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THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL, 



[July, 



That they are very costly; not so much at first, as liy reason of 

 the colouring or painting in oil which, it is thouglit (erroneously 

 I believe), that they afterwards require. 



'I'hat they are false and deceptive, inasmuch as they, being 

 artificially-formed materials, do, in some measure, assume the 

 appearance of natural productions. 



That their introduction has led to all that is false in design, and 

 defective in construction. 



And that, when eni))loyed in decoration, the enrichments are 

 deficient in tluit sharpness of outline, and delicacy of finish, by 

 whi<:h the productions of the chisel are distinguished. 



Now, 1 must readily admit, that a very large proportion of the 

 cement and stucco work, which we see in London aiul its neigh- 

 bourhood, is so faulty in design and defective in execution that it 

 is difficult to find language strong enough for its condemnation. I 

 know that many of the structures which we see bedizened with 

 what are intended for, and by some, perhaps, are dignified with the 

 name of, decorations, are indeed but whited sepulchres. That 

 many of the bricks used in them might, by a strong man's hand, 

 be crushed to powder. That the mortar is composed of earth, 

 dug from the foundations, mixed with a very small quantity of 

 white chalk lime. That the timbers are defective, both in quality 

 and scantling; and that, in short, the whole affair, from the 

 foundation to the roof, comprises all that is miserable in construc- 

 tion and false in taste. 



But I cannot think that these defects are referable to the use 

 of stuccoes and cements, or that by the external application of 

 these materials, structural defects can be successfully concealed. 

 On tlie contrary, I believe that the cracks and openings produced 

 liy the settlement of piers or arches; by the shrinkage of timber, 

 improperly introduced; by the fracture of stone lintels, or other 

 such like causes, are to the full as conspicuous in a stuccoed 

 building as in one which is faced with brick or stone, and quite as 

 difficult to rei)air effectively. Indeed, I feel so strongly the ne- 

 cessity of extreme care being taken in the construction of buildings 

 w hich are inteiuled to be covered with cement, that I not only turn 

 inverts under all the openings, but frequently omit also the reveal 

 arches and the timber lintels; carrying, instead of them, relieving 

 arches through the whole thickness of the wall. I have never yet 

 seen any cracks or settlements in the walls of buildings thus con- 

 .structed, when carefully stuccoed; and I see no reason why this 

 mode of building should not be almost universally adopted, when 

 cement or stucco are intended to be used, as it is more effective 

 and durable, aiul is not at all more costly. 



It has been frequently asserted that no chemical or mechanical 

 combinations of matter will result in a successful imitation ot 

 v.hat has been effected in Nature's laboratory; and that no artificial 

 materials can be made equal in durability to natural productions. 

 ■i'et it would. I think, be diffic\ilt to find in England, any descrip- 

 tion of building stone more cajjable of w ithstanding for a lengthened 

 period the vicissitudes of our climate, than thoroughly well made, 

 and well burnt bricks, and terracotta. 



It is true, that the firing to which bricks and terracotta are sub- 

 jected may be fairly considered as constituting a great difference 

 in their power of resisting atmosplieric influence, as compared 

 with any of the cements which are now usually employed; Ijut it 

 is quite certain that cements and mortars have been made, which, 

 for hardness and durability, were almost, if not quite, equal to the 

 hardest bricks. And I cannot doubt the possibility of again doing 

 in our own time what was certainly accom])lished at a ])eriod 

 when, however much grandeur of conception and just appreciation 

 of beautiful forms might have exceeded those with which mens' 

 minds appear to be endowed at present, the physical sciences were 

 but little known, and contributed only in a very slight degree to 

 the comforts and the social enjoyments of the human race. A 

 ))i-oof that I am iu)t overstating the power of resistance to atmo- 

 spheric influences which mortars and cements, when properly pre- 

 pared, do undoubtedly possess, is afforded by a piece of Roman 

 mortar from AV'roxeter now exhibited, which has evidently been 

 used as an external cement or stucco, and « hich nnist have been 

 exposed to the action of rain and frost for fourteen or fifteen hun- 

 dred years. 



It is said that failures frequently occur in works which have 

 been executed in cement, and that the decorations produced in 

 artificial materials are always deficient in that sliarpness of outline 

 and delicacy of feeling which constitute the great charm of arclii- 

 tectural enrichments. But I would ask, whether it is not possible 

 to lessen, if not wholly to remove, these very grave objections, by 

 great attention on the part of the architect in designing, and esi)e- 

 cially in inspecting the modelling of his enrichments whilst in the 



clay? By a determination, on his part, to become thorouglily 

 acquainted with the nature and properties of all such cements as 

 he intends to employ for the covering or decoration of his build- 

 ings, whether internally or externally; so that he may be enabled 

 to form a correct opinion when he sees the work in progress, whe- 

 ther the materials have been properly prepared by the manufac- 

 turer, and then sent to the building in a state tit for use by the 

 contractor, and are being judiciously mixed and applied by the 

 workmen and labourers. By employing in the execution of his 

 works such men only as are thoroughly masters of their business, 

 making them responsible for the reparations and reinstatements of 

 any portions of the works which may fail within five or seven years 

 after their completion; and by securing the services of clerks of 

 the works, or foremen, who are well acquainted with the nature of 

 the cement to be employed, and who will keep a vigilant eye over 

 the proceedings of the workmen. 



But some of my friends will, doubtless, tell me, that if, in order 

 to prevent failures in the effect or in the durability of cement 

 work, all this care and circumspection are required, failures and 

 imperfections are quite certain to occur. This may be true; but 

 if true as regards cement, it is also true of other works required 

 in the erection and completion of a building. And how, let me 

 ask, can the imperfections so often found to exist in the plumber's 

 work, and in the drainage of our buildings; in the carpentry of the 

 roofs, floors, and partitions; in the foundations, and the brickwork, 

 be prevented.'' How can the disintegration and crumbling away 

 of the most prominent members of stone cornices, strings, bal- 

 conies, and chimney tops, within a few years after their comple- 

 tion, be avoided, excepting by the same degree of knowledge, care, 

 and skill on the part of the architect, the contractor, the clerk of 

 the works, the foreman, and the workmen, which 1 have insisted 

 on as essential to the successful employment of cements.'' 



There are, however, among those who have most strenuously 

 opposed the use of these materials, a considerable number who 

 ground their objections not on the want of durability, the chances 

 of failure, or the extra cost; but on their want of reality, their 

 resemblance to some natural productions, and the smallness of 

 their cost, as compared with the stone casings which they some- 

 times resemble. Now, however desirable and proper, and com- 

 mendable it may be, and doubtless is, to introduce into the struc- 

 tures which are reared in honour and for the worship of the 

 Great Creator, the most valuable and the choicest of earth's pro- 

 ductions; yet it must, I think, be admitted, that the qualities of 

 the material in which the thought of a great artist is embodied (so 

 that it possess but durability and beauty), are in all other cases of 

 very secondary importance. I fear, however, that the disposition 

 to place so high a value on costly stones, and woods, and metals, 

 which appears lately to have prevailed amongst those who profess 

 to be the patrons of the arts, is calculated to produce on the minds 

 of the people generally, false impressions; because it leads them 

 to admire that which is difficult of attainment except to the pos- 

 sessors of great wealth, instead of that which is truly grand and 

 beautiful, and original in design. 



That species of admiration which is excited by the costliness of 

 the materials employed in works of art, has always appeared to 

 me to partake considerably of the vulgar and the barbarous. For, 

 as much as the heavens are higher than the earth, so much, do I 

 believe, the emanations of the mind to be above and beyond the 

 mere vehicle in which they are embodied. U'hatever is really 

 beautiful in form, or truly harmonious in colour, should be en- 

 shrined, as amongst the most precious of man's |iroductions; and 

 I cannot doubt that the time will come (although, perhaps, not in 

 our day), when the imnuiterial thought of the artist shall be more 

 highly valued than any stones or woods, or metals, however rare 

 or costly, in which it may be clothed. Much better is it, in my 

 opinion, to have the emanations of deep thought, the creations of 

 those minds which have been embued with a due appreciation of 

 the beautiful in form, embodied in materials whicli might endure 

 for only half-a-century. than the eternal stereotypes we now see 

 rising throughout this great and wealthy country, perpetuated in 

 stone which would endure for countless ages. 



It is not, I believe, because there exists among our countrymen 

 any lack of mind to conceive, or of constructive skill to carry out 

 the most gigantic undertakings, that so comparatively small a 

 number of buildings remarkable for beauty, for originality, or for 

 grandeur of design, have lately been produced. But, partly, be- 

 cause mens' minds have been directed more towards other objects 

 than the arts; ]iartly, because the carelessness of the public, and 

 the unaccountable apathy of the profession, have allowed a small 

 and non-professional party to assume the direction of our art, and 



