Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 5.djvu/323

 10* s. v. APRIL 7, 1906.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

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garet's they are not nearly so numerous. There are many rumours of impending changes, but at present they are beyond the scope of this note. The Government offices in Parliament Street, at the corner of Great George Street and extending to Charles Street, were at the close of 1905 still being proceeded with, but much work remains to be done, and a considerable period must elapse before they are complete. It is said the progress, if apparently slow, has been upon the whole satisfactory, when the magni- tude of the work is considered. On the Victoria Embankment, and for some distance down the private road leading to Derby Street, is a building for offices. The ground and first floors will be used by the police authorities, the first floor being connected with New Scotland Yard by an archway over the road.

To St. Margaret's folk perhaps the most interesting work has bee^i the enlargement of the old parish church, by the rebuilding of the east wall of the nave about six feet further east, the cleaning and reloading of the fine old east window, and various other small but necessary works. The wall had become in a very bad condition, and experts have stated that if this work had been de- layed for another ten years the probabilities are that the whole of the east end would, through sheer decay, have fallen. The work was begun on 31 July, and the progress made by the end of December warranted the statement that it was hoped the window would be completed by the time that Parlia- ment assembled and this was the case. The effect is very fine, for the beauties of the window will be better seen, it having been raised about five feet, and the extra room gained in the chancel will enable greater dignity to be given to the services, both on Sundays and on special occasions.

In Tothill Street, upon a portion of the site where the Royal Aquarium formerly stood, there has been erected a large building, to be known as Caxton House, which is intended to be devoted to offices. It was nearing com- pletion at the end of the year. In Great Chapel Street the ground has been cleared from Members' Mansions to the corner of Dacre Street. A start was made in June with No. 18, which had been in the occu- pation of the Scudamore family since 1795, the resident at that time being the uncle of the late proprietor's great-great- grandfather. The grandfather, Thomas Scudamore, was a well-known parish man, who (as may be seen by ray l Notes on the Churchwardens of St. Margaret's, Westmin-

ster,' published in The Westminster and Pim- lico News from 30 September to 18 November, 1904) served as overseer in 1855-6-7, the same office being held in 1877-8-9, by hi* son Walter Moseley Scudamore, who became churchwarden in 1883-4. Both these gentle- men were assiduous vestrymen, working with great zeal for the good of the parish.

Nos. 26 and 27, Great Chapel Street have also been demolished. The former house was long in the occupation of Mr. George Barber, a clothier, and No. 27 was tenanted by Mr. Edwin Hearn, a dealer in old furniture and antiques generally. They are both deceased, but are remembered in Westminster as having been good citizens. Both were on the vestry for many years, and assisted in numerous parochial reforms.

The building in the Sanctuary vacated by the National Society has been taken over by the Middlesex County Council, and has been adapted to the use of several of its departments notably the Education Office is located here, so that the old building is not divorced from the objects with which it has so long been connected.

Some additions to the Archbishop's House and Clergy House attached to the Roman Catholic Cathedral have been completed. Close by, in Buckingham Cottages, Nos. 15* and 17 to 20 were empty, and ready for demolition, as the ground upon which they stand is to be devoted to a new street, to be called Stillington Street, running from- Rochester Row to Francis Street. Premises at the corner of Coburg Row, formerly ire the occupation of the Auxiliary Army and Navy Supply, Limited, were pulled down, and the land will be utilized for the same scheme. In York Street Niagara Hall has lost its identity, for it has become the property of theWolseley Tool and Motor-Car Company. The old hall was long a feature in London, being the home of one of the best panoramas ever painted, and latterly a fashionable skating rink.

Here the record for last year must, I think, come to an end ; but should the list of changes be found to be incomplete or wrong, in detail, correction will be welcome.

W. E. HARLAND-OXLEY.

Westminster.

SHAKESPEARIAXA.
 * MACBETH,' I. iii. 90-1 :

And when he reades Thy personall Venture in the Rebels fight.

Liddell ("Elizabethan Edition") explains " reads " as meaning "infers." The king had'