Page:All the Year Round - Series 2 - Volume 1.djvu/238

 shores of the Thames from foul mud and abominations of all sorts, of embanking the noble river, and, by narrowing the channel, and causing the stream to flow between granite walls, at once to purify it and to beautify the metropolis with handsome quays, that might challenge comparison with those of Paris and other great continental cities. What such an embankment would really be like; how much land would remain at disposal after providing for quays and roads; questions such as these had never presented themselves to the public mind. The scheme was in nubibus. The vague prospects of the Embankment at that time would have prevented it taking its place in the consideration of the question of sites for the new Courts, even if there had been any idea of its capabilities. But, in 1862 the Embankment Act was passed, and the work having been pushed on with singular vigour and rapidity, we now find ourselves in possession of, perhaps, the finest river-side work known in any age or any country.

But, besides the Embankment itself, there is a very large area of land, partly unoccupied, partly occupied by buildings of by no means a superior class, lying between Somerset House and the Temple, and which must inevitably be turned to some purpose that shall be worthy of the magnificence of the great work just accomplished. The buildings along the Embankment must be worthy of the Embankment itself. And here seems to be the solution of the question; here seems to be the escape from the difficulties and inconveniences of Carey-street.

The Thames Embankment appears to be the place of all others for the Palace of Justice; had the Embankment been planned with that view alone, it could not have been more singularly appropriate for the purpose. Let us see how the case stands as between Carey-street and the newly proposed site.

The land already taken north of the Strand has cost, as we have seen, eight hundred thousand pounds; in the event of that site being abandoned, the difference in the cost of the two sites will simply be the difference between what we have spent and what we could get for the land we have bought with the money. The estimated cost of the Carey-street site is a million and a half; the cost of the Thames Embankment and Strand site is estimated at a like amount; if it be argued that the latter estimate may go as far wrong as the original estimate of 1865 as touching the Carey-street site, it must be remembered that a large portion of the Embankment site is already waste land, and that the estimate for the buildings to be taken is at least as likely to be correct as the estimate of seven hundred thousand pounds, for which the commissioners now ask to purchase what they consider necessary for the completion of the Carey-street site. The new Courts will probably cost about the same amount, wherever they are built; so the only question to be dealt with financially, is, what is likely to be the loss on the property already acquired? That this would be a formidable amount we do not believe. The land is very valuable, and useful for many purposes, and it would be greatly improved in value if a street were run from the Embankment by way of Essex-street, and through the land we have bought, to Lincoln's-inn-fields which again could be brought into direct communication with Holborn by a very short additional street. This thoroughfare would be publicly useful, and whether it be made at present or no, some such plan must very shortly be adopted to secure that direct communication between Holborn, the Strand, and the river, which does not exist, and which is greatly needed. The question of cost, therefore, need not greatly alarm the most sensitive tax-payer.

The Embankment site contains two acres more land than its rival, which is ample space for all the accommodation that can possibly be required; with this advantage in the matter of space, there are the great and important considerations of light, air, and quiet. Nowhere overlooked; situated by the side of a great tidal river, affording continually a free current of air, and open to the greatest amount of light to be found in dingy London; the buildings might be made most suitable for all the purposes required. The light and air would be so plentiful that the innermost parts of the building would be cheerful and convenient; the space at the architects' disposal would admit of every court, of every room, of every lobby, being built of dimensions sufficient for any emergencies. For it must be remembered that we are to erect a building to stand for centuries, and we should be liberal in providing for the possibly increased requirements that the augmented trade and wealth of years may bring.

The superiority of the Thames site over Carey-street is, however, most overwhelming in the matter of approaches. The Embankment has free communications in every direction, and when the suggested, and necessary, continuation of Essex-street across Lincoln's-inn-fields, is carried out, can be reached from any portion of London with equal ease. The Strand is open on the one side, and the road on the Embankment on the other. The Embankment communicates direct with Westminster and the south-west in one direction, and through the new street from the Mansion House, with the City on the other. Visitors from the south side of London have only to cross Waterloo or Blackfriars Bridge to stand on the main thoroughfare. Steamers and the railway along the river, would bring passengers from all parts of the country to the gates of the Courts, and absolutely no extra traffic whatever need add to the burdens of Fleet-street and Chancery-lane.

A building erected on the Embankment would be surrounded by free air, would be seen on all sides, and would well and worthily complete the decoration and improvement of the river. In Carey-street we should be shut in on all sides, except the Strand. In the