1S41.J 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



75 



Professor, it is no more than a bare opinion — a sweeping sentence of 

 bigotted taste, put forth with authority, and seeking ratlier to silence 

 contradiction than to convince. Fortunately such bigotry is perfectly 

 harmless — likelier by far to excite ridicule, and laughter at the learned 

 Professor's expense, than to prove mischievous by putting us out of 

 conceit with Gothic architecture, and reviving the exploded half- 

 witted prejudices against it. It is odd the Professor should not have 

 seen this, and felt that if he touched upon the subject at all, it became 

 him to do so boldly, that being the only effectual and proper course. 

 At present, it looks as if he was fearful of saying too much, — that is, 

 supposing him capable of vindicating his dogmas of taste. Vague 

 assertion, even though it may proceed from a Professor, is but vague 

 assertion after all ; nor would it matter a single straw of itself, were 

 it not that many receive it without further inquiry as an authorative 

 ?/>SE rf;'j:;/, against which there is no appeal: — not however, that such 

 is likely to be the case in the present instance, for we believe that the 

 majoritv of the Professor's auditors were disposed to contradict him 

 point blank. Mr. Grellier, who fancies " one man's Gothic is quite as 



food as another's," and one or two others may probably rejoice at 

 nding the taste for Gothic architecture reprobated ex cathedra at the 

 Royal Academy ; but should the matter come to the ears of Mr. Welby 

 Pugin, he will perhaps take up his cudgels again, and flourish them 

 so stoutly as to make the poor Professor cry out " peccavi." Now 

 had the Professor manfully thrown down the gauntlet to Pugin, by 

 formally controverting all that the latter has urged in favour of the 

 Gothic style, it would have been doing something— would have been 

 consistent and to the point. But what avails it to let off a puny little 

 fizgig of a squib against Gothic architecture, instead of battering down 

 the rampart of prejudices by wliich it is now defended ? It is like 

 attempting to knock down a citadel with a popgun. 



IV. I frankly confess I do not at all comprehend Mr. Rooke's sub- 

 limities, nor can I make out what is the standard of Architecturid 

 Beauty to which he would refer us. However it is to be hoped that 

 all are not so dull as myself, and w ill therefore be able to understand 

 and turn to account what seems to have been dictated by the Great 

 Sphynx herself. AH that I can gather from his long rigmarole of 

 ■words is, that Mr. Rooke not only admires, but actually venerates Go- 

 thic Architecture, and is therefore not likely to venerate such decriers 

 of it as the piesent Professor of Architecture, and Mr. Grellier. Let 

 Rooke then take the Professor to task, for it is certain that if he can 

 neither convince nor convert him, he will fairly bamboozle bim, — un- 

 less the Professor be (Edipus himself. 



V. It is to be regretted that we have scarcely any documents at all 

 to assist in studying or forming an acquaintance with the modern 

 architecture of Spain and Portugal. In general, I suspect, it is but in 

 very indifferent taste ; nevertheless there must be something worth 

 notice, if only as specimens of the national style. The Spanish and 

 Portuguese architects, however, appear never to have published any 

 of their designs, nor has that task been undertaken for them by foreigners 

 — by any of those artists who have of late years afforded as tasteful 

 studies of Italian and Sicilian architecture. Without going further, 

 there must surely be enough at Madrid alone, to furnish materials for 

 such a work as Gauthier's on Genoa, or Grandjean and Famin's Archi- 

 tecture Toscane. 



THE ARCHITECTURE OF LIVERPOOL. 



Sir — Having once undertaken to reply to the criticisms of your 

 correspondent Eder on the above subject, I hope, since he has pro- 

 ceeded with his remarks, that you will again favour me with a portion 

 of your space for the continuation of my rejoinder. I wish it may be 

 understood that I pursue this system of counter-criticism from no love 

 of controversy, but with a view to setting the architectural merits of 

 the buildings noticed in their true light, so far as my poor ability may 

 extend. It appears to me that your correspondent often overlooks the 

 leading defects of the buildings he criticises, and expends his severity 

 on their minor, though, perhaps, to the generality of observers, more 

 obvious faults ; and on the other hand, sometimes withholds all praise 

 where much is really deserved. In speaking of the Royal Bank 

 Buildings, he exclaims against the extravagant use of ornament in 

 certain parts, but says nothing of its uniform coarseness of design, and 

 utter want of meaning and cliaracter. He condemns the height of the 

 basement and balustrade in the street front, but seems not to have ob- 

 served, and a most singular oversight it is for an architectural student, 

 that the front of the Bank itself facing the court, is composed of a 

 Grecian Doric, and Ionic order, one above the other, and with so 

 arostyle an amount of intercolumniation, that I could not forbear 

 laughing outright on my first encounter of its mirth-provoking visage ; 



but reflecting that some £30,000 had been expended in producing all 

 this tawdry deformity, I acknowledged to myself that, like Bottom's 

 comedy, this was " very tragical mirth." The Venetian windows on 

 the ground floor of the street front, consist of a little bit of Grecian 

 Doric entablature with two columns and antae, set on a sill which, with 

 its burden, overhangs the wall beneath it, like that of an ordinary 

 brick house. But enough of this most " original " edifice. Let us 

 follow Eder to the Town Hall. He says it is " highly creditable for 

 the day when it was executed," and iu truth, nothing nearly so good 

 has been executed in Liverpool since ; it w'as originally designed by 

 Wood, of Bath, though it has received later additions, (of the past 

 generation,) which have in one or two respects improved it ; still the 

 original merit is his. When Eder condemned, with some justice, the 

 carvings between the capitals, which, however, by no means obtrude 

 themselves on the eye so as to become serious blemishes, he might, I 

 think, as a set-off, have noticed the graceful well-conceived figure of 

 Britannia by the late Charles Rossi, R.A,, surmounting a cupola, 

 which, though not adhering in its columnar arrangement to the strict 

 rules of Grecian propriety, so often quoted and expatiated on by those 

 who are utterly incapable of making any practical application of their 

 principles, has the merit — and possibly, wdth deference be it said, the 

 preferable one, in a structure in the Italian mode, and of its moderate 

 dimensions — of a varied, picturesque outline, with perhaps some in- 

 tricacy of form, but certainly much originality of design. It is, in fact, 

 one of the most pleasing and characteristic features out of many which 

 rear themselves above the ordinary buildings of the town. As regards 

 the Railway station, we shall not' materially differ, though I must ob- 

 serve that the capitals of the Corinthian columns are notoriously bad, 

 whether the fault of the design or execution I know not; and that 

 this ugly screen hides one of the best trussed roofs of a large span 

 with which I am acquainted. 



I cannot, nor I imagine could most persons, accede to the opinion 

 that St. Luke's Church is a most successful attempt in the Gothic, 

 or rather, the pointed style. The exterior is certainly fine in exe- 

 cution, of an excellent material, and often beautiful in detail ; but as a 

 wdiole, I confess I cannot admire it as some others do. Firstly it . 

 wants a clerestory, which gives an appearance of disproportionate 

 height to the tower, and a want of importance and character to the 

 body ; and in the next place, the tower itself is far too much of a 

 parallelogram, in which defect I think this church shares with its 

 name-sake of Chelsea, arising, in both cases, from the use of octagonal 

 turrets in lieu of buttresses, of wdiich practice, as applied to a western 

 tower, I have never seen an instance in which the effect was good. I 

 do not extend this opinion to the central towers of cross churches, or 

 Lincoln Cathedral would at once refute me ; perhaps the western 

 towers of the same edifice may be quoted against me ; but be it re- 

 membered, that in this instance a screen wall extends north and south, 

 and gives that air of stability to these tow-ers which they would other- 

 wise want. I must acknowledge they were never entirely satisfactory 

 to me, even as they are. The fine colour of the stone and height of 

 the tower, make this church a fine study for effects of atrial perspec- 

 tive : especiallv when the pinnacles and turrets , of the body and 

 chancel appear in front of the more distant towe^'in hazy weatlier; 

 but while, in this respect, as well as a beautiful' specimen of detail, 

 and a fine piece of masonry, 1 admit the merits of this church to the 

 full, I am of opinion that Mr. Gandy, to whom the design is ascribed, 

 has failed to produce a striking example of the style. The want of a 

 clerestory mars the effect of the interior, and the ceiling of the nave 

 is quite out of character with those of the aisles. A rich wood roof 

 was, it is said, designed for this church, but misdirected economy 

 substituted one of lath and plaster. I can refer Eder to a modern 

 church tower within three miles of Liverpool, which, though on a 

 smaller scale and of an inferior material to tliis of St. Luke's, is equally 

 good in detail, and in proportion and effect much superior. I allude 

 to that lately added to the parish church of Walton, in which the 

 architect, Mr. Broadbent of this town, has proved that he feels and 

 has imbibed the true spirit of the style in which he worked. 



Your correspondent next notices the North and South Wales Bank, in 

 which he says the architect has encountered and overcome " enormous 

 difficidties." Now really I must be permitted to say that I think the 

 difficulties had the best of the battle. The ground 'is contracted for 

 the accommodation required, and to meird the matter-, the architect 

 employs pilasters and columns 3 ft. 6 in. in diameter, and of a propor- 

 tionate projection, which, with the space required for their bases, 

 must reduce the ground some 2 feet and more in width ; and, except 

 the space allowed near the entrance for a most inconvenient winding- 

 stair on one side, and a similar space, but bow occupied 1 know not, 

 on the other, must contract it about 5 feet in length. Again, tire 

 building is required to be very lofty in proportion to its extent, and 

 we find an order withoirt an attic employed, although the longest side 



M 2 



