1843.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



173 



5th. A set of three-throw pumps, 5 inches in diameter, raising 80 barrels 

 per hour, to a height of 54 feet, = l horse. 



By calculation, as before, the friction amounted to 12 J per cent. 



6th. A set of three-throw " starting" pumps, pumping 230 barrels of beer 

 per hour, to a height of 48 feet, = 4-87 horses. 



By calculation as before, the friction amounted to 15.V per cent. 



7th. Two pair of iron rollers and an elevator, grinding and raising 40 

 quarters of malt per hour, =8-5 horses. 



8th. An ale-mashing machine, made by " Haigh," of Dublin ; mashing at 

 the time, 100 quarters of malt, = 5-68 horses. 



9th. Two porter-mashing machines, made by " Moreland," mashing at 

 the time, 250 quarters of malt, = 10-8 horses. 



10th. 95 feet of horizontal "Archimedes screw," 15 inches diameter, and 

 an elevator, conveying 40 quarters of malt per hour, to a height of 65 feet, 

 = 3"13 horses. 



Mr. Davison promised to continue these experiments, and to communicate 

 the results to the Institution. 



ROYAL INSTITUTE OF BRITISH ARCHITECTS. 

 March 7. — J. Shaw, Esq., in the Chair. 



A paper " On the contemplated Restoration of the beautiful Chapter House 

 at Salisbury Cathedral," was read, by Mr. T. H. Wyatt, Architect to the 

 Salisbury Diocesan Church Building Association, which is printed in full in 

 the present number. 



Mr. Ferrey read a paper " On an old staircase at Tamworth Church 

 which has fallen into decay." It is a sort of double corkscrew stair, winding 

 in such a manner over each other, that two persons may go up and down 

 without meeting, although both are circulating in the same well-hole. Mr. 

 Ferrey offered some remarks as to its probable purpose. It is said to be a 

 solitary instance of this exact kind of stair in England, but we remember to 

 have seen one at Cologne. 



April 3. — His Royal Highness Prince Albert, the Patron of the Institute, 

 presided at a general meeting of the members, and presented the medals 

 awarded during the session, for essays and drawings. His Royal Highness 

 arrived punctually at the time appointed, attended by Colonel Bouverie ; he 

 was received by the Vice-Presidents, and the Honorary Secretaries, and con- 

 ducted to the Library, where the other members of the Council being as- 

 sembled, were severally presented. The Prince then presided at a Council, 

 at which some ordinary routine business was transacted ; and, subsequently, 

 having inspected the various antiquities, casts and models in the collection, 

 proceeded to the large room, where his Royal Highness took the chair, and 

 the business of the day was commenced. The minutes having been read, and 

 some donations announced, Mr. Donaldson, Foreign Secretary, read letters 

 from Italian and French correspondents, at Milan, Coblentz, and Paris. 



Mr. Fowler, Honorary Secretary, read Bacon's Description of a Princely 

 Palace ; and Mr. A. Johnson was presented to the Prince as the author of 

 the best design founded on that description, and received the Soane medal. 

 In like manner his Royal Highness presented to Mr. E. Chamberlain, of Lei- 

 cester, the medal of the Institute, for his essay on the subject proposed, 

 •" Are Synchronism and Uniformity of Style essential to beauty and propriety 

 in Architecture ;" and to Mr. J.W. Papworth, the medal of merit, for an 

 essay on the same subject. 



Mr. Bailey announced the subjects for essays and drawings, for which the 

 Council propose to offer the medals for the ensuing year, and then read a 

 communication from Mr. C. Parker, " On the modes usually adopted in 

 forming Foundations in the city of Venice,' the soil of which city is of a 

 nature to require the greatest care, and yet where failure is seldom if ever 

 seen. 



At the conclusion of the proceedings Mr. Barry addressed the Prince in 

 the name of the Institute, and expressed, in a few words, the grateful sense 

 entertained by the members, of the honour conferred on the body by the 

 gracious manner in which his Royal Highness had acceded to their wishes in 

 presiding on the occasion : to which his Royal Highness very graciously 

 replied, that he had felt much pleasure in taking part in the proceedings of 

 the day. 



THE NEW HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT. 



The Commisioners on the fine arts, of which Prince Albert is the head, 

 having called upon Mr. Barry, as architect, to furnish them with a report as 

 to his views relating to the " internal decorations, additions to building, and 

 local improvements," that gentleman transmitted his report to his Royal 

 Highness and the Commission last month. Judging the subject as likely to 

 inteiest ouS readers, especially as many of the suggestions offered by Mr. 

 Barry will nndoubtedly be carried out, we place the following particulars of 

 the proposed decorations, &c. before our readers, for which we are indebted 

 to the Mommy Herald. 



" As presiding over her Majesty's commissioners for encouraging the fine 

 arts in connection with the rebuilding of the new Houses of Parliament, I 



venture to address your Royal Highness, and, in compliance with the instruc- 

 tions of the commission, to offer the following suggestions relative to the 

 internal finishings and decorations of the new Houses of Parliament, the 

 completion of the exterior and local improvements, which are, in my opinion, 

 necessary to give full effect to the new building ; and by way of illustration 

 of the remarks I have to make on these subjects, I beg to transmit the ac- 

 companying plan of the principal floor of the new building, a general plan of 

 part of Westminster, in which the new building is shown in connection 

 with various improvements proposed to be made in its locality, and two 

 drawings relating to Westminster-bridge. 



THE DECORATIONS. 



" With reference to the interior of the new Houses of Parliament generally, 

 I would suggest that the walls of the several halls, galleries, and corridors of 

 approach, as well as the various public apartments throughout the building, 

 should be decorated with paintings having reference to events in the history 

 of the country ; and that those paintings should be placed in compartments 

 formed by such a suitable arrangement of the architectural designs of the 

 interior as will best promote their effective union with the arts of sculpture 

 and architecture. With this view, I should consider it to be of the utmost 

 importance that the paintings should be wholly free from gloss on the 

 surface, that they may be perfectly seen and fully understood from all points 

 of view. That all other portions of the plain surfaces of the walls should he 

 covered with suitable architectonic decoration, or diapered enrichment in 

 colour, occasionally enlivened with gold, and blended with armorial bearings, 

 badges, cognisances, and other heraldic insignia, emblazoned in their proper 

 colours. That such of the halls as are groined should have their vaults 

 decorated in a similar manner, with the addition occasionally of subjects or 

 works of art so interwoven with the diapered ground as not to disturb the 

 harmony or the effect of the architectural composition. That such of the 

 ceilings as are flat should be formed into compartments by moulded ribs, 

 enriched with carved heraldic and Tudor decorations. That those ceilings 

 should be relieved by positive colour and gilding, and occasionally by gold 

 grounds with diaper enrichments, legends, and heraldic devices in colour. 

 That the screens, pillars, corbels, niches, dressings of the windows, and 

 other architectural decorations, should be painted to harmonise with the 

 paintings and diapered decorations of the walls generally, and be occasionally 

 relieved with positive colour and gilding. That the door-jambs and fire- 

 places should be constructed of British marbles of suitable quality and 

 colour, highly polished, and occasionally relieved by colour and gilding in 

 their mouldings and sculptural enrichments. 



" That the floors of the several halls, galleries, and corridors should be 

 formed of encaustic tiles, bearing heraldic decorations and other enrichments 

 in colours, laid in margins and compartments, in combination with polished 

 British marbles ; and that the same description of marbles should also be 

 employed for the steps of the several staircases. 



" That the walls, to the height of from eight to ten feet, should be lined 

 with oak framing, containing shields with armorial bearings emblazoned :n 

 their proper colours, and an oak seat should in all cases be placed against 

 such framing. That the windows of the several halls, galleries, and 

 corridors should be glazed doubly, for the purpose of tempering the light and 

 preventing the direct rays of the sun from interfering with the effect of the 

 internal decorations generally. For this purpose the outer glazing is pro- 

 posed to be of ground glass, in single plates, and the inner glazing or" an or- 

 namental design in metal, rilled with stained glass, hearing arms and other 

 heraldic insignia in their proper colours ; but so arranged as that the ground, 

 which I should recommend to be of a warm yellowish tint, covered with a 

 running foliage or diaper, and occasionally relieved by legends in black letter, 

 should predominate, in order that so much light only may be excluded as 

 may be thought desirable to do away with either a garish or cold effect upon 

 the paintings and decorations generally. Practically, I consider that the 

 double glazing will be of essential service in carrying out the system of 

 warming and ventilating proposed to be adopted in the building generally ; 

 which system renders it unnecessary that the windows in those portions of 

 the building above referred to should be made to open, so that all prejudicial 

 effects upon the paintings and other decorations, which might be caused by 

 the dampness and impurity of the atmosphere, and much practical inconve- 

 nience, and probably unsightliness in the means that would be necessary to 

 adopt for opening and shutting casemeuts would lie avoided. 



" That, in order to promote the art of sculpture, and its effective union 

 with painting and architecture, I would propose that in the halls, galleries, 

 and corridors, statues might be employed for the purpose of dividing the 

 paintings on the walls. By this arrangement a rich eftect of perspective, 

 and a due subordination of the several arts to each other would be obtained. 

 The statues suggested should, in my opinion, be of marble, of the colour of 

 polished alabaster, and be raised upon lofty and suitable pedestals, placed 

 close to the wall, in niches, surmounted by enriched canopies; but the 

 niches should be shallow, so that the statues may be as well seen later. 

 in front. . , . , . . , . 



" The architectural decorations of these niches might be painted ot such 

 colours as will give the best effect to the adjoining paintings, being relieved 

 in parts by positive colour and gilding ; and the backs of them might be 

 painted in dark colours, such as chocolate, crimson, or blue, or they might 

 be of gold, for the purpose of giving effect to the statues. 



" Having thus described the views I entertain as to the character of the 



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