64 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



[Feb. 



clumsy, and without any sort of study or contrivance ; while, as to tlie 

 few sections he has given, they are perfectly ridiculous ; nor do they 

 always correspond with the ground plans. If there be still a degree 

 of worseness, a " longer depth within the lowest deep" of vileness, it is 

 manifested in the details, or "component parts" of the accumulated 

 deformity here presented to us. 



That we are severe, we do not deny; but we cannot possibly be too 

 severe, on the present occasion, for we hold this publication to be 

 thoroughly disgraceful to all concerned in it, and nothing less than a 

 positive insult to the architectural profession, and a libel upon the 

 architectural taste of the country, in the middle of the nineteenth cen- 

 tury. Far better architecturaldesigns than those of this Professor 

 may any day be seen at almost any confectioner's shop-window. They 

 are in fact so supremely wretched, that it is utterly impossible to 

 convey any idea of their preposterousness, by words alone ; and were 

 it not that it actually is published, we should say that no one in his 

 senses would publish such execrable trash. It is matter of doubt with 

 us after all, whetlier the Professor be really in his senses, for his draw- 

 ings manifest as much insanity as did those of Messrs. Baddock and 

 Buckland for the Houses of Parliament, which some of our readers 

 will perhaps recollect, and which certainly struck with amazement 

 all who beheld them. How far it is a proof of sanity, or the contrary, 

 on the part of the Professor, that he intends to give his own portrait 

 in the concluding number of his work, we leave our readers to decide. 

 Probably he may be, or may fancy himself to be, a perfect Adonis ; 

 but unless his own face be very much better than his facades, he must 

 be a perfect scarecrow-. 



London Bridge, Drawn by B. ^Ibano, M. Inst. C. E. and M. R. I. N., 

 and engravtdhy Lowry. London: Weale, 1842. 



We have received a magnificent engraving of London Bridge, from 

 the drawing of Mr. Albano, executed by Lowry in his best style, 

 being one of the finest delineations of an engineering work which 

 has yet appeared. This print, from a plate 3 ft. 6 in. by 2 ft., possesses 

 an accuracy and fidelity which are the best qualities of such a work ; 

 while as a production of art it is truly splendid. As the engraving 

 depends for its importance on the bridge itself, we think it better to 

 give some account, from Mr. Albano's notes, of the dimensions of this 

 triumphant mouument of Sir John Rennie's skill. 



The drawing was presented by Mr. Albano to the Institution of 

 Civil Engineers ; it was made with great care and accuracy, from 

 dimensions taken by him during the progress of the works. 



Centre arch 151 ft. 9 in. chord, 37 ft. 10 in. rise. 



Piers on the side of centre arch each 24 ft. in width at springing. 



Arches on either side of centre 140 ft. chord, 3/ ft. rise. 



Piers of land arches each 22 feet in width at springing. 



Land arches on each side 130 feet chord, 33 ft. 10 ia. rise. 



Total length of bridge from face to face of abutments 783 ft. 9iu. 



Width of water way at spriug of arches C91 ft. 9 in. 



High water Trinity datum 8 ft. 4 in. above spring. 



Low water Trinity datum 10 ft. 1 in. below spring. 



Length of bridge from end to end of abutments 1005 feet. 



Width of Ijridge from cut to cut 5G feet. 



Width of cariiage road 35 ft., of each foot path 9 ft. 



Greatest depth of foundations 23 ft. 7 in. belo%v low water datum. 



Total number of piles, forming the colfer-dam 7708. 



Total number of piles, 20 ft. long, under piers and abutments, 2092. 



Quantity of granite and stone used in constructing the bridge and abut- 

 ments, 120,000 tons. 



Fust pile driven 15th March, 1824. First stone laid 15th June, 1825. 



First arch keyed 4th August, 1827. Last arch 19 Nov. 1828. 



Bridge completed and opened 1st August, 1831. 



Cost of the bridge .-£542, 150. 



Cost of tiie bridge and approaches, including alteration and removal of old 

 bridge, f 1,401, 234. 



Examples of Inlaid Got/iic Tiles. London: Nichols and Son, 1842. 



This work comes very acceptably at a period when so much attention is 

 directed to the details of architectural ornament. Encaustic tiles are to be 

 met with extensively in our cathedrals and ancient churches ; although it is 

 only of late years that they have been re-introduced. Mr. Harvey Eginton 

 was, wc believe, the first to use them in 1837, in the repair of Stratford-on- 

 Avon Church, and they have since been used at Wilmcote Chapel, near 

 Stratford ; St. Michael's, Worcester ; St. James's, Malvern ; the Temple and 

 St. Mary's, Stafford. 



The little volume before us contains engravings of twenty-four specimens 

 of tiles, the size of the originals in Winchester Catlicdral, Romsey Abbey 

 Church, St. Cross, Winchester, Warblingam Church, and Worcester Cathe- 

 dral. These illustrations are nearly all from Hampshire, so that as the mode of 

 engraving is cheap, we hope to see similar works for other districts. 



The editor of this volume has done considerable service by leading the way 

 in the illustrations of such an interesting subject. 



A Familiar Explanation of the Nature and importance of Assurances vpon 

 Lives. By Lewis Pocock, F.S.A. London : Smith and Elder, 1842. 



To professional men, more than to any other class of persons, the import- 

 ance of life assurances is strikingly great. Too often, although in the receipt 

 of large sums of money annually, they are led, by the necessity of maint.ain- 

 ing an appearance in society, to expend their whole income, so that, in the 

 event of death, their families would be left entirely unprovided for : whereas, 

 by appropriating a portion of their revenue to assure the payment of a 

 certain sum of money to their relatives, after their death, all solicitude is 

 removed, and, in the words of the intelligent author of the hook before us, 

 "a safe termination to an uncertain event is secured." 



Strange to say, the principle of life assurances is hut little understood, 

 their advantages hut slightly appreciated. It is the object of Mr. Pocock's 

 book to set the whole matter in a clear and familiar point of view, to explain 

 the different systems of assurance now in use, and the routine reqviired for 

 effecting a policy. It likewise contains the principles, terms, and tables, of 

 seventy London assurance oliices, and forms altogetlier a perfect vade meciim 

 for those wishing to tmderstand, or desirous to avail themselves of the many 

 advantages arising out of this very important species of assurance. We 

 hope, as much for the sake of the public as of the author of this usefid little 

 book, that it will have a large circulation. 



We have from Mt Ferdiuard Pelzer, A Practical Guide to Pianoforte Play 

 ini;, of which we ourselves do not profess to bt judges, notwithstanding the 

 injunction of Vilruvius as to the intimate union of architecture and music. 

 We have referred Mr. Pelzer's work to the female department, and are told 

 that it is calculated to be useful to the young student. 



ON THE DECORATED BUILDINGS OF LONDON. 



While so much attention is being devoted to the introduction of the other 

 arts into public buildings, it may l)e of advantage to the advocates of decora- 

 tion to have a list, although an imperfect one, of those buildings in the 

 Metropohs in wliich it has been already applied. Theatres and places of 

 amusement it will be unnecessary to enumerate, so that we shall turn our at- 

 tention to other edifices. 



St. James's Palace has painted ceilings in most of the state rooms and 

 staircases. 



The ceihng of Whitehall Chapel, painted by Rubens, represents the apo- 

 theosis of James I. 



The grand stair-case and ceilings of the principal rooms of Kensington Pa- 

 lace were painted by Kent. 



The Painted Hall of Greenwich Hospital was executed by Sir James Thorn- 

 hill, and the ceiling of the Upper Hall is also painted, representing Queen 

 Anne and Prince George of Denmark, surrounded by various allegorical 

 figures. The Chapel has been ornamented by the pencils of West and others. 



The British Museum, now about to be pulled down, is too well known to 

 requii'c any description. The artists employed have been Charles de la Fosse, 

 Jacques Rousseau, and Rigand. 



The dojne of St. Paul's was ornamented by Sir James Thornhill with paint- 

 ings illustrative of the life of St. Paul. 



The Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. Marj', in Moorfields, is painted 

 throughout. 



The Dnke of Beaufort's House was recently painted by Mr. Latilla and Mr. 

 Owen Jones ; descriptions of it will be found in tlie Journal. 



The Hall of the Society of Arts is indebted to the pencil of Barry. 



The Library of the Royal Academy has a painted ceiling by Angelica 

 Kauffman. 



The ceiling of the Library in the Soane Museum vras executed by Howard 

 the Academician. 



The Reform Club is one of the most brilliant modern specimens, the whole 

 of the decorations of which have been executed from the directions of the 

 architect Barry. 



The Hall of the Drapers' Compau\', in Throgmorton Street, is well arranged. 



The stair-case of St. Bartholomew's Hospital, paiuted by Hogarth, at his 

 own expense, represents the Good Samaritan and the Pool of Bethesda. 



Many private liouses have painted ceihngs. That in Buckingham Stre 

 where Peter the Great resided, the House of the Westminster Discou 

 Company, the Linnean Society's House in Soho Square, &c. 



