12 
DESCRIPTION OF THE BUILDING. 
Exhibition of 1862, which occupied the whole of the site 
between the Horticultural Gardens and Cromwell Eoad. It 
was at one time thought that a portion, at any rate, of the 
Exhibition buildings could with advantage have been converted 
into a Museum of Natural History. Parliament, however, 
decided against the preservation of any part of these buildings, 
and they were accordingly entirely removed. 
" In designing the present building. Captain Fowke's original 
idea of employing terra-cotta was always kept in view, though 
the blocks were reduced in size, so as to obviate, as far as 
possible, the objection to the employment of this material, 
arising from its liability to twist in burning. For this and 
other reasons the architect abandoned the idea of a Eenais- 
sance building, and fell back on the earlier Eomanesque style 
which prevailed largely in Lombardy and the Ehineland from 
the tenth to the end of the twelfth century. 
" In 1873, a contract was entered into by the Government 
with Messrs. George Baker and Sons, of Lambeth, for the 
erection of the building at a cost of £352,000. Other sub- 
sequent contracts have been entered into by the Treasury, 
especially one for the erection of the towers; which in the 
first instance it was decided to omit. 
Exterior. " On looking at the exterior of the building, one of the first 
points which strikes a spectator is that the site is lower than 
the street. This arises from the fact that the whole surface 
of the ground between the three roads was excavated for the 
Exhibition building of 1862, and it was not thought desirable, 
for economical considerations, to refill the space. The building 
is set back 100 feet from the Cromwell Eoad, and is approached 
by two inclined planes, curved on plan and supported by arches, 
forming carriage-ways. Between the two are broad flights of 
Craigleith stone steps, for the use of those approaching the 
building on foot. The extreme length of the front is 675 feet, 
and the heiglit of the towers is 192 feet. The return fronts, east 
and west, Ijeyond the end pavilions, have not yet been erected.* 
* In judging the appearance of the exterior of the building, it must never 
be forgotten that these fronts are required to complete the design, as the 
externally unsightly brick galleries which run back from the main front, and 
are now con.si)icuous when the Museum is seen from either west or east, are 
intended to be concealed by them. 
