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THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



[January, 



and they state that, by an attempt formerly made, to prevent the 

 flank from going further, or to hold it up, mischief has been occa- 

 sioned to the pillars which stand between it and the chancel, and, 

 through those pillars, to the clerestory resting upon them. They ex- 

 press their opinion that the chancel is in an insecure state therefrom, 

 and point out in very strong and clear terms the mischief and danger 

 to be apprehended, unless immediate attention be given thereto ; and 

 they enter, at considerable detail, into the comparative inefficiency of 

 the repairs which have been from time to time effected. 



Recurring to the tower, they state, that the solid structure of this 

 beautiful work is generally sound and trustworthy, though its exterior 

 sm/ace has almost wholly perished; and that from the dilapidated 

 state of the whole exterior and especially of the enrichments pre- 

 viously noticed by them, the tower is unsafe to approach ; and they 

 therefore recommend means for excluding persons from passing 

 within reach of the danger to be apprehended from the constant 

 liability of fragments of stone, of no mean size, to become detached, 

 and to fall in every direction. 



They represent the masons' work of the spire as generally sound, 

 though the surface of the stone upon the exterior is rapidly disinte- 

 grating from the causes described in the report. 



In proceeding to advise as to the solid and substantial repair of the 

 fabric, in its more important parts aud the restoration of the orna- 

 mental parts, Messrs. Britton and Hosking state that so intimate a 

 connexion exists between the parts of such a building as that under 

 consideration as to render what may appear to be merely ornamental 

 in most cases essential to the stability of the structure — that they 

 feel themselves compelled to report on these two heads together; and 

 they furnish very able and sufficient grounds for their determination — 

 but dividing the subject into two parts, viz. : — 



First, the tower and spire — and second, the church with the lady 

 chapel, the porches and other accessories. 



With respect to the first, it would be injustice to the architects to 

 give in any other language than their own, the suggestions they have 

 offered, viz . : 



'■The Tower and Spire. — This singularly beautiful composition is alto- 

 gether distinct in style and date from the Church, which has been added to 

 it, and deserves, as it requires, to he considered, not as a merely provincial 

 edifice, and far less as a simple parish steeple, but as a national monumen t, 

 and in the first rank of the many noble structures of the kind in existence in 

 this country. In magnitude it is exceeded by few ; in destined altitude, the 

 larger Cathedrals alone would excel it ; and in chaste simplicity of design, 

 combined with elaborately beautiful, but subdued and appropriate, deco- 

 ration, Redcliffe tower is surpassed by none ; whilst it is pre-eminent in its 

 position, on a lofty bank of the Avon, within the commercial capital of the 

 west of England. We have already intimated, that the solid structure of the 

 tower is sound and trustworthy, and that it is capable of being easily made 

 to bear all that it was ever intended to carry. The structural arrangement 

 of the tower itself, and of the existing portion of the spire, give the com- 

 pletest evidence that the original design contemplated as it provided for a 

 spire of the form and proportion exhibited in the accompanying engraving of 

 the church. It would appear, however, that when the church was built the 

 idea of completing the spire was abandoned, as the south-western buttresses 

 of the tower were reduced in projection, and otherwise altered to compose 

 with the west front of the church — and the south-eastern angle was altered, 

 throughout, to extend the nave of the church uninterruptedly to its western 

 front. The tact and skill with which the outer, or south-western angle of 

 the tower was altered, and the fine taste with which the turret pier, in front 

 of the church, which composes with the reduced buttress of the tower, is 

 arranged, to connect the parts of the composition, are most admirable ; but 

 not so the arrangement at the other angle — where a low, heavy arch, and an 

 unmeaning blank, upon a heavier pier, obtrude themselves immediately 

 within the church door — contrasting, most disadvantageous!)- too, with the 



composition of the arches of the aile, and with the clerestory on the other 

 side of the entrance. 



" It may be remarked here, that, at the time RedclifFe church was built, 

 the taste which produced the original design of the magnificent superstruc- 

 ture to the tower no longer existed ; spires were not built to Gloucester 

 cathedral nor to Bath Abbey church, in the 15th century — as they had been 

 at Salisbury, Norwich, and Litchfield, in the 13th and 14th centuries; com- 

 paratively small spires, on lofty towers, as at Louth and Newcastle — or 

 lanterns, as at Boston, indicate the prevailing taste, in that respect, when 

 tlus church was built, and the abutments of the spire of the original design 

 were altered or removed. In this manner the incomplete or demolished 

 spire was left, and the original composition was shorn of its fair proportions. 

 " In compliance with the instructions to us, to advise as to such alterations 

 in the restoration of the ornamental parts of the fabric both external and 

 internal as may seem necessary for reinstating it to its ancient and pristine 

 beauty, we urge, most strongly, the necessity of restoring, at the same time, 

 the perished surfaces of the tower, and its immediate accessories, adapting it 

 to receive the completed spire, and carrying on, to completion, that beautiful 

 feature of a masterwork of architectural composition, which, in its truncated 

 state, is but an unpicturesque deformity. Thus the original design may be 

 both restored and completed, and Bristol possess a noble national monu- 

 ment, that will add to the beauty of her locality and to her pre-eminence 

 amongst English cities. 



" In restoring the tower, as contradistinguished from the superimposed 

 spire, it will, of course, be proper that the work should be set upright on all 

 its faces ; and, in doing this, it will become necessary to take out and rein- 

 state the whole of the ashlaring of the surfaces, even when it might other- 

 wise remain, though that, indeed, is of very small extent. Moreover, all the 

 stones upon which the enrichments occur must, of necessity, be drawn, 

 wherever the enriched surfaces are defective, and these requirements together 

 would involve the reinstatement of all the external surfaces of the tower. 

 Paring old work, and pinning in patches of new stone, where there is not any 

 left to pare, we consider altogether out of the questiou — as paring would 

 reduce the original proportions of the design — and pinning in, among the 

 pared faces, pieces in the place of stones altogether ruined, would not pro- 

 duce a restoration of the fabric to its ancient and pristine beauty. The 

 absolutely necessary restoration of the faces of the tower, with its buttresses, 

 turrets, pinnacles, niches, canopies, pediments, windows, and their enrich- 

 ments, parapets, cornices, and corbels, will give the means of doing all that 

 is necessary, with a trifling exception, to fit the tower to receive the spire of 

 its full dimensions. This exception involves an alteration within the church ; 

 but we shall be able to show that what is required there can be made, not 

 only consistent with, but most desirable for, the services of the interior. 



" The existing portion of the spire is, fortunately, quite enough to give the 

 means of developing the original design, whilst it affords demonstrative evi- 

 dence that a complete spire was contemplated by the original designer of the 

 structure. If lines be drawn from points within the footings of the buttres- 

 ses of the tower, through the base of the spire, on the summit of the tower, 

 they will follow the sides of the spire, as far as it now exists, and meet at 

 such a height as similar compositions of equal date would justify by analogy . 

 We have drawn such lines, or rather we have set up the present compartment, 

 as it exists, and find that its thrust is within the abutments afforded by the 

 buttresses, and that the sub-structure generally has the strength necessary 

 to carry the superstructure resulting from carrying it up to the height indi- 

 cated ; which height results from a continuation of the same lines upwards, 

 and is further justified by the best existing examples of works of the same 

 class. 



" The decorations of the spire, as it exists, are of singular beauty and pro- 

 priety; the ribs are exquisitely moulded, and the characteristic enrichment 

 of the vertical and pointed mouldings of the tower below, is carried with 

 great good taste and beautiful effect up into the spire, so that nothing has to 

 be imagined in that respect ; and we may say with confidence, that the de- 



