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THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



[August, 



PROGRESS OF THE NEW HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT. 



Notwitlistaniling the public interest respecting the progress of the 

 new Houses of Parliament, little or no information has been published 

 respecting the advances made in their construction. The vast and 

 magnificent pile begins now to exhibit itself distinctly, and as we have 

 been favoured with a permission to examine the whole works, we can 

 give a general idea of their present state. 



The ground plan of the building may be described with suilicient 

 accuracy for our purpose, as a rectangular parallelogram. It will be 

 necessary for the explanation of the following account to point out the 

 position of this parallelogram with respect to the poinis of the com- 

 pass. The ea'itern side is the river front : the northern is the front 

 parallel to Bridge-street and Westminster-bridge : the western front 

 of the huilding, or that towards Westminstar Hall and the Abbey, is 

 l>=ss regular than the others ; this arises from the broken outline of the 

 site, for at the end nearest Westminster-bridge the depth of the build- 

 ing is comparatively small, whereas at the other extremity it extends 

 much further back from the river. It is therefore obvious that the 

 soulh front or that farthest from Westminster-bridge will be much 

 larger than the north front: in New Palace Yard — the large square in 

 front of the entrance to Westminster Hall — a considerable space in- 

 tervenes between the Hall and that part of the fa9ade of the New 

 Houses towards the siuare, whereas beyond, in the southern half of 

 the building the facade is in a line with the side of Westminster Hall. 

 The readers idea of the position of the building with reference to the 

 compass will be lixed by reflecting that the the abbey is built east and 

 west, the north transept being towards Parliament-street, and Henry 

 the Seventh's Chapel at the east end. 



Of the Towers belonging to the New Houses. 



There are, beside some of inferior dimensions, seven towers of 

 great size and height. Of these four are in the river front, two being 

 equidistant from the centre of the building, and two being wing towers 

 at the extremities of the facade. Of the wing towers, that nearest 

 the bridge is completed externally and roofed. The tracerv and 

 paneling is finished ; the delicate carving of the beautiful turrets at 

 the angles of this tower, has received almost the last touch ; the 

 scaffolding is also all removed except a small portion on the roof; and 

 the exterior appearance here has assumed, in everv respect, except 

 the gliizing of the windows, its permanent form. The Wing Tower 

 at the other end is nearly as complete, but the scaffolding remains, and 

 its turrets are not yet constructed. The design of the Wing Towers 

 are similar. 



The two centre towers of the river front, though very much re- 

 sembling the wing towers, are one stage higher than they. Of the 

 centre towers, also, ail the masonry is complete, except the turrets. 

 It is to be observed that the central part of the river front, namely, the 

 portion between the two central towers is one stage higher than the 

 portions to the north and south. Of the whole river facade the ex- 

 ternal work is completed, with very trifling exceptions; the carving 

 of the central entrance-way from the river terrace to the houses for 

 instance, is not quite complete. In passing along the river terrace 

 the observer is as much astonished by the enormous extent of the 

 building as delighted with its wonderful architecture. The eye be- 

 comes almost satiated with beauty. Foliations as delicate and multi- 

 form as those of nature, enriched paneling, sculptured bosses and cor- 

 bels, canopies and niches decorated with the minuteness rather of the 

 pencil than the chisel, long slender mulliuns springing upwards in 

 moulded lints which at their height branch out into the intricate rami- 

 fications of rich window tracery, crockets and finials, and perforated 

 parapet work which from below appear to stand against the sky like 

 lace-work, are repeated apparently in interminable succession. " The 

 architectural enrichment seems almost excessive ; from the narroiv- 

 ness of the terrace, each portion of the building is brought so close to 

 the eye of the observer, that he is compelled per-force to examine 

 every part in succession. He can never look at the whole or even a 

 considerable portion at once without fatigue, and from his comparative 

 proximity to the the fa9ade itself, it is .ilmost impossible to see the 

 upper portions of it satisfactorily. In order to obtain a coup d'ceil, he 

 must either go on to Westminster-bridge, where his position is most 

 unfavourable, as he is above the level of the building; or else he must 

 get access to the opposite bank of the river, where, on account of the 

 distance, the delicacy of the details is inappreciable. This is a great 

 misfortune. Considering the river front of the Houses of Parliament 

 as the noblest specimen of civil architecture in Europe — and incon- 

 tesiahly this is the rank vihich the judgment of posterity will assign to 

 it — it seems unendurable that any opportunity should be lost for its 

 adequate display. The loweting of the bridge would but partially 



remove the evil — a general display of the building would be afforded 

 from one side, and in one direction only, and that too from an incon- 

 veniently crowded thoroughfare. No ! let there be a free uninterrupteri 

 view of the magnificence of the structure on evenj side. It is worth 

 examining, and can indeed well endure the examination. Let there 

 be a broad PI' auc terrace, from which a free adequate view may be 

 obtained on the river side; and let a little expense be incurred un- 

 grudgingly in clearing away all the houses which surround and 

 encumber the building. After all the intellect and labour that have 

 been devoted to its construction, it were well nigh a sin, that it should 

 be in any way concealed ; and, above all, it is a NATtON'Al, building; 

 it ?ijill be also a national boast, and the people have a right to be able 

 to examine its surpassing beauty on every side. 



Beside the four towers on the river side, there are three other 

 principal towers ; one at the south-east corner of the building, and 

 therefore at the corner of New Palace-yard. The site of this tower 

 projects considerably beyond the northern or Bridge-street side of the 

 building; it is not yet much advanced towards completion, being 

 scarcely built up to the second range of windows. 



There is another large tower in the very centre building, that is, 

 midway between Westminster Hall and the river front. This is called 

 the central tower, but as it belongs to the inner part of the building 

 we shall describe it more fully when we come to that portion of our 

 notice which refers to the interior. 



The largest and highest tower of all is the great Victoria Toner. 

 This is situated at the south-eastern corner, that is, exactly at the 

 point further from the bridge. At the base of this tower are four 

 enormous shafts at its four corners : from these shafts at a certain 

 height spring arches on which and the groinings between them, the 

 lower is suj)ported. It is to be observed that the lower part of 

 the tower between the aichways will be left unindosed. The arches 

 will remain quite open ; this part serving as an enormous porch to the 

 royal entrance. At present the greater part of the four shafts have 

 been nearly completed, and the four great arches which are to spring 

 from them are just beginning to be turned. 



With respect to the legitimacy of a lofty tower in civil architecture, 

 it may be observed that in the finest specimens of civil pointed archi- 

 tecture of the continent, examples exist. A lofty elevation such at 

 the Victoria Tower is by no means exclusively appropriated to eccle- 

 siastical buildings. The spire of the Hotel de Ville of Brussels ex- 

 ceeds in height the ball and cross of St. Pauls, and is one of the puress 

 and most splendid specimens of mediaeval architecture extant. 

 The description of the exterior of the New House may be concluded 

 with an enumeration of the parts in which the roof has been put up. 

 They are these — the whole river front, the great part of the Bridge- 

 street front — and on the side towards the Abbey, nearly the whole of 

 (hat portion of the building opposite Henry the Seventh's Chapel, 

 namely, of that portion between Westminster Hall and the Victoria 

 Tower. The roofs are high pitched, and consist of large plates of 

 galvanised iron pierced by dormer windows. 



Of the Inner parts of the Building. 



In order to understand the arrangement of the interior it is neces- 

 sary that the reader should be reminded that the building within con- 

 tains numerous courts or open spaces from which light and air are ob- 

 tained for the parts surrending them. There are two series of courts 

 parallel to each other and the river front. Immediately behind the river 

 front and parallel to it are the following courts enumerated in their 

 order from the northern end — the Speaker's Court, the Commons 

 Court, the Commons Inner Court, the Peers Inner Court. On the side 

 next Westminster Abbey and Hall is the Western range of Courts, 

 which enumerated also in their order from the north are these — Star 

 Chamber Court, St. Stephen's Court, House Court, Printers Court. 



Of the architecture of these courts it may be said generally that it 

 is characterised by simplicity and an absence of ornaments which give 

 the parts a severe and almost naked appearance. The Courts consist 

 of little but flat stone walls, of which the surface is unbroken, except 

 in the upper part by a few plain windows. Doubtless precedents 

 might be found for this almost monastic severity, but to the eye, ex- 

 cited by the wonderfully elaborate beauty of the exterior facades, the 

 contrast appears unnecessarily abrupt. 



The explanation of the interior arrangements requires also that the 

 reader should understand that the principal apartments of the build- 

 ing are all raised above a series of inferior offices — that is, in common 

 parlance, the legislative chambers, the state rooms and royal gallery 

 are all on the first floor. To the arrangement of this floor then we will 

 confine our attention. 



The building being, as we said, divided throughout itslength interiorly 

 by two series of courts, it follows that between these is a continuous 

 pile running through the building. This pile is midway between the 



