomalous appendage, for to suit the en- 

 trance to the church-yard, that is also atwist ; indeed the tower and spire are 

 at 15° angle in one direction, and the porch about as much in another direc- 

 tion, There was a curious thing with regard to the tower, and it appeared 



as if in that case, as in some others, it had been intended that the tower 

 should have been isolated. The tower was finished on the inside with but- 

 tresses and ornaments, so as to aflbrd a view of it from the interior. " This 

 shows," said Mr. Billings, " that the old architects sometimes made mistakes 

 as well as we do, by putting more work than is necessary." This remark 

 caused much amusement. He proceeded to say, that the plan of the church 

 was a square of 64 ft., and contrary to the usual proportion allotted (o aisles, 

 the church was so divided tliat it might lie said to have three equal aisles. 

 There being five compartments on each side of the nave, there were twelve 

 piers, which, if the symboUsts were right, would stand for the twelve apostles. 

 At Harrow it was a very interesting circumstance, that with twelve compart- 

 ments, cash niche was occupied with the statue of an apostle. He then 

 described the columns, the caps of which were, in his opinion, very beautiful. 

 As to the roof, there was nothing remarkable in that, except the blunders 

 committed in its design and construction, and particularly with regard to the 

 great beams, which were not long enough to reach from wall to wall, and 

 consequently they rested on a piece of timber at each end, and were sup- 

 ported by two most bungling struts and knees. Tlie doorway at Kettering 

 he notices as very pretty, and a window, in the chancel, as curious ; one of 

 the windows in the clerestory he considered as perfect. There was also an 

 instance, in a chapel of a late date, in which the pointed arch was 

 nearly lost in a circle, and for his own part he was strongly inclined 

 to believe, that had not the progress of architecture been arrested, the 

 tendency was to a revival of the ancient round arch style of architecture. 

 The plan of the spire and tower he considered as the most extraordinary 

 portion of the whole building; the tower being a square within which diagonals 

 had been drawn, and the angles of these being cut off, an octagon remained, 

 which represented the base of the spire. 'The question of entasis or swelling 

 of the spire, which created great interest, Mr. Billings said he had minutely 

 examined, and measured Kettering spire, and there was no sign of it ; it was 

 formed by right Unes. At Stamford he had been told there was an entasis 

 on one of the spires, but, on examining it, attentively, he found the appear- 

 ance merely arose from the spire being formed of two lines at a different 

 angle. He did not, however, mean to deny that bulging might exist, though 

 the bulging was in most cases done purposely. The introduction of rain 

 pipes at Kettering instead of gurgoyles, he considered as one of the oldest 

 instances. In answer to a question from the Chair, Mr. Billings said the 

 materials were of lead. — The Chairman remarked, that it was not unusual 

 to find old rain pipes of that material. — Mr. Billings said be was aware of 

 that, and particularly in domestic building. There had been paintings, he 

 said, at Kettering, usually called fresco, but which, in reality, were distemper. 

 Among others was a Saint Christopher, with brilliant azure breeches, deco- 

 rated with gold stars. Having concluded his remarks on Kettering, Mr. 

 Billings made some remark on the book he had published on the subject, and, 

 in order to prevent speculators subsequently bringing out the work at half- 

 price, to the annoyance of subscribers, he had brought the work out at half 

 price in the first instance. 



The Chairman, after passing a vote of thanks to Mr. Billings, and paying 

 a great many comphments to him, proceeded to assert, that he had seen a 

 churcli in Northamptonshire, where there were very old pews, and that the 

 use of pews was an established practice of the ancient church in this country. 



Mr. Billings, on the other hand, said, all the spires in Northamptonshire 

 had been built by the protestants, which caused much laughter, and also that 

 all the pews had been built by them. 



The Chairman contested this. 



Mr. Poynter, in reference to entasis, said, there was a decided case of a 

 curved line in a spire at Newark, though, in most cases, the appearance arose 

 from the spire being made on distinct lines. He had recognized as many as 

 three distinct lines. 



Mr. Billings said, that in St. Mary Redcliffe, Bristol, there were two 

 distinct Unes observable. 



This subject being concluded, the Chairman called the attention of the 

 members to a subject generally interesting to the profession. They were, 

 perhaps, aware, that the Westminster Division of Sewers bad determined to 

 extend their staff by the appointment of a new assistant surveyor, and new 

 clerk of the works. They had advertised, and they bad determined on 

 putting certain questions to the candidates, to ascertain their competency, 

 which questions he had prepared in conjunction with Mr. Walker, Prcs. Inst. 

 C. E., and Mr. Gwilt, Surveyor of the Surrey Commission ; 33 candidates ap- 

 peared, but on the questions being put to them, and three hours being as- 

 signed as the time to write out the answers, several of them immediately 

 retired. Ultimately, six candidates were selected, who were considered the 

 best, and not one surveyor or architect was among them ; they were all en- 

 gineers. This struck him most forcibly, and he felt himself disappointed. 

 He urged, therefore, on the younger members of the profession, the necessity 

 of keeping pace with the tide of knowledge, and the spirit of the times, or 

 they would be undoubtedly outstripped by the engineers. It was indispen- 

 sable for them to acquire the higher branches of knowledge ; it could no 

 longer be considered that mathematics was unnecessary, or natural philosophy, 

 physics, or geology, nor any department of practical knowledge. They would 

 find, too, in their own profession, several briUiant instances of acquirement : 

 as mathematicians, Mr. Gwilt, and Mr. Newman, had procured the admiration 

 even of engineers ; neither must it be supposed that the engineers had carried 

 off all the honours. Mr. Walker, it was true, lield several appointments, but 

 Mr, Gwilt, Mr. Newman and i\Ir. lansoii, were all architects. The profession 

 must, however, exert itself, many valuable appointments would be open to 



