'845.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



145 



kiiowa, be more extensively used (lian at the present time. Many 

 causes hare operated ;igainst their conversion, and frequently, not the 

 least, the mistaken views of the proprietors in either over-ettimating 

 their value, or raising them in an injudicious manner. 



"In the present age, the same false feeling and bad taste which have 

 been remarked on with reg;ird to the construction of buildings, extend 

 to the embellishment ami more ornamental portions of the interior; 

 scagliola and other imitations of marbles and ornamental stones being 

 resorted to instead of the rock which nature has provided. When 

 better taste and feeling prevail, the natural resources of the country 

 will be more appreciated, and the employment of the people be ex- 

 tended. 



"Almost every variety of marble is met with in Ireland ; and though 

 there are none of any extent known to be equal to the statuary of the 

 Carrara quarries, or the black and gold, or the Bardilli, there are 

 some vthich will well supply their place, and others, which, in many 

 raspects, surpass those of Italy. The following may be enumerated as 

 the chief varieties of marble met with in Ireland : Those of simple 

 colours are the black, dark grey or dove-colour, mettled grey and pure 

 white: of the variegated, the green serpentine, several syenitic and 

 other varieties of varied marbles : of the fossiliferous, the colours vary 

 from a dark black to a grey and warm sienna colour, the shells being 

 either white, or partaking of the colour of the matrix in which they 

 ire embedded." P. 39. 



The passage in the last extract alluding to the bad taste of employ- 

 in" imitative materials is very good. When will architects learn that 

 their art is degraded by dishonest imitations ? The true dignity of 

 architecture consists in its reality — its truth. There is an essential 

 vulgarity in the counterfeits of stucco and cement, which makes one 

 suspect a corresponding vulgarity in the mind of the architect. 



The second part of the work — the account of the ancient architec- 

 ture of Ireland — commences with a description of structures resem- 

 bling Stonehenge, consisting of large masses of stone put together 

 without cement ; we shall not, however, follow our author in this part 

 of his subject, though he seems to have treated it in an interesting 

 manner, as the topic is rather one for the antiquary than the architect, 

 and embraces little which illustrates the construction of the models 

 and types adopted by the latter. 



The next subject, that of the nature of the Round Towers, like the 

 former, offers an abundant field for hypothetical speculation. It has 

 been to the antiquarian what perpetual motion is to the mechanist, 

 quadrature of the circle to the geometrician, the philosopher's stone 

 to the alchemist, or the UnnsHlionof simplex munditiis to the scholar. 

 But no one of these apparently hopeless investigations will appear 

 very attractive to the practical student, or indeed any one else except 

 the mere dilettante. 



The following brief extracts will however, we hope, be found in- 

 teresting. 



"Generally the Towers, when perfect, vary in height from about 70 

 to 100 feet, some being nearly to 1-20 ; the average height, however, 

 is that between 70 and 100 feet — The circum.ference of the Towers at 

 their bas is generally from about 50 to GO feet, and their diameter at 

 the level of the doorway from S to 9 feet internally.— The walls are 

 commonly 4 feet thick. The door is generally from 8 to 12 feet above 

 the surface of the ground." P. 69. 



" In remarking on the features of these Round Towers, the door- 

 way, which is common to all, first demands attention. By the Table 

 it will be seen that the circular arch of the doorway is by far the most 

 prevalent, and that the masonry in several of the structures is of the 

 exact character peculiar to Norman buildings. A more conclusive 

 argument, and one that is more evident to the general reader, is, how- 

 ever, the elaborated execution of the masonry in some of the doorways, 

 displaying some of the finest examples of Norman architecture and 

 construction, and of a character exactly similar to that of doors of later 

 churches in the localities of those buildings, whose construction in the 

 style of Norman architecture, I presume, is not to be disputed." P. 82. 



"It may, however, be asserted, and I believe it is considered by 

 many, that these peculiar features of the Round Towers, which are in 

 common with the architecture of the Continent, and, moreover, in 

 common with the style of architecture in those early churches which 

 by gradual change succeeded the Round Towers, are architectural 

 features resulting from later causes, viz., the appropriation of these 

 peculiar buildings to Christian purposes, and the insertion of doors 

 and other features before remarked on in a style of architecture dif- 

 ferent from that originally belonging to them. 



"It is, however, considered that such cannot be the case. Forfirst, 

 the masonry around the doors shews no sign of disturbance ; aud rea- 

 soning is altogether against these features having been altered ; and 

 doubtlessi the masonry of these Towers is ii3 originally construeted, 



except in some of the tops, which, from decay or otherwise, required 



renovation. 



" The grounds on which it is 

 contended that the doorways are 

 original, is the universal custom of 

 the Normans of using sandstone in 

 their buildings, and of expending 

 considerable labour in erecting 

 their doorways — thechief feature 

 in their structures. In the Round 

 Towers the door-jambs are formed 

 of sandstone, or very rarely of lime- 

 stone ; and always the former 

 where there is any work on them. 

 = The later churches of the country 



^-, are the same, and there is scarcely 



T. an instance in Ireland of any Nor- 



man remains in which any doorway 

 or decorated portion is of the com- 

 mon limestone of the country, al- 

 though for the common walls it is 

 used, as being the material of the 

 locality." P. 84. 



.ir The accompanying illustrations 



;,^ are views of the Round Tower 



'""' 'ils- at Ardmore, county of Waterford, 



and that of Roscrea, which dis- 



. play the Norman architecture 



spoken of in the extracts. 



-Roscrea Tower. 



Fig. 3,— King Coraiac's Chapel, 



