1842.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



33! 



The interior has a flat ceiling, and is divided into a nave and two 

 side aile?, is quite plain. It is S3 feet long, 36 feet broad, and 30 feet 

 high. The tower is square, with barbarous pinnacles, the height to 

 the top of them being 120 feet. 



St. Michael's Paternoster Royal, Thames street (Xo. 33), was built 

 in 1694, and the spire in 1713. The interior is plain, with a flat ceil- 

 ing coved at the walls. The length is 86 feet, breadth 43 feet, and 

 height 40 feet. From the tower rises a pleasing tower of two orders, 

 the lower story, Ionic, bearing an entablature and vases. The whole 

 height is OO feet. 



His patroness. Queen Mary IT., having died, Wren was employed 

 by William in 1695, to design the mausoleum in Westminster Abbey. 



Wren was employed by Queen Mary II. to enlarge the Royal 

 Palace at Greenwich (No. 19), which was subsequently converted into 

 the Marine Hospital. The principal front to the Thames contains the 

 Royal Court, 300 feet square, having on the west the courts of King 

 Charles 11. and King William, and on the east that of Queen Anne 

 and Queen Mary, and on the south the great hall and ctapel. The 

 court of King Charles II., containing the great end wing, is of Portland 

 stone, and of the Corinthian order. In the middle is a tetrastyle 

 portico, with arcades. At each end is a great pavilion, rising into an 

 attic order, and forming a high tower. The other wing corresponds. 

 The Royal Court contains two colonnaaes being each 30 feet long, 

 and consisting of 150 columns and pilasters 20 feet high. The great 

 hall in King N^'illiam's building is 105 feet long, 56 feet wide, and 50 

 feet high. The painting of it cost £6,685. 



St. Vedast, Foster-lane (No. 5), was begun in 1694, and finished in 

 1698. The interior is divided into a nave and aile by a range of 

 Tuscan columns. The ceiling is flat, and formed into one large panel, 

 enclosing others smaller, and decorated with wreaths of fruit and 

 flowers. The length is 69 feet, breadth 51 feet, height 36 feet. 

 The spire and the top of the square tower are by some admired. It 

 consists of three stories, the lowest presenting four concave faces, with 

 clustered pilasters and piers at the angles. The centre story has four 

 convex stories, with plainer piers ; and the third story consists of an 

 obelisk, with scrolls at the corners of the base. 



St. Dunstan's in the East (No. 12), was restored by Wren in the 

 pointed style ; and in 1698 he built the tower and spire, which are on 

 the plan of the spire of St. Nicholas at Newcastle. The spire is sup- 

 ported on a tower 20 feet wide, by four flying arches. Wren's nave 

 has since been pulled down and rebuilt. 



He also repaired the interior of Guildhall. 



A theatre built by Wren near Fleet-street, shortly after the restora- 

 tion, stood upon the site formerly occupied by the New River Com- 

 pany's offices. 



At St. James's Palace Wren was also employed. He designed the 

 Doric court, the council chamber, the audience-room, and the dining- 

 room. 



Buckingham House, now pulled down was built in 1703 (No. 29). 



Marlborough House (No. 17) was begun in 1709. 



In 1713, Sir Christopher was employed to repair Westminster 

 Abbey, when among other works he extended the west front (No. 4), 

 and carried the towers up to the height of 225 feet. The design is 

 Incongruous, and is far from a happy specimen of his skill in the 

 pointed style. 



Mercer's Hall, Cheapside, contains a fine set of rooms and a chapel. 



Isleworth church is partly built on a plan designed by Wren. 



The new buildings at Hampton Court Palace (No. 30 and 32) were 

 built by Wren in 1690. What are called the king's apartments are 

 328 feet long, and the queen's apartments, 330. 



The house in Cheapside occupied by Mr. Tegg was the Old Man- 

 sion House, built by Wren (No 55.) 



On the south side of Queen-square, Bloomsbury, was a house built 

 for the Earl of Newcastle. 



Near the south-west angle of St. Paul's church-yard is another of 

 his mansions. 



Another was in Great Russell-street, Bloomsbury, and also some 

 buildings in Lawrence Pountney Hill (No. 26). 



At Chichester, where he very ingeniously repaired the spire of the 

 cathedral (No. 2), are two houses of red brick, with stone architraves, 

 and a Corinthian modillion cornice. 



A hunting- palace at Newmarket built for Charles II., was also 

 among his designs. 



The entrance and other buildings in Doctors' Commons (No. 34 and 

 62) is anothtr work. 



The counting-house and court-room in Christ's Hospital (No. 10), 

 were built by Command of Charles II. 



At Windsor Castle Sir Christopher built the Star Building about 

 120 feet long, now the Stuart Building. In 1676 he enlarged the 

 North Terrace, and executed other works. A design for an Italian 

 palace is inserted in Wyatville's Illustrations of Windsor Castle. 



He was also employed on the repairs of the Tower and other public 

 buildings, and in erecting a number of buildings iu the city. It may 

 be further observed that most of his churches are enriched with altar 

 pieces, and carved pulpits and fonts executed under his direction. 



DR. PAYERNE AND HIS DIVING-BELL EXPERIMENTS. 



Am announcement was lately sent forth, with a loud flourish of 

 trumpets, that a discovery had been made of vast importance in all 

 sub-aqueous works, by which man would be enabled to surpass the 

 fishes in their natural element, and to live for an indefinite time with- 

 out communication with the atmosphere. Dr. Payerne, the alleged 

 discoverer of the new process for decomposing water in quantities 

 sufficient to support animal life by the resulting oxygen, exhibited his 

 prowess in the diving bell at the Polytechnic Institution to the won- 

 dering company ; and in the presence of several scientific men, re- 

 mained under water, without any supply of air beyond the contents of 

 the bell, upwards of three hours. The Doctor took down with him a 

 bag, supposed to contain the mysterious apparatus by which he was 

 enabled to generate air for the support of life so long under water, 

 and having accomplished this feat, he was looked upon by the ad- 

 miring crowd as a water deity, and the newspapers failed not to pre- 

 dict the most important consequences from the discoveries of this 

 modern Neptune. The experiment having been several times repeated 

 in the diving bell of the Polytechnic Institution, it was determined to 

 bring Dr. Payerne's discovery to the test of practical utility in the 

 operations on the wreck of the Royal George at Spithead. Major 

 General Pasley had promised to afford the opportunity ; accordingly, 

 on the 2nd ult. the experiment was made, and was subsequently re- 

 peated, during which six descents were attempted with various results. 

 A very ample report of the experiments was given in the Times, and 

 in a manner which led to the belief that the account was from autho- 

 rity, and had been furnished by some person who took part in the 

 proceedings. The report is too long to copy entire ; we must, there- 

 fore, be satisfied with a summary of the two days' adventures at Spit- 

 head, culling here and there, from the original, passages which evi- 

 dently show, notwithstanding the care taken to produce an opposite 

 impression, the failure of Dr. Payerne's mysterious apparatus to afford 

 facilities in submarine undertakings, so far at least as these experi- 

 ments may be considered the test of its value. 



In the introductory allusion to Dr. Payerne's previous experiments, 

 it is stated that Major General Pasley, after having witnessed the 

 Doctor's " performances " at the Polytechnic Institution, still enter- 

 tained great doubts whether the apparatus would be equally efficient 

 at Spithead ; " for, " as he told the Doctor," though he was satisfied that 

 he could produce good air at any depth, the pressure of from 12 to 15 

 fathoms of water at the bottom of the anchorage at Spithead would 

 compress the air in a diving bell so much, that though men might 

 exi t in it, they would not be able to work to advantage, being nearly 

 up to their necks in water." 



We must suppose that the reporter is here in error, for he repre- 

 sents General Pasley to be egregiously ignorant of the commonest law 

 of pneumatics, and of notorious facts connected with the use of the 



