Page:The Building News and Engineering Journal, Volume 22, 1872.djvu/417

 May 17, 1872. THE BUILDING NEWS. 395 thing to their fulness. The only thing that a painter can do is to help the spectator to see them. How much there is to be learned from these wonderful drawings! We cannot all be Turners, or see Nature as he saw it, nor can anybody be taught to draw a line like his, be things ever so systematised ; but one thing every artist can do, and that is, he can do his own work in his own way, and show to the world the individuality of himself and his proper personal power of mind and hand, But this cannot be done by the ‘‘art-manu- facturing” systems of the present time, nor can it be fairly encouraged by any system of monopoly which limits art to afew, even if those few be of the highest. C.B. A. ——_>__— THE LONDON SCHOOL BOARD COMPETITION. h ANY taunts have been levelled against the London School Board for the little it has done since it was called into existence by Act of Parliament. We have good reason for believing that much useful preliminary work has been done towards the completion of an educational machinery for London. One of the matters the Board had to consider in providing new schools was the type of school best adapted to modern London neces- sities. As a means of meeting the want amany- sided competition was invited, and for some weeks past a large number of well-known London architects have been busy in making plans. In the competition already decided for the erection of new schools in Johnson-street, Stepney, on the Prussian system, Mr. T. Roger Smith has been appointed architect. The schools, as designed by him, are intended to accommodate 1,080 children, and the average cost is estimated to be between £8 and £9 per head. ‘The Works Committee of the School Board haye hada consultation with Mr. Roger Smith with reference to a reduc- tion of this expenditure. At the same time the question arose whether it might not be possible to build for a larger number of children upon the site, which is one of two blocks where the Board have decided to provide accommodation for 2,500 in all. The result has been that Mr. Roger Smith sees his way to the erection of a school for 1,500 children upon the present site, which consists of half an acre, at the cost of about £7 10s. per head. This figure is due in great measure to the large class-room which the Board gaye direction should be provided. If the school had been built upon the ordinary system, it would have provided accommodation for 1,817 children, at the average cost of £6 3s. per child. The drawings sent inin limited competition for the erection of schools on six other sites are on view to-day and to-morrow, at the rooms of the Sunday School Union in the Old Bailey. Six architects were invited to compete in each case, the Board nominating a seventh in case any of the six declined. Their names are as follows:—For the Old Castle-street site, Messrs. T. W. Aldwinckle, Ki. Biven, F. Chambers, Habershon & Brock, K. C. Robins, and J. Tarring & Son. For the Battersea-road site, Messrs. W. G. Coldwell, R. W. Edis, G. G, Stanham, R. Plumbe, J. ‘Toner, and W. Teulon. For the Kendal- street, Hatcham, site, Messrs. J. Gale, J. Giles, Chas. Hayward, J. P. Seddon, E. W. Tarn, and Ladds & Powell, the last mentioned being nominated in place of Mr. G. G. Scott, who declined to compete. For the Essex-street, Stepney, site, Messrs. T. L. Banks, C. Barry, A. Hennell, J. S. Quilter, and J. Young, jun. For the Mary-street, Bromley, site, Messrs. L. W. Ridge, Mileham & Kennedy, Price & Linklater, J. W. Morris, Slater & Carpenter, and T. H. Watson, For the S. Paul’s-road, Bow, site, Messrs. R. P Spiers, E. L. Bracebridge, A. Williams, <A. Portes, Spalding & Knight, and 'T. T. Smith, the last nominated in place of Mr. J. P. St. Aubyn, who declined. The Board will proceed some valuable and interesting discoveries might pro- to decide on these plans immediately after the Whitsun Holidays. The competition for the Old Ford-road site is an open one, and the drawings will probably be exhibited some time next week or the one following. ET Bas AN IMPORTANT THREATENED STRIKE. Wwe are sorry to say it is not impos- sible that before three weeks are passed away London will witness an important strike, ‘There can be no doubt that a wave of prosperity is passing over the country. The price, notonly of provisions, but of iron, paper, and a hundred other things, is advancing. Hence we see an agricultural strike—a por- tentous, and, at the same time, a pleasing act. In almost every part of the community the working class is demanding higher wages, and our columns, week after week, record the progress of the movement in the building trades. It is, therefore, not surprising that the masons and others of London should fall in _with the national tendency. They propose that the working hours should be nine per day, except on Saturdays, when they should be six hours, making fifty-one per week ; that the wages be 9d. per hour; that overtime be paid at the rate of time and half, and double after certain hours; that piece-work be abolished in the London district ; that no alteration be made in the rules without six months’ notice, and that any proposed altera- tion be submitted to the arbitration of an equal number of men and of masters. We will not say whether these proposals, all things considered, are equitable, but we do main- tain that they afford a good basis for negotiation, and we are sorry to learn that the masters are not only in- disposed to accede to the proposed terms, but refuse to see the men for the purposes of negotiation. We regard such a refusal as pre-eminently unwise. No harm can possibly grow out of meeting together ina friendly way to talk over disputed points. Possibly the men are wrong in the position they have assumed, but refusing to see them will not convince them they are wrong. The present is not the time for masters to be too haughty or too exacting. The master en- gineers of Newcastle-on-Tyne also refused to see the men, and were, no doubt, subse- quently sorry for it. By the refusal they united the ranks of workmen, and then com- menced one of the most famous trade battles of modern times. The workmen were suc- cessful, and from their success has issued a national movement. We are now in the thick of it, and much will depend on the attitude and wisdom of employers and employed in the London Building Trades. We advocate moderation and conciliation, and heartily trust that no section will refuse to appeal to reason, and, having appealed, to submit to its teachings, eee THE OXFORD ARCHITECTURAL AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY. eae first excursion this term took place on Saturday week. The ancient Church of Beg- broke was first inspected. Mr. James Parker pointed out the historical features of the building, drawing particular attention to the chancel arch, with its beautiful and characteristic mouldings. His opinion was that the arch was built in the time of Henry IT. The church was restored in 1820, and the edifice was an interesting specimen of about the middle of the twelfth century. The remains of the Roman villa at Northleigh were reached about four o'clock, and Mr. Earwaker deseribed the state they were in when first discovered in 1815-16, and showed from the great number of rooms that it was at one time the habitation of a wealthy Roman. Mr. Earwaker produced the original plans made by Mr. Hakewill in 1816, show- ing the state of the villa at that time. A portion of these remains, he said, had not yet been explored but if funds could be provided for the purpose, and the permission of the Duke of Marlborough obtained, bably be made. The quadrangle was larger than any in Oxford, with the exceptionof Christ Church. Its size was about 212ft. by 180ft. Their thanks were due to the Duke of Marlborough for what he had done, at the-instigation of the Society, to preserve the remains. When he visited them on a previous occasion the building over the tessellated pavement was in a very bad state, but since then it had been re-coyered with thatch. It was not for him to say what credit was due to the Society for having interested themselves in the matter, but the present very satisfactory state of the remains would speak for itself. A very fine villa had also, he said, been discovered at Stonesfield in 1711, and of which he was fortunate enough to discover four original draw- ings in the Ashmolean Museum. From the beauty of its tessellated pavement it is considered to have been one of the finest that had been found in England. But its position now was very difficult to trace, no care having been taken to preserve the remains. Another villa had been discovered at Dytchley. He went on to explain that other villas and military stations had been discovered in the neighbourhood, The Akeman-street was but a short distance from the spot, and it showed that the plan of the Romans was to build their houses and camps at very short distances from the main roads which they themselves had made. The party having spent some little time in inspect- ing the tessellated pavement, the baths, and other remains, proceeded to Northleigh Church. The vicar, the Rey. R. W. Fiske, said that before the year 1865 the church was in a very different condition from what it was at the present time. He then gave a description of the building before that date. The edifice consists of a nave, side aisles, chancel, and western tower. On the north side of the church is a chapel of modern erection in the Italian style, con- taining several monumental tablets of the families of Perrot and Musgrave. At the east end of the north aisle is another chapel of exquisite design, the tracery in the roof being very beautiful; and under an arch opening into the chancel is a stone altar tomb, supporting the recumbent figures (in marble) of aknight in armour and his lady, supposed to represent Sir William and Lady Wileot. The rey. gentleman said that the church was restored in 1864, when the east window was re-glazed. The chancel screen, which is of stone, and presenting rather a heavy appearance, was not, Mr. Fiske said, as Mr. Street, the architect, first intended it. In the course of restoration a very curious painting was discovered over the arch, and it was thought advisable to pre- serve it; consequently the plan of the screen was altered. He produced some wood mouldings, portions of the old screen. It was painted in various colours. At each end of the old chancel was a quantity of trellis work. The company proceeded to Freeland Church, the chief features of which were described by Dr. Higgs. It is a handsome Gothic edifice, dedicated to S. Peter and §. Paul, and consists of a nave, side aisles, chancel, tower, and a spire of good proportions. The outer doorway of the north porch is in the Early English style; whilst the inner one is in the Early Norinan style, round-headed and ornamented with rude sculpture, representing 8. Peter sitting with a key in his right hand. Couched on his right is a lion, and on his left a lamb with the cross, supposed to be emblematical of the law and the Gospel. Mr. James Parker remarked that he did not think that any of the walls belonged to the twelfth century church that was given to the Abbey of Reading. The oldest portion of the church appeared to be the tower and chancel arches, which were of the thir- teenth century, while the arches on the side wall were apparently of the fifteenth century. What the absolute walls and aisles were he could not say, but the probability was that there had been a small Norman Church, without aisles, such as they had seen at Begbroke, but in the thirteenth century it was rebuilt, when the two Norman doors and a Norman window were preserved and built into the new work. The aisle, arches, and most of the windows belonged to Henry VII.’s time. There was a very good specimen of the Tudor flower on the screen, which now retained some of its original gilding and colouring, and this and probably the pulpit were also of the close of the fifteenth century. —— The “fancy” pavement of Westminster Bridge as a local paper says, wants looking after. During the wet weather the water lies on it in pools. It is alsotime, we think, that that puerility the ironchannel gutter was removed. As we pointed out in the BuILpInG NEWS some years ago, it is a complete failure, the holes in the lower part, which are in- tended to admitthe water, becoming speedily clogged with mud.