'4 



NATURE 



[July 6, 191 1 



now arrived when some modification of that boundary 

 [that oi 1899] should be made." 



rhi "Correspondence" goes on to say: — 



"There can be no doubt that, whatever shape the 

 new Science Museum may ultimately take, ii will be 

 necessary to build up to the boundary line, and it is 

 probable that, in order to safeguard both the Science 

 Museum and the Natural History Museum from fire, 

 and to lay out the ground to the best advantage, it 

 may be necessary to construct a road, to be used 

 privately between the two buildings." 



In later "Correspondence" (Cd. 5673, p. 3) a block 

 plan is given in which the revised boundary is indi- 

 cated by the proposed road. 



This proposed road, if constructed, involves the 



proposed to construct the new private road for the 

 special purposes of the Science Museum. This new 

 road will have to run from Exhibition Road to Queen's 

 Gate, a distance of 1170 feet, and will absorb ~at least 

 three-quarters of an acre of ground. The architects of 

 the Imperial Institute and the Imperial College be- 

 tween them absorbed three acres in their new road 

 running between the same termini. 



It must be pointed out that the proposed new road 

 will run parallel to, and only fifty feet away from, the 

 existing road, which has served the purposes of the 

 Natural History Museum for the last thirty years. 

 Curiously enough, this road is not shown on the block 

 plan. 



Even a Quartermaster-General proud of his depart- 



IMPERIAL 



post a 



METEOROLOGICAL 

 OFFICES 



COMMON , ROAD 



LJ 





NATURAL HI STO R Y 

 MUSEUM 



_r 



Fig. 3. 



200 



) of the existing road and spirit museum building. 



destruction oi the building of the spirit museum. It 

 is the inflammable nature of the contents of this 

 building which has been objected to, and not the 

 building itself, which might from its position be con- 

 veniently applied to many uses for one or both 

 museums. 



This action of the Government in changing the 

 boundary has withdrawn the one and a half "acres 

 additional land included in the boundary in 1899; but 

 that still leaves the Trustees in possession of twelve 

 and a half acres, two and a half times what was 

 asked for in 1869 by their responsible officer to pr< 

 for a thirty years' expansion. 



The newly defined frontier is really the old line of 

 fence erected in 1SS1. to the north' of which it is 

 NO. 2175, VOL. 87] 



mint would scarcely recommend the construction of 

 two parallel roads fifty feet apart, especially where 

 every square foot of space is so precious and is being 

 so hotly contested. 



The question arises whether the existing road is 

 not really the best boundary. This I referred to in 

 my letter to The Times of May 30. It would serve 

 the purposes of the two museums as regards fire pre- 

 cauiions and other matters; no sacrifice of space for 

 a new road, no breaking up of frontages, and no 

 destruction of the spirit museum would be necessary. 



Further, the existing road when the boundary was 



thus established could be made to em body 



spirit museum, which might remain for use as 



offices, workshops, or other convenient use, in a 



