1850.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



47 



There is hanlly a parish cliurch which has not some point of 

 interest to the practical man; and indeed it is from the careful 

 inspection of these buildings by a practical eye, that a few men, 

 more painstaking than their brethren, have put us in possession of 

 the architectural practice of the middle ages, and have en.ibled us 

 to construct modern works in the mediivval styles in a much more 

 respectable and much truer manner than our imitations of the 

 Parthenon and other classic models. Nevertheless, a few men can 

 do but little of themselves, however hard they work: it is the 

 concentrated energies of the mass which must act to produce any 

 great result; and this can only be attained inasmuch as each mem- 

 ber of the profession will look upon himself as an instrument, 

 however humble, for its .advancement. The pupil in the country, 

 beginning his early studies, has often opportunities, denied to the 

 most ardent votaries in the great seats of knowledge; and if he 

 diligently takes advantage of the resources of his neighbourhood, 

 he may do very much good to himself and his neighbours. 



There is, too, nothing so mean in itself, which as a part of a 

 great whole, wlien properly studied, does not acquire considerable 

 importance; and, indeed, often the neglect of a trifle destroys the 

 most meritorious exertions devoted to a great building. In the 

 Gothic revivals of the last century, we are much more struck with 

 pain than witii pleasure, for the discordance of the details mars 

 the most ambitious designs, — and this much more attributable to 

 want of constructive knowledge, than to want of artistic skUl. 

 As the writer now before us reminds his readers, the liistory of the 

 mediaeval styles in England is one of progress; and the experience 

 of many years, and the genius of many men, led to improvements 

 in construction, as much as to variety in design. These escape the 

 mere archaeologist or artist, or he sees them only as trifles, the 

 value of which he does not know; but to the practised eye even of 

 a workman, a knowledge of these trifles is the way to the economi- 

 cal and successful prosecution of a restoration or of a new con- 

 struction. 



It is very evident that had we a better knowledge of the con- 

 structive details of Greek buildings, we should be much more suc- 

 cessful in the imitation of them; neither would so much diversity 

 of opinion prevail upon many questions of interest, as lights, win- 

 dows, doors, stairs, roofs, polychromy, and so forth. A knowledge 

 which limits itself to broad general features, might have been 

 thought more favourable to the study of the Greek style; but it 

 has not so proved — and perhaps most from this cause, that the 

 groundwork of our knowledge is imperfect, and imperfect in the 

 practical part. On the other hand, we have monuments which 

 present a repertory of mediaeval practice; and it will be found that 

 just in proportion to our better acquaintance with these, has been 

 our successful progress. Wren, ^Valpole, and Dance had the great 

 works of old before their eyes, and yet the towers of Westminstes 

 Abbey, Strawberry Hill, and the front of Guildhall are the fruitr 

 of their exertions. The restorations of the beginning of this cen- 

 tury abound with errors, and we shall have before us a fresh work 

 — that of re-restoration. Mr. Sharpe gives some examples of this. 



The careful study of details has given us works on mouldings, 

 fonts, and church fittings, and now on decorated window tracery. 

 Although the subject is so limited, Mr. Sharpe has required for its 

 illustration a volume of text and one of plates; and even yet he 

 has only laid the foundation of his own part, and leaves for other 

 labourers quite enough to till other volumes. Nearly two hundred 

 engravings are required, to furnish examples from which authori- 

 ties are deduced, — and yet the writer is neither prolix nor trifling, 

 nor minutely archasological. He gives a sufficient sketch of the 

 history and chronology, to determine the characteristics of style; 

 but, throughout, his attention is devoted to practical construction. 

 From this the workman will benefit as much as the architect. 



Inasmuch as the engineer is often too much of a workman, so is 

 the architect often too little of a workman : and yet there is in this 

 country no academy of architecture with so much as a carpenter's 

 shop attached to it. The architect of the middle ages, inasmuch 

 as he practised all the higher branches of art— carving, painting, 

 and music — so was he often skilful as a blacksmith, mason, or cai'- 

 penter. The necessities of his position as much made him so, as 

 do those of an Indian officer of engineers make him a workman. 

 In a remote part of the country, the architect had to teach and 

 train the workmen, as well as to furnish the plan. This, too, was 

 one great means of architectural progress. VVhoever looks at the 

 buildings of the middle ages, is astonished to see how much was 

 then done. There is hardly a parish church in England which was 

 not then built; and yet in parishes which must then have had a 

 smaller population, we have buildings much more massive and 

 expensive than our modern resources enable us to supply. 



The monk or ecclesiastic who undertook to build a church, was 

 much more wanting in money-help than the modern patron; but 

 he drew largely on the unskilled labour of the population. The 

 days of idleness incident to agricultural pursuits, instead of being 

 devoted to the alehouse, were claimed for the pious work of church 

 building; and an enlightened instructor trained a willing flock to 

 undertake the several duties, from quarrying the stone to the 

 carving of it and building it up. 



AV^e have now to rely upon trained workmen, instead of upon 

 trained architects; and though we are better off' than we were, we 

 are far from having reached perfection. We now look with sliame 

 upon the carpenter -Gothic windows of good King George's time — 

 and yet pei-haps the day is not far off, when the hypercritical eyes 

 of those who follow may point out the failings of our own works. 

 The only bulwark against this is the practical instruction of archi- 

 tects and workmen. AVhile it is an object of ambition to an ar- 

 chitect to produce a beautiful piece of tracery, he is often at the 

 mercy of the workman for the realisation of his designs, for even 

 such a detail requires much knowledge and skill. 



If Mr. Sharp has done his duty, so have the publisher and en- 

 graver; for the work is handsomely and copiously illustrated 

 throughout, in a manner which is well deserving of praise. 



We like much the moderate and judicio\is spirit in which Mr. 

 Sharpe writes; and he gives full assurance that he merits the con- 

 fidence of his readers. While he has carefully availed himself of 

 the studies of others, he has added largely to the common stock; 

 and has, by his own observations, been able to correct many theo- 

 ries which were founded on erroneous data. The work has, there- 

 fore, tlie best kind of originality in a professional work — an ori- 

 ginal investigation of the whole subject of inquiry. 



]\Ir. Shar|)e classifies tracery into three styles — geometrical, cur- 

 vilinear, and rectiline.ir; and not merely determines the essentials 

 of style, but examines the several arches of the window opening, 

 as the window arch, the scoinson arch, and the rear vault; the 

 foliation; and the mouldings. Upon each of these heads he enters 

 into copious explanations. There is, however, one thing we miss — 

 a sufficient index. 



We are debarred from entering further into a subject which is 

 so much matter of special detail, though we are tempted by the 

 merits of the author so to do; but we cannot take leave of him 

 without saying that he has written a book well worthy of the 

 perusal of members of the profession, and of the large circle of 

 students of niediajval architecture, its lay and clerical devotees. 



Modern Tombs, Part I. By Arthur W. Hakewill. 



Some years since we had occasion to notice a work on tombs, 

 and to make some remarks on this branch of art; and we are not 

 sorry to have it again brought to mind by this work of Mr. Hake- 

 will's. In churches, tombs are most commonly one-sided; and as 

 there is no finished back, there is a limited scope for artistic exer- 

 tion. If, too, a tomb be truly designed, its character is deter- 

 mined by that of the building; and this is another point of restric- 

 tion. Where not attended to, as it very seldom is, our cathedrals 

 become curiosity shops or museums, in which naked Greeks and 

 negroes besport beneath the canopies and shrines of mediaeval 

 architects. The establishment of the cemeteries threw open a new 

 field for the artist, and one in which he has much more freedom. 

 At the same time the architect could fairly claim a participation, 

 and thus the body of skilled labourers has been strengthened. 



It is quite true the marble-mason still claims the graveyard as his 

 domain, and leaves many boundmarks of his authority; but there 

 is a greater disposition on the part of the public to encourage 

 architects; and this it is Mr. Hakewill's object to support. Which, 

 however, will become the chief ruler, the architect or the sculptor, 

 will depend very much on the exertions of each. 



While architecture gains a new field of display, it further bene- 

 fits by the necessity imposed upon sculptors of becoming students 

 of architecture, and strengthening thereby that union of the arts, 

 without the observance of which they cannot prosper. Then, too, 

 the architects must learn something of sculpture, or the public 

 will not be satisfied. 



At a former period we were obliged to be contented with designs 

 for tombs, and with the promise of what the future was to do for 

 us; but now we have got some earnest of progress, as Mr. Hake- 

 will's book gives examples from tombs already in our cemeteries. 

 This book, too, will give the greater encouragement to artists, as 

 it shows them what has been done, and that they will not labour in 

 vain. Every way, therefore the book is of interest. 



