326 



THE CIVIL ENG INKER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



[September, 



?: 



Queen's Bcneli. l/y wri t of ccr/iornri obtained by tlie defendants, it came down 

 to I* tried on tin- civil side. 



Mr. .Serjeant (Jonlburn, Mr. Humfrev. and Hr. Daniel appeared for the 

 prcseeution ; and Mr. Hill, QC:., Mr. ( larke, and Mr. Spooner for the de- 

 fendants. 



It appeared that the company had erected a bridge for the purpose of 

 carrying tlieir railway over Montpelier Street, at Highgate. near Birmin^'ham, 

 wliich street It crossed nearly at right angles. The 4ijth section of the C'om- 

 lany's Act of Parliament provides, " that where any bridge shall be encted 

 ly the said company for the purpose of carrying the said rail'.ray over or 

 across any public carnage road the span of the arch of sucli liridge shall be 

 formed. ari(l .shall at all times be. and be continued, of such \i iilth as to leave 

 a clear and open space under every such arch of not less than 15 feet, and a 

 height from llie surface of the road to the centre of such aiTh of not less than 

 16 feet, and the descent under anv such bridj;e shall not exceed one toot in 

 13 feet." 



By the 48ih section of the same act it is provided, that " vvlienever the said 

 railway shall cro.ss any [.ublic footpath not on a level, the said company shall 

 raise or lower the said footpath so as to preserve an ascent or descent, as the 

 case may require, of nut more than one toot in 13 feet." 



The span of the bridge in question over the carriage way was 16 feet, being 

 one foot more than the span mentioned in the act, but about four feel less 

 than the original width ut the road. The company had at first intended to 

 obtain the required height of 16 feet under the arch by lowering the surface 

 of the road, but at the request (as was stated) of some of the neighbouring 

 inhabitants, who apprehended inconvenience from such a declivity, they had 

 only lowered the road about seven feet, leaving a headway of ten feet eight 

 inches. 



When, however, the hill of indictment had been found against them, they 

 excavated the road about five feet more, but not, it apffeared, sufficiently by 

 about si.x inches to give the full height of 16 feet. This excavation reniiered 

 it necessary to build retaining walls of 96 yards in length to support the loot- 

 paths on each side of the carnage way, the thickness of these retaining walls 

 being an encroachment on the original width of the carriage way till they 

 reached the bridge. At first no provision had been made for the footpaths, 

 but subsequently the piers of the bridge had been cut through, and the foot- 

 ways had ocen carried through them, descending under the railway by steps, 

 and ascending in the same manner on the other side. 



Mr. Serjeant Goulburn opened the case on behalf of Mr. Unett, the prose- 

 cutor, the proprietor of an estate in the neighbourhood, and contended that 

 the company were bound to preserve the road of its original width, and had 

 no right to contract it by means of their bridge; that the width of 15 feet 

 mentioned in the act was a provision only applicable to cases where the road 

 bad been originally of no greater width, or of less width than 15 feet, and 

 was the minimum, not the maximum width which the company were bound 

 to leave ; that the company were not justified in lowering the surface of the 

 road, but ought to have obtained their height of 16 feet from the surface of 

 the road to the centre of the arch, by takii^ the railway across the road at 

 a higher level; that with respect to the retaining walls they were an en- 

 croachment upon the approach to the bridge, and were not justified by the 

 act; and with respect to the footpaths the company had no right to contract 

 their width where they were carried through the piers of the br.dge, nor to 

 carry them underneath the railway by means of steps. 



Mr. Justice Parke, on the counsel for the prosecution calling Mr. Horn- 

 blower, architect and surveyor, of Birmingham, as the first w itncss, suggested 

 that the case appeared to be a question of law' upon the construction of the 

 act of parliament, more than a question of fact, and enquired if the facts could 

 not be agreed upon. It was ultimately arranged that Mr. Hornblower's exa- 

 mination should be proceeded with, as the shortest way of eliciting the facts, 

 which were proved by him to the ellect above stated. 



Mr. Justice Parke then ruled : — 1st. That the company were not bound to 

 pareservc the road of its former w idth, but had a right to contract it by means 

 of the bridge, provided they left a width of not less than 15 feet.— 2nd. That 

 the company had a right to lower the surface of the road in order to obtain 

 a height of 16 feet under the arch, and th.at they might lower the road either 

 before or after they had built Ihe bridge. — .'rd. That the company had no 

 right to contract the carriage way in its approach to the bridge by the re- 

 taining walls.— 4-ih. That the company had not complied with their act by 

 carrying the footpaths under the railw ay by moans of steps ; but as this plan 

 appeared the most convenient to the public, and as the sloping of the foot- 

 patli, in lieu of steps, would render it necessary to underbuild the bouses, the 

 court would not compel the company to alter the footpaths. 



At the su''gestion of the judge, and by the consent of the parties, a verdict 

 was enterecl for the crown, tlie company entering into a rule to widen the 

 carri.age way by pulling down the retaining walls, and throwing them back 

 into the footpath, and undertaking to lower the road still further, so as to 

 leave a height of 16 feet clear from the surface of the ro.ad to the girders of 

 the bridge. 



The costs to be taxed by Mr. Hilditch. 



Tlie Queen v. 5«me.— This was an indictment for a similar nuisance in 

 Highgate Place.— A like verdict was Ulcn.— Midland Counties Herald. 



ST. GEORGE'd CHAPEL, AVINDSOR. 



August 2. 

 For some years past the grand western window of this edifice lias been 

 corsidered to be in an extremely dangerous position, and very far from 

 secure, in consequence of its bulging considerably inwards in many of its 

 parts to the extent of several inches. 



About 10 or 12 years since, the late Sir Jeffry Wjatville minutely examined 

 the stone work of the window, and in consequence of Iris report it was deter- 

 mined it should undergo the necessary repairs under Sir Jeffry's supeiin- 



tendance ; but, in conse luence of the architect's then engagements, the re- 

 pairs were not proceeded with. 



The Dean and Canons, however, have just decided that the massive stone 

 work shall be taken down, and the wholeWindow entirely rebuilt, preserving 

 the valurdile stained glass it contains for replacement. The execution of this 

 work, which will require the greatest care, so as not to injure some of the 

 finest specimens of pain'ed glas in the kingdom, has been intrusted to Mr, 

 Blore, the an hitec:, by the Dean and Canons. 



The gicat painted w indow, over the altar, representing the Resurrection of 

 our Saviour, diviiled into three compartments, designed by the late Benjamin 

 M'est, and executed liy Messrs. Jarvis and Forest, in 1788. has hitherto been 

 seen to great advantage, in c.jnsequence of the three windows on the north 

 and south sides of the west-end of the choir having been darkened fto give 

 greater iffect to the design), and painted over with the arms of the .Sovereign 

 and Kniuhts Companions of the Order of the Garter in 1782, 1799. 1805, and 

 1812. The arms of e:ich knight are encompassed with the .Star and Garter, 

 and surmounted with his crest and coronet. Tlie (ieorge is beneath, afSxed 

 to a b!ue riband, on which the Christian name and title are inscribed. Tliese 

 si.t windows are to be immediately taken out, nnd for the darkened glass 

 there is to be substituted transparent p.ainted glass fcontaining the arms of 

 the Sovereign and the Knights, and other heraldic devices), thus giving an 

 air of great lightness and elegance to this part of the chapel, although, at the 

 same time, very materially diminishing the grandeur and efliect of the large 

 painted window over the altar. 



One of the windows was completed on Saturday July 31, and judging of 

 the effect which will be produced from this one only, the alteration decided 

 upon by the Dean and Canons will greatly improve the general ap|iearance 

 of the interior ot the chapel. It will only require the remainder of the win- 

 dows of the choir. « hich are now plain, to be of stained glass, to render St, 

 George's Chapel one of the most imposing and magnificent sacred edifices in 

 the kingdom. 



The painted glass for the sis windows referred to has been executed by and 

 under the superintendence of Willemont 



Except on .Sundays the chapel has been closed for several weeks past, in 

 order that no delay may take place in the completion of the work. 



The splendid organ, which is considered to be one of the finest instruments 

 in England, has just undergone a thorough repair by Gray. The old keys, 

 which were upivards of 50 years old, and completely worn through, have been 

 replaced by new ones, and several adiiitions have been made to the pipes. \m 



As soon as the improvements now in progress are completed, it is tlie in- * 

 tention of the Dean and Canons that the whole of the interior of the chapel 

 shall undergo a complete and thorough cleansing and repair. Nothing has 

 been done to the chapel in these respects during the last half century. 



THE RIVER CLYDE. 



At a meeting of the River Trust held on Tuesday, 27lh July last, Mr. James 

 Hutchison called the attention of the Trust to a matter of thelast importance, 

 viz. Ihe extent to which the river should hi- widened. In the Bill which had 

 lately passed Parliament powers had been taken to widen the rier vastly 

 beyond its present breadth, but if these powers were acted upon to their full 

 extent, the time occupied in the operations, and the vast increase which it 

 would cause in the expense of dredging and maintaining the extended river 

 at the proper depth would be such as to place the Trust in a moil d;ingerous 

 position ; and Mr. Bald had given it as liis opinion that it might be produc- 

 tive of ultimate ruin. Mr. Bald had, however, prepared a plan of the con- 

 templated improvements, similar to those which had been approved of in 1836, 

 and though this plan did not widen the river to the extent which they had 

 power to widen it by the Act of Parliament, still it must be admitted by all 

 that It would improve the river sufliciently to accommodate the most exten- 

 tive trade which could be reasonably expected to belong in after years to the 

 harbour of Glasgow. 



Mr. Bald briefly addressed the Trust, in explanation of his plans. From 

 his remarks we learn that the width of the river from the bottom of harbour 

 (at which it is intended to commence operatiijiis.) ilown to Renfrew, varies at 

 present from 165 to 190 feet. It was his intention, however, to increase this 

 width to 300 feet at the bottom (of the harbour ; to 310 at the niuulh of the 

 Kelvin, and to 325 at Renfrew Ferry ; and at the same time to "sweeten" 

 the course, or, in other words, to rea'.ove angles and jutting points, and to 

 make the line a straight one. If the Clyde were thus widened it would be 

 sufficient for any increase of trade that would come to it. By not going be- 

 yond this proposed width, the channel would deepen itself, and of the pro- 

 gress of this deepening process, they had that day an example in the arrival 

 m their harbour of a sliip drawing 17 feet water ; and he anticipated, that in 

 a few J ears, if the large or extended plan were not adopted, that the depth 

 would increase to from 18 to 20 feet. He considered the proposition to in- 

 crease the width of the river to 100 feet, beginning immediately below the 

 harbour, to be most unwise, and one w hich he would not advise, even though 

 the Trust might possess the means to execute it. It would take 70 years to 

 complete the operations according to this extended plan, and when once 

 finislied the expense of maintaining it would be absolutely ruinous. 



To a question from Mr. Burns, 



Mr. Bald replied, that it was a law- recognised by all engineers that if the 

 channel of a river were w idened beyond the proportion of its depth, it be- 

 came more shaHpw, from the slower motion of the current. If, on the other 

 hand, it was nari'owed beyond this proportion, it had a tendency to become 

 deeper from the more rapid motion of the stream, particularly in land floods. 

 He instanced three places in the river, the harbour being one of them, where 

 deposits were continually taking place, from their being ijousually wide. — 

 Were it otherwise, this silt or deposit would be at once removed by tho Totad 

 flood to the sea. 



