Page:The Building News and Engineering Journal, Volume 22, 1872.djvu/555

 June 28, 1872. THE BUILDING NEWS. 3398 deed-room door, are the marks of the crowbars Oliver Cromwell’s soldiers, under his directions, used when forcing an entrance into those parts of the building. Of the additions, the principal is the new library, a hall of noble dimensions, with an open roof of English oak, which is supported by stone corbels in front, on which are carved shields, emblazoned with the arms of the family from the earliest times. There are two large Medieval fire-places in this hall, both of Ham Hill stone, with heraldic emblems intro- duced into the panels sculptured in Caen stone, the better to take decoration. The floors are all of oak. The decorations are by Mr. Crace, of London; the stonework by Mr. Staple, of Ilminster; the carving by Mr. Harry Hems, of Exeter; and the stained glass by Messrs. Clayton & Bell. There are some excellent carvings by Gibbons, very similar to those at Chatsworth House by that artist, which were for- merly in a portion of the old house now removed. These, we believe, are to be hung up in the library ; but, although beautiful in themselves, are so out of character with the architectural features of that portion of the house that we should think a more fitting place might be found for them. WeEpNEsBURY.—A new Town Hall was opened at Wednesbury, on Wednesday. Messrs. Loxton Brothers are the architects. The building is, exter- naily, plain in the extreme. The internal propor- tions are: length, 75ft. ; width, 46ft. ; height, 36ft. ; accommodation being provided for an audience of 780 persons, and in the orchestra for a band and chorus of 120. In the basement is the hall-keeper’s house, with scullery, engine-house, &c,, with retiring rooms ; and all other necessary offices are provided. The total cost will not exceed £3,000, The builder is Mr. D. Moore, of Walsall. ——_>__—_— STAINED GLASS. PrrMINGHAM.—A stained glass window, consisting of two lights, has just been erected in the east window, at S. Stephen’s Church, Selly Hill, Birming- ham. The subjects represented are respectively the “Crucifixion” and the ‘Descent from the Cross.” In the tracery above are angels holding the Passion Symbols. The artist was Mr. Swaine Bourne, of Birmingham. Sutton Mappock.—A stained glass memorial window was fixed in Sutton Maddock Church, near Shifnal, on Tuesday week. The window consists of two openings, one subject occupying each, the one on the left-hand opening being “The Baptism,” and the other on the right “Suffer little Children.” Below the subjects are two angels surrounded with light grisaille work, and in the upper part are light canopies with ruby backgrounds; in a small tracery piece isthe Agnus Dei. The window was designed aut painted by Messrs. Done & Davies, of Shrews- ury. —- > ———— WATER SUPPLY AND SANITARY MATTERS. Tue Pustic HEALTH Brry.—A deputation from the River Lea Conservancy Board waited on Mr. Stansfeld, the President of the Local Government Board, on Tuesday, with the view of obtaining some provision in the Public Health Bill to prevent the creation of a concurrent jurisdiction in the Lea Valley for dealing with pollutions to the River Lea and its tributaries; and requesting that the autho- rity of the conservators in that respect should be retained. The hon. gentleman stated that he did not see that there would be any difficulty in meeting the request, and promised the conservators that he qe consider as tothe way in which it should be one. THE Swinpon New Town Main Ovrrarn SEWAGE Works being now completed (says the North Wilts Herald), the Board, at their meeting on Thursday week, passed a unanimous vote of thanks to their engineers, Messrs. Russ & Minns and expressed their sense of the skill and ability with which the works had been designed and executed. The saying to the ratepayers effected by the execution of Messrs. Russ & Minns’ plan is considerable, as it ayoids all outlay for labour, fuel, and wear and tear of machinery. The whole of the Sewage now flows rapidly by gravitation through 2 tunnel and culvert 2,000 yards long, on to the highest part of the farm, and thence oyer every part of it by surface carriers. The tunnel is driven at adepth of 37ft. in the centre below the surface, and so accurately was it laid out that though it was commenced at four different places the whole of the arches met most accurately, centre brick to centre brick, and an uniform gradient of one in 1,100 muntained throughout. Altogether, the works are highly satisfactory, act perfectly, and reflect great credit on the engineers,” The farm, which is 105 acres in extent, is now receiving the sewage, the necessary works being rapidly proceeded with.” 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 READERS.—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. ADVERTISEMENT CHARGES. The charge for advertisements is 6d. per line, of eight words (the first line counting as two). Special terms for series of more than six insertions can be ascertained on application to the Publisher. Advertisements for ‘Situations Wanted” are inserted at a charge of one shilling for the first twenty-four words, and sixpence for every succeeding eight words. 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H.—Intra Muros.—C, S. A.—E, W. S.—F. P.— H, B. McM.—W. M. & Co. M. Rosinson.—The plan came to hand. C, A. WEDDLE.—The MS. to hand. A CONSTANT READER.—Your request will be complied with. ONE OF THE LAST HuNDRED.—Your suggestions would narrow the competition. E, R. 8.—Please send account. oo Correspondence. —_——— “MODERN SCOTTISH ECCLESIASTICAL ARCHITECTURE.” To the Editor of the Burtpive News. Srr,—In common with, I dare say, Mr. Honey- man’s other professional brethren in Glasgow, I have read with much interest the paper contributed by him to the Conference. From one of the ablest of our few writing architects, a paper at once elegant and lucid is only what might be expected; but while the literary excellences of Mr. Honeyman’s essay command admiration, exception may be taken to some of his arguments. Mr. Honeyman dates the decline and fall of Scottish ecclesiastical architecture from the Reformation, and the revival of it from the Disruption—*“ a secession the great extent and peculiar character of which con- tributed more, directly and indirectly, to the adyance- ment of ecclesiastical architecture in Scotland than anything, or probably all else which had occurred since the period of the Reformation.” From this secession arose what is commonly called the “ Free” Church—a party ‘‘maintaining that it is still the Church of Scotland, though voluntarily, and it hoped temporarily, disestablished and free.” Now, frum his position that the Disruption contributed so greatly to the advancement of ecclesiastical archi- tecture in Scotland Mr. Honeyman argues: ‘‘ Bad as the old parish churches for the most part were, the Dissenters, previous to the disruption in 1843, had generally been contented with worse. The great majority of the people would have thought it something scandalous if the Dissenters had ventured to erect a steeple or swing a bell. Their buildings were always unobtrusive and unadorned, and their influence on the ecclesiastical art of the country was not appreciable. The Free Church, however, inaugurated a totally different state of matters; claiming, as we have seen, to be de facto { the Church of Scotland, she had no scruples about bells or steeples. . . . . As the church became consolidated, and its members accustomed to liberality, one congregation came to vie with another in the completeness and beauty of its ecclesiastical build- ings. . . . Inevery town, and almost in every village, the Free Church towers and spires became conspicuous, and the Free Church bells held their own, at least, with those of the Established Church. Now, this was a distinct innovation. It was some- thing new for Dissenters to assume this position of equality with the Church Established; and the movement required only to be initiated to be readily followed by other non-established churches.” Church bells in a city are a public nuisance, and steeples are by no means necessary to churches; but although previous to the Disruption the great majority of the people might have thought it some- thing scandalous if the Dissenters had ventured to swing the one or erect the other, the Dissenters had in Glasgow, long prior to 1843, some churches that, if then “unobtrusive and unadorned,” at least now command a rather respectful regard. I may mention the United Presbyterian Church in Wellington-street — a building of very great merit—and the church erected for the congrega- tion of Dr. Wardlaw. This seems as if then, as well as now, where there was at least money, if not also other motives, there was a desire for both beauty and comfort, and sometimes the ob- taining of them. It may have been “ something new for Dissenters to assume a position of equality with the Church Established,” but it was for the very reason that the “Free” Church ‘claimed to be de facto the Church of Scotland” that it “had no scruples about bells or steeples.” Whenever the ‘* Free’ Church became consolidated, and its members accustomed to liberality, not only did one congrega- gation come to vie with another, but the whole body, whenever it had the power, came to more than rival the church whence it had seceded in the completeness and beauty of its ecclesiastical buildings. There is nothing more natural than to endeavour to outvie those with whom we haye had strife, and the bells and steeples asserted at least an equality. Yet, strange to say, a goodly proportion of the ‘“ Free’ churches in Glasgow has neither ! Of late years there has been a considerable “ ad- vancement ” in what may be cal.ed ‘secular ” archi- tecture. Our dwellings, commercial houses, and public offices are all much more ornate in their design and luxurious in their furnishings than they were ‘‘a short quarter of a century ago.” The church is infected with the spirit of theage. Luxury and sensationalism will not be wanted if Plutus can procure them. Andif for the ‘ Free” Church, why not for also the United Presbyterian and the Inde~ pendent—if they can only get them ? Mr. Honeyman speaks, however, of ‘‘the growing appreciation of art,” and says that ‘‘ coincident with this has arisen a liberality of sentiment regarding religion and all its accessories which has already changed for the better the old-fashioned services of the Scottish churches. This has led, among other things, to the introduction of organs and trained choirs, stained glass windows, coloured mural decoration, appro- priate furniture, and many minor changes, which, but a short quarter of a century ago, would have been regarded by all devout Presbyterians with superstitious abhorrence.” The aspirations of Pres- byterians in the direction of art is now, ‘‘for the most part, limited only by the means at their dis- posal; they have become alive to the propriety of making the House of God in some measure worthy of its sacred dedication.” If there be a single sen- tence in the New Testament warranting or justifying in Christian churches the use of organs and trained choirs, and the using of stained glass windows and coloured mural decoration; if there be a single sen- tence indicating that the purpose of the House of God is for art—and not heart-worship—I may, per- haps, understand how the old-fashioned services of the Scottish Churches have changed for the better. Have they changed for the better if these art ‘‘acces- sories” of religion get churches into debt, while the New Testament tells us to owe no man anything ? Have they changed for the better if the coloured mural decoration must be upon walls that are walls of partition between rich and poor, if the ‘storied windows richly dight” in blazoning “the boast of heraldry, the pomp of power,” assert a ‘respect of persons’? Are trained choirs a change for the better to those who ‘‘chant their artless notes in simple guise,” or are organs to those who would “ sing with the spirit, and with the understanding also”? Will the man with a gold ring in goodly apparel find in “appropriate ‘furniture really much of a change for the better from the footstool under which the poor man in vile raiment was commanded to sit ? The ceremonious ritual of the Mosaic Dispensation required that magnificence and splendour of which