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THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



[October, 



side the Lady Chapel. In 1370, IJishop KdninRlcin Icfi a sum of money 

 for the completion of the nave. In 1357, M'illiain of WyUeham was ap- 

 pointed aicliitect by that bishop; and, having thus bn)uj;ht down the 

 building to the time of William of \V'\ kehain, tlie I'rofessor read a Ions 

 extract from the will of William ofWykehajn, showing what had been 

 done, leaving funds behind him for the work. Professor Willis entered at 

 great lengih into the alterations made by that prelate, and, with the assist- 

 ance of plans, easily made his andito:s compieliend iiis meaning, ami 

 enabled them to appreciate, not only the talent of that learned prelate, but 

 ihe research of him who, by intiniie trouble and examination, now atiorded 

 them the means of doing so. There was no historical account left of the 

 choir, but from its heraldic decorations, tliey were enabled to place the 

 date during the time of Bishop Fox and his loiitenipoiaries. 



At the conclusion of the lecture, the Marquis of Northampton proposed, 

 and it was carried amidst unanimous cheering, Ihe cordial thanks of the 

 meeting to the Professor for his truly excellent lecture. 



Mr. C. n. C'ockerell then read a very interesting p.iper on the two St. 

 Mary M'inlon Colleges, highly eulogistic of the talent displayed by William 

 of Wykeham in those two buihlings. 



At Ihe conclusion of the President, and a large number of members 

 accompanied the lecturer to the college in Winchester, and poiuled out 

 the beauties and pcculiariiies of the prelaU-'s stjle of archileclure on llie 

 spot. Some few then visited M'olvesley caslle ; and at 4 o'clock Professor 

 Willis accompanied a very large parly o\er the cathi-dral and almost re- 

 pealed his lecture, proving his deduclions, and showing the method of his 

 research in a manner most gralityiug to those wlio had the pleasure of 

 accompanying him. 



POnCHESTER CHURCH. 



September 13.— A large body of the members \isited Porchester. 

 The church is within the walls of the castle, and has a Norman west front 

 of considerable richness, which has undergone less alteration than any 

 similar structure we have in England of the same d.ite. In fact, if we 

 except a little work about llie coping, which has nol howeier changed the 

 pitch of the gable, it may be looked upon as an uiiiouched .specimen. 

 The nave, central tower (which is low and massive), and north transept 

 are also pure Norman. The south transept lias been destroyed, and the 

 chancel shortened at a late period. The font is a very line one. It was 

 Ihe church of the priory founded by King Henry I. within the walls of the 

 castle, and removed about twenty years afterwards to a more peaceful 

 situation at Southwick, about three miles distant. Many found lime also 

 to visit the curious little Saxon church at lioarhuut, and the fine church 

 and house at Titchfield. 



In the evening the following paper was read at St. John's room: — 



On Porchester Castle. By the Rev. C. H. Hartshorne. 



The natural position of Porchester rendered it eligible as an early 

 fortress so soon as the Romans had gained a footing in Great Britain ; the 

 precise age of it is uncertain ; probably later than the works at Rich- 

 borough, Pevernsey, and Dover. 



The inhabitants of Hampshire having assisted those of Brittainy in their 

 revolt against the youthful Crassus, urged CiBsar the following year to 

 undertake the conquest of Britain. Landing-place doubtful, but it hap- 

 pened exactly 1,9!)0 years back. 



In the uncertainly as to the precise dales of the different Roman fort- 

 resses on the southern coast, it is essential to examine the methods of 

 construction emplojed in the works themselves, since this plan will ex- 

 hibit the close analogy and char.acieristic maiks of Roman architecture in 

 England with what is observable on Ihe opposite coast, and show that all 

 the military works of that age are precisely the same in their principles, 

 the works on the coast the earliest; as the conquest of the country ex- 

 tended, the same quadrangular forms of encampment followed is progress. 



The foundations of these buildings, upon examination, show them to 

 have been laid in conformity with the rules giien by Vilruvius. The 

 lowers in the walls, the modes adopted to give them stability, and Ihe 

 methods of binding together by means of Roman bricks the bad materials 

 employed in the work, are all in obedience to the precepts of this great 

 architect, as shown at Leicester, Richborough, Dover, Porchester, and 

 other places. The same system, in fact, prevails from Caerweut and 

 Caernarvon to Dover and Silchester, and from Lillebonne and Soissons to 

 Autun, in France. The diiribility of these tiles is occasioned by the clay 

 having been thrown up a long time previously to its being used. 



'I'he more important question of cements was next entered upon, from 

 which it appeared, by a careful analysis having been made of several, 

 they were fmnd to agree with the rules of Vitruvius, and moreover 

 showed that their peculiar hardness depends upon their coarseness, 

 which hastens chrystalizaiion, and causes the latent cohesiveuess of Ihe 

 slacked lime to be brought iuto action, so that the mass becomes more 

 perfectly carbonated. 



By the application of this kind of inquiry it is found that Porchester 

 still exhibits, uoln iihitanding the continued repairs it has undergone from 

 the reign of Henry 11 to the present day, indisputable marks of is high 

 antiquity ; hut there is no connecting link between the genuine Roman 

 work of the second century and the Norman keep of tiie twelfth. This 

 keep, which was the temporary residence of King John on nineteen 

 dill'erent occasions, gives a curious insight into the domtstic inconveniences 

 of the early English mouarchs, who when compelled to stay within doors 

 must, of necessity, have passed much of their lime in murky twilight, a 



gloom they tried to dissipate by the great quantity of wine that was always 

 ordered to precede their visits. 



These castles were always held by constables under the Crown, and 

 garrisoned by his tenants, who were bound to perform service here during 

 time of war, on which tenure they frequently held their estates. 



During the prevailing taste for the study of ecclesiastical architecture 

 it is to be feared that the military remains of England, which do not make 

 tlie same sacred appeals for preservation, do not receive the attention that 

 patriotism shoulil excite, and thus they are suffered to perish without any 

 exertion been made to record their character. Ye' they must ever be dear 

 to the history of our country, as having been at once its terror and safe- 

 guard — structures, it is true, that rose at the bidding of ambitious rulers, 

 and at a time when the upper classes tyrannically repressed every exer- 

 tion that aimed at extending the natural rights of society, yet still to be 

 preserved, as the memorials of a despotism which civilization has over- 

 thrown, to show posterity that the misery and rapine inseparable from 

 feudalism has been transferred from bitter endurance to the pages of his- 

 tory, or ihe records of national injustice, and to teach them how dearly 

 those privileges should be cherished which a gracious Soiereign has 

 ratified to an united people. Stained as tho.se fabrics may be by the deeds 

 of unrelenting and merciless men, still let their tottering walls be kept from 

 entire destruction, were it only to afford a sequestered spot where the un- 

 lettered hind may gaze in mute astonishment and moralize, where the 

 painter may gather up those broken lines of beauty that charm and capti- 

 vate the eye when traced upon his canvass, and where the exploits of 

 chivalry, and the songs of wandering minstrels, and the fictions of legeiidry 

 lore, and the charities of holy men, may become idealized by the creations 

 of poetry. Mr. Hartshorne then referred to various documents, illustra- 

 tive of several iuterestiug points, as the expense, the numtier of workmen 

 employed, &c., and showed their importance and value in investigations of 

 this description. 



MEMOIR OF THE CANAL OF EXETER. 



(Paper read by James Green, M. Inst. C.E., at the Institute of Civil 



Engineers.) 



In 1824 the demands for a more perfect navigation of the Eseter Canal 

 became so general, that the authorities were constrained to enter on an 

 entire revision of the works, and as it was evident, for the interest of the 

 trade of the city, that facilities should be given for bringing up larger vessels, 

 further survejs were made, and on the 1st of March, 1824, a report was pre- 

 sented, stating that it would be practicable to extend the canal to Turf, two 

 miles lower down the estuary than had before been contem|ilated, and to 

 which point vessels drawing 12 feet water could navigate on all tides. This 

 report was approved and adopted, and the works were soon afterwards com- 

 menced. 



In executing these works, it was necessary to carry a considerable portion 

 of the extended line over mud-lands, which were overflowed by the sea at 

 every tide ; much difficulty was therefore experienced in maintaining the 

 embankments to the required height, and some extraordinary high tides 

 and floods which occurred, having made extensive breaches in the shore 

 which separates the estuary from the sea near Exmouth, it was found that 

 the fide rose several feet higher within the estuary than it had been accus- 

 tomed to do before these breaches in the sands of the shore had occurred. 

 In consequence of this, it became necessary to raise the embankments over 

 the mud-lands 3 feet higher than had been originally intended. 



The raising of these banks, on such a foundation, was a work of consider- 

 able difficulty and expense, and it could only proceed slowly ; but its comple- 

 tion being imperative, it was accomplished by the persevering energies of 

 tlie Chainher. This induced the idea and the determination of increasing 

 the depth of water in the canal to 15 feet, and of constructing the entiance 

 lock at luif, of dimensions adapted to vessels drawing 14 feet of water; 

 hence also arose the necessity of adapting all other parts of the canal to ves- 

 sels of that class. These works would have been in a great measure useless, 

 unless the larger class of vessels could arrive at the river basin at Exeter; 

 en entire new and walled basin, capable of accommodating such vessels, in- 

 depemlently of the river, was therefore made at tlie upper end of the canal, 

 close to the city, and was opened for trade on the 29th of Septeniber, 1830. 

 Experience lias shown, that this increase of the depth of water in the canal 

 was nut greater than was necessary. It was found during the progress of 

 the works, that as the depth of water in the canal increased from time to 

 time, the demands for a still greater depth became more urgent, and the suc- 

 cess of t'le exeitions of what mny almost be called a private corporate body 

 " in a corner of the kingdom," is proved by the fact that Ihe revenues of 

 the canal Ijave trebled since the commencement of the extension of the 

 works. 



The Entrance Lock. 



The excavation for the entrance lock at Turf proceeded very favourably 

 through a stiff alluvial clay, without water, to a depth of nearly 20 feet below 

 the surface of the marshes, when on the occasion of a pile being driven, to 

 ascertain the depth at which a harder fonndation would he obtained, water 

 forced its way up around the pile, and the following morning the sides of the 

 excavation were found to have sunk perpendicidarly at least 10 feet, and the 



