Page:The Building News and Engineering Journal, Volume 22, 1872.djvu/365

 APRIL 26; 1872.’ for the purpose of forming a committee of Leyon- shire and Cornish men, resident in London, to pro- mote a subscription in aid of the restoration of the Cathedral of the Diocese. The meeting was unani- mously in favour of such a committee being formed, and we believe a list of members will shortly be pub- lished. Sauispury Caruzprau.—At a meeting of the Bishop Hamilton memorial committee, held at the Deanery, Salisbury, on the 17th inst., Mr. Bell re- ported that the painting of the choir roof was finished, with the exception of the inscriptions in the scrolls held by the different figures. Mr. G. G. Scott, who was present, was requested to prepare a plan and estimate for the pavement of the choir, as the next work to be undertaken. It was also resoived that the ancient stalls of the choir should be at once cleaned and repaired. Wooxey.—The parish Church of S. Matthew, Wookey, Somerset, an ancient edifice, of which some parts date as far back as the thirteenth century, was reopened, after restoration, on the 16thinst. The restoration of this church has been effected at a cost of £1,700, from designs prepared by Messrs. Giles and Gane. The reredos is of Bath stone, with alabaster panels, representing the Passion. BUILDINGS. Lrreps.—On Tuesday week the foundation-stone of §. Mary’s new National Schools, Leeds, was laid. The new schools are to consist of a school-room for girls, 40ft. by 20ft. (with class-room) ; one for boys, 45ft. by 20ft.; and one for infants, 56ft. by 20ft., both having class-rooms. Altogether, accommodation will be provided for 470 scholars. Residences for schoolmaster and schoolmistress will adjoin. The style of the block will be Domestic Gothic, the buildings being of brick, with stone facings. Mr. Backhouse, South-parade, is the architect; and Messrs. E. Gozzard and Sons have obtained the building contract. The whole of the works are esti- mated to cost £2,400. Renrrew.—The foundation stone of anew Public Hall was laid at Renfrew on Saturday last. Mr. J. J. Lamb, of Paisley is the architect. The style of architecture is a free adaptation of modern French Gothic, with a colouring of Scottish baronial. The principal front presents a facade 70ft. in length, two stories in height, with a massive tower at the north- east corner 21ft. square. It is finished at the angles with corbelled turrets, and rises to a height of 105ft. to the platform of its lofty roof, finished with rich ornamental cresting and finials. The walls of the building are built in the random rubble, so charac- teristic of old Scotch buildings. The projections are bold, and the mouldings are deeply relieved. A massive. cornice, supported by moulded corbels, runs completely round the building, and this is surmounted by a parapet, pierced with circular and cusped openings. The high French roof rises above this to a height of 20ft. The Public Hall is on the first floor, is 65ft. long and 41ft. wide, and will be seated for about 800 people. eee LAND AND BUILDING SOCIETIES. Tur LonpdoN WorxinG Men’s PERMANENT Buripine Socrety.—A meeting was held on Thurs- day week, at the rooms of the late S. Thomas’s Hos- pital, London Bridge, for the purpose of inaugurating “The London Working Men’s Permanent Building Society,” the principal feature of which is the sub- Seription being fixed at one penny weekly per share, so as to bring the beneficial operations of building societies within the reach of all. The Bishop of Winchester, who presided, was compelled by the pressure of diocesan business to leave at an early Stage of the proceedings, the chair being then occu- pied by Colonel Beresford, M.P., supported by a large number of clergy and gentlemen interested in the movement. There was a numerous attendance of the working classes, and a large number of shares was taken up. TUNBRIDGE PERMANENT BeneErit Buicpine Socrety.—The third annual mecting of this society was held on Monday week. One hundred and one and a half shares have been taken during the past year The balance in favour of the society was £362 8s. 8d The assets were £6,984 13s. 1d., amounts due from borrowers in 123 shares, and £181 19s. 5d. balance at bankers. Thereport was adopted. . SUTTON AND Hast SurREY Buiipine Socrery.— The annual general meeting of this society was held on Wednesday week. The balance sheet read by the Secretary showed the receipts for the year to be £4,235. The three retiring directors, Messrs. Bailey, Baines, and Potter were unanimously re-elected. ——_>—__ The parish church of Frating, Essex, has been re- opened, after restoration by Mr. J. Grimes, builder, of Colchester, from designs by Mr. C. F. Hayward. THE BUILDING NEWS. TO CORRESPONDENTS. [We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions of our correspondents. The Editor respectfully requests that all communications should be drawn up as briefly as possible, as there are many claimants upon the space allotted to correspondence.) To OUR RBADERS.— We shall feel obliged to any of our readers who will favour us with brief notes of works con- templated or in progress in the provinces. Letters relating to advertisements and the ordinary business of the Paper should be addressed to the EDITOR, 31, TAVISTOCK-STREET, COVENT-GARDEN, W.C. Advertisements for the current week must reach the office not later than 5 p.m. on Thursday. TO AMERICAN SUBSCRIBERS. t= American Subscribers, especially when renewing their subscriptions, are particularly requested to advise the Publisher of the transmission of the Post-Office Order, and the exact amount for which it is made payable. In answer to numerous inquiries, the Publisher begs to state that subscribers in the United States can be supplied with the BUILDING NEWS, post free from this Office, for the sum of 17s. 4d. (4 dols. 16c., gold) per annum, payable in advance. The remittance should, in all cases, be made by International Post-office Order. RECEIVvVED.—Non-Suecess.—O. W. Y.—W. V.—J. H— V. & Son.—J. B. 8.—A. R. & Co.—J. P.—C. H. H.—A. T. —S. T.—W. B.—J. & E. G—A. H.—R. S. & Co.—W. T. & Sons—R. L.—C. P. E.—O. & H.—W. H. L. “A VERY PARTICULAR COMPETITOR.”—You might as well haye asked for information before you offered observations. The name of the successful com- petitor for mansion was put in after the drawing was on the stone. No one knew who the authors were before the letters containing the names were opened, It is the same with the photo.-lithographs this week. We received instructions to insert the name of the author just before going to press. The arbitration was in every way absolutely impartial. Cur Bono.—See our note to Mr. Cochrane's letter. COURAGE AND PERSEVERANCE.—The drawing was con- sidered as a villa. A COMPETITOR.—We have consulted the referees about your suggestion as to pointing out the merits and demerits of all the competitive plans sent in, and they think it is unadvisable to do it, as such criticisms could only be serviceable to the competitors themselves, and not to the mass of our readers. Suppose ien or a dozen lines were devoted to your plan, what good would that be to all the other readers of the BUILDING News? B. Y.—Drawing accepted. ~ -~< - Correspondence, > THE NOVA SCOTIAN STYLE OF ARCHITECTURE. To the Editor of the Butrpinc News. Srr,—I have read with some consternation, not unmingled with amusement, a letter in your last im- pression, signed by a gentleman from Nova Scotia (I don’t know where that is, as I have never been there), intimating that he is going to abolish me, and invent a new style of architecture (probably, by re- versing the order of nature, and turning the force of gravity the other way). But he admits having made the novel discovery that styles of architecture are not invented as easily as he could make a pair of boots, and he says:— “ Pirstly.—The general idea seems to be that the style (the “new ” one) cannot be entirely original, but must have a nucleus of some other style round which to form and grow, and that this style must be Gothic.” Considering the centuries of labour and thought ex- pended upon my development by my great and noble godfathers in many lands during the middle ages, it seems but reasonable, even to your correspondent at Nova Scotia, that some foundation should exist upon which to base his “new style;” but why he calls me “ Gothic,” I know not, and I think I deserve a better name than that, after so faithfully serving the countries of Northern Europe for so many cen- turies, and growing, to the edification and glory of my middle-age protectors, into the finest architecture the world has ever seen. But the gentleman from Nova Scotia goes on, with an adroitness which cannot be too highly commended, to speak of ‘ semi-circular openings,” and says, that according to Mr. Roger Smith, ‘‘the bent of modern European taste is in- clined in this direction.” Ido not for a moment deny that the bent of modern European taste inclines a good deal, and if not well buttressed, will soon come to the ground altogether. Mr. Pugin (the great) used to say that I was better constructed, and more beautiful, and more applicable to all positions, than my semi-circular great grandfather ; but opinion seems to be changing. Things are not as they used to be when I was a boy in the twelfth century. People then built on the foundation of truth and common sense, embellishing their unrivalled con- struction with unrivalled sculpture and beauty of detail ; but in days when your “Experienced Work- 343 [Heeb ” has so completely (to-his own satisfaction) exploded the antiquated theory that the natural grain of wood is preferable to a paltry imitation, and when stone and bank notes alike can be forged so as to defy detection, I can scarcely hope to see much of the spirit that animated those who deve- loped me in all my glory. But your correspondent speaks of “ circular tran- septs and roofs.” I don’t know what these can be, but I daresay he does. Then he proceeds quietly to appropriate my “best detail, no matter where bor- rowed from,” just as I have heard that modern men appropriate to themselves watches and trinkets after taking the lives of their owners with what they call a “life preserver.” I don’t call this fair, as my “best detail” is my own; and the Nova Scotia gentleman would scarcely like his detail, or any pro- minent part thereof, such as arms, legs, or ears, “borrowed” from him to grace a wax figure, after his life had been beaten out of him by a modern “reformer.” But he goes on “fourthly” to ‘‘forbid” me al- together for ‘‘ openings,” but says I must “occupy a subordinate position, such as forming the label to a round arched opening, and other similar ways.” What he may mean by occupying “other similar ways,” I don’t know, as there were no School Boards when I was young; but I can understand him when he goes quietly on to knock my legs from under me, in other words, to ‘“‘disestablish” buttresses, ‘* be- cause in nine cases out of ten, in modern buildings, they are useless.” This is the only part of his letter that reconciles me to my fate, but I most sincerely pity my semi-circular grandfather, who requires even more buttressing than I do. “ Seventhly,” says the reformer, ‘‘ Tracery may be allowed.” Many thanks; but if I am to be con- demned to death, please let me be decently buried, and not have the mortification of ‘revisiting the glimpses of the moon” to find your correspondent and other gentlemen fitting the most comely parts of my dead body into his ‘‘round spires” and ‘ other similar ways.” I think your correspondent bids fair to keep his promise of ‘ avoiding their errors” —viz., those of my later guardians af the fifteenth century, and I must congratulate him upon being so safe from imitating anything about them. When he gets to “eighthly,” your Nova Scotia inventor, I think, is un— necessarily facetious, for after abolishing me alto— gether, he proposes (perhaps only to frighten me) to add insult to injury by turning me inside out: no doubt on the same principle that actuated another young gentleman to cut open the bellows to see where the wind came from. But, I confess my limited power of discernment breaks down altogether when he follows up the ‘‘ inside-out ” scheme by the astounding statement that ‘“‘the people who sat in the aisles would then go to the gallery,” &c. I can- not, for the life of me, see that it follows that be= cause a man sits in an aisle he will necessarily ‘‘ go to the gallery,” which may mean something profane for anything I know. But at last I come to a statement the truth of which must be obvious to the meanest capacity—yviz., “it,” meaning, I presume, his scheme—“ would distin- guish churches from those of any preceding age.” The simplicity of this statement, combined with its obvious truth, must recommend it to the careful study of the disciples of the new school of which your correspondent is the leader; and, notwithstand- ing the comparative vagueness of the “‘it,” I cannot help admiring the candour of the admission. One word about the ‘‘new style”’—that ‘* Will-o- the-wisp” that tempts distinguished authors on ar- chitecture to criticise plans they have never seen, and te presume upon their names as historians to attack great men who are laboriously and eonscien- tiously giving their lives and skill to that which must be dear to the heart of every true Englishman —viz., the development and adaptation to modern wants of the great school of English (not ‘* Gothic ”) architecture. The Nova Scotia gentleman quotes Mr. Fergusson, and says:—‘ While no one is better qualified by the extent of their (sic) knowledge of architecture to give a decided opinion on the subject, we find that even he (the infallible Fergusson) is afraid to speak decidedly and deliberately in favour of one style, or one way of forming a style.” Having clearly shown that Mr. Fergusson has displayed the wonderful extent of his architectural knowledge, by “ disliking ” one thing, and “ not thinking much” of another, your correspondent naively admits that Mr. Fergusson wisely abstains from enlightening the world on the subject of the great secret of the ‘new style,” and the kind of cloth out of which he would cut it with his historical scissors. Sir, my growth was too gradual, too universal, (1 had almost said) too solemn and grand, and the monuments with which I have embellished the earth are too great and loyely to be understood by the in-