1844.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



447 



but can afford to dispense with popularity. That it can do so may be 

 the opinion of some, but hardly of the majority of the profession, or 

 of those who are attached to the art; else they are inconsistent in 

 deploring at the same time the indifference, or obstinacy, which has 

 so frequently marred some of the noblest projects ; and the ignorance 

 which has either wantonly destroyed, or suffered to fall into entire de- 

 cay, many interesting monuments of former times. However great 

 may be our regret at such acts of " barbarism," their occurrence is no 

 more than quite natural, when the " respectable " and well-informed 

 classes have no idea of the value of, and no taste for, what in their 

 eyes appear no better than so many masses of old walls and rubbish. 

 As far as the profession itself is concerned, the hitherto all-but-entire 

 ignorance on the part of the public, may occasionally have been found 

 convenient enough ; but then the art has suffered accordingly, and our 

 national reputation likewise, as far as it is at all connected with the 

 state of architecture among us. Were the study to be generally cul- 

 tivated to the extent that we — and not only ourselves, but some be- 

 longing to the profession, desire, the public would probably soon 

 begin to be more difficult to please ; to be more exigeant, and less in- 

 dulgent than heretofore; and to look for some manifestation of artist- 

 like talent and power on the part of those who claim to be considered 

 artists — a rank now held by many of them merely by courtesy, as a 

 sort of brevet title. Yet this would be so far from being matter for 

 regret, that it is precisely what would materially contribute towards 

 the advancement of architecture, by spurring on its followers to keep 

 a-head of the public, in taste; so as to be able not merely to fulfil all 

 that improved taste may require of them, but even go beyond that 

 point to which we are content at present to limit our views. 



That the idea of an impulse being given to architects, by those 

 who do not belong to their body, and who if they cannot exactly be 

 called the public, are at least a section of it — is not a chimerical one, 

 is evident from the fact that the study both of Grecian and Gothic 

 architecture was in a manner forced upon the profession, in conse- 

 quence of the attention bestowed on those styles, by dilettanti, anti- 

 quaries, and amateurs, at a time when Grecian architecture was un- 

 known to the profession except by name, and when Gothic was so far 

 from being known that it was utterly misunderstood, and condemned 

 as being contrary to all sound principles of taste, and all beauty of 

 proportions! It was not architects who first opened the eyes of the 

 public, but literary students and others, who, free from professional 

 prejudices, opened the eyes of architects themselves, as well as those 

 of the public, to the merits and importance of the Gothic style : and 

 it is to such writers that we still continue to be indebted for many in- 

 teresting publications relative to the subject of the architecture of 

 the middle ages, both in this country, and upon the Continent. In cal- 

 ling attention to this circumstance, we would not have it supposed 

 that we do so for the purpose of casting any reflection upon the pro- 

 fession for their supineness in not investigating for themselves, that 

 truly wonderful and beautiful style of the art: on the contrary, what- 

 ever reproach of the kind may justly apply to those of a former day, 

 we feel piide in being able to say that we have some living architects 

 who not only perfectly understand, but are thoroughly at home in that 

 style; wdio are not only conversant with all its varied elements, but 

 who can enter fully into its spirit, with that genuine artist-like gusto 

 and feeling, which are immeasurably superior to mere literal fidelity. 



So very far is it from being our object to excite any jealous and 

 unkindly feelings between the profession and the public, that it is our 

 most earnest wish to see them amicably united in one common aim — 

 the advancement of architecture. Yet such is not likely to be the 

 case if those who belong to the profession, affect to treat with scorn 

 those who do not, assuming a tone most arrogant, contumelious, and 

 disrespectful tone towards that part of the public, which they ought to 

 look upon as their friends — at least as engaged in the same cause as 

 themselves. This, however, has been done premeditatedly and for 

 the nonce by the author of a work whose very title would seem to in- 

 dicate, that it is intended to facilitate and popularize the study of ar- 

 chitecture, and thereby increase that very class of persons towards 

 whom he displays such strange, and we might almost say, savage 

 hostility. In his " Encyclopaedia," Mr. Gwilt has seized on every op- 

 portunity of sneering or snapping at all who presume to write upon, 

 or apply to the study of, architecture, without being duly qualified by 

 a professional education, and by an acquaintance with the mechanical 

 processes which, though indispensable for the practical man, are as 

 far as art is concerned, of no more moment in architecture than in 

 any other of the fine arts. Instead of expressing any satisfaction at 

 finding that architecture receives from persons of taste and liberal 

 education the homage due to it in its quality of a fine art, and that it 

 is considered worthy of being studied for its own sake, he has vented 

 his spleen in remarks that may fairly be called suicidal, they being 

 calculated to obtain for his book a character anything but favourable 



from that part of the public whose opinion of it is likely to be of most 

 weight. Most assuredly he has not cared to conciliate the good 

 opinion of either Oxford or Cambridge, for speaking of the attempts 

 to ascertain the origin of the pointed arch, he says, " the question his 

 furnished employment to many literary idlers, especially at the Uni- 

 versities, whose time might have been more usefully employed in 

 looking alter the young men under their charge, especially as they 

 have all, except Whittington, done little if anything towards advancing 

 a knowledge of the subject, which involves information possessed by 

 few of them, of whom the latest have done the least." 



Here we see that, not satisfied with bringing against such persons 

 a sweeping charge of incompetency, and applying to them the sneer- 

 ing epithet of "literary idlers," Mr. Gwilt carries his illiberality so 

 far as to insinuate or rather assert, that they neglect positive and 

 more important duties, in order to amuse themselves with architec- 

 tural studies, or what they fancv to be such ! We suspect, however, 

 that the fierce enmity here displayed towards that class of writers and 

 students may be, in a great measure accounted for by their having 

 contributed to spread a taste for Gothic architecture, and thereby 

 bring that style again into vogue, to the neglect of the Vitruvian and 

 Palladian — Mr. Gwilt's favourite schools of the art. That such is 

 really the case appears pretty plainly when we afterwards read : 



" Among the architects of Wren's time, there was a triad of ama- 

 teurs who would have done honour to any nation as professors of the art. 

 The first of these was Henry Aldrich, D.D., Dean of Christ Church, 

 Oxford, who died in 1710. He was attached to the Venetian school, as 

 we may see in the three sides of the Peckwater quadrangle, and the 

 garden front of Corpus Christi College, a facade which, for correct 

 taste, is not surpassed by any edifice in Oxford. The second of these 

 amateurs was Dr. Clarke, one of the Lords of the Admiralty in the 

 reign of Queen Anne. This distinguished amateur sat for Oxford in 

 fifteen sessions. The library of Worcester College, to which he be- 

 queathed his valuable collection of architectural books and MSS. was 

 from his design. He built the library at Christ Church. The third 

 was Sir James Burroughs, master of Caius College, Cambridge, by 

 whom, in 1703, the chapel of Clare Hall in that University was beau- 

 tifully designed and executed." 



It is consolatory to find from this that "amateurs" are not, as might 

 be inferred from other passages, necessarily superficial pretenders, 

 and mere idlers who might employ their time to better purpose. 

 Nay, the opinion expressed of that illustrious " triad " appears to us 

 to err almost as much on the side of liberality, as other remarks in the 

 book do in the contrary extreme. But then they were safe men — 

 orthodox in their architectural creed, and did not set themselves up as 

 instructors of the public; for though the Dean published a treatise on 

 architecture, it was written in Latin. It is only living or recent ama- 

 teurs and writers on architecture that Mr. Gwilt would, if possible, 

 put down — those of a former day are, of course, past doing any mis- 

 chief; and we are wicked enough to fancy that the highly commen- 

 datory passage we have quoted was partly intended to heighten by 

 contrast, the censure so liberally or rather so illiberally heaped upon 

 the present generation of architectural amateurs and dilettanti stu- 

 dents. Though the author of the " Encyclopaedia" has not mentioned 

 names, it is very easy to discover many of those whom he classes 

 among the " last " and least worthy, for in the catalogue of works 

 recommended to the student, he has omitted several publications, 

 which, so far from being unimportant or obscure, are very popular, 

 and now regarded as standard authorities. Among them are Hope's 

 History of Architecture; Rickman's valuable work on Gothic Archi- 

 tecture; Parker's Glossary, a book which Mr. Gwilt would have done 

 well to take as a model for his own Glossary ; Professor Whewell's 

 Architectural Notes ; Willis on the Architecture of the Middle Ages ; 

 Wood's Letters; Wilkins' Atheniensia, Magna Graecia, &c. — in fact 

 so many, foreign ones included, that they would form an appendix of 

 considerable length. Hardly can it for a moment be supposed, that 

 such and so numerous omissions were other than intentional ; or could 

 it be proved that they arose either from sheer oversight, or ignorance 

 of the existence of the above-mentioned publications, it would not be 

 saying much for Mr. Gwilt's industry. But the omissions are so re- 

 markable, and of so peculiar a kind, that we can attribute them only 

 to a determination to suppress the titles of publications which, for 

 some reasons or other, are obnoxious to him; and thus markedly, 

 though silently, express his condemnation of them. Here again, then, 

 he has suicidally injured his own book, rendering that catalogue an 

 exceedingly defective and imperfect one, in order to gratify his own 

 splenetic whims; and he has, in some instances, mentioned earlier 

 and inferior editions of architectural publications which, in subsequent 

 ones, have been materially enlarged and improved. 



Nowhere, however, has he carried his exclusiveness or principle of 

 exclusion to greater length, and more palpably betrayed his jealousies 



