1842.J 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'SPOURNAL. 



339 



facility quite as much as Mr. Barry, why then, in the name of common 

 sense, do they not do so at once, and deliver us from such specimens 

 of Italian, as the City Club-house ? And why do they not adopt the 

 same with regard to Grecian architecture, and deliver us from the 

 mawkish and spiritless schoolboy copies of it that are now served up 

 to us ad nmtseam ? The reason why what is apparently so easy is 

 not done, is perhaps that the taste requisite for accomplishing it is want- 

 ing. And I fully agree with "Admirer," when he ascribes so much to 

 that natural taste which can neither be learnt nor unlearnt; cordially, also, 

 do I assent to his opinion, that quite as much depends upon the spirit 

 and taste with which a style is treated, as upon the style itself. — But 

 it is time to conclude this long letter, and I will, therefore, merely add 

 that I wish "Admirer" bad distinctly speci6ed the particular parties or 

 their works, to whom he alludes with so much approbation as "examples 

 of design in distant parts of England." And as this letter will, no 

 doubt, meet his eye, I hope it will induce him to do so now, for most 

 happy shall I be to leain that there are productions of very great 

 merit, which are as yet hardly known even by reputation in this part 

 of the kingdom. 



I remain, &c., 



THE AUTHOR OF THE ARTICLE ON THE 



THREADNEEDLE STREET STRUCTURE. 



REVIE^VS. 



Architectural Illustrations of Windsor Castle, By Michael Gakby 

 and Benjamin Baud, Architects, inih a Concise Historical and 

 Jlrchteclural Account, by John Brittox, F.S.A., author of ^^Archi- 

 tectural and Cathedral Antiquilies," "Dictionary of Architecture," 

 Sfc. Folio, 40 plates. London, lS-12. 



Now that it is completed, or rather brought to a conclusion — a very 

 great deal that would have been the most interesting of all as graphic 

 illustration, and perfectly new to the public, being left altogether un- 

 touched — and now that we have the letter-press before us, we can speak 

 of this second work on Windsor Castle more decidedly than when our 

 notice was confined to some of the plates during its progress. What- 

 ever be its deficiencies in other respects in regard to illustrations, it 

 gives us one which was neither promised, nor is even now mentioned 

 in the list of engravings, one for which we were so totally unprepared 

 that it made us stare ; and no doubt our readers will stare too when 

 told that it is no other than au illustration of — "Benjamin Baud, ar- 

 chitect " — and as it would seem, Hit architect of Windsor Castle, a large 

 view of the building being introduced at his elbow. This is certainly 

 original — perhaps «»j5£« /or/, and what most people may consider a 

 piece of puppyism; at any rate it is calculated to call forth comments 

 and remarks, not very likely to be altogether agreeable to the gentle- 

 man who has hit upon a notable method of advertising himself. If 

 there was to be the portrait of any one at all, it should most assuredly 

 have been that of Sir Jeffry Wyatville — of the individual who 

 remodelled the Castle, and gave it its present form and character— of 

 the architectural composer and performer, not of his "bellows-blower" ! 

 Or is there something more in the matter than meets the eye ? — is it preg- 

 nant with a meaning that might not be expressed otherwise than thus 

 hieroglyphically ? Can it be intended as a delicate insinuation to the 

 effect that the designs for the alteration of the Castle, hitherto attributed 

 solely to Sir Jeffry, emanated from Mr. Baud, and that it was he who 

 furnished his employer with ideas for his grand work? It is possible, 

 because such things have happened ere now; for, as his friend Mr. 

 Britton can tell him, works have been given to the public under the 

 names of parties who were only their ostensible authors, the real 

 authors being kept out of sight,'behind the scenes along with other 

 lumber. In the literary world, it is no very uncommon practice for 

 tnose who have a name worth borrowing, to lend it — or rather to sell 

 it to publications they never wrote— probably never read. There are 

 tricks in all trades; why not then in architecture as well as in author- 

 ship ? why may not "the truly estimable Sir Jettry Wyatville," as Mr. 

 Britton here calls him, have, if not sold his name to, have purchased 

 of Mr. Baud, services very far more important than those usually ex- 

 pected from an architect's assistant? Strange and ugly suspicions come 

 across us ; and so far from being removed, they are rather confirmed 

 by another circumstance in this very remarkable portrait, which, 

 though not exactly an architectural illustration, may be intended to 

 throw some light upon a matter in regard to which the public has 

 hitherto been kept entirely in the dark. What we allude to is the 

 plan of the "West of London and Westminster Cemetery," which is 

 also introduced as one of the accessories or "by-play" touches in the 

 portrait. Now that is avowedly the production of Mr. Baud— one 



which few in the profession will envy him the creait of,however they 

 may envy him the job — therefore the juxtaposition of the two subjects, 

 the Cemetery and the Castle, expresses as clearly as can be done in 

 painting, that both are productions of the same genius. 



If such be not the meaning, what meaning at all can there be ? Is 

 it merely a piece of waggish mystification on the part of Benjamin 

 and his painter? or shall we say that the thrusting in his portrait at 

 all into the work has no other signification than as a sign of Benjamin's 

 conceit? Be that as it may, ice have no particular cause to object to 

 its appearance, since it has served in lieu of other proem; and al- 

 though it has detained us rather long, it is quite as pertinent, quite as 

 much to the point, as introductions to articles of criticism generally 

 are ; not very much more rigmarole, not altogether so hackneyed, and 

 probably a degree or two less dull. Possibly, too, what we have said 

 may lead some one to take up his pen, and favour us with a volume, 

 or at least an essay, of "Historic Doubts" as to whether Windsor 

 Castle was the work of Jeft'ry Wyatville or Benjamin Baud. 



We DOW turn at once to the architectural illustrations themselves, 

 which are certainly very satisfactory as far as they go, and of a more 

 popular character than those in Mr. Ashton's work, because a great 

 many of them are pictorial and perspective views, consequently pos- 

 sess greater interest for persons in general than geometrical drawings, 

 to which the other work is confined, and which, to those who perfectly 

 understand them and properly value them, are in themselves most 

 indispensable and important of all, but do not always convey sufficient 

 idea of the effect of a building so represented; more especially when, 

 like Windsor Castle, it happens to be a complex and extensive pile, com- 

 posed of parts and masses receding from or advancing before each 

 other, in a manner intelligible enough from the ground plan, but never- 

 theless requiring to be distinctly expressed to the eye, perspectively. 

 While the want of delineations of the last-mentioned kind as accom- 

 paniments to the strictly architectural drawings has rendered many 

 publications wholly unattractive except for those who make use of them 

 as studies ; many graphic works — of first-rate merit as such — are by no 

 means so valuable as they would be, were some geometrical explanations 

 of the subjects they contain, introduced into them. In this respect these 

 illustrations of Windsor Castle are got up in a judicious manner, for 

 not only is there a series of elevations showing the whole of the 

 exterior, but also several plates of details and parts at large. But 

 then, there is one most unaccountable omission, which detracts very 

 materially indeed from the serviceableness of the work, there being 

 not a single ground plan, not even of the principal floor, consequently 

 the book is strangely incomplete, since no information whatever is 

 now to be obtained from it relative to the internal arrangement of the 

 building, the accommodations provided in it, the disposition, form, or 

 size of the various apartments, their respective names and purposes, 

 and the manner in which they are either connected and made to com- 

 municate with, or cut off from each other — particulars highly im- 

 portant to be understood, and which, in this case, would hardly be 

 passed over with indifference even by those who would bestow scarcely 

 any attention upon plans in general. 



If the omission was entirely owing to oversight, it was very strange ; 

 if on the contrary, an intentional one stranger still, and utterly inex- 

 plicable ; nor is such omission rendered at all less glaring by the 

 thrusting into the work such a very superflous "illustration" as is the 

 portrait — of one, too, who is not the most illustrious in his profession. 

 Gladly would we, and most others also, we suspect, give that, and 

 not that alone, but one or two of the other subjects in exchange for a 

 plan of the castle, more especially as there are one or two subjects of 

 comparatively very little value. There, is, it is true, what is well 

 enough in its way, and very acceptable in itself, namely an oittline 

 block, or situation's plan of the castle and the buildings immediately 

 connected with if, yet that shows only the external arrangement, and 

 what might be tolerably well comprehended from the views. If 

 therefore we wish to ascertain how the interior of the castle is laid 

 out, and what alterations and improvements Sir Jeftry introduced into 

 it, so as to render it more habitable than it was before, we must have 

 recourse to Mr. Ashton's work, which gives not only detailed plans of 

 the whole of it in its present state, but others showing what it was 

 previously to the late alterations and additions. It is evident from 

 them that the architect had neither few nor small difficulties to con- 

 tend with, and it was, perhaps, rather fortunate than otherwise, upon 

 the whole that such was the case, since had it not been for them, he 

 would probably have missed some of the very best points in the plan, to 

 which he was driven in order to get over those obstacles. There certainly 

 are not only some novel, but some striking and happily-contrived 

 parts within the Castle ; nor is it in the least degree unreasonable, 

 therefore, if we make it a complaint against both the publications 

 which are devoted to the subject, and against the present one more 

 particularly, that they have done nothing to gratify our curiosity 



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