1844. 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



THE NEW PALACE AT WESTMINSTER, 



Mr. Barry's Report rpspectin;/ the Localities in the New Houses of Parlia- 

 ment which may be adapted for the reception of Works in Sculpture. 



Ill the Report which I made to the Commission in February 1843, (See 

 Journal, Vol. VI. 1843, p. 173,) I maile mention of all those portions of the 

 interior of the New Palace where, in my jndgment, painting and sculpture 

 could, with propriety and effect, be united witli the architecture of the build- 

 ing; and, having reconsidered the subject, I am still of opinion that the 

 union of the three sister arts could not be satisfactorily carried to a greater 

 extent within the building than I then expressed. I may, however, mention 

 that, in addition to the statues of royal and military personages, which I re- 

 commended to be placed in the niches forming part of the architectural de- 

 coration of the several halls, those of eminent men of this country who have 

 at various periods distinguished themselves in the advancement of art, 

 science, and literature, but whose services have not hitherto been specially 

 recorded by any public acknowledgment, might form part of the series. 



The following is an enumeration of the niches provided for such purposes 

 in the several parts of the building : — In Westminster Hall, 12 ; in the Vic- 

 toria Gallerv, 106 ; in the Queen's Porch, 4 ; in the House of Lords, 18 ; in 

 St. Stephen's Hall, 12; in the Central Hall, 68; making altogether 220 

 niches, averaging seven feet in height. Those in the Victoria Gallery, Queen's 

 Porch, and House of Lords, might be of bronze gilt, but in order to avoid 

 false lights and effects, the gilding should be matted or imhnrnished. In the 

 other parts of the building above adverted to, the statutes might be of co- 

 loured marbles, in harmony with the prevailing tone and colour of the 

 architectaral decorations. 



With respect to monuments which may hereafter be decreed by Parliament 

 to be erected at the public expense, to the memory of not only those eminent 

 men who have distinguished themselves in the civil and military services of 

 their country, but also of those who have promoted its honour and advantage 

 in the cultivation and advancement of art, science, and literature, no building 

 can, in ray opinion, with greater propriety or effect, be appropriated for their 

 reception than the Palace of the Legislature, whose site is hallowed by the 

 most interesting historical recollections connected with it from the most re- 

 mote periods. Such monuments might be arranged with considerable effect, 

 both within the building, as well as in the New Quadrangle, which I have 

 already suggested as an addition to it, on the site of the New Palace Yard ; 

 and in order that due importance and effect may be given to them, they 

 should not, in my opinion, be confined by, or form part of, the architectural 

 arrangement of the design of the interior ; but should be wholly detached 

 from the walls, and be restricted either to the statues of the men they are 

 designed to commemorate, or simply to mural monuments and tablets, with 

 likenesses of the deceased in the form of busts or medallions, with suitable 

 inscriptions ; but all allegory, and its absurdities, should be carefully avoided. 



Within the building, the monuments should be exclusively confined to 

 statues, which might be so arranged in the respective halls, as to accord with 

 the degree of eminence of the men they are designed to commemorate ; the 

 Central or Octagon Hall being reserved for the most eminent. 



In the Quadrangle, statues might be placed in front of the buttresses of 

 the budding on each of its four sides, and mural monuments and tablets 

 placed under an arcade to be formed on two of its sides. Monuments thus 

 placed, although in the open air and constantly open to the public, might, 

 from being within the precincts of the palace, be placed under such a con- 

 stant and efficient supervision, as would preserve them from defacement or 

 injury. In order to avoid discordancy, and a want of proper degree of sym- 

 metry in the statues generally, I would propose, that they should all be of 

 the heroic size ; that their pedestals should he of the same height and nearly 

 of the same bulk; that monumental simplicity and breadth of treatment 

 should he prescribed for the statue ; and that all the pedestals should be de- 

 signed upon the same general principles, as to composition and style : but 

 with a view of avoiding a monotonous repetition, they should lie varied in 

 design according to the taste of the artist, and be enriched with historical 

 bas-reliefs, illustrating any 'mportant events that it might be deemed expe- 

 dient to record in the life of the individual in whose honour the monument 

 is erected. The statues should invariably be of bronze, on account of the 

 imperishable nature of that material ; those on the exterior of the budding 

 might be left of the natural colour of the metal, but in the interior, where 

 the light will be much subdued, I would recommend that they should be 

 coated with matted or unburnished gold, as being best calculated to render 

 the statue most effective, and allow of its being seen to the greatest advan- 

 tage. The pedestals might he of Purheck marble, or of some other lime- 

 stone of equal hardness and depth of colour ; and those in the interior of the 

 budding should be polished. The sculpture upon the pedestals might be 

 executed either in the stone of which they are made, or in tablets of bronze 

 securely fixed to the stone-work, which should be gilt or left of its natural 

 colour as suggested for the statues, according to the situation of the monu- 

 ment, whether placed internally or externally. 



The principle which I would adopt for the location of the monuments 

 generally, is that of confining them to such portions of the budding only as 

 might at all times, without inconvenience, be open to the public, under pro- 

 per and efficient control, and such regulations as might be deemed expedient. 

 This principle, and the amount of accommodation that could be provided for 

 public monuments, as well as their arrangement, is illustrated in the accom- 

 panying plan ; by which it appears that Westminster Hall might contain 58 



statues; St. Stephen's Hall, 10 ; the Central or Octagon Hall, 24 ; the Cor- 

 ridors leading to the Houses of Lords and Commons, 20 ; and the Public 

 Corridors and Waiting Rooms connected with the Committee Rooms, 69 ; 

 making in all, accommodation for 187 statues. 



The Crypt of St. Stephen's Chapel, which is proposed to be restored, and 

 to which convenient access will be made from Westminster Hall, would also 

 afford accommodation for about 14 monuments. 



The Cloister of the Chapel, which is also to be restored, and will be con- 

 nected with the Hall and the Crypt, might afford accommodation for 13 

 statues, placed externally ; and a surface of wall for mural monuments and 

 tablets, under cover, 330 feet in length, and 20 feet in height. The accom- 

 modation in the proposed Quadrangle on the site of New Palace Yard, would 

 he for 56 statues ; and for mural monuments and tablets, under cover, a sur- 

 face of wall 36!) feet in length, and 16 feet in height. 



Thus the entire number of public monuments that the building and its 

 quadrangles could accommodate would be, in isolated monuments or statues, 

 270; and in mural monuments and tablets, about 400; or in the whole, 670 

 monuments of all kinds. In Westminster Abbey, the number of monuments 

 of all kinds, forming a collection commenced (with a few exceptions) from 

 the end of the thirteenth century, amounts to 3r)7 ; of which 03 are table and 

 other monuments, with figures in a recumbent or devotional attitude; 15 are 

 isolated statues in an erect position ; 98 are mural monuments, with sculp- 

 ture for the most part allegorical; 122 are tablets with inscriptions onlv ; 20 

 are busts ; 8 are brasses let into the pavement ; and 31 consist of table monu- 

 ments, slabs, and stones, with sculpture either decomposed or defaced to such 

 an extent as to be nearly obliterated. A very few of these monuments have 

 been erected at the public expense. 



In St. Paul's Cathedral, the number of monuments, being a collection of 

 the last fifty years, amounts to 43 ; of which, 14 are isolated statues of the 

 men they are designed to commemorate ; 5 are historical reliefs ; 3 are partly 

 historical and partly allegorical ; and 21 consist wholly of allegory. Of this 

 number, those which have been erected at the public expense amount to 36. 

 From the above statement of the existing monuments in St. Paul's Cathedral 

 and in Westminster Abbey, it may safely be inferred, that the accomujoda- 

 tion afforded by the New Palace of Westminster, for public monuments 

 alone, would suffice for ages to come : and if the feeling which now very 

 generally prevails in favour of the exclusion of all monuments from places set 

 apart for divine worship, which, from their character, are not calculated to 

 excite in the mind of the beholder emotions of piety and devotion, (in which 

 number would be included, above 200 in Westminster Abbey, and with two 

 exceptions, the entire collection at St. Paul's Cathedral,) should ultimately 

 lead to their removal, the New Palace of Westminster might afford accom- 

 modation for those of a public character, either in the open arcades, or in 

 galleries to be provided above them in the proposed additional quadrangle, 

 on the site of the New Palace Yard. But whether this removal and trans- 

 fer of monuments should or should not ultimately take place, it might per- 

 haps be worthy the consideration of Parliament, whether it would not be 

 advisable, both for the sake of encouraging Art, and evincing a renewed and 

 grateful remembrance of services rendered to their country, to order statues 

 to be erected in the New Palace of Westminster, at the public expense, to the 

 memory of a certain number of the most eminent of its public characters and 

 benefactors of bygone times, in order that a collection of monuments, to the 

 memory of all whom the country delights to honour, may be at once com- 

 menced, and he ever after maintained and increased within the walls of one 

 and the same public edifice. 



Extract from the Report of the Committee appointed to examine the Localities 



in the New Houses of Parliament which max/ be adapted for the Reception 



of Works in Paintinij and Sculpture. 



Your Committee, to whom was referred the duty of conferring with the 

 architect, and examining the plans of the approaches and halls connected 

 with the New Houses of Parliament, and of reporting to the Commission 

 their opinion as to those localities which might be most .idvantageously 

 selected with reference to position, space and means of lighting, for the re- 

 ception of works of art in painting and sculpture respectively; and, further, 

 of reporting, as the progress of decoration must necessarily be gradual, in 

 what order of succession the localities above referred to should be selected 

 for the purpose, and what particular mode of decoration would be best suited 

 to each : 



Have the honour to report that they have conferred with the architect, and 

 have examined the plans and actual state of the edifice intended for the ac- 

 commodation of the Houses of Parliament, with a view to the objects of the 

 inquiry committed to them, and thereupon have to submit the following 

 statement : — 



The Landing Hall of the Royal Staircase will be 32^ feet by 30 feet, and 

 the height to the point of the groining 23 feet 6 inches. It will be lighted by 

 two windows on the north side of the hall, 11 feet C in. high, by 6 feet 4 in. 

 wide, and 8 feet 6 in. from the floor. There will be three panels for painting 

 (ending in pointed arches) on the east, west, and north sides, 4 feet from the 

 floor, 11 feet wide, and 18 feet 3 in. high to the point of the arch. 



The Guard-room will he 38 feet square, and 30 feet high. It will be 

 lighted by four windows on the south side, 15 feet 6 in. high and 4 feet wide, 

 and 3 feet 3 in. from the floor. There will be panels or margins round doors 

 on the north, east, and west sides. The height of the margin (on each side 

 to the top of the door) wdl be 12 feet by 2 feet 10 in., and the upper hori- 

 zontal portion will be 15 feet long by 2 feet 10 inches. There will be six 



