Page:The Building News and Engineering Journal, Volume 22, 1872.djvu/445

 ) May 24, 1872. THE BUILDING NEWS. 423 COMPETITIONS. Satrorp.—Plans were delivered in competition on the 11th inst., for a projected branch library and reading-room to be erected in Regent-road, Salford. The limitation as to cost is £2,500. Scarnorovucu.—At a meeting of the members of the Scarborough School Board, held on Friday evening last, plans were submitted by the following architects for the schools to be erected at Falsgrave: —Messrs. Stewart & Bury, Scarborough; Messrs. Smith & Brodrick, Hull; Messrs. Alley & Wilson, Manchester; Mr. William Watson, Wakefield and Doncaster; Mr. David Oldfield, West- minster Chambers, London; and Mr. E. Egan, Loughton, Essex. The consideration of the plans was deferred. eee ag ARCHITECTURAL & ARCHZOLOGICAL SOCIETIES. Lonpoxn AND Mippresex ARCHAMOLOGICAL Socrrry.—A general meeting of this society was held on Thursday week in the newly-restored Chapter House at Westminster, the Dean presiding. The very rev. gentleman congratulated the Association on the throwing open to the public of the magnificent building in which they were gathered together, but he observed that it had two defects: one was its un- satisfactory acoustic qualities, which rendered it difficultf{to understand how the ancient Chapter and the House of Commons, which first sat there, ever managed to carry on their deliberations ; the other was the absence of stained glass, which was abso- lutely necessary, both to make the building usable in bright summer weather, and to restore to it that solemn effect which in the Middle Ages it must have worn. A paper “ On the Iconography of the Chapter House” was then read by Mr. J. G. Waller, who said that it consisted of a very large number of paintings, illustrating the history of S. John and scenes from the Apocalypse. Those on the east and north side were of the middle of the fourteenth century, those nearer the door being about a hundred years Jater, and Mr. Waller stated that, in his opinion, the earlier pictures were amongst the most precious works of the Middle Ages that we possessed. A short paper was read by Mr. White for Mr. John Franklin, who con- tended that we had an indigenous school of art distinct from that of Italy. It was generally sup- posed that Medieval art was revolutionised by the Pisani; but the first of these, Niccolo, was born about the year 1205, whereas Lincoln Minster dated from 1190, and the carvings of that date in the English Cathedral were infinitely superior to those on the far-famed pulpit at the Baptistry at Pisa. Again, the exquisite tombs of Henry III. and Queen Eleanor were attributed by some to one Pietro Cayalini; but Cavalini was not born till 1304, whereas both tombs were supposed to have been finished in 1282. Again they were referred to one Torelli, and it was suggested that he was no Italian; but why might he not have really been named Turrell or Tyrrell, and an Englishman? Mr. Franklin promised a more elaborate paper on the subject. Another very interesting paper was read by Mr. Joseph Burtt ‘On the Records and Muniments of the Abbey,” which, he said, were so numerous and complete that there was scarcely a square foot of Medieval Wesminster that might not be illustrated from them. In the course of the afternoon the visitors were conducted over the Abbey, and very interesting explanations were given by Mr. Gilbert Scott, the architect of the Dean and Chapter. Amongst other less well-known points which were visited was the recently-discovered site of S. Catherine’s Chapel. At the close of the proceedings, a warm vote of thanks, upon the motion of Mr. EB. W. Brabrook, one of the honorary secretaries, was given to Dean Stanley. Socrery or AnrrquaArtes.—At the meeting on May 9,° Earl Stanhope, President, in the chair, the Rey. M. E. C. Walcott laid before the society tran- scripts of the most important portions of certain Inventories of Westminster, Waltham, and S. Albans. Mr. Walcott showed, in the course of his remarks, that the inventories threw valuable light on the arrangement of the conventual buildings of the three great Abbeys, which he proceeded to illustrate with the aid of plans which he had drawn up for that purpose. ese ARCH ZZOLOGICAL, ReApiNG.—During the alterations now in progress in the Church of S. Mary, Reading, which is the oldest in the town, an arch and steps leading to a ‘““rood-loft ” were discovered in the north wall of the chancel, and last week a couple of curious pieces of stone, supposed to have been used as receptacles for holy water, were found in the north wall of the nave, which is said to be 800 years old, and built by Queen Elfrida as a penance for the murder of her step-son. Huilding Sutelligence. —>—__ CHURCHES AND CHAPELS. CrumpsALL, NEAR Mancursrer.—The rebuild- ing of the Church of 8. Mary, recently partially destroyed by lightning, has been decided on; the tender of Mr. J. Robinson, jun., of Hyde, having been accepted by the Building Committee. £5,300 is to be expended at present, the organ chamber and other matters to stand over until the receipt of sufficient funds. £6,230 is the amount subscribed, the lowest tender being £7,850. Mr. Crowther is the architect employed. Earon.—Yesterday (Thursday) week the first stone of Christ Church, Eaton, Norfolk, was laid by the Mayor of Norwich. The building will be Early Gothic in style, and will be cruciform in plan. When complete it will consist of a chancel, nave, transepts, and aisles, with organ chamber and vestry on either side of the chancel ; but it isat present only pro- posed to build the nave and transepts. Thefoundations of the chancel have been laid, but for lack of funds this part of the church cannot at present be erected. The walls will be faced externally with flints, with Bath stone dressings, and internally they will be stuccoed, relieved with bands and arches of stone and brick. The roof is to be open-timbered and covered with slate, and the floor. laid with Staffordshire tiles. A light perforated stone spirelet will be erected at the south-east corner of the church. The execution of the work has been entrusted to Mr. W. Wright and Mr. J. W. Lacey, builders, Norwich, from the designs of Mr. J. H. Brown and Mr. J. B. Pearce, joint architects, Norwich. The estimated total cost is £2,100. Guascow.—The memorial stone of a new Free Church in course of erectionin Cowcaddens, Glasgow, was laid on Wednesday week. The church is in the Italian style, and will accommodate nearly 1,100 people, and, exclusive of cost of the adjoining tene- ment, it is expected to be completed for £5,000. The architects are Messrs. Campbell, Douglas, & Sellars. IxcorPorRaTeD Socrery FoR PROMOTING THE ENLARGEMENT, Burmpinc, AND REPAIRING OF CuurcHEs AND CHaArets.—The usual monthly meeting of this society was held on Whit Mon- day, at the society’s house, 7, Whitehall, S.W. Grants of money, amounting to £1,480, were made in aid of the following objects, viz. :—Building new churches at Bishophill Senior, York; Broughton Beck, in the parish of Ulverstone, Lancashire ; Hull, S. Barnabas; Hunstanton, 8. Edmund, Norfolk ; Portsea, §. Mark (north end), Hants; Walworth, S. Mark, Surrey; and Welton, in the parish of Sebergham, near Carlisle. Rebuilding the churches, at Armley (on a new site), in the parish of Leeds; Kirk Braddon (on a new site), Isle of Man; Kirkby Knowle, near Thirsk, Yorkshire; West Bromwich, Staffordshire; and Wolviston, near Stockton-on- Tees. Enlarging or otherwise increasing the accom- modation in the churches at Bettws, near Llanelly ; Bishopsbourne, near Canterbury; Cheshunt, Herts ; Dawlish, near Blandford, Dorset; Reading, S. Mary ; Sandwich, S. Mary, Kent; Staunton, near Coleford, Gloucester; Wootton Fitzpaine, near Charmouth, Dorset; and Great Gransden, near Caxton, Hunts. Under urgent circumstances the grants formerly made towards rebuilding the church at Aberayron, Cardigan; and towards reseating and restoring the churches at Boughton, near Stoke Ferry, Norfolk, and Tarrington, near Ledbury, Hereford, were each increased. A grant was also made from the School Church and Mission-house Fund, towards an iron church in the parish of S. Luke, Shepherd’s-bush, London. Launceston.—On Tuesday week the Church of S. Thomas-by-Launceston was reopened, after restoration. The restoration includes entirely new roofs, the rebuilding of the north and east walls, and the provision of an organ chamber. The cost was about £1,000. Mr. J. P. St. Aubyn was the architect. The restoration has been in progress about sixteen years. Tue Restoration or 8. Gires’s, Eprypuren. —tThe interior of the High Church—the ancient choir of S. Giles’s Cathedral, Edinburgh—and one of three separate places of worship at present exist- ing under the roof of that venerable edifice, is about to undergo a renovation which will restore it to something like its original aspect. The church is at present, and has been almost since the time of the Reformation, seated for a very large congregation. Mr, William Hay, Edinburgh, is the architect. BUILDINGS. Liverroon.—The new Southern Hospital, Liver- pool, was opened on Tuesday by Prince Arthur. The architects are Messrs, Culshaw & Summers, and the estimated cost, with the site, £45,000, in- cluding airing yards. The plan is arranged on the “pavilion” system. The hospital accommodation provides about 200 beds, and consists of accident wards on the ground floor, and three tiers of wards for 12 beds and two tiers for 26 beds in each pavilion, besides many smaller wards for special cases, and private wards in the administrative building. The general aspect of the building is bold and effective, and of a simple Gothic character of architecture. It is constructed of good gray bricks, with stone sills, strings, &e., the horizontal lines marked with blue brick in bands. The entrance porch is of stone, with a deeply-recessed and moulded arch having the tympanum left for sculpture. The gable itis proposed to finish with the figure of an angel, and the tympanum witha bas- relievo representing the parable of the Good Samaritan. Lonpon.—The funds available for the rebuilding of the Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond- street, have now been raised to £23,000, the excaya~ tions for the new building are completed, and the central block is about to be commenced, Formal sanction for the erection of this part of the hospital was given last week. Mr. E. M. Barry, R. A., is the architect. We noticed his design for the work last week, in our review of the architectural drawings at the Royal Academy, p. 401. Mancuesrer.—A handsome stone-fronted ware- house, in Hanging Ditch, facing Corporation-street, has just been built for Messrs. Crouchley & Un- worth, tea merchants, and Mr. George Barclay, provision merchant, jointly, in the Italian Gothic style, the front elevation being broken up by two balconies or abutments from basement to roof. There are four stories above the basement, and the ground floor is intended for offices, the external woodwork being of French-polished pitch-pine. The building was designed by Messrs. Speakman & Son. Messrs. Crouchley’s portion was built by Messrs. Neill & Son, and that of Mr. Barclay by Mr. Robert Ellis. The total cost of the whole building is £4,100. Merron Cottece.—The Hall of Merton College is undergoing a complete restoration, the cost of which will be upwards of £4,000. About the year 1790 some alterations were made in the Hall by Mr. Wyatt, architect, who destroyed the then existing roof, windows, and all the architectural features of the building, and substituted for the open timber roof one in plaster groining. He blocked up all the window seats and openings, and concealed the walls. behind the plaster partitions, thereby leaving none of the original features of the Hall open to view. Mr. Scott has been engaged to restore the building, and the whole of the work that Mr. Wyatt exe- cuted has been cleared away. The design now pre- pared is in accordance with the original construction of the Hall, which is of the fourteenth century date. A new open timber oak roof will be substituted for the present one. ——————_——_. LAND AND BUILDING SOCIETIES. LIBERAL PERMANENT BUILDING AND INVESTMENT Socrery.—The third annual meeting was held last week at the Guildhall Tavern, Mr. J. T. Whitley in the chair. The report showed that the amount adyanced during the year was £1,469 16s. 11d, making the total amount advanced £4,336 16s. 11d., and enabling the directors to declare 5 per cent. per annum interest, with a bonus of 1} per cent., to all members who had subscribed the full year. Oxrorp AND ABINGDON BuILpING SocretTy.— The annual meeting of this society was held on Saturday week. 2244 shares, amounting to £22,425, have been advanced during the past year upon various freehold and leasehold properties, making an aggregate sum of £216,235 adyanced by the society since its formation. ‘The present value of the society’s securities amounts to £66,420 17s., secured by mortgages upon properties in Oxfordshire, Buck— inghamshire, Kent, Surrey, and in the City and suburbs of London, The society has a reserved fund of £6,665 4s. 8d., so that after deducting £1,537 10s. for a bonus of £25 per share upon 61} shares arriving: at maturity during the ensuing year, the net surplus will amount to £5,125 15s. 8d. —_—_—_<@—_<_ The cottage hospital movement is rapidly extend- ing. In Swindon one is to be erected, and Sir Daniel Gooch, M.P., has promised £1,000 towards the fund. AtSavernake, in the same county (Wilts), the cottage hospital established a few years ago by the Marquis and Marchioness of Ailesbury has proved! of such benefit to the labouring class that a larger and more substantial building has been erected.