Page:Suggestions on the Arrangement and Characteristics of Parish Churches.djvu/30

30 has, in this as in many other instances, shown admirable skill in meeting the demands of modern usages, sanctioned by the Church, by the manner in which he has provided for the confessionals in St. George's, London; they are built into and project from the walls of the Church, between the buttresses: so that they are as permanent and as undisguised as any portion of the fabric; and so far are they from interfering with the effect of the building, that they actually contribute to its adornment. This was precisely the course adopted by the mediæval architects, with similar results; they fearlessly complied with what propriety and convenience dictated, treating effect as a secondary consideration: and the consequent fitness of the works produced reality—the first essential to true art.

The pulpit is another object of ecclesiastical furniture, which claims some attention: its use is for exhortation and instruction; it should, therefore, be situated amongst the people to be exhorted and instructed, and should never be introduced to the chancel, which is set apart for actions of Divine worship. In small Churches it may be conveniently placed just outside the chancel arch, upon the Epistle or Gospel side. In larger Churches, that it may be more central, it will require a place lower down in the nave; it may be attached to one of the nave piers, on either the Epistle or Gospel side; the latter is the most appropriate position.

I now approach a part of my subject for which I cannot claim the same importance, or the same high authority, I have claimed for those arrangements which I have just past [sic] under review—I mean the style of architecture to be adopted in our Churches. The authorities for the former