232 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



JUI.Y> 



and library, Lincoln's Inn," P. Hardwick, R. A. ; and 1232, " View of 

 chambers now erecting in the south court of Staple Inn," Wigg and 

 Pownall. The first of these will be a handsome structure, somewhat 

 similar in style and character to Middle Temple hall, and will, like 

 that, be of red brick and stone. The building at Staple Inn, which is 

 now considerably advanced, is also of the same materials, but there 

 the colour of the brick is white, owing to which there is certain flat- 

 ness and want of relief, the difference as to colour being just enough 

 to disturb uniformity without producing decided and intentional con- 

 trast. The style itself is Elizabethan, of a sober cast — perhaps some- 

 what too much so, and so as to lose some of that character which is 

 what chiefly recommends that style for imitation at the present da)'. 

 In this instance we think it would have been an improvement had the 

 lower windows been made slightly projecting bays, since that would 

 have thrown a little more variety into the composition, and would 

 have produced a sort of balance as well as contrast with the circular 

 bow-windows over the doorways. 



No. 1332, " The Amicable Life Assurance Office, about to be 

 erected in Fleet Street," S. Beazley, makes us acquainted with ano- 

 ther improvement, but one on so small a scale that it is not likely to 

 produce so much show in reality as it here does upon paper — and 

 even so seen, it is what would be passed without notice, but for the 

 information relative to it contained in the catalogue. The uew build- 

 ing at the corner of Water Lane, on the same side of Fleet Street, is 

 a very much better piece of design, yet even that is so mere a piece 

 in itself, that it looks no belter than the commencement of a fa9ade 

 intended to have been carried on as far as Bouverie Street — had 

 which been done, it would have formed a striking architectural object. 

 As an improvement in general street architecture, may be mentioned 

 No. 1233, "The intended new frontage of Freeman's Court, City," 

 J. Anson, which, however, except as such, is not at all remarkable, 

 since it consists merely of a nniform range of buildings in red brick, 

 with stone dressings to the windows, somewhat similar to the front of 

 the new office of the Morning Post, in Wellington Street North. < If 

 " street architecture," much more dignified in character than anything 

 we are accustomed to, or dare even look forward to, we meet with an 

 ideal specimen in No. 1259, which is so massive and grandiose in 

 style, that its author (A. Batson) will be considered quite a visionary. 

 Regent's Park palaces and the architectural grandeurs of Pimlico, 

 must bide their diminished heads, and shrink into utter insignificance, 

 if in the course of the extensive improvements we are promised in 

 the city, we are to have any streets — or even a siDgle street of such 

 exuberant pomp and stateliness. This drawing is also a very re- 

 markable one. in itself, energetic, but exceedingly vague and sketchy 

 —more like the first conception of a painter than the distinctly de- 

 fined idea of an architect, on which account it may perhaps strike the 

 imagination all the more, by leaving a very great deal for the imagi- 

 nation to work upon. 



On turning from this subject — whose title in the catalogue would 

 never have led us to search for it — to some of the designs which we 

 did look out for as promising something by their names, we feel 

 rather chilled. While not a few of them disappointed us when dis- 

 covered, others are put where, when found, so little can be seen of 

 them, that it would be hazardous to attempt to pass any opinion on them, 

 because they may be either very much better or considerably poorer 

 than they look at a distance. Such is the case with No. 1217, "De- 

 sign for the proposed Exchange, Manchester," of which we can only 

 say that if it is shown to advantage by being placed where it is, nothing 

 will be lost should it never be seen any nearer, and should it never be 

 beheld in any other shape than that of a drawing. We may, however, 

 have missed several things of merit, more or less, which may deserve 

 to have been placed in situations now occupied by very inferior produc- 

 tions. We have, in fact, neglected to mention several drawings — not 

 because they are unworthy of notice in themselves, but because some 

 if '.hem do not offer much for remark of any kind, and of others our 

 recollection is now not sufficiently distinct. One rather striking ar- 

 chitectural subject— how far it is portraiture or original composition, 

 .ve do not know — is No. 1222, " Stone church in the palmy days of 

 the 14th century," A. Smith ; a splendid interior, well calculated to 

 find favour in the eyes of those who hope that the devotional pomp 

 of those same " palmy days" may yet be revived among us. In the 

 meanwhile it is consoling to find that even should we not recover 

 Popish puppet-show again, we are beginning to pay due attention to 

 architectural decorum and character in our Protestant churches. Of 

 such being the case we meet with a proof in No. 1260, "Interior of 

 the new church of St. Mary, Heme Hill, Dulwich," G. Alexander, 

 which though by no means showily, is consistently decorated, and the 

 style, good in itself, is well kept up in every respect. There are 

 some good designs for almshouses, and though not the very best of 

 them, nor equal to Nos. 1265 and 1279, No. 1223, "Asylum for jour- 



neymen tailors, part of which has been lately erected at Haverstock 

 Hill, Hampstead," is better than usual. 



It is looking at this year's architectural collection as a whole, that 

 we are dissatisfied with it, and not least of all so because it manifests 

 an indifference on the part of the profession which contrasts strangely 

 with the increased attention now given to the subject of architecture 

 by the public — if not as yet by the public generally, by a very much 

 larger class of it than formerly. If we ought to be satisfied with as 

 many productions of interest and merit as we now actually find here, 

 and consider them as forming of themselves a very creditable exhi- 

 bition, we could also be satisfied with them alone, at any rate could 

 very well dispense with a great many which only add to the numbers 

 in the catalogue, without contributing at all to the character of the 

 architectural part of the exhibition. 



THE SELF-REGULATING EXPANSION SLIDE VALVE. 



Sir. — In the description of my self-regulating expansion slide valve, 

 inserted in the Journal for February last, I inadvertently committed 

 an error, which your Glasgow correspondent has very properly pointed 

 out : this circumstance having given rise to a mistaken notion as to 

 the efficacy of the principle on which this valve is constructed, you 

 will, I hope, permit me to correct my former mistake, and to make a 

 few observations through the medium of the Journal. 



The erroneous statement was this : " When the points of the tappets 

 to hold the plate I, the slide ralve H, alone will 

 move" kc. The tappets, properly speaking, should never hold the 

 plate, although their doing so would lead to little or no inconvenience, 

 if the plate 1, is properly proportioned, because then even admitting 

 the tappets to hold the plate I, as stated, the steam would be cut off 

 so very soon, (at about jfu °' the stroke of the piston,) that the engine 

 would immediately lose her speed, the governor balls by closing would 

 separate the cams or tappets, and the inconvenience would not be felt. 

 The drawing, Fig. 3, being incorrect, the error in the description be- 

 comes important, for if, as improperly represented in Fig. 3, the plate 

 I, is only just made long enough to cover the space existing between 

 the passages on the back of the valve, and if the tappets are made so 

 as to prevent that plate from moving with the valve, the steam would 

 be cut off, it is true, at ^ of the stroke of the piston, but it would 

 also be re-admitted into the cylinder, when the piston had got within 

 -' of the end of the stroke, and this imperfection would continue to 

 a lesser <* xtent during every other degree of expansion. The plate 

 I, should be sufficiently long to cover half of both passages on the back 

 of the valve. 



The following example of a valve as made will fully explain my 

 meaning. 



The orifice of the steam part on the face of the cylinder, is three 

 inches, the passage through the valve 1A inches, and the moveable 

 plate I, made so long, that when placed on the middle of the valve, it 

 half covers the two passages ; the cams or tappets are so regulated 

 as never to approach within 3 of an inch of each end of the moveable 

 plate, so that the valve will travel li inch before the steam is cut off 

 from the cylinder, and on its way back, the plate I, will cover the pas- 

 sage through the valve, until the valve itself covers the steam port in 

 the face of the cylinder. 



For the above valve the stroke must be six inches, and supposing 

 the engine to be on her centre, the slide valve will be in the middle 

 of its stroke. 



As long as the tappets remain in the position assigned to them 

 above, the plate I, will cover the passage when the valve has made 

 one half of the remaining three inches of its stroke, which will be 

 effected by the crank pin having described an arc of about 29° 30', or 

 nearly one-sixth of its half circumference, when the piston will have 

 travelled through -rs of its stroke, the motion of the valve being as the 

 si7te, and that of the piston as the versed sine, of the arc described by the 

 crank pin. Therefore, under the above circumstances, steam will be 

 admitted during Vj of the stroke of the piston, and as the distance 

 between the points of the tappets is increased by the action of the 

 governor, so will the quantity of steam admitted to the cylinder be 

 also augmented. 



When, therefore, the plate I, is made of the length above-men- 

 tioned, the steam may be cut off at -^ of the stroke of the piston, 

 but as it is seldom required to cut the steam off so soon, the. portion 

 of the length of the stroke during which the steam may be admitted, 

 can be augmented by diminishing the length for the plate I — as for 

 instance, if it is desired to cut the steam off at one-sixth of the 

 stroke, it will suffice that the plate I, should be made long enough to 



