Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 15.djvu/484

Rh 460 MANCHESTER portions of the town. The principal parks so far named were constructed from money obtained by a public subscription in 1846, but the Alexandra Park at Moss Side has been entirely paid for out of the public rates. It has very good ornamental grounds, but owing to the difficulties of the situation the construction has been some what costly. In this connexion may be mentioned the Botanical Gardens, which are situated at Old Trafford, and, although intended chiefly for the subscribers, are open at certain times to the public on liberal terms. Manchester is not remarkable for the number of its public memorials of the dead ; but it possesses some which should not be passed unnoticed. In front of the infirmary are bronze statues of Wellington, Watt, Dalton, and Peel. A bronze statue of Cobden occupies a prominent position in St Ann s Square. The marble statue of the Prince Consort, covered by a Gothic canopy of stone, is placed in Albert Square, in proximity to the town-hall, the enormous proportions of which have the effect cf dwarfing what would otherwise be a striking monument. The most picturesque is the bronze statue of Cromwell, on a huge block of rough granite as pedestal. In the Peel Park are statues of Queen Victoria, the Prince Consort, Sir Robert Peel, and Joseph Brotherton. Plan of Manchester. Public Buildings. There are many fine public buildings in Manchester. Among them may briefly be noticed .the royal infirmary, consisting of three sides of a quadrangle, one of which owes its existence to the benevolence of Jenny Lind, who gave two concerts in order to raise the necessary funds. The institution will accommodate about two hundred and sixty patients. The royal exchange is a fine specimen of Italian architecture, and was erected in 1869 ; the great meeting-hall is one of the largest rooms in England, the ceiling having a clear area, without supports, of 120 feet in width. The exchange is seen at its best on market days (Tuesday and Friday), when representatives from all parts of Lancashire, and indeed of the neighbour ing counties, are earnestly engaged in buying and selling. The assize courts were built in 1864 from designs by Waterhouse. The style is a mixture of Early English and Decorative, and a large amount of decorative art has been expended on the building. The cost was about 100,000. The ISTew Bailey prison, intended for the criminals of Salford hundred, was built (1787) in accord ance with the suggestions of Howard, the prison philan thropist, but in 1868 the present structure, at the rear of the assize courts, was erected. The style of archi tecture is Norman, and the building, which covers 9 acres, cost ,170,000. The city jail is situated in Hyde Pioad. The old town-hall was built in 1832, in imitation