142 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



[May, 



ledgers, aii'l heaps of dirt, tlie whole in a niiseral)ly ragged conditioni 

 disgraceful to a civilised nation. 



Tliere are several other oubjetts, figures from the antique, among 

 ■which may be found a large assembly of gods and godilessi'.s, animals, 

 from tlie colossal lion to the petty lap dog — the famous dog of Alci- 

 biades and the Florentine boar, standing most conspicnously — also 

 many 3pl)iii:<es and animals after Egyptian and (ireek authorities; 

 sun-dials and pedestals — the globe sun-dial is particularly interesting. 

 But for space and time many more articles might be enumerated, f 

 must now conclude, having been somewhat lengthy in my notice of 

 this compc'silion, with a view of furwaiding its general introdnction 

 in place of stone, where economy is desirable, as it is capable of great 

 variety of form and use. 



For the purpose of illustrating this paper, I have through the kind- 

 ness of Messrs. Austin and Seelev, selected several wood engravings 

 from their book of designs, all of which are from specimens already 

 executed. 



[\Vc hail with jileasure the renewal of our old correspondent's in- 

 teresting papers, and will gladlv second him in his laudable endeavour 

 to st-rve the meritorious class he so warmly advocates.] — Editor. 



line from it to the front entrance, each being visible from the other at 

 a distance of more than a hundred feet. Rooms for other officers are 

 provided directly over these, and are approached by the circular 

 staircase before mentioned. Spacious offices for the transaction of 

 the greater part of the business, are provided on each side of the 

 outer hall, while those functionaries w ho require greater quiet, are 

 provided for at the back part of the building. The flight of steps 

 first mentioned, with the return flights leading to the Committee Room 

 and the Library on the one pair (jf the front, occupy the lower (jurt of 

 a large covered area, from which light is obtained for the several 

 apartments around. The workmen were still employed in the old 

 Ball room when we were there, but, we understood, oiily hi repairing 

 and cleaning it, a.s it is to undergo no alterations, but to be fitted up 

 with a platform and benches, and to be called "The Centenai'v Hall." 



"WESLEYAN CENTEXARY HALL AND mSSIOX-HOUSE." 



Letteks of no mean si>;e, affixed to the largo, and, since its recent 

 luodificntions, handsome building, which has attracted so much of the 

 attention of the frequenters of Bishopsgate Street, thus announce to 

 tlic public the new approj)riation of the heretofore well-known City 

 of Londiai Tavern. The street front is of course the part most em- 

 bellished, and with this perhaps the best has been done that it ad- 

 mitted of, and certainly a noble eti'ect is produced, notwithstanding 

 many disadvautages; for the old front hi ing left standing, and the 

 new being only an eucaseuient of it, but little room for invention was 

 afforded. The design is a Corinthian order, of four columns and two 

 aide pilasters, on a rather high basement; the four columns being sur- 

 mounted by a well-proportioned pediment. The colunuis, which, of 

 course, form the chief feature, are both bold and eleg-.mt, and have a 

 very graceful outline : some persons might prefer them without the 

 fluting, but we are inclined to think, that plain attached shafts at that 

 height. Would look heavier and less ellective. The caps are about the 

 best we reineinber to have seen, the volutes have a v;>iy graceful con- 

 lour, and the leaves are bold and well relieved, and the whole of the 

 sculpture, of which there is a good proportion, is executed with skill 

 and decision. We are glad to see, from this instance amongst 

 others, that enriched mouldings are again coming into use. The ar- 

 chitect, w hether from necessity or choice, has preserved all the original 

 openings, and tliose in the ground floor, having been arched, are so 

 still. Tliis, though it gives the basement a character not quite in 

 accordance with the Greek order above, yet produces a playfulness- 

 of line that, in our luinii, greatly mitigates the delect, which, to the 

 sticklers for antique jirccedenl, will no doubt be serious; whilst, to 

 another class, in which we may include ourselves, the adoption of the 

 Cireek, instead of the Roman or Italian style, will be a still greater 

 offence. For we doubt if the delicacy of Grecian architecture can 

 ever be made to accord with our climate and materials. The columns 

 are somewhat close for their si/.e, and the window dressings are con-- 

 sequentlv cramped ; but tliis is rather the fault of the old building 

 than of the new, and to the same cause it may be attributed that the 

 parts are in better proportion than.the whole. The breadth of eflect 

 would have been greatly increased by substituting cohiuins fur the two 

 pilasters at the sides, but we presume they would have projected too 

 fer beyoi:d tlie adjoining houses ; a ditiiculty that must always occur 

 in the ^treets of London, where houses jostle each other like persons 

 in a crowd. With allowance for these defects, we should not do jus- 

 tice to the author ('dr. I'ocock, architect,! if we did not state our 

 lionest '-'pinion, that without atteinpt-ng novelties, he has dene the 

 most his circumstances and style admitted. 



j4 Tliu ceiling of the loggia is panelled, and siijiported by four Doric 

 columns fluted two thirds down. The rest of th.e interior, though 

 handsome and substantial, is as plain in its architecture as at all ac- 

 cerds with the magnitude of the structure and the elegance of the 

 facade. 



The general idea of the plan is perhaps the best part of the whole. 

 Directly o])posile the entrance gates of the loggia iire the doors of 

 the vestibule, and opposite these the doors of the hall, where a h;uid- 

 some flight of stone steps, with ornamental iron balusters, conduct to 

 the corridor running straight forward, by the foot of an elegant circular 

 staircase, to th.e auteioom of the secretary's oftice, so that the door of 

 tliis anteroom is at th.e end of an avenue which continues in a straight 



EPISODES OF PLAN. 



fConliwiod from parfc lOO.J 



Whetrer intended for sideboard alcove, or other specific purpcse, 

 Recesses may be diviiled into Simple and Compomid; and even those 

 belonging to the first chiss admit of very great variety, exclusively of 

 that which arises from embellishment. In their jdmi, for instance, 

 they may be rectangular, or curved fand if curved either segmental or 

 semicircular), or polygonal. In their t/tra/fOH, towards the room, they 

 may be arched or otherwise, w ith or without columns, &c. In sec/ion, 

 they may be of the same height as the room itself; or chprc^Hd (that 

 is lower) ; or raistd (loftier) ; and if arched, in elevation, and curved 

 or polygonal in plan may be covered by a foHc/( or semidome. Neither 

 is this all, since even this class may be subdivided into Blind nnd Light 

 recesses. In the latter case various jiicturesque effects may be ob- 

 tained according to the mode in which the light is admitted, which, 

 lioweTer, should be so managed that the windows themselves are not 

 visible, or else the recess assumes a different character, and becomes 

 only a bay-window of the usual description, except it be that the win- 

 dow itself would not occupy the whole of it- 

 No instances occur to our recollection to which we can here refer at 

 once as exemplifying some few at least of the forms and arrangements 

 just pointed out ; yet if this be so far inconvenient and unfortunate, it 

 is also a tolerable proof that scarcely any thing at all has hitherto 

 been done or even aimed at, as regards such features in internal 

 phui; consequently that there is novelty of interior design in store for 

 us, if we do but choose to adopt it, and to escape from that monoto- 

 nous routine, and those qtioficiiav forms to which architects now confine 

 themselves. 



Possibly there may be instances both in regard to recesses and other 

 features of plan th;it might suit our purpose, and which may deserve 

 to be brought forward by us as examples, were we but acquainted 

 with them. Yet if they exist at all 'they are not generally known : 

 there are no engravings of them in any |iubUcations, nor are any 

 descriptive notices of them to be met with. To siiy the truth, pecu- 

 liarities in design, of the kind here alluded to, are almost the very last 

 which those who give us descriptions of buildings think of speaking of 

 at all. Which, however, is the less to be wondered at, because archi- 

 tects themselves are, far more frequently than not, apt to pass them 

 over in silence, even tliough such I'.arts m;iy happen to Inive cost them 

 more thought and contrivance than all the rest of a design. In ftict 

 as regards interior domestic architecture, it very seldom happens that 

 any thing more than two extreme points are taken into consideration: 

 while nothing is aimed at in the geuer.d liiyiiig uul of the plan, beyond 

 what comfoit, convenience, and fiicility of communication require, — • 

 nor is tliere alwiiys so much bestowed upon these as there might be ; 

 so also notliing amounting to architectural design is introduced into 

 the se|)iirate romns. Provided these last posses- the negative merit 

 of being satisfactory as to their dimensious ;u.d proportions, little be- 

 sides is looked to for them, on the part of the architect. For all that 

 gives them life and interest they are indebted to the decorator and 

 upholsterer, or to the works of art which they may contain. lu by 

 very far the greater number of cases no attempt is made to obtain 

 aught of ilecided architectural character, or of that kind of expression 

 and ctlecl, which nmy exist before such things as hangiigs and dra- 

 peries, furniture and pictures are added. \\'e ai'e very fax from 

 despising or undervaluing such matters as these last ; yet we certainly 

 regret thiit attention should be too exclusively confined to them, whei> 

 they are of subordinate imjiurtanee, inasmuch as they admit of change 

 ami iiHprovemeut :it any time, whereas if iu-chitectiu'al effect has 

 been ilisregarded in the first instance, it is not ahvivys easy — some- 

 times scarcely possible to supjily it afterwards, without considerably 



