184 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



[MaV, 



" is the illustration, in a familiar manner, of Mr. Hosking's suggestions, 

 in his 'Treatise on Bridges,' for reducing the weight and cost, and in- 

 creasing the rigidity of the superstructure of an arched bridge, by the 

 introduction of an inner transverse arch, groined to the usual longi- 

 tudinal arches." The idea is ingenious, and would be attended with 

 a pleasing effect ; but we cannot say much in favour of the taste shown 

 in the design itself, which is not likely to find many admirers, seen as 

 it is almost in juxta-position with Mr. Barry's. In adopting Gothic, 

 Mr. Hosking had evidently no intention of attempting to vie with the 

 Palace of Westminster, or even to conform at all with the style of 

 that edifice; the Bridge "suggested" bv him, being quite contrary to 

 the principles of decoration observed in any one of the various styles 

 of Pointed Architecture. What should be panels and other orna- 

 mental details, are upon a monstrous scale in comparison with the 

 structure itself. In fact, as far as appearance is concerned, the bridge 

 might just as well remain as it is, without any attempt being made to 

 assimilate or accommodate it to Mr.Barry's edifice. Mr. Hosking seems 

 to have designed his Bridge without taking into consideration at all 

 the excessively ornate character of the adjoining "Palace;" whereas 

 had he wished to convince us how well his Gothic would harmonize, 

 or how agreeably it would contrast with that of Mr. Barry, he ought 

 to have exhibited a perspective view, showing not only the bridge, 

 but some portion at least of the other edifice. If we have been rather 

 prolix in our remarks on Westminster "Palace" and Bridge, it is 

 partly because there are very few other designs for public buildings 

 and improvements — churches excepted — that claim notice. One 

 projet, however, there is for what would form a very desirable and no 

 less feasible improvement at Whitehall, viz., Messrs. Wyatt and 

 Brandon's design (No. 1219) for erecting on the site of Gwydir House, 

 a building (either for government offices or a Club establishment), 

 corresponding with the " Banqueting House," and uniting the whole 

 into one general fafade by means of a central compartment flanked 

 with pavilion towers and cupola turrets. It is somewhat curious that, 

 notwithstanding the excessive admiration — almost might we say vene- 

 ration that has ever been professed for the only part of Inigo Jones's 

 project for Whitehall Palace, that was executed, it has never been 

 thought worth while to finish up the exterior consistently as far as it 

 goes, continuing the design at the ends — which now present only bare 

 brick walls, — and keeping the building quite clear from any others. 

 In its actual state, that piece of Jones' arcliilecture has always struck 

 us as looking somewhat lumpish and monotonous, and evidently in- 

 tended only as a portion or feature belonging to some larger edifice. 

 Whether the project emanates entirely from themselves, or whether 

 aught of the kind is contemplated in other quarters, we know not, but 

 Messrs. Wyatt and Brandon now propose to make such addition to 

 Jones' building as would form a well arranged architectural composi- 

 tion of considerable extent. It is true the centre would be the nar- 

 rowest division of the fafade, and would also recede back a little, but 

 this is almost inevitable, for as it cannot be allowed to project forward 

 unto the pavement, it must either be set back a little, or there could 

 be no break at all in the line of front, consequently no motive for in- 

 troducing the towers, — which are well imagined characteristic traits 

 adopted from Jones' ideas for Whitehall. 



After this design there is scarcely another in the room, which shows 

 any tiling either proposed to be done or lately erected in the metro- 

 polis, if we except No. 1101, Mr. Turner's "Facade buildings of the 

 Joint Railway Terminus at London Bridge," which design has ap- 

 peared in our journal. We meet indeed with a design/or the new 

 Conservative Club-house (No. 1218, T. Hopper), but it is not the one 

 adopted, nor does it rival it by many degrees ; but of course Mr. 

 Hopper thinks dift'erently, or he would not have challenged compari- 

 son. There are a good many other designs in the same predicament, 

 having been put hors de combat, but how far they have been superseded 

 by any thing better we are unable to judge, there being no drawings 

 or models of the approved ones. For the "Leicester Memorial" 

 alone there are four or five designs, — all of them columns — made ac- 

 cording to order, we suppose — and all so exceedingly poor and in- 

 sipid that they seem to have been sent to the Academy for no better 

 eason than that they were ready to be sent. By way of producing 

 something less hackneyed than the eternal Doric or Tuscan column, 

 one of them substitutes the capital from the Tower of the Winds at 

 Athens! Of Mr. Donthorn's column, which is the one to be executed, 

 the capital is described as being altogether a novel composition, con- 

 sisting of the heads and fore-parts of animals, but whether placed all 

 round, or only under the angles of the abacus, we cannot tell, for he 

 has not thought proper to exhibit the design, or any drawing or model 

 of the capital only. 



Of Prize Designs we have quantum stiff., things that may deserve 

 the Academy's gold medals, but do not say much for the judgment 

 which proposes such wildly extravagant subjects as are those upon 



which architectural students are invited to exercise their invention. 

 The one this year is a "Metropolitan Music Hall and Royal Academy 

 of Music," upon such a scale that it seems intended to contain the 

 whole Musical " Million," and to require full a million to erect it. It 

 is quite preposterous to encourage students, to encourage mere be- 

 ginners to attempt such monstrously out-of-the-way things before 

 they can display any tiiste and invention in designing a moderate- 

 sized house, or even a single room. Subjects of the last-mentioned 

 kinds are always, we are sorry to say, exceedingly rare : there is not 

 a single design for the front of a street house or a town mansion. 

 Architects seem to be able to make nothing of such subjects : they 

 accordingly favour us only with cottages, villas, country mansions and 

 castles. Of interiors they are equally shy — except they be merely 

 those of churches — notwithstanding that so much has of late been said 

 on the subject of interior decoration and the study of it ; that in itself 

 it affords such a wide and varied scope ; and that it may be adopted 

 with comparative facility and economy. Promise, however, is now 

 made of what has long been a desideratum among architectural publi- 

 cations, by No. 1134, "The Morning Room, one of a series of designs 

 for Interior Decoration," E. B. Lamb ; yet while so many insignificant 

 and paltry things are allowed to stare us full in the lace, this drawing 

 is put nearly quite of sight, notwithstanding that it is of a kind to re- 

 quire close inspection. Placed where it is, all the detail — all that 

 constitutes decoration is entirely lost; hardly therefore would it have 

 been a whit more preposterous to have hung it upside down at once. 

 Nothing can be made out except the general forms and masses. Its 

 author's name is however a pledge of its merits, since no one under- 

 stands better than Mr. Lamb, the application and adaptation of former 

 styles to actual purposes, in such manner as to retain their character- 

 istics, and that, not merely in bits and patches, but consistently and 

 throughout. Accordingly, we trust that ere very long we shall behold 

 his "Series of Designs" in a published form ; for it certainly would 

 prove a most excellent companion work to those by Joseph Nash, and 

 would be far more generally useful, inasmuch as the subjects would 

 be designed with express reference to what is required for or capable 

 of being introduced into modern rooms, and in spaces of less extrava- 

 gant amplitude than ancient baronial halls. 



The only other interior of a room — properly so called, is No. 1160, 

 the " Library of the Parthenon Clubhouse," in Regent Street, one of 

 the two mansions built by Nash for his own residence and that of his 

 brother-in-law Mr. Edwards. Never has Mr. Beazley satisfied us so 

 well as in this interior, which although of no great size as a room — in 

 fact a narrow and not very long gallery, is uuusually scenic in its archi- 

 tectural character. It consists of three divisions or compartments 

 covered by as many domes and their pendentives, which constitute 

 the chief architectural decoration, the walls being nearly covered by 

 book cases, on which are placed busts. Each of the end compart- 

 ments is lighted by a lunette or semicircular window over the book- 

 cases on the left hand side; but the centre one is enlarged by a bay 

 window on that side, which gives greater space to the room, and 

 variety to the design. We speak doubtingly, but we suppose that 

 this Library is not an entirely new addition to the house, but a re- 

 modelling of the small gallery shown in the plan of it in the " Illustra- 

 tions of the Public Buildings of London." — This design is not only 

 more than ordinarily interesting as a subject, but also as being sug- 

 gestive of further ideas, and as affording an agreeable " episode of 

 plan." 



(To be continued.) 



I 



MR. J. TOWNSEND'S LECTURE ON THE FINE ARTS. 



Several of the Greenwich and Kent papers have spoken in terras of very 

 high admiration of this Lecture, which was delivered at the Greenwich Lite- 

 rary Institution, on the evening of May 1st. ; and in so doing some of ihem 

 have indulged in sharply satirical remarks — not it would seem without rea- 

 son—on the want of taste and also of good feeling shown by the people of 

 Greenwich, who instead of encouraging talent in a fellow townsman, left him 

 to address almost empty benches. This is all the more extraonlinary, be- 

 cause the room would have been very decently filled, had there been but a 

 tolerably fair attendance on the part of the members belonging to the Insti- 

 tution. But after wliat fashion it is that they bestir themselves in promoting 

 iniellectual taste either in regard to literature or to Art, is now pretty mani- 

 fest. It will be lucky for them should not the very pointed and cauitic re- 

 marks of some of the newspaper editors obtain for the people of Greenwich, 

 the title of the Kentish ' Bieotians.' 



By the few who were present the lecture was exceedingly well received, for 



