July 29, 1922] 



NATURE 



George IV. 's Library was afterwards purchased, the 

 Quarterly Revieto spitefully remarking that women's 

 looks were the only books His Majesty required. The 

 present building was designed by Sir Robert Smirke. 

 It was commenced in 1846 and cost 800,000/., an 

 amount which is worth remembering in view of the 

 fanciful estimates of the cost of housing the University 

 of London on the adjoining site. The dome of the 

 library is said to be the largest in the world, with the 

 exception of the Pantheon at Rome. The north exten- 

 sion is a recent addition of great architectural dignity. 



The next most important building in Bloomsbury 

 is undoubtedly University College in Gower Street, 

 founded in 1826 to afford " literary and scientific 

 education at a moderate expense." Tom Campbell, 

 the poet, and Lord Brougham share the credit for its 

 foundation. Campbell, in his letter to the Times, 

 suggested that a number of the " middling gentry " 

 in London would be prepared to pay 50Z. to furnish 

 the inside of their skulls, that being the amount 

 willingly paid for a full-bottomed periwig for external 

 adornment. The College was nicknamed Brougham's 

 "patent omnibus" as a play on the motto Patens 

 omnibus Seientia. From the first, however, the ideals 

 of the College were high and comprehensive. " May 

 God," prayed H.R.H. the Duke of Sussex in laying the 

 foundation stone on April 30, 1827 — it should be noted 

 that the centenary of this auspicious event is rapidly 

 approaching — " bless the undertaking which we have 

 so happily commenced, and make it prosper for the 

 honour, happiness, and glory, not only of the metropolis, 

 but of the whole country." This odour of sanctity 

 was short-lived, for the Church party stigmatised the 

 institution as the " Godless College," and established 

 King's College in the Strand as an antidote. Never- 

 theless, the Duke's prayer has been answered ; the 

 bare fact of the inclusion of Lister's name in the list of 

 distinguished alumni would be sufficient proof. After 

 the ceremony the company dined together at the 

 Freemasons' Tavern, thus establishing an early 

 tradition of good-fellowship. The beautiful buildings, 

 with the characteristic portico and graceful cupola, 

 were designed by William Wilkins, the architect of the 

 National Gallery. 



The College is not included in the photograph, but 

 to the north of the British Museum are to be seen the 

 four plots recently purchased by the Government for 

 the new headquarters of the University of London. 

 The whole of Torrington Square and parts of Russell 

 and Woburn Squares also belong to the University 

 site of 1 1 J acres, to which it is proposed to move King's 

 College also in the fulness of time. This is not the 

 occasion to attempt even the briefest summary of the 

 controversy which has raged round this question during 

 the past eleven years. One point is, however, pertinent, 

 as it is illustrated by the photograph. It has been 

 charged against the site that its division into four plots 

 is a great disadvantage. Could it not be urged with 

 equal force that this is one of its greatest advantages ? 

 The four plots will permit of the construction of a 

 group of well-lighted and ventilated buildings, with 

 numerous entrances and appropriate purposes. The 

 alternative of a mammoth single building would in- 

 evitably suffer from defects of lighting and ventilation, 

 and would cause endless annoyance through the waste 



no. 2752, vol. no] 



of time involved in pacing long corridors. The modern 

 civic university must be, literally and figuratively, 

 on the street rather than in some secluded grove. As 

 will be seen, one of the plots is occupied by some 

 wooden buildings, which have been acquired by the 

 University Union Society from the Young Men's 

 Christian Association as a temporary home. Immedi- 

 ately to the north is the University Institute of Histori- 

 cal Research, established last year for the benefit of 

 students pursuing their investigations at the British 

 Museum, the Public Record Office, and other archives. 

 There they will come " to discuss their problems and 

 results, and to receive that oral guidance for which 

 they are properly debarred in libraries and manuscript 

 departments." The Institute includes departments 

 for English and Colonial history, naval and military 

 history, the history of London, and of various foreign 

 countries, and palaeography. The plan is admittedly 

 " opportunist rather than ideal," but the Institute 

 may serve as a model and forerunner of numerous 

 University Institutes for special studies. Between 

 the wooden buildings and Gower Street is the site of 

 the new Institute of Public Health to be established 

 by the Rockefeller Foundation. 



Bloomsbury has many interesting associations, as 

 the plaques fixed to its houses testify. These are 

 mostly literary or artistic, but occasionally scientific. 

 At the Bedford Square end of Gower Street is the house 

 where Cavendish, the chemist and philosopher, lived 

 for some years. The house became packed with books 

 and apparatus, and another in Dean Street, Soho, was 

 taken as a library. When Cavendish wanted a book 

 he signed a formal receipt. Enormously- wealthy, he 

 made no use of his money. His daily fare consisted 

 of legs of mutton ; and it is said that when his servant 

 informed him that the one leg of mutton in the house 

 would not be sufficient for the company, Cavendish 

 instructed him to get another. Such simple direct 

 answers to difficult questions are the acid test of great- 

 ness. We read also that Cavendish gave to Humphry 

 Davy some bits of platinum for his experiments, and 

 visited him to see the results of his experiments on the 

 decomposition of the alkalis. He died in 1810. 



While the Bloomsbury landlady, to whom respectful 

 tribute has already been paid, remains extant, the 

 district, as a whole, is rapidly changing in character. 

 Russell Square and Bedford Square and the adjoining- 

 streets provide accommodation for a large number of 

 learned and other societies of an academic character, 

 and for several teaching institutions connected with 

 the University of London, in addition to those already 

 mentioned. The district is favoured by foreign con- 

 sulates, the legal, architectural, and other professions, 

 and by business concerns for administrative purposes. 

 It certainly offers many attractions in its " wholesome 

 and pleasant air," its nearness to the great railway 

 termini, its dignity and traditions, its faint historical 

 aroma, its spacious squares and wide streets. As 

 London grows, a process which continues without rest 

 or abatement, the importance of its central areas must 

 be accentuated for all public and private purposes 

 involving the visitation or meeting together of people 

 from the environs of the city. Therefore, whatever 

 its detractors may allege, the future of Bloomsbury 

 is assured. 



