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Frederick Herbert Mansford, F.R.I.B.A. (1871–1946)
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Landau, Dorothea
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The Ecclesiological Society
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Mansford, Frederick Herbert (1871–1946)
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Text
Frederick H erbert M.ansford
Citizen
and Architect of London
Selections from his papers
THE
E C C L E S IO L O G IC A L
S O C IE T Y T R A N S A C T IO N S
V olum e 1 (N ew Series), Part 5
1947
P rice:
Ten Shillings and Sixpence
920
MAN
Objects:—T o Study the Science of
W orship in all its Aspects, including
Architecture, Sculpture, Painting, W ood
work, Metalwork, Mosaics and Stained
Glass, Ceremonial, Liturgies and Music,
and to preserve our heritage of Records
and Remains.
�qiosz
sysk-ir
�T R A N S A C T I O N S — Vol. 1 (N ew Series)— Part 5
&&o lo g ic £^
Patrons : T he M ost Rev. and Right Hon. G e o f f r e y F i s h e r , d . d ., Lord
Archbishop o f Canterbury; T he M ost Rev. and Right Hon. C y r i l G a r b e t t ,
d . d ., Lord Archbishop o f York; and T he Right Hon. T he Viscount E s h e r ,
M .B .E ., H O N . A .R .I.B .A .
President : T he Very Rev. W . R. M a t t h e w s , k . c . v . o . , m . a . , d . d . , d . l i t . , Dean
o f St. Paul’s.
Vice-Presidents : Canon S. A . A l e x a n d e r , c . v . o ., c . m . g ., m . a ., h o n . a . r . i . b . a . ;
A l f r e d C . B o s s o m , Esq., J . P . , m . p ., f . r . i . b . a . ; J . N i n i a n C o m p e r , Esq.;
T he Very Rev. D . H. S. C r a n a g e , m . a ., l i t t . d ., f . s . a ., h o n . a . r . i . b . a .;
W . A . F o r s y t h , Esq., f . r . i . b . a . ; H . S . G o o d h a r t - R e n d e l , Esq., m u s . b a c .,
p p . r . i . b . a . ; M iss R o s e G r a h a m , c . b . e ., d . l i t t ., f . s . a . ; F r e d e r i c k R. H i o r n s ,
Esq., f . s . a ., f . r . i . b . a ., m . t . p . i . ; Sir C h a r l e s A. N i c h o l s o n , Bart, m . a ., f . r . i . b . a . ;
Professor A. E. R i c h a r d s o n , m . a ., r . a ., f . s . a ., f . r . i . b . a . ; Sir G i l e s G i l b e r t
S c o t t , o . m ., h o n . d . c . l ., h o n . l l . d ., r . a ., p p . r . i . b . a , ; J o h n N . S u m m e r s o n ,
Esq., b . a . ( a r c h .) , f . s . a ., a . r . i . b . a . ; Professor A. H a m i l t o n T h o m p s o n ,
C .B .E ., M .A ., H O N . D .L I T T , H O N . L L .D ., F .B .A ., F .S .A ., H O N . A .R .I.B .A .; Professor
C l e m e n t C . J. W e b b , m . a ., d . l i t t ., f . b . a ., h o n . l l . d ., h o n . d . d .
F.
H.
By D
M A N SFO RD
orothea
L andau
Council :
Chairman : D. C h i s h o l m S i m p s o n , E sq.* ; Mrs. E. T . B a i l e y ; T. A. C o y s h , E sq .;
the Rev. T. H. C r o x a l l , m . a . , b . d . , b . m u s . * ; J. D u d l e y D a y m o n d , Esq.;
F. D a r w i n F o x , Esq.;
R o b e r t F r a n c i s , Esq.;
M r s . A . R.H a t l e y ,
b . s c ., f . r . g . s . * ; F. H e n l e y , Esq.; W . E. H u g g i n s , Esq.; H. L. M a n n , Esq.*;
and the Rev. H. M a t t i n s o n , m . a . ; with the undermentioned Officers
ex officio.
Hon. Secretary : F r e d k . R. B u d g e y , Esq.*
Hon. Director o f Meetings : W . W . B e g l e y , Esq.,f . r . h i s t . s . , l . r . i . b . a . *
Hon. Treasurer : A. J. H a t l e y , Esq., m . a . *
Hon. Editor : T h o s . F. G a r n i s h , Esq.*
(* Members o f Editorial Committee).
Society’s Address: W alcot House, 139 Kennington Road, Lambeth, London, S .E .ll.
247
�CONTENTS
rage
F R O N T IS P IE C E
P ortrait by M iss D . L andau
F O R E W O R D ...................................................................................
251
A P P R E C IA T IO N
......................................................................
253
P O E M — " Ely
......................................................................
255
......................................................................
256
B E L L S A N D B E L L - R I N G E R S ...........................................
257
C IT Y S W O R D -R E S T S
.........................................................
258
JO H N S T O W
......................................................................
258
IN IG O JO N E S
......................................................................
259
”
CHURCHYARDS
W R E N 'S C IT Y C H U R C H E S
...........................................
260
B O M B E D C H U R C H E S IN L O N D O N ..............................
262
N IN E T E E N T H C E N T U R Y A R C H IT E C T U R E
265
T W E N T IE T H
269
C E N T U R Y A R C H IT E C T U R E
P R E -W R E N C H U R C H E S —
St. Bartholom ew the G reat; St. Olave, H a rt Street
St. H elen, B ishopsgate; St. K atharine C ree ...
St. A ndrew U ndershaft ...
W REN CHURCHES
........................................................
(a) G othic— St. M ary A lderm ary
( b) H y b rid — St. M ichael, C ornhill
(c) Early C ontrasts— St. Benet, Paul's W harf, and
St. Law rence Jew ry
(d) D om es— St. M ary-at-H ill, Billingsgate; St. Stephen,
W albrook; St. M ildred, Bread Street; St. M ary
A bchurch
249
272
273
274
275
276
276
277
278
�Page
W R E N C H U R C H E S — Continued
(e) T ow ers and Spires — St. M artin, L udgate ;
St. M argaret P atten s; St. D u n stan -in -th eE ast; St. Bride, F leet S t r e e t ..............................
( / ) L ate C ontrasts — St. M argaret, L o th b u ry ;
St. A ndrew by th e W ard ro b e
C oncluding note
280
P O S T S C R IP T T O W R E N — St. M ary W oolnoth, L om bard
Street
284
ST .
THE
282
283
G E O R G E ’S C H U R C H , H A N O V E R S Q U A R E —
early su b u rb an ...
...
...
................
285
P A R IS H C H U R C H O F ST . J O H N , H A M P
S T E A D — rural and later su b u rb an
..............................
FOREWORD
286
T H E E C C L E S IO L O G IC A L S O C IE T Y —
L ist o f Officers ...
Sum m ary o f R eports, 1943-46 ...
H IS Part, N o. V, Vol. 1, N ew Series, o f the T ransactions of
the Ecclesiological Society, is issued as a m em orial n u m ber to
the late Frederick H erb ert M ansford, for m any years a valued
m em ber o f the Society. It has been com piled from his MSS., o f
w hich he left an extensive collection, and consists of notes and
com m ents prepared by him from tim e to tim e for talks and lectures
to the Society and to his students.
T
247
289
T h e selection and arrangem ent of these notes for publication
have been devotedly undertaken by M rs. A. R. H atley, B.Sc.,
F .R .G .S ., H on. Secretary of the Society’s E ditorial and Publications
C om m ittee, w hose task was by no m eans a light and easy one, and
to w hom the C ouncil, on behaff of the Society, wishes to express
its cordial appreciation and thanks.
T h e Council desires also to acknowledge its indebtedness to
the M ansford fam ily for generous contributions tow ards the cost
o f p rin tin g and publishing this m em orial num ber, and to th e
friend w ho has provided the block for the frontispiece.
A s in the case of other parts, the C ouncil m ust not be assum ed
as subscribing to every statem ent or opinion contained in the
Society’s T ransactions; all such expressions are m ade on th e
responsibility o f the authors o f the several contributions.
-
�FREDERICK HERBERT MANSFORD
F.R .I.B .A . (1871-1946)
U R Society is proud to recall am ong its past m em bers m any
who have given loyal service to its work in scholarship and
tim e and w ith these, M r. F. H . M ansford, the subject of
this m em oir, m ust take a high place.
A t the beginning of his last illness he w rote, in reply to a letter
of sym pathy from the C ouncil : " As I lay in bed I reflected on
m y early association w ith the Society. I m ust have been about
tw enty-five w hen I first addressed the m em bers in the old C hapter
House. C anon Lewis G ilbertson was th en C hairm an b u t I do not
rem em ber if he presided. T h e subject was ' N otes on C ity
C h u rch es,’ w hich had not then been so carefully researched. T h e
walls o f the room w ere panelled high in oak and it was excellent for
sound. T h ere was a very large cat curled up on an oak table in the
hall and he received, b u t I m ight say ignored, the strokes from various
m em bers before ascending. T h e walls of the landing w ere hung
w ith large fram ed schem es for cathedral decoration, some by a
pupil of A lfred Stevens, whose nam e escapes m e at the m om ent."
A ctually the Rev. E. H oskins was the C hairm an and the date of
the m eeting, 16th January, 1901, so he was rath er m ore th an tw entyfive at the tim e. A n d so, for nearly fifty years, he gave his services,
w ithout stint or question, reading m any Papers and conducting
a long series of visits, only giving up a year or so before his death
under stress o f ill-health.
T h e care taken in th e preparation o f his talks is evidenced
by th e fact th at this m em oir is com piled from N otes selected from
the large bulk of m aterial prepared for lectures and visits.
A L ondoner, born in A ldersgate Street on the 10th A pril, 1871,
his love for L ondon buildings coloured his life’s outlook. A fter
schooldays at L enham , in K ent, and at M orley G ram m ar School,
he entered th e architectural profession, first through the office of
G eorge H u b b a rd , F .R .I.B .A ., and th en in th at of A lfred W a te r
house, P resident of the R .I.B .A ., and architect of so m any great
V ictorian buildings, w here M ansford became chief draughtsm an,
before setting up his own practice in 1906 at R uislip.
H ere he
built for him self " W a ld en ," in K ingsend, w hich provided him w ith
a hom e and an office for the rest of his life. O th er houses of consider
able interest followed at Ruislip, at Petersfield, and elsewhere.
All are notew orthy as exam ples of clever planning and contriving
to m eet the wishes of clients w ith definite views.
M ansford’s greatest work, however, was the South Place
Ethical Society’s prem ises, Conway H all, R ed Lion Square. As
a m em ber of the Ethical Society he em barked on this w ork w ith
enthusiasm , w ith the result that, w hen it was com pleted in 1929,
O
253
�th e m usic critic o f th e Daily Telegraph said, w ith regard to the
large m eeting hall, “ owing to its excellent acoustic properties,
it is th e best hall in L ondon for th e appreciation of cham ber
m usic.” In the 1920’s he served on th e L ibrary C om m ittee of
th e Royal In stitu te o f British A rchitects and, in 1931, soon after
its inception, he becam e th e very active honorary secretary of
th e A rchitectural G raphic R ecords C om m ittee, carrying on until
its transform ation in 1940 into th e N ational B uilding; Record.
It should never be forgotten that, despite a grievous lack of funds,
d u rin g this period 36,500 references, together w ith the m easured
draw ings and a n u m b er o f catalogues from some fifty libraries,
w ere dealt w ith by voluntary effort and m uch o f the credit is due
to M ansford.
H e was a freq u en t co n trib u to r to th e architectural press of
A m erica, as well as o f E ngland, d u rin g th e first forty or so years of
this century. H e was also a keen m em ber of the Society for the
P rotection o f A ncient B uildings and derived m uch pleasure from
lecturing at th e C entral School o f A rts and Crafts. But, of all his
activities, th ere can be no d o u b t th a t ecclesiology was his chief
interest. T o a profound u n derstanding o f mediaeval architecture
he u nited a w ide know ledge o f m odern churches and, up to w ithin
a few m onths of his death, w hich occu red on the 13th June, 1946,
he usually had som e new discovery to report.
T h e Papers w hich he read before th e Society were the result
o f very careful preparation and usually threw fresh light on some
aspect o f th e subject, and this applied w ith even m ore force to the
talks given at " visits.” T h ese were given after a detailed study of
th e literature o f th e subject, one or m ore personal visits and,
usually, correspondence w ith those m ost likely to be able to clear
up doubtful points.
T h e resulting N otes are consequently full
o f such m atters o f interest as th e unexpected irregularities in W re n ’s
plans w hich, in several instances, M ansford traced to the re-use of
m ediaeval foundations.
M em b ersh ip o f our Society b ro u g h t him m any friends, of
w hom th e present w riter is p ro u d to have been one. F o r nearly
tw enty years we travelled about th e country at every possible
holiday or w eek-end, visiting cathedrals, abbeys, parish churches,
schools and private houses, u n d er every condition o f w eather and
road and w ith m any adventures. Yet, th ro u g h all the stresses and
strains, M ansford rem ained th e kindly, considerate com panion,
th e planner o f routes and the negotiator of problem s. Ripon,
N orw ich, Bristol, A m pleforth, Lichfield, M arlborough, Llandaff,
D ow nside, B irm ingham , Bath, Leeds, N ottingham , Portsm outh,
and L eicester are a few nam es w hich conjure up glowing m em ories
o f the fascination o f th e E nglish scene. T u rn in g over the record
o f these pilgrim ages one can b u t repeat the w ords of th e old
C hinese poet, L i-Po, “ D aw n reddens in the wake of night; b u t
the days o f o u r life re tu rn n o t.”
W .W .B .
254
ELY
REY’ scudding clouds across the sky,
A distant h ero n ’s lonely cry,
T h e u p tu rn ed earth be-dyked and black.
A sluggish river’s straightened track,
G ay butterflies am idst the sedge,
W illow s upon the w ater’s edge.
A w indm ill’s sails th at hang forlorn,
Furrow s all lined w ith sprouting corn,
T h e ru tty drove th a t crossed the flood
W ith now a crust of sun-baked m ud
In noon-day glare th at heats and tires,
A nd drifting sm oke o f rubbish fires—
T hese m em ories recall to me
T h e fen-bound Isle of Ely.
G
A gently rising lonely hill,
A n ancient city calm and still,
T h e streets unpaved for horses’ hoofs,
G rey tiles upon the huddled roofs.
H oary, serene and crow ning all
T h e lofty tow er and buttressed wall;
A ro o f’s im pressive height and length
A nd stones th at speak of age and stren g th ;
A wooden lan tern ’s fretted crest;
T h ’ em brasured tu rrets at the west,
T h e gardened precincts sheltering round.
Southw ards— the m eadow ’s sloping ground,
G olden w ith b u ttercups of spring,
Jackdaws and rooks upon the wing.
Such m em ories recall to me
T h e grey-roofed tow n of Ely.
T h a t vista from the w estern door
O f painted roof and m arble floor,
T h e N orm an pillars rising clear
W ith o u t an intervening chair.
T h e octagon’s am azing span,
T h a t daring th o u g h t o f W alsingham .
A n d then the choir— beyond the screen,
W h a t m iracles of craft are seen !
W h a t miracles of sound are heard
A nd feelings deep w ithin me stirred !
255
�I
Prayer and praise have here arisen,
Since these stones from rocks were riven,
F o r m ore th an twice six h u n d red years.
H ere m en have voiced th eir hopes and fears,
M onk and abbot, bishop and prior,
C anon and priest and preaching friar,
Since th e days o f E theldreda,
A bbess-queen and E ly’s founder.
I close m y eyes and see m eanw hile
A long procession fill th e aisle,
Smoking incense, bell and candles,
M itred prelates, m onks in sandals,
Also days q f priestly thu n d ers,
Saintly relics w orking w onders,
’T ill th ro u g h m ists o f superstition
W ycliffe had a clearer vision—
N o longer now th e fast and scourge,
B righter years upon us surge,
M an will find his heaven below,
A lthough his progress m ay be slow.
N ext th e organ’s deep vibration
Com es th e drow sy intonation,
A nd th e chorused long A m e n .
M ay, 1920.
F .H .M .
T h e city churchyards have often been curtailed and som etim es
altogether absorbed by streets and buildings; yet there are m any
unexpected little plots rem aining and they provide shady corners
and resting places for city folk am id the wear and tear o f business
life. O ne of the prettiest was th at existing until a decade or so
ago in the Bank o f E ngland, w hich had grown up around it. T h ere
was a fountain, a fine plane tree and rhododendrons well cared for
and very pleasant.
T h e churchyard from three united parishes
form s a little oasis in A ldersgate Street; here again is a fountain.
A little w ooden cloister com m em orates the brave deeds o f ordinary
people, m ainly o f those who have sacrificed their lives in saving
others.
Several churchyards contain fragm ents o f the ancient city
wall, the finest being the corner bastion at St. G iles’s, C ripplegate.
(T h e pleasant strip rem aining, com plete w ith seat, beneath the
shelter o f the wall on the site of St. A lphege, L ondon W all, provides
special interest from the crenel lations and diaper patterning of
the late mediaeval brickw ork o f the wall as well as from two
contiguous boundary m arks of adjacent parishes. E d .)
A century ago there was a rookery at St. D u n sta n ’s-in-the-E ast
and a house opposite the church was charged “ a yearly rent o f
£ 3 for the purpose o f furnishing the rooks w ith osier twigs to
enable them to build th eir nests w ithout trouble, and for other
sustenance. ” T o -day we have h u n dreds of pigeons, fed by the
citizens, and nesting in the foliage of W re n ’s corinthian capitals,
not w ithout dam age to the m asonry.
Flocks o f starlings chatter
and bestir them selves as they prepare, in their forgathering, to
set out for w arm er climes. F o r m any a year they have provided
a fam iliar touch for the L ondon nature-lover.
(Reprinted from the “ M onthly R ecord” o f the South Place Ethical Society)
ON BELLS AND BELL-RINGERS
ON CHURCHYARDS
H E R E are several peals o f eight or twelve bells w ithin the
C ity o f L ondon, b ut they are not now all rung. T h e m ost
fam oys are those o f St. M ary-le-B ow , rung cerem onially on
L ord M ayor’s D ay, and St. B ride’s, F leet Street, w here a peal of
twelve bells was com pleted in 1724, th e first in th e City*. T h a t was
the tim e w hen bell-ringing was very fashionable and some o f the
ringers retu rn ed to the W est E nd in th eir carriages. A year later
there is an en try in the churchw ardens’ accounts at St. G iles’s
C ripplegate : “ Paid for a leg o f m u tto n for ye ringers on A scension
D ay— 2s. l d . ” . . . A t a tim e w hen the houses w ere m ostly of
wood the curfew was an im portant m atter, b u t old custom retained
the curfew long after the need to extinguish fires had passed, even
into th e last century.
T
N R om an tim es no citizen was allowed to be buried w ithin
th e walls, b u t in th e M iddle Ages nearly every citizen was buried
in his ow n parish. T h erefore in walled cities there m ust have been
great difficulty in finding room for th e dead. In L ondon this
was partly overcom e by clearing portions o f the churchyards from
tim e to tim e and placing the bones in a charnel house, or if such
did not exist, in th e great charnel house near St. Paul's. In a few
instances crypts rem ain under the churches, and these were probably
used for th e purpose. T h e one opened not long ago at St. O lave’s,
H a rt Street, rath er surprisingly contains a well. It is significant
th a t th e only opening in th e wall o f this crypt is on the south, the
side o f th e churchyard, so t l r t it w ould have been possible to
transfer bones directly from th e yard to th e crypt. T h is would
doubtless have been m ore convenient and m ore seemly than
carrying them dow n a steep and narrow stair.
* Both these peals were silenced by enemy action through fire : the bells
fell and were considerably damaged, also some o f them suffered by the intense
heat.— A.R .H .
256
257
I
A
�T h e great bell at St. Sepulchre’s was rung at the execution of
crim inals at N ew gate. In th e aisle o f th e ch urch is, or was, a small
hand-bell w hich was ru n g outside th e condem ned cell the night
before th e execution, th e ringer chanting m eanw hile an exhortation
to repentance.
Six or seven churches possessed bells w hich date from before
th e G reat Fire (1666) b u t none so fam ous as some of those w hich
were m elted in its heat. I am thinking o f those of Bow C hurch
whose message alm ost m iraculously w afted to H ighgate, rang
" T u rn again W h ittin g to n , L ord M ayor o f L o n d o n .”
CITY SWORD-RESTS
E A R L Y all th e C ity churches provided a corporation pew
and a sw ord-rest or stand. T h e nu m ber o f the rests now
rem aining in L ondon is seventy, several churches having
two or three. T h is is som etim es accounted for by the transference
o f th e sw ord-rest from a dem olished church to the church of united
parishes. T h e only ch u rch I can call to m ind w ithout one is St. M ary
A lderm anbury, w hich was alm ost cleared o f its original fittings
about sixty years ago. I believe th at th e unnam ed exam ple at the
V ictoria and A lb ert M useum came from th at church. A friend
and I are tracing these relics as far as we can, and as the result of
an interesting investigation I th in k th at we have established this
fact. N early all the sw ord-rests are w rought iron, although there
are w ooden exam ples. T h e rests usually bear th e arm s of G reat
B ritain, th e C ity o f L ondon and th e livery com pany to w hich the
L ord M ayor belonged in w hose honour they were erected. I am
not sure at whose expense they were p u t up, w hether the livery
com pany or th e parish. I should be inclined to think th at w hen
a livery com pany attended an annual service in th e church of the
parish in w hich its hall was situated, and the sw ord-rest bears the
arm s o f th a t com pany, they were th e donors. L ord M ayors in the
past frequently attended C ity churches in state, accom panied by the
sheriffs. Living in th e C ity as a boy, I can vividly recall th e clanking
o f m any horses’ hoofs in the sabbath-silent streets, w hich indicated
to us th at th e picturesque procession was approaching, headed
by the C ity M arshal on horseback.
N
pow erful persons by his outspokenness and also dispelled m any
cherished traditions. If in his search am ong old docum ents he
discovered th at individuals, or even corporations, had been faithless
to th eir trusteeship, he did not fail to denounce them .
He
mercilessly exposed fashionable quack physicians and other
im postors. H e railed against the M arquis of W inchester for his
destruction of th e steeple of the A ugustinian church. “ L ondon
had lost a goodly m onum ent for one m an ’s com m odity. T im e
hereafter m ight talk of it.” H e poured scorn on some other w riters
on A ntiquities w hom he styled plagiarists, and proved th at they
quoted statem ents w ithout verification. H e refuted the tradition
th at the dagger in the C ity's arm s had anything to do w ith the
stabbing of W a t T yler, b u t show ed th at it was the sw ord of
St. Paul and had been in use before the reign of R ichard the Second.
M en in our tim e have asserted th a t D ick W h ittin g to n never ow ned
a cat nor King A rth u r a R ound T able, b u t their discoveries are not
popular. How ever, old Stow m ust have won the esteem o f his
fellow citizens at last, if we can judge by the fine alabaster m onum ent,
erected not long after his death in the church of St. A ndrew U n d ershaft. W h en we pay our respects we should rem em ber th at he
was th e friend of C am den, th at our society was first launched under
th e nam e of the C am bridge C am den Society, and only changed
the title after the original m em bers had left C am bridge.
INIGO JONES
R IT E R S on Stow generally express surprise th a t so fam ous
a m an should have received so little encouragem ent, and
have becom e so poor th a t in th e eightieth year of his age
collections were m ade on his b ehalf by special licence from the
king. I th in k th at th e explanation is th at he offended m any
N E w onders w hether W re n had to fight for the designs of
his parish churches as he had to do for the cathedral plans.
Presum ably in each case he w ould have to satisfy the
incum bents and the leading parishioners. Before the G reat Fire
all the churches in L ondon were o f G othic character w ith one
exception— th a t of Inigo Jones’s church of St. P au l’s, C ovent
G arden. Inigo Jones was an innovator, b u t th e n he had a duke
for his client, and not a very ecclesiastically m inded duke either.
Know ing th at his tenant leaseholders w ould require a conveniently
situated place of w orship, he asked th e C ourt architect to design
" som ething b etter th an a b a rn .” F or a generation or two St. P au l’s,
C ovent G arden, m ust have been one o f the m ost fashionably
attended places of w orship in the capital and no d o u b t its com plete
abandonm ent of m ediaeval tradition helped W re n to im pose his
classic taste upon the citizens, although we know th at in a few
instances he had to adopt the G othic style.
L et us im agine ourselves about three hun d red years ago, after
crossing the bridge over the Fleet River and before beginning the
steep and narrow ascent of L udgate H ill, gazing at the ships
discharging fish and sea-coal A b o u t half-way up the hill stands
L udgate, used as a prison for debtors and ornam ented w ith the
statue of Q ueen Elizabeth w hich is now over th e porch of
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JOHN STOW
T A IL O R A N D C H R O N IC L E R
W
O
�St. D u n sta n ’s, Fleet Street. W e push our way through the
thronged and narrow arch. T h e vista o f the thoroughfare is
com pletely blocked by the scaffolding w hich encloses the great
portico arising in front o f St. P au l’s cathedral. T h e like of this portico,
from th e design o f Inigo Jones, has never before been seen in
England. T h a t portico, in th e heart o f th e city, paved the way
for W re n in th e m inds o f th e leading citizens.
[T here is a m em orial to Inigo Jones in the church of St. Benet,
P au l’s W h arf, now used by th e W elsh.]
W REN’S CITY CHURCHES
R E A T changes came over E nglish architecture d uring the
sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, betw een the
R eform ation and th e C om m onw ealth. Foreign artists were
invited to E ngland or fled here from th e C ontinent. T h ere was
the Italian T orrigiano, th e F ren ch L e Soeur, the G erm an H olbein,
and, later, th e D u tch Van Dyck. T hese, and m any other artists
and craftsm en, helped to change com pletely the fashion o f all
th e arts. N oblem en and others travelled to foreign cities, and some
retu rn ed w ith scupltures and m arbles to adorn their tow n palaces
or country m ansions. Sir C h risto p h er W ren him self w ent to
Paris in 1665, the year o f th e plague; he visited buildings in
course o f erection such as the L ouvre, and doubtless m ade note
o f th e recently com pleted dom ed church o f Val de Grace, w here
o u r K ing C harles th e F irs t’s Q u een had been buried.
G
O nly one parish ch u rch had been b uilt in the C ity o f L ondon
d u rin g the period w hich we are considering— St. K atharine Cree,
in L eadenhall Street. T h a t was erected as late as th e reign o f
Charles th e F irst, yet, apart from the Renaissance details of the
arcades w hich separate nave from aisles, the general effect is largely
G othic because o f th e traceried w indow s and the p attern of the
ribs on th e plaster vault. Inigo Jones had b uilt St. Paul's, C ovent
G arden, in a purely Italian style, b u t th at was a private chapel-ofease for th e convenience o f residents on th e D uke o f B edford’s
estate th en in course o f developm ent.
to stand or kneel.
A fter the G reat Fire m any parishes were
am algam ated on grounds o f econom y and this m ade it im perative
th a t the new churches should be as com m odious as possible. T h e
necessary extra accom m odation caused W re n to resort to galleries
in m any instances and these required spacious staircases and lofty
pulpits. M otives of econom y m ade it desirable to use existing
foundations w here feasible and old m asonry and other m aterials.
In a few cases portions o f walls could be em bodied in the new
stru ctu res; especially was this the case w ith the lower portions
o f towers.
W re n seems, w ith his usual com m onsense, to have accepted
all these factors willingly, for the only instances in w hich he
appears to be clinging to th e out-m oded “ G othick ” were those
w here the wishes o f a donor or of the parishioners had to be m et
(St. M ary A lderm ary and St. M ichael, C ornhill, are cases in point).
H is m athem atical m ind played upon various plan-shapes— square
and oblong w ith one aisle, w ith two aisles or aisleless; w ith ceilings
flat, coved, groined or barrel-shaped; also w ith dom es on walls
only, on barrel vaults, on four or eight colum ns, and a ten-sided
ch urch w ith six colum ns carrying the dom e.
T h e cost of the fabrics only was m et by a duty of one shilling
on every ton o f coal entering the m etropolis; th e parishioners
subscribed the m oney for the furnishings and fittings. In spite
o f W re n ’s longevity and industry he cannot have designed all
th e details of the fittings, for besides th e fifty churches and the
cathedral he was em ployed upon G reenw ich and Chelsea H ospitals,
palaces at H am pton, W inchester and K ensington, several C ity
livery com panies’ halls, the M onum ent, T em ple Bar and college
w ork at O xford, C am bridge, E ton and W inchester. W e know
th at the F rench sm ith T ijou designed his w rought iron screens,
grilles and gates, although W ren doubtless gave him ideas as to
size and character. T h e nam e of G rinling G ibbons is associated
w ith m ost o f the carved woodwork in the churches, b u t here
again it w ould have been physically im possible for one m an to
have executed all this work, especially w hen accounts prove that
he was engaged at the cathedral and various palaces at the
same tim e.
T h is is, briefly, th e setting o f the stage on w hich W re n was
asked to perform . B ut he had to consider other factors. T h e
im pulse w hich A rchbishop L aud had given in favour o f a
cerem onial liturgy had died dow n d u rin g the reign o f Puritanism
at the tim e o f the C om m onw ealth. L ong serm ons had become
the chief feature o f the Sunday services and the com m union table
was overshadow ed by th e pulpit. Even th e w ord “ altar ” had
alm ost fallen into disuse. C hoirs only existed in cathedrals, royal
chapels and a few o ther churches. T h e increase of population
resulted in m any churches being overcrow ded, especially as all
w orshippers expected to be seated and were no longer content
W re n was pre-em inent as an astronom er and a leader in the
realm s o f physics, m echanics, m eteorology and chem istry. M y
old m aster and principal had this in m ind w hen he paid trib u te
to W re n on the occasion of the celebration o f his bi-centenary.
As President o f the R .I.B .A . it fell to M r. W aterhouse to lay the
cerem onial w reath on W re n ’s tom b in St. P au l’s.
A t the
com m em oration banquet the same evening he concluded his
speech w ith th e following w ords : " W e to-day pay reverent
hom age to a m an so dow ered w ith the gifts of genius and w ith the
spirit o f industry th at his leadership in the fields of natural science
found no equal save in his suprem acy as an architect : one,
m oreover, whose culture in classic literature was gracefully balanced
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�by a character so gentle and alluring as to w in this o u tb u rst from a
contem porary :
It is doubtful w hether he was m ost to be
com m ended for the divine felicity o f his genius or for th e sweet
hum anity o f his disposition.' ”
NOTES ON BOMBED CHURCHES IN LONDON
O R two h u n d re d and fifty years L ondon afforded such a
panoram a o f dom es, tow ers and spires as was equalled by
no city in E urope. C ontinental cities usually had, and have,
several large parish churches. In E ngland, on the other hand,
cities o f ancient foundation, such as L ondon, Bristol, Exeter, York
and N orw ich, contained m any sm all ones.
F
W ith in th e area o f th e C ity o f L o n d on— one square m ile—
th ere have been one h u n d red and fifteen separate parishes, each w ith
its own church, besides th e cathedral, priories and nunneries.
Several o f these disappeared in th e spiritual flames o f R eform ation
and m any m ore in th e m aterial flames o f 1666, so th a t at the end
o f th e seventeenth centu ry m any parishes had been am algam ated
and th ere w ere only seventy-tw o churches in the C ity itself. T h is
practice o f uniting parishes dates from th e reign o f H en ry th e F irst
and, finally, prior to 1939, there were forty-eight churches intact,
including those w ithin th e extension o f th e city boundary to the
west and north.
O f th e forty-eight churches eight w ere m ediaeval, thirty-tw o
by W re n , and eight o f subsequent date. W h a t has been the fate
o f W re n ’s churches ? H e designed churches adapted to fam ily
w orship and th e hearing o f long serm ons. C onsequently, there
were spacious pews and im posing pulpits, generally centrally
placed, and, to some extent, hiding th e com m union tables.
Populous parishes required galleries; th ere w ere no structural
sanctuaries, nor choir stalls. T h e re were, however, handsom e
reredoses inscribed w ith th e C om m andm ents, the C reed, the
L o rd ’s Prayer and, usually, w ith paintings of M oses and A aron.
T h e organs were m ostly added later, b u t often in W re n ’s lifetim e;
they invariably occupied th e west galleries.
St. Sw ithin’s, C annon Street and St. M ary A lderm ary bastard platetracery was introduced into the windows. Sir G ilbert Scott added
G othic porches to A Il-H allow s-by-the-T ow er and St. M ichael’s,
C ornhill, a m iddle pointed G othic apse to St. A lb an ’s, W ood Street.
Some of these were good in them selves b u t were seldom in harm ony
w ith the spirit of W ren. Perhaps the m ost extraordinary evidence
o f change of taste was that Street, the architect o f th e L aw C ourts,
was em ployed to make a design for the re-building of St. D ionis
B ackchurch in red-brick G othic. T h is was in 1860 and I surm ise
th at it did not m aterialise because the C orporation required the site
for the w idening o f F en ch u rch Street. O nly a narrow strip o f
garden recalls the position o f W re n ’s fine church.*
You may w onder w hy I refer to some of these m atters, b u t
they are relevant to the future of these churches. T h ere are other
points to be taken into consideration. T h e fabrics of W re n ’s
churches were, w ith one exception, built at the cost of all the citizens
o f L ondon and its su burbs by m eans of a tax on coal : the fittings
only were paid for by parishioners. Again the population o f the city
has declined d uring the last hun d red years. T h e congregations
o f the destroyed churches were m ostly very small and the incum bents
and choir usually lived at a distance from the parish. W e should
rem em ber, too, th at the D u tch congregation at A ustin F riars once
received an offer of a m illion pounds for the site of their church
and two or three houses adjoining. T h e C ity and South L ondon
Railway C om pany offered three quarters of a m illion pounds for
the site of St. M ary W oolnoth. B oth of these tem pting offers were
honourably declined. W h a t of the fu tu re ?
First, there are the “ clean sweepers ” w ho consider th a t the
rem aining churches suffice for the whole area of the city, th at the
ruined churches stand in the way o f proper reconstruction of roads
and buildings, that if the sites w ere disposed of m any new churches
could be built and endow ed in the suburbs.
Secondly, there are those w ho advocate the rem oval o f the ruins
leaving only the tow ers and spires, w ith small gardens attached.
Some o f the m em orials could doubtless be recovered and placed
in th e towers.
Thirdly, others w ould reconstruct the churches them selves in
the suburbs.
Lastly, there is the proposal advocated in th e Times to restore
th e fabrics w here practicable and to postpone the m atter of fittings
indefinitely.
T h e O xford M ovem ent altered a great deal of this d u ring the
nineteen th century. Pulpits w ere shifted to afford a b etter view of
the altars. C hoir stalls were provided and organs m oved to the east
end w here they often destroyed the sym m etry o f the aisles and
exposed aw kw ard looking flanks. Pews were lowered and rearranged
to suit th e altered conditions. Stone-flagged floors were relaid w ith
red and black encaustic tiles. Stained glass was introduced into the
window s and obscured th e light, already m uch reduced by the
increased height o f neighbouring buildings. T h e influence o f the
G othic Revival did not stop th ere for in St. M ichael’s, C ornhill,
* The panelled Vestry Hall also served to retain the name of the parish
and was used for elections and other local matters.— A .R.H .
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T h e re is m uch to be said for the policy of retaining the tow ers
and spires and I expect th at in m any cases it will be carried out.
It w ould give little satisfaction to the shade o f Sir C h ristopher
for he had designed his churches as a w onderful group, balanced as
�to m ass and contrasted in outline. T o see a few isolated specim ens
overtopped by tall buildings w ould fill him w ith dism ay. H e was
som etim es able to incorporate portions o f mediaeval tow ers as at
St. L aw rence Jew ry, w here th ere is one angle acute, b u t not noticeable
while th e body o f th e church stood. T h e destroyed lantern was
m ade square and not parallel w ith th e oblique parapets. A gain
th e lower parts o f tow ers w ere very often plain, being little
seen in narrow courts and streets until they rose clear above the
adjoining roofs.
W h e n we come to th e proposal to rem ove the churches to the
su b u rb s and reconstruct th em th ere as far as possible stone by stone
let us reflect on the case o f St. A ndrew 's, W ell Street, w hich was
so re-erected at K ingsbury. T h e cost was about £50,000 and the
late Bishop o f L on d o n said " N ever again." W re n ’s designs
were for particular sites, often so hem m ed in th at th e side elevations
were negligible or alm ost non-existent. M any o f his best churches
had galleries and these were an integral part o f the design and built
w ith th e high pulpits. T h e congregations in these galleries w ould
h ardly be able to see the altar unless seated in the front, hence m uch
space w ould be wasted.
As regards the last proposition, to rebuild or restore the fabric
in situ and leave the fittings to the future, we know nothing of the
new tow n plan for th e C ity b u t we m ay be quite sure th at the
narrow streets and alleys th a t W re n w ished unavailingly to suppress
will not survive. W re n ’s churches w ere adapted to th e lines of these
frontages and only in a few instances were suited to stand free like
St. C lem ent D anes or St. Jam es';’, Piccadilly.
Is it likely th at th e ch u rch authorities will forgo all these
site values and rebuild churches w hich they regard as red u n d an t and
m aintain th em w hen they w ould be practically useless for services ?
It is not possible to lay dow n general rules applicable to all
the destroyed churches. Each m ust be considered on its m erits—
its artistic value, its condition and how it fits into the new tow nplan for th e City. I w ould suggest th a t St. B ride’s C hurch, whose
walls are fairly intact, be used as a W re n M useum . T h ere will
be m any pieces o f finely carved oakwork, ironw ork and m asonry
w hich cannot be re-used. T h ese could be collected and arranged
on th e floor space. In reconstructed l'evel galleries, draw ings,
plans, photographs and paintings o f all W re n ’s works could be
displayed. O nly by such m eans can the genius o f W re n be
preserved and appreciated. St. N icholas Cole A bbey w ould make
a fine concert and lecture hall, its low flat ceiling and unobstructed
interior being particularly good for sound. T h e east wall of
St. Law rence Jew ry should be preserved even if the whole o f this
m ost elaborate o f W re n ’s churches be not restored as the
“ C orporation C h u rc h ."
B ut m uch will depend upon w hether we get Peace w ith
Security or only Peace w ith A nxiety.
THOUGHTS ON NINETEENTH CENTURY
ARCHITECTURE
(From Lectures to Students)
O B E R T A D A M ’S visit to Italy had notable effects on English
architecture.
C ontinental travel becam e fashionable and
a club was form ed in L ondon for m em bership o f w hich
only those were eligible w ho had visited lands, at first five hun d red
b ut, later, one thousand miles away. Explorations in G reece and
th e arrival in L ondon o f the m arbles from the P arthenon directed
cultivated taste to H ellenic art. T h e struggle for G reek in d ep en d
ence (and the death of Byron) helped to sustain the interest. H ence
the desire to create buildings of G reek design in a m ovem ent w hich
becam e know n as
the G reek Revival.M T h ere were, at least,
th ree clubs form ed as a result of this or influenced by it, the
A theneum , the P arthenon and the E rectheum . T h e first o f these
has becom e one of the prem ier clubs o f the w orld and still occupies
the building, o f date 1830, ornam ented w ith a reproduction of the
parthenaic frieze. T h e D oric gateway to E uston Station is an exam ple
of this phase as is also St. Pancras C hurch nearby. T h e exterior
of this church is based on the tem ple at A thens know n as the
E rectheum and in order to satisfy th e dem and for a steeple, a
com position based on a m ixture o f m otifs and details from the
T em ple o f the W in d s and o f the C horagic m onum ent to Lysicrates
rises from behind the portico. T h e climax of the m ovem ent m ay
be said to be the unfinished reproduction o f p art o f the P arthenon
w hich adorns the C alton H ill at E dinburgh.
R
Archaeological research was not confined to th e antiquities o f
G reece and Rom e for the em bers of G othic w ere still sm ouldering
in the closing years of the eighteenth century, b ursting into flames
at Straw berry H ill and F onthill A bbey, fanned by those rom antics,
H orace W alpole and W illiam Beckford. In the early years o f
the nineteenth century there was a literary m ovem ent led by Sir
W alter Scott and the poet W o rdsw orth w hich tu rn ed m en ’s thoughts
to the ancient m onum ents of our own country. “ R uins ’’ becam e
fashionable and " G othic ’’ ceased to be a w ord o f reproach
and even am ateurs becom e experts in distinctions of style.
T h e n the O xford M ovem ent took place in the C hurch, and
gradually the ritual of the services in m any o f the churches reverted
m ore and m ore to th e cerem onial o f the M iddle Ages. T h e literary
and ecclesiastical m ovem ents, com bined w ith th e w ork o f artists
hke C arter, B ritton and C otm an, com bined to produce the G othic
Revival w hich perm eated not only building, b ut all the kindred
crafts. A great num ber of new churches was required to m eet the
rapidly grow ing population of the industrial tow ns. T hese were
alm ost invariably built in a G othic style, m ost of th e schools and
the vicarages following suit. M unicipal buildings, law courts,
m useum s and even railway stations m ade a brave show of buttresses,
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�cathedral at W estm inster. T h e inspiration for his design is to be
sought in R avenna and Byzantium . T h e reverberation o f his
triu m p h is still felt in ecclesiastical circles for reasons not entirely
aesthetic. Brick as a m aterial is cheaper th an stone nearly every
where, and a good deal of ornam ental effect can be obtained by
laying bricks in herring-bone or vertical panels, and by a discreet
use o f various kinds o f courses. All these effects can be obtained
w ithout any fu rth er work upon the m aterial itself. A little added
expense produces bricks o f special shapes. All o f these expedients
Bentley em ployed w ith skill upon the exterior o f his great work.
A m asonry church equally ornam ented w ould have been vastly
m ore expensive.
You m ay not be so fam iliar w ith exam ples o f broken rules
or conventions. Belcher designed a fine building near M oorgate
for the In stitu te o f C hartered A ccountants. T h e crow ning feature
is an enriched architrave and cornice supported upon Ionic colum ns.
T h e re is no frieze betw een the architrave and the co rn ice; th u s the
entablature (if one may still so term it) lacks one of its three orthodox
m em bers. T h ere is, however, a band of fine sculpture below the
u pper w indow s. It is as if the frieze had been divorced from its
usual place for this purpose. A t N ew Scotland Yard, N orm an Shaw
built his red brick su p erstru ctu re upon a lofty grey granite p lin th
w ithout the intervention of the usual stringcourse to m ark the
junction. A nd, finally, we have M r. W a d e ’s School of N eedlew ork
at South K ensington, w ith its th re e-q u arter engaged colum ns on
the u pper part, supported upon corbels only. It was a healthy
sign of public interest that questions on these last instances were
asked and replied to in the H ouse of Com m ons. Scotland Y ard
was com pared to a jam or pickle factory, w hich probably was a
delicate com plim ent to a building belonging to M essrs. Crosse and
Blackwell, not long since dem olished.
W e m ay sum up the conclusions of the nineteenth century in
the following generalisations. T h e century opens w ith a fashionable
G reek Revival, and G othic struggling to find expression. T h e n the
G reek enthusiasm is exhausted and a G othic Revival is in full
sw ing; b u t its suprem acy is always challenged by the classic school
w hich is in m ost favour for civic and com m ercial buildings. Finally,'
G othic influence fades although still felt in m atters ecclesiastical.
A rchitects w ork m ostly in a m ore or less free classic. A few like
Shaw, M acintosh and Voysey strike out in new directions, b u t m ost
do w hat they think will appear right in other people’s eyes.
pinnacles and pointed arches, culm inating in Sir G ilb ert Scott’s
pile at St. Pancras. Revivalists began by picking up the dropped
threads o f the G othic garm ent in its latest style and “ Perpendicular ”
becam e fashionable. T h e n it was discovered th at th e fo uiteenth
centu ry had seen th e sum m it o f G othic art, and “ D ecorated ” was the
only wear. T h e backw ard tren d soon reached the th irte en th century
and tw o o f th e leading church architects, Pearson and Brooks,
soon w orked alm ost exclusively in the Early Pointed style. I do
not say “ Early E nglish,” for b o th m en w ere influenced by the
churches o f N o rth ern France, as was Street by the brick and m arble
churches o f N o rth Italy. T irin g o f native G othic, some dom estic
architects found inspiration in Flanders, H olland and the chateaux
o f th e Loire.
Yet all th e tim e o th er influences were m aintained. T h e Prince
C onsort show ed th e b read th o f his taste by sponsoring an Italian
villa at O sborne, a tow er o f G erm an outline to W hippingham
C h u rch , a Scottish baronial castle at Balmoral and a vast stru ctu re of
iron and glass in H yde Park. H e reposes in an Italo-B yzantine
m ausoleum at Frogm ore. G othic m ade little headw ay in the
C ity.
W e never had a G othic Coal Exchange or Stock
Exchange and people shook th eir heads w hen B aring’s chose
th e Q ueen A n n e period for th eir new head office. T h ey came
to grief and bankers have never since d eparted even thus far from
th e Classic.
Sedding followed on w ith H oly T rin ity , Sloane Street, w here
his P erpendicular G othic church contains a p u lp it and a baldachino
as Italian as they make them .
Finally tow ards th e end o f th e century, chaos was reached
w hen architects took to m ixing th e styles, using old m aterials
in new ways, in troducing new m aterials like steel and terra-cotta,
ornam enting private buildings w ith dom es and tow ers and ignoring
w hat had hith erto been considered rules o f architecture.
As regards th e m ixture o f styles, N orm an Shaw^ intrigued
th e architectural w orld w ith his G o th ic-Q ueen A nne church at
B edford Park. C ollcutt, in the Im perial In stitu te used free classic
details on a stru ctu re w hich is G othic in outline and w ith steep
roofs and lofty elaborated dorm ers. T h e re is even a faint suggestion
o f India in th e tow ers and finials. T h e same building illustrates
a novel use o f red brick for ornam ental bands betw een courses o f
stone.
V aulting in G othic churches had hitherto been o f stone or
plastered laths in im itation o f m asonry. It was left to Pearson to
v ault an E nglish ch u rch th ro u g h o u t in brickw ork. H e even used
com m on yellow stock bricks for this purpose in th e church of
St. John, R ed L ion Square. T erra-co tta was re-introduced, and
W aterh o u se was the first to em ploy it for th e entire external facing
o f an im portant building, nam ely th e N atural H istory M useum .
I t m ade q u ite an im pression, and I have traced its echoes as far
as M ilan. Bentley was equally bold in em ploying brick for his
W h at attitude should one take in criticising m odern buildings
designed in th e fashion o f past centuries and of other climes ? W e
m ust surely feel th at the principle of appropriateness is doubly
violated. But the point is not always so sim ply dealt w ith. Supposing
th at an architect is m aking an addition to an old building, or erecting
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As a result, L ondon affords the greatest variety o f architectural
designs, for nine-tenths o f it dates from the nineteenth century.
Rom e and Paris are m onotonous in com parison.
�a new one in close proxim ity to an ancient m onum ent, w hat attitude
should he adopt w ith regard to his design ? It was curious, and
alm ost am using, th at while Sir H orace Jones was dressing up the
steel fram e o f th e T o w er Bridge in p seudo-G othic m asonry to
harm onise w ith th e T ow er, w ithin the T ow er itself a red brick
G u ard H ouse was b uilt w ithout any G othic features other th an a
gabled roof, and a few m ullioned windows. T h e T ow er Bridge
was at first rapturously received and becam e very popular. T h e
popularity was m ainly due to the fact th at, although only a privileged
few could see th e wheels go round, all could see the bascules move
u p and dow n. T h e G u ard H ouse was stigm atised in the H ouse o f
C om m ons, b u t is now quietly accepted or ignored. M ost architects,
I think, agree w ith th e policy o f th e Society for the Protection of
A ncient Buildings, w hich, while striving to preserve as conserv
atively as is practicable, genuine w ork o f interest, deprecates any
deceptive copying o f bygone form s and details. W e see how Sir
A ston W e b b tackled th e jo b at St. B artholom ew the G reat.
A n o th er exam ple is P en n eth o rn e’s addition to Som erset H ouse,
th e portion facing W ellington Street. T h is was considered to be
such a successful attem p t to be harm onious, w ithout exact copying
o f th e original work, th a t a public din n er was given to P ennethorne
b y his b ro th er architects.
In designing the n o rth front of the
B ritish M useum , Sir John B urnet is generally th o ught to have been
successful. H ow it will link up w ith the front w hen th e wings
are com pleted I do not know, b u t doubtless th at has been considered.
Supposing it was decided to enlarge th e H ouses of Parliam ent by
enclosing N ew Palace Y ard w ith buildings. W ell, we have B arry’s
draw ings for this very thing, w ith a fine gateway tow er at the corner
tow ards Parliam ent Street. O n ly I w ould suggest th at the elaborate
detail o f th e present building should not be reproduced to th at
extent or q uite in th e sam e from . T h e re m ight be ju st enough
m odification to denote the different periods of erection, and to
express th e strin g en t tim es in w hich we are living.
L et us re tu rn to th e appraisem ent o f buildings of Revival
m ovem ents. H aving ad m itted the inappropriateness of past styles
to o u r own age, let us not be blind to qualities o f good proportion,
good com position o f mass and parts and good planning, all of
w hich are practically independent o f style. T h e n there are such
points to be borne in m ind as th e use o f good m aterials in the best
way; consistent scale; dignity and repose, w hich are nearly identical,
and effects o f colour and light and shade, w hich are nearly as closely
connected. T h u s, if we consider a D oric propyleum or gateway
to be an inappropriate entrance to a railway station, we can still
adm ire th e m agnificent m asonry, w ith single blocks (at Euston)
w eighing th irteen tons. If we th in k th at groups o f R om anesque
tow ers are uncalled for in a m useum , and even if we do not care
for terra-cotta, we can adm ire th e planning of the N atural H istory
M useum and th e excellently m odelled and appropriate ornam ent.
I am not thinking o f the N o rm an chevrons, b u t those delightful
268
m onkeys th at are for ever clim bing up the piers of the great hall,
and m any other cleverly conventionalised birds, anim als and reptiles.
If the nineteenth century was characterised as a century of
Revivals, th ere were certain sociological developm ents w hich had
m ore perm anent effect on the appearance o f our towns. U ntil the
construction o f canals, buildings were usually erected o f local
m aterials. T h e exceptions were churches, castles and m ansions,
w hich were often built o f stone even if it had to be brought by sea or
river from a distance. In the beginning of the last century L ondon
was still m ainly a brick-built city roofed w ith tiles. Tw o o f W re n ’s
churches had red-tiled roofs. W h en slates could be brought cheaply
from W ales, they becam e the chief roofing m aterial. U n d er the
R egency it becam e usual to hide brickw ork beneath stucco. L ater in
the century m arbles and tim bers were im ported from all parts of
th e w orld in ever-increasing variety. Cast iron came to the front
in P addington Station w here Brunel allowed D igby W y att to devise
some original b u t not very successful ornam ental details. T h e
C rystal Palace carried th at kind o f developm ent a stage fu rth er and
steel was em ployed at St. Pancras and O lym pia.
T h e extended and cheapened facilities for travel enabled
architects and draughtsm en to fill th eir sketchbooks w ith features
noted abroad especially in France, Italy, H olland, G erm any and
Belgium. In the latter part o f the century buildings frequently
em bodied picturesque bits from these sources and occasionally
w ere m odelled entirely on foreign exam ples. F o r th e first tim e
E ngland felt the influence o f A m erica, not by copying any aesthetic
elem ent, b u t by the adoption o f the elevator or lift. Buildings had
been restricted as to the num ber of their floors by th e ordinary
lim its o f hum an endurance. A fter th e introduction o f the lift,
th e lim it only depended on the thickness of th e walls necessary to
carry the increased floor loads and to resist the force o f gales.
T hick walls are not only expensive to build, b u t occupy m ore space
and restrict the outlook from the room s. Q ueen A nn e's M ansions,
W estm in ster was the first L o ndon block to exploit the new conditions
and the ow ner did this so brutally, and w ith so little regard to the
am enities of his neighbours, th at new clauses o f the B uilding A ct
were form ulated to prevent anyone else following suit to the same
extent. T hese clauses, w hich are still in force, restrict the height
to 80 ft. b u t perm it tw o storeys in the roof in addition.
TW EN TIETH CENTURY ARCHITECTURE
(From Lectures to Students)
N attem pting to judge or describe architecture of the tw entieth
century we are beset w ith difficulties, for w ithin only one-third
of the century there were m ore conflicting aims and new
problem s th an in any w hich preceded it.
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269
�O n th e one hand we see builders nailing deal boards to the
fronts o f brick or concrete houses th at they may label them
“ T u d o r,” while excellent architects restrict them selves to the
traditional m aterials o f a locality and produce beautiful houses
harm onious w ith th eir surroundings and w ith th e texture of
antiquity, beloved o f th eir clients. W e see one of our leading
architects, designing headquarters for the Y .W .C .A ., using the
m anner o f th e early G eorges, so well suited to the period of
crinolines and pow dered wigs, b u t scarcely appropriate to the
young w om en o f today, w ho have discarded the wigs b u t not
th e pow der. W e see buildings w hich are outw ardly clothed w ith
brick or stone b u t are really constructed of steel. A t Selfridge’s,
stone colum ns are b uilt up around steel stanchions because otherw ise
th e su p erstru ctu re could not be sustained.
Some architects have struggled w ith the proper uses of
concrete w hen em ployed instead o f brick or stone. T h ere are
instances w here th e concrete has been freed from the surface
cem ent so as to expose th e aggregate of w hich the mass is com posed.
In other instances the concrete has been covered w ith large,
th in slabs o f m arble or granite frankly treated as veneer, w ith
m etal rivets show ing at th e corners o f th e slabs. A t the D orchester
H ouse H otel th e outer walls are faced w ith precast concrete blocks,
th e o u ter skin o f w hich is com posed of m arble; th e blocks being
so shaped and disposed th a t no one should be deceived into thinking
th a t the walls are stru ctu ral in the old sense of supporting floors
and roof. Floors and roof, and th e loads w hich come upon them ,
are carried by th e steel fram ew ork, w hich has to be concealed
to com ply w ith the B uilding A ct and restrictions against fire.
T h e n we have experim ents in reinforced concrete— a m aterial
w hich not only opens out new possibilities o f construction, b u t is
alm ost im perishable and requires practically no upkeep. T h is
m aterial is revolutionising th e shapes of openings and all our
traditional ideas o f proportion. D evelopm ents in electric lighting
are beginning to affect th e design o f buildings. C entral heating
has given an im petus to th e use o f ply and lam inated woods to
resist th e otherw ise certain w arping and shrinkage. T h e invention
o f plyw ood as now developed enables us to use slabs of wood in
one piece up to about 40 ft. super, m aking the m ethod o f fram ed
panelling unnecessary, and enabling woods of the finest grain and
quality to be used w ithout extravagance.
transform ed by the skilful use of glass for lam ps and canopies.
T h e Daily Express building is an instance of a different sort. H ere
the walling betw een th e continuous w indows of each storey is
faced w ith black glass. A squad of w indow cleaners will be able
to m aintain the elevations fresh in all their hard and rem orseless
efficiency.
R ubber has becom e a recognised m aterial for flooring. T h e
beautiful W a r M em orial Chapel at St. M ichael’s C h urch, C hester
Square, designed by Sir Giles Scott, is paved w ith black and w hite
rubber. It does not offer th e clear surface of m arble, b u t the
squares will wear level, and the distracting noise of scraping chair
legs is avoided; besides, ru b b er is w arm er than m arble to the
feet and knees. A sphalt properly laid provides a w ater-resisting
surface th at makes a sloping roof unnecessary. C an we doubt
b u t th at m ost self-respecting blocks of flats will provide a flat roof
for the landing o f aeroplanes in the near future? T h ere is already a
m otor track on the roof of a factory in T u rin for testing the running
o f m otor cars. T h e o u tp u t of synthetic m aterials is enorm ous
and increasing, and m any o f them can be obtained in a variety
o f colours. A nd as if all these novelties were not sufficient for
architects to assimilate, we have such revolutionary ideas as those
p u t forw ard by the F rench architects, C orbusier and A ugust
Perret.
W e are still confronted w ith the problem s involved in the
clash of ideals, the variety of new m aterials at hand, and the fresh
purposes for w hich buildings have already been required in this
century. Cinem as, film studios, crem atoria, aerodrom es, b ro ad
casting stations, electric transform ing stations, bathing pools and
pavilions are becom ing frequent m anifestations of our civilisation.
W e have to prepare ourselves to do w hat we can to resolve these
conflicts, to preserve some scale and harm ony w ith w hat has gone
before and still persists. W e may dislike the tren d of m odern
architecture, b u t on reflection we m ust adm it th at th e L am p of
T ru th often burns m ost brightly in the M odernist cam p. O r,
on the other hand, we m ay adm ire the clean, polished elevations
o f the Ideal R adiator building in G reat M arlborough Street, or
D rage’s in O xford Street, b u t should we erect sim ilar buildings
facing W estm in ster A bbey or St. P aul’s ? T hese are some of the
difficulties to be faced up to. I have explained som ething of past
tradition. I cannot sufficiently em phasise th at all good building
should continue to be expressive o f its own period, th at revival
and copying are mistakes. T h e appropriate and artistic use of
new m aterials requires m uch thought. T h ere is th e old saying
th a t ‘‘A rt is long, life is short ” ! T h e architectural art was never
longer th a n now, if by length we m ean the variety of its phases
and the com plexity of its form s, b u t, fortunately, life is longer, too,
and the end is not yet.
N o t only wood b u t m etals can now be planed by m achinery.
R ustless m etal can be ex truded from a m achine in a variety of
form s and be m o unted on hardw ood to make doors and shopfronts,
or even a housefront if desired. T h e bronze-faced doors of
Im perial C hem ical H ouse, M illbank, are 20 ft. high, b u t owing
to m odern m ethods o f construction can be operated by one m an.
G lass is now used for a variety o f purposes, b o th on the exterior
a n d in the interior o f buildings. F rascati’s R estaurant in O xford
S treet is an exam ple o f an elevation w hich has been successfully
M ost of you students will enjoy five years m ore of life
th an your grandparents. Spend some of this extra tim e in
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271
�preparation and absorb all you can contrive of the beauty of the
old E ngland w hich is passing. It will help to inspire you to the
creation o f new structures, different in form , b u t not necessarily
less beautiful in th e eyes o f succeeding generations.
PRE-WREN CHURCHES
St .
B a r th o lo m e w
th e
G r e a t, S m it h fie ld
R O M th e tw elfth to the fifteenth centuries w ork was
constantly going on w ith the building or rebuilding o f the
Sm ithfield priory. I f we try to visualise the church about
th e year 1550, we m ust im agine th a t not only the windows b u t
th e walls w ere full o f colour, th e voussoirs o f the arches were
painted red, black and yellow in alternation, and other parts were
diapered, checkered or gilded. A cross the first bay o f the nave,
im m ediately west o f th e crossing, was the pulpitum , a stone screen
bearing th e Rood, w ith th e atten d an t figures and candles; possibly
also a sm all organ. T h e H igh A ltar stood at a higher level than
at p resent, for th e sanctuary had been raised w hen the N orm an
apse was altered. T h e dim , flickering light .of candles b urning
on th e side altars w ould be discernible th ro u g h som e o f th e arches.
Successive acquisitions o f pro p erty in th e last h a lf century
have enabled m uch to be done. In designing the w ork of restoration
Sir A ston W e b b took as his guiding principle to preserve and re-use
all th e old m aterial th at he possibly could, and to carry on the
m ain lines o f existing work. W h ere nothing rem ained, he so
designed th e new th a t no stu d en t in th e future could be deceived.
H ence th e use o f a grey stone internally and the extensive use o f
flints for th e new facings o f th e w est end o f the nave, transepts
and L ady C hapel. M any o f his details and m ouldings have an
individual character not purely m ediaeval.
F
St. O
lave,
H
approxim ately square bays vaulted in chalk upon ribs o f hard
freestone, th o ught to be C hilm ark stone. W h y such a stone
should be brought from the inland county of W iltshire in the
th irteen th century I do not know. T h e walls are of chalk. T h ere
is a well, said to be Rom an. T h e position of the crypt raises two
questions. D oes the crypt represent the length o f th e earlier
church ? If so, it was very small and probably aisleless. If the
crypt was u nder the chancel o f the earlier church, m ust we assum e
the whole church was rebuilt fu rth er east ?
art
S treet
St .
H e le n ,
B is h o p s g a te
O riginally there were two churches, parochial and conventual,
separated by a wall. T w enty-one m ediaeval churches in the C ity
survived the G reat F ire and of these five rem ain. In not one
instance is there an arch separating the nave from the choir. W h e n
a chancel was roofed at a lower level than the nave, an arch was
necessary to support the gable wall, b u t even w hen the roofs were
at the same level a dividing arch was desirable, for usually the
rector was liable for the upkeep of the chancel and parishioners
for the nave. If no structural division were obvious the ap p o r
tionm ent o f ro o f repairs w ould prove difficult. How can we account
for the absence of chancel arches in this C ity of L ondon and in
St. H elen’s in particular ? It seems to have been the custom in
the old C ity for the parishioners to be responsible for the
whole fabric.
A bout two decades ago, w hen a house to th e n orth o f the
church was dem olished, the foundations o f an ancient apse were
discovered, and this led to the surm ise th at the original church
o f St. H elen did not stand on the present site. W h y was it
m oved ? I will hazard a conjecture. It is th at w hen the convent
was founded in 1212 th e boundaries of th e estate w hich it desired
to possess m ade it necessary th at the parish church be rem oved,
as otherw ise the church w ould be encircled by the conventual
buildings, clearly an im possibility.
P erhaps the church had
becom e too small for the parishioners and th e convent offered
to build a finer and larger church alongside th eir ow n on the
boundary of the estate.
A nyw ay, the present building has
evidences o f th irtee n th -c en tu ry construction.
T h e roofs are
know n to have been o f about the year 1430. T h ey are o f straig h t
forw ard carpentry, w ith no ceiling boards or false ribs. In 1888
M r. John Pearson was called in to advise and the present aspect
of th e interior is largely due to th at distinguished architect.
T h is is a typical tow n ch u rch o f the fifteenth century, o f
irregular plan, m ade to utilise every available space. T h e piers
are o f P urbeck m arble, w hich m ay have been selected to enable
th e size to be reduced to a m inim um . C uriously, the bases of
those on th e n o rth are nearly a foot lower th an those on th e south.
A n o th er rem arkable fact is th a t th e w indows o f the south aisle
are set out w ithout any relation to th e piers and arches. T h e door
to th e vestry m ust have led to a form er sacristy. H ad it been
m erely a p riest's door to th e churchyard, w ith no roof beyond,
there seems to be no reason w hy th e w indow in th e aisle should
not have been set out in its norm al relation to the arch opposite.
T h e oldest p art o f the church, only recently discovered (and
now all th a t is left intact), is th e th irteen th -cen tu ry crypt o f two
Very little can be said about the form er church on this site.
It dated from th e fourteenth century, the tim e w hen the parishioners
ceased to w orship in the great church of H oly T rin ity Priory
nearby. T h e church consisted o f a nave and two aisles. T h e
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273
S t . K a t h a r in e C
ree,
L
eadenhall
Street
�tow er was not b u ilt until about 1500. T h ere is a fragm ent of one
o f th e nave piers considerably bu ried (for the ground in L ondon
is said to have risen, on th e average, a foot in a century). O n the
n o rth side o f th e old church was a narrow cloister overlooking the
churchyard. T h is was possibly connected w ith the perform ance
o f m orality and m iracle plays. T h e erection of the cloister m ay
have been a consequence and not a cause. W e do not know w hether
it was o f stone, brick or wood : only th at it was 7 ft. wide. T h ere
is an en try am ong th e parish records of the receipt of 27s. 8d.
for a licence to perform .
T h e shapes o f th e w indow s are unusual. T h e east window
presents th e form o f a rose w ithin a square. T h e only other
instances o f this design occurring in L o ndon are, I think, the
tran sep t w indow s o f W estm in ster A bbey, b u t w hen this church
was b u ilt th e old C athedral possessed an east window of this
form . T h e rem ainder o f th e w indow s have each three lights w ith
cusped, pointed heads; although th e centre lights are carried up
higher, all have flat heads. T h e vaulted ceiling is rem iniscent of
G othic design, b u t o f a flatness only possible in plaster. T h e
two easternm ost bays display m ore ribs th an th e others, and
equal about tw o-fifths o f th e length o f the ch u rch ; surely a
sym ptom o f th e high -ch u rch revival u n d er L aud, w ho was bishop
o f L ondon at the tim e o f building this church. T h e colum ns
and arches have a purely classical character. T h e two eastern
colum ns were painted blue w ith veins o f gold to represent lapis
lazuli, q u ite in th e Italian fashion. T h e arches of the w estern
bay are narrow er th a n th e others, and are m uch stilted so that
th eir sum m its m ay reach the sam e height. As the west end of
th e ch u rch was b u ilt rig h t up to the street pavem ent, it was not
practicable to have external buttresses. C onsequently the device
o f th e narrow arches reduced th e th ru st o f the arcades w here those
th ru sts reached th e o uter wall, and this narrow bay w orked in
conveniently w ith th e narrow m ediaeval tow er w hich was retained.
It has often been stated th a t Inigo Jones was the architect of
this church. As th ere were very few architects th en and Inigo
Jones was far and away th e m ost im p o rtant, it seems quite probable
th a t th e tradition is correct, although there appears to be no
foundation for th is ap art from tradition and the ch u rch ’s
resem blance to some o f his know n work.
painted rood screen right across th e church. In 1723 the church
was w ainscoted and pe wed in oak, a reredos erected w ith painted
figures o f M oses and A aron, also altar rails enclosing m arble
pavem ent, and an organ gallery was form ed at the west end. It
has been stated th at the paintings in the spandrels of the arches
and those o f the A postles w hich form erly existed betw een the
clerestory window s were executed in 1726. T hey are not in full
colour b u t chiaroscuro.
R estorers have wisely left them as
representing the survival in the eighteenth century of a m ediaeval
tradition.
F or a century the stru ctu re of the interior was left in peace.
W e can imagine ourselves entering from the noisy, m uddy street,
passing u nder the house w hich th en stood in front of the tow er
and porch, and finding ourselves in a capacious lobby beneath.
Passing through one of the pair of swing doors, we enter the
passage aisle betw een the tall, straight oak pews, m ostly furnished
w ith cushions, hassocks and carpets. T h e p u lp it stands on a
w ooden base, probably higher th an the present one, and behind
it the reredos w ith th e com m andm ents in gold on black, M oses
and A aron painted, and, above, carved cherubim and the old
stained window.
In 1875 the church caught the full blast o f the G othic Revival.
U n d er th e supervision o f Ewan C hristian and A rth u r Blomfield
the gallery was rem oved, th e organ installed in its present position
and the G eorgian pews gave place to the present benches.
W REN CHURCHES
T h e depressed arches o f th e w indows and arcades w ould
suggest th at this ch u rch was th e latest to be b u ilt in the City
before th e R eform ation, even later th an St. Giles, C ripplegate.
T h e plan consists o f a clerestoried nave, w ith w ide aisles and no
stru ctu ral chancel, the tow er being at th e south-w est corner. O n
th e n o rth wall th ere exists a rood stair tu rre t w hich originally also
gave access to th e roof o f th e aisle. T h e re was probably a richly
O S T o f th e old C ity churches w ere small, and as the
tradesm en and m erchants were responsible for the
attendance o f their apprentices and household at th e
parish church (and there were no nonconform ist chapels) we can
realise how fam iliar m ost m em bers o f a congregation m ust have
been w ith each other. T h e parish church had, therefore, som ething
of the character of a social m eeting-place. It m ust have been
this aspect of affairs th at accounts for as m any as fifty-one churches
being rebuilt after the G reat Fire. It w ould have been cheaper
and m ore expeditious to have built a sm aller n um ber of larger
churches. T h e econom ic loss was trem endous for th a t age, and
the strain was so great th at som e churches were not rebuilt for
twenty-five years.
W re n was designing for a generation w hich had outgrow n
mediaeval sim plicity, a generation of w hich the leaders, at least,
had becom e sophisticated (liking long serm ons if they could listen
in com fort) and wished to build in the latest fashion of w estern
Europe. W re n ’s generation was m ore concerned w ith obtaining
sufficient seating accom m odation for a growing population th an
any elaboration of cerem onial.
274
275
St . A
ndrew
U
ndersh aft,
L
eadenhall
Street
M
�(a) G O T H IC
St .
M a r y A ld e r m a r y
T h is ch u rch had been extensively repaired, redecorated and
fitted for th e revived cerem onial in th e tim e w hen L aud was
Bishop o f L ondon. A lm ost all th e body o f th e church and the
u p p er p art o f th e tow er disappeared in th e flames o f 1666. Traces
o f th e form er west door and o f th e south aisle windows seem to
have rem ained to give th e keynote for W re n ’s design. H e was
lim ited here by th e term s o f a bequest. N ow here else did he plan
a com pletely G othic church. In all probability he adopted the old
foundations. T h e outlines are balanced and rectangular except
for the oblique east wall. T h e tow er is nearly isolated w ith its
sixteenth-century arch on the n o rth side. H e used the bases of
th e m ediaeval piers and the arches seem to be reproductions o f the
earlier ones. T h e plaster enrichm ents o f th e spandrels w ith th eir
renaissance scrolls and cartouches are d ue to him . T o W re n m ust
be given the credit, or otherw ise, o f th e plaster fan vault w ith its
unduly em phasised circles and ovals enriched by ornam ent w hich
seems alm ost to belong to th e realm o f th e confectioner. W h e th er
the form er church had a fan vault o f m asonry we do not know,
b u t as it w ould have been contem porary w ith H en ry V II’s chapel
it is not unlikely, especially bearing in m ind th e Rogers bequest
u n d er w hich W re n worked. T h e furnishings were in W re n ’s
usual style, probably because they were paid for by the
parishioners and not u n d er the will.
(b) H Y B R ID
St .
M ic h a e l,
C o r n h ill
Sir G ilbert Scott undertook work here early in th e last century,
and in 1859 a house at the north-w est corner was dem olished, a
portion o f its site paved and the rest occupied by the florid halfF rench, half-Italian porch, which, ju d g ed apart from its
surroundings, is a fine thing. In M aitland’s “ L o n d o n ,’’ published
about 1750, there is a folio illustration of the west end showing
b o th aisles carried right th ro u g h to St. M ichael’s A lley and n orth
and south porches w ith room s over each. M r. Birch, a form er
m em ber of our Society, and au thor of w hat is still the finest
illustrated work on W re n ’s churches, drew attention to this fact,
and rem arked th a t no inform ation as to either the erection or
dem olition of these porches was forthcom ing.
T hos. Stow, grandfather, and T hos. Stow, father, of the
antiquary, were both buried in the churchyard. T h e will of the
form er is w orth noting as it throw s light on the furnishing of the
church before the R eform ation and the custom s of the age.
(c) E A R L Y C O N T R A S T S
St .
B e n e t , P a u l ’s W h a r f , a n d
St .
L aw ren ce Jew ry
St. B enet’s is unique in its arrangem ent and alm ost unique
in respect o f th e slight alterations w hich it has undergone. T h e
sounding board from th e p u lp it now form s the ceiling o f the
p o rch; otherw ise, apart from m onum ents, glass and some
ornam ents, the general aspect is th at o f the seventeenth century.
Externally the steep roofs covered w ith tiles give th e church a very
special aspect, m ore suited to a country tow n. T h e red brick walls,
lofty windows w ith carved stone swags, recall W re n ’s w ork at
W inchester College. W h en Q ueen Street was m ade the surrounding
levels w ere altered and the little churchyard was absorbed in the
sloping approach to the new thoroughfare.
St. M ichael had m ore honour in this city th an any other
saint except the V irgin. Six churches dedicated to him w ithin
the one square m ile have been destroyed for various reasons.
T h is church, w hen I was a boy, was regarded as m ost sum ptuous
in fu rn itu re and decoration; m any thousands o f pounds had been
spent upon it. W ith its situation, its m usical services, its tow er
and its bells, it enjoyed a prestige not excelled by any other
city church.
W e know little o f th e form er church. T h ere was a cloister
on the south side w ith room s over to house the choristers who
sang mass daily. W re n ’s walls seem to rest upon the older
foundations, as they are not parallel. T h e church is one of his
earliest, dedicated in 1672. T h e old tower was patched up and
served for another half century. T h e present tow er was executed
w hen W re n was in his ninetieth year and is his latest w ork in the
city. C uriously h ybrid in detail, b u t m ost successful in outline
and proportions, this ch u rch becom es less visible every year on
account o f higher buildings going up round it, w hich is m uch
to be regretted.
T h e church was com pleted in 1683 and presents interesting
com parison w ith St. Law rence Jew ry, by th e G uildhall (1677).
In both these churches W re n seems to have been som ew hat
ham pered by the lie o f the old foundations, w ith the result that
o f three sim ilar parts divided by pilasters the central one is the
sm allest (as seen on the east walls). T h e position o f the tow er
in each case has seem ingly influenced this point. In W re n ’s tim e
w ith a central pulpit this w ould scarcely be noticeable.
St. Law rence Jew ry illustrates very well the fundam ental
difference betw een G othic and Renaissance architecture. T h e
difference lies not m erely in the form s of arches and m ouldings
and the ornam ents, b ut in the structural veracity of the form er, a
truthfulness w hich is often lacking in the later style. Strip the
pilasters from these walls and m ere disfigurem ent w ould result,
b u t the piers of a G othic building are real. Hack away the plaster
from this ceiling and a roof of totally different character is disclosed,
one in w hich the vaults are suspended from above by ribs and coves.
A fter a first im pression o f richness and spaciousness there may
276
277
�succeed a feeling th a t th e building is not very m uch like a church.
It m ust have been even less so w hen new, lacking the stained glass
and th e m onum ents. T h e decorative treatm en t of walls and
ceiling m ight seem alm ost suitable for a banking hall or a palace
in th e absence o f stru ctu ral chancel and w ith its flat ceiling. W re n
sacrificed internal for external effect. T h e exterior east end is a
charm ing com position in itself b u t w ith little relation to the interior.
In planning this ch u rch W re n show ed great skill in disguising the
obliquity o f th e site. T h e length on th e south wall is 10 ft. greater
th a n along the colonnades. T h e thickness of the walls varies
also. M y old friend, M r. T . Francis B um pus, who was so well
know n in th e Society, has w ritten a good deal about the large and
very fine organ in the first volum e o f his " L ondon C h u rch es.”
O n th e dem olition o f the G uildhall chapel in 1822 St. Law rence
becam e th e C orporation C h u rch . T h e seating was altered w hen
the ch u rch was restored u n d er Sir A rth u r Blomfield in 1866/7,
probably to give greater dignity to th e altar.
( These two churches illustrate the wide range o f W ren’s
work : English brick and stone ornamentation on one hand
and the very different Italianate stone and plaster building,
4 richly g ilt,” on the other.— A .R .H .)
4
(d)
St .
M a r y -a t-H ill,
DOM ES
B illin g s g a te ,
1672-77
In m ediaeval tim es th e church was referred to as Santa M aria
ad M ontem , a description w hich tran sp o rts us m om entarily beyond
th e A lps. T h e hill is less obvious now, for after the G reat Fire
T ham es Street was relaid upon a foundation of debris four feet
above its form er level, w hich was itself six feet above the original
R om an level. Parts o f th e older ch u rch are em bedded in the wall
o f th e p resent one. W e know little o f the earlier church w hich had
seven altars, one o f w hich stood betw een the statues of St. Nicholas
and St. T hom as a Becket : St. N icholas, as patron saint of sailors,
for the fisherm en’s quay was n earb y ; St. T hom as a Becket because
as a young m an he had been attached to the church as a priest
(probably while his father, th e Portreeve, was living in T h e Poultry).
T h e N orm an church, fam iliar to Becket, was rebuilt tow ards the
close o f the fifteenth century and extensively repaired in 1616.
T h e tow er and walls w ere not so badly dam aged by fire b u t
th a t W re n was able to patch th em up. T h is he did betw een 1672
and 1677. W h e n he had finished, th e parishioners had a very
hybrid stru ctu re, for while th e exterior, apart from the east wall,
appeared mediaeval, the interior, except for the aisle windows,
was o f purely classical design.
T h e m oderate dim ensions and lack of funds precluded any
am bitious design, b u t W re n contrived a dignified interior based on
his conception o f the ceiling, th e th en novel idea o f a dom e rising
from the intersection o f four barrel vaults. T h is schem e dictated
the need of four colum ns or piers.
W re n ’s com m onsense chose
the form er as being less obstructive. T h e dom e is small and has no
external expression w hatever as com pared w ith St. S tephen’s,
W albrook, probably the first tru ly dom ed building in England.
T h e tow er was rebuilt in 1780 w hen the west wall was shifted
to make way for vestries. D espite this, the whole fabric proved
inadequate u nder the leadership o f P rebendary Carlile and the work
o f the C h urch A rm y. T h e optical lantern for prayers and hym ns,
stringed and brass instrum ents as an adjunct to the choir, and the
display o f fish at harvest festival, w ere novel and attracted large
congregations.
St.
S te p h e n , W a lb r o o k ,
1672
T h is church has received greater approbation than any other
of W re n ’s parish churches.
Bearing in m ind the rubble m asonry
of the exterior T . F. B um pus w rote : " N ever was so sweet a kernel
in so rough a shell.” T h e success o f this first dom ed building
in the country so early in W re n ’s career no d o u b t accounts for the
latitude he was allowed in building St. P au l’s. H e expanded the
central area o f the cruciform plan, em ployed eight colum ns to support
the dom e. Portions o f the ceiling are flat, others barrel-vaulted,
groined and ungroined.
W h en the tall pews w ere rem oved
architectural gram m ar dem anded the orthodox square pedestals
in place o f the inconspicuous and non-obstructing small octagonal
bases planned by W ren .
St . M
il d r e d ,
B read Str eet,
1683
T his is one o f the thirty-seven oblong churches W re n designed
for the city. It has a dom e supported directly from the walls
w ith transverse barrel vaults. A lthough the church has th e sim ple
outline of an oblong room , it is by W re n ’s genius rendered wellproportioned, dignified and unique. T h e position o f the tow er
at the south-east is unusual and the lowest storey form s th e vestry.
It is possible W re n built on foundations of th e m ediaeval tow er
for econom y or perhaps he felt it w ould darken th e church m ore
if placed over the entrance.
W e know th a t the cost o f this church was £ 3,705 12s. 6£d.
T h is w ould be for the carcase only as the com m issioners left the
parishioners to find the m oney for th e fittings. D etails are given of
the plasterw ork and for the w indows w hich were provided by
Elizabeth Pewrie, glazier, for £28 odd. She could hardly have m ade
the glass, w hich probably came from the factory at W hitefriars.
M ost likely she was the widow o f a m aster glazier and em ployed
m en to cut and fix the glass. In the accounts, torches w ere charged
for at 3d. per night and candles at 4 |d . per lb. T hese were for
overtim e to hasten com pletion.
279
�T h e plaster enrichm ents o f the ceiling are very fine. F o u r
figures o f cherubim at th e centre o f th e dom e w ere rem oved la te r;
b u t th e cherubs supporting th e p en d en t brass candelabra rem ained.
O ne m ust rem em ber th at th e casting o f plaster in m oulds was not
practised in th e seventeenth century and th at all the u n d ercutting
was done by hand.
St .
M ary A bch u rch ,
1686
T h is building is 60 ft. w ide and ju s t a little longer. By placing
th e tow er at one corner and th e gallery in a recess behind a single
colum n W re n reduced his plan to an apparent square. Seven
corbels ranging w ith his single capital enabled him to form eight
ap parently equal arches to su p p o rt an alm ost circular ring cornice.
U p o n this he raised a dom e, th e springing point of w hich is level
not w ith th e cornice b u t w ith the corbels on the walls. T h e
pendentives really form part o f th e hem ispherical dom e, although
th e interception o f th e cornice disguises this fact.
T h e slight
lack o f parallelism o f th e n o rth and south walls m ust have caused
m uch difficulty in setting out th e ceiling and we m ust conclude that
W re n utilised th e foundations o f the mediaeval church. T h e
dom e is painted by Sir Jam es T h o rn h ill who caught the prevailing
fashion of his day. Instead o f being content to treat the whole
surface as th e firm am ent he introduced architectural features round
the w indow s and a circular cornice above them , all cleverly shaded
to give th e im pression of m odelled reality.
(e) T O W E R S A N D SPIRES
St .
M a r tin ,
L u d g a te ,
T h is seems unlikely since the nearest corner to N ew gate was th e
north-w est and not the south-w est. It does seem likely th at there
was a connection betw een the church and the d eb to rs’ prison
over L udgate, w hich adjoined the church at the south-w est and
rem ained until the first year of G eorge III. Even if the prisoners
did not enter the church the Rector may have visited his prisonparishioners over the gate by m eans of this door.
1684
O n this site w edged in betw een the garden o f the B ishop’s
Palace and th e C ity wall stood th e m ediaeval ch u rch of St. M artin
w ith a tow er and two porches adjoining the street. T h e fact th at
th e present chu rch is am ong W re n ’s finest works is due to its
rath er late erection. T h is is particularly the case in regard to the
steeple. U sually W re n m ade the transition from the square tow er
to the octagonal spire by the aid o f urns, pinnacles, pineapples or
th e like ornam ent. H ere it is difficult to separate the tow er from the
spire and to decide w hich is th e point o f junction. W e m ay place
it at th e stone cornice th at surm ounts the square portion or at a
few feet above, w here the m asonry gives place to the lead-covered
tim b er stru ctu re. T h e elegant little balcony is unique as are the
tw o large scrolls w hich link th e steeple to the m ain wall o f the church.
St .
M a r g a r e t P a tte n s,
E a stc h e a p ,
1687
T h e south wall is partly built of rubble m asonry from th e
older church and faced w ith red brick. O nly the west end facing
Rood Lane is o f P ortland stone. T h e brickw ork was subsequently
stuccoed and both elevations painted. T h e parish is one of the
sm allest in England, being only 100 yards long and 70 yards wide.
T h e church is of m odest dim ensions from w hich W re n has skilfully
contrived an im pression o f space and dignity. T h e height o f the
steeple is only surpassed in the C ity by those o f St. B ride’s and St.
M ary-le-Bow . It is probable th at the mediaeval church had a lofty
spire and that the parishioners desired that its m em ory should be
preserved. W h e th er this was so or not, the church possesses a
spire m ore nearly approaching the mediaeval type th an any other
designed by W ren. It is octagonal, o f tim ber covered w ith lead.
O nly in the details of the spire lights does any Renaissance feeling
show itself. T h e height o f the spire in relation to the tow er is
unusually great and I have noticed th at artists who have depicted
it have rarely left enough space to render it accurately. T h e west
face is quite flush w ith the wall, b u t this artistic defect is little
apparent owing to the narrow ness of Rood Lane. T h ere is a slight
pilaster-like thickening at all the angles— a m ere projection of about
one and a half inches sufficient to give a subtle interest to the
elevations and leading the eye up to the angle pinnacles w hich
skilfully harm onise w ith the steep sides of the spire and form a
satisfactory ju nction betw een the square and the octagonal form.
W re n while living in Love Lane regularly occupied the canopied
pew at the south-w est end of the nave and his m onogram is inlaid
on the underside of the canopy to record the fact.
St .
D u n s ta n -in -th e -E a s t,
1671-1699
T h e re is a blocked doorw ay at the south-w est to w hich the
sextoness drew m y attention. She says th at C anon G ilbertson, a
form er P resident o f our Society, spoke of a tradition th at condem ned
prisoners were b ro u g h t into th e church th ro u g h this doorw ay on
th e night before th eir execution by way o f an underground passage.
W re n was able at St. D u n sta n ’s to retain m uch o f the o u ter
walls b u t introduced T uscan arcades rather like the effect at
St. Sepulchre’s. T h e walls of the tow er were evidently dem olished
and the W ren tow er and spire were not com pleted till 1699.
T hese are of daring construction, inspired, possibly, by sim ilar
tow ers in the n o rth of England and Scotland. T h e hollow spire
is raised on two intersecting arches, the outw ard th ru st of w hich is
counteracted by lofty pinnacles at their bases on the angles of the
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281
�tow er. T h e w eight o f the spire is fu rth er reduced by openings
in four o f its eight sides. In 1810 th e body of the church had becom e
unsafe and D avid Laing, architect o f the neighbouring C ustom
H ouse, was com m issioned. A ssisted by W illiam T ite, of Royal
Exchange note, he produced a rath er hard b u t w ell-proportioned
and dignified version o f a late m ediaeval church befitting the G othic
natu re o f th e spire.
S t.
B r id e ,
F le e t
S tr e e t,
1680-1700
T h is parish is one o f th e largest in the city and it is natural
th a t th e church should rank am ong W re n 's m ost im portant works.
T h e steeple was not erected until 1700 and therefore em bodied
not only W re n 's genius in design b u t his experience in construction.
N one o f the stone m ediaeval spires contained stairs, b u t here there
are stone stairs, colonnades and entablatures w ith lesser features,
as urns and obelisks, poised at a great height and all calculated to
sway w ith a peal o f bells. T h is is th e highest of W re n ’s steeples,
being 234 ft. as first constructed, and 226 ft. as reconstructed after
being struck by lightning. T h e re is less variety in this spire than
in th a t o f St. M ary-le-B ow , b u t m ore rhythm . T h e transition
from th e tow er to th e spire is perfect from all points of view.
T h e tow er was th e first to have a clock-face illum inated at night in
th e days w hen w atches w ere not com m on. Also it was the first
to hold a com plete peal o f twelve bells, w hich was possible on account
o f th e ancient E truscan principle of construction used to elim inate
o utw ard th ru st.
( /) LA T E CO N TRA STS
St .
M a r g a r e t,
L o th b u r y ,
1690
T h is church consists o f an unobtrusive oblong body w ith the
add itio n o f a south aisle, the tow er being at the south-w est corner.
A t th e south-east is a vestry w ith a library over. If W re n could
re-visit th e ch u rch to-day he w ould be greatly puzzled. A p art
from th e possible presence o f a gallery there are m any changes,
th ree w indow s blocked, the altar raised, a ritual choir, a side chapel
besides m any item s o f fu rn itu re w hich w ould seem strangely
fam iliar. Such item s came from other churches whose parishes
are now included w ith St M arg aret’s. T h e screen is of special
interest, com ing from th e church o f A ll-H allow s the G reat in w hich
th e H anseatic M erchants o f the Steelyard had a side chapel. W h en
C an n o n Street Station was b u ilt and the church there destroyed,
th e screen was saved and finally used in St. M arg aret’s w ith little
alteration.
St . A
ndrew
by
the
W
ardrobe,
1692
T h e design o f this church represents the m aturity of W re n ’s
genius. T h e environm ent of the church was very different then.
A n inlet of the T ham es called P uddle D ock barred the passage of
T ham es Street w est-w ard. T h e River Fleet occupied the site of
N ew Bridge Street and was bordered by wharves w here the coal o f
the m etropolis was landed. Before Q ueen V ictoria Street was
constructed the church was only visible from the narrow lanes and
alleys surrounding the churchyard, the southern edge of w hich
m ust have been held up by a retaining wall like a portion o f St.
B ride’s churchyard to-day.
In this church W re n m ade one of his m ost successful attem pts
to incorporate the gallery in his design. T h e galleries are supported
by piers encased in wood to harm onise w ith th e gallery fronts.
T h e piers supporting the vault have their bases level w ith the gallery
floor and th e vaults spring directly from their sum m its. T h e arches,
therefore, are curved on plan as well as in elevation. T hey are not
so m uch arches as the accidental intersections of th e vaults, w hich
are of plaster on wood laths. A bove is the stru ctu ral roof of great
tim bers, a scientific piece o f carpentry. H ad W re n built a stone
church o f this form the cost w ould have been doubled and the
acoustics ruined.
C O N C L U D IN G N O T E
A t th e tim e w hen the Society changed its title to " T h e St.
P au l’s Ecclesiological Society ” over half a century ago, the city
churches possessed a different aspect and atm osphere. G enerally
speaking they were m uch lighter, as the surrounding buildings
w ere lower and there was m uch less stained glass. T h e y were
furnished w ith high pews, well cushioned and hassocked, the passage
ways betw een being covered w ith coco-nut m atting. T h ey were
w arm ed w ith huge cast iron stoves and lighted w ith gas. T h ere
were, as far back as my recollection goes, no side altars in any of th e
churches, and only in a few cases did com m union tables bear any
ornam ents. T h e com m andm ents were always prom inent above
and were often flanked by paintings of M oses and A aron.
M odern w ork in this church carried out by Bodley, G arner
a n d others has produced an interior of beauty and interest.
Some years later the C ity Parochial C harities C om m issioners
absorbed m ost o f the parochial funds, b u t in order to gild the
pill, the churches were first p u t into structural repair. Electric
light was installed, m arble m osaic pavem ents laid down, seating
re-arranged and walls and ceilings decorated. A t this tim e the
m ost frequented churches were St. E dm und th e King and M artyr
(where C anon Benham drew a " high ” congregation), St. M argaret
Pattens (where Rev. J. L. Fish held services of Jacobite flavour), and
St. N icholas Cole A bbey (where C anon S huttlew orth had crow ded
congregations for his “ high ” services and “ broad serm ons and
le c tu re s” ). Shuttlew orth was the first clergym an, I think, to
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283
�introduce a grand piano into his church. It occupied a prom inent
position u p o n a fine T u rk ey carpet. F ro m this tim e onw ards
churches were opened m ore frequently during the week, a state of
affairs w hich has continued ever since.
ary
W
oolnoth,
L
om bard
Street,
EARLY SUBURBAN
H E church is fam ous by reason of the three stained-glass
w indow s at the e a tt end, the glass o f w hich originally form ed a
single w indow in a convent chapel at M alines. It was b ought for
this church at the instigation of W illem ent in 1841. H e arranged
the glass for the three w indows here, supplying from his own
design the borders to the gallery windows. N o other o f his work
is of such a distinctly Renaissance character as this sixteenthcentury T ree of Jesse. T h e design and the colours are seen best
in th e m orning.
U nfortunately, the figures of A aron and Esaias
at th e bottom left-hand corner had to be slightly curtailed and
also the other unknow n figures at th e right-hand corner. T h e
brow n stain outlining the stem s, leaves and individual grapes has
faded, leaving the purple pot-m etal bunches unduly em phasised.
T
POSTSCRIPT TO W REN
St . M
ST. GEORGE’S CHURCH, HANOVER SQUARE
1720
H E R E w ere few churches in th e area devastated by the
G reat Fire w hich w ere capable o f being repaired. St. M ary
W o o ln o th was one. W re n repaired the body o f the church
a n d th e steeple, b u t found it advisable to rebuild the n o rth wall,
w hich he designed “ in the T u scan m an n er.” T h is hybrid edifice,
partly in th e T u scan style and partly “ G o thick,” only lasted
fifty years. It is quite likely th at W re n had w arned the parishioners
and it m ust have been gratifying th a t the w ork o f rebuilding was
e n tru ste d to his old pupil and assistant, N icholas Hawksm oor.
Probably it was com pleted before W re n died. I like to th in k of
him on one o f his annual visits to his cathedral from his hom e of
retirem en t at H am pton C o u rt, prolonging his route to see his
favourite p u p il’s work. W e can p icture the old m an being helped
u p th e steps, assisted by N icholas, both o f them a little excited.
It w ould be interesting to know th e reactions o f contem porary
critics. P robably Jam es G ibbs th o u g h t the church rather coarse,
lacking th e refined, alm ost fem inine, grace of w hich he was an
exponent. V anbrugh m ust have adm ired the heavily rusticated
m asonry rising course u pon course to bear the som ew hat uncouth
tow ers. A little later H orace W alpole, playing w ith his cem ent
pinnacles and cusps at Straw berry H ill, m ust have th o ught the
stru ctu re hideous.
T
T u rn in g to th e ch urch itself, we are m et by the accom plishm ent
o f a rather inexperienced architect. John Jam es was a pupil of
G ibbs d uring the early years o f the reign o f G eorge I. Jam es
was w orking in a particular variety o f Renaissance w hich derived
from W re n and was fashionable at the tim e. I think th a t the
result com pares favourably w ith m ost other contem poraneous
churches. H is C orinthian portico has six colum ns in front like
those at S . M a rtin ’s-in-the-F ields and St. G eorge's, Bloom sbury.
It is not so deep as either, nor has it the dignity afforded by a flight
o f steps. H e seems to have had some prescience o f the m arriages
to be celebrated here, for not only does the portico span the street
pavem ent, b u t the central inter-colum niation is nearly a yard
w ider than those o f the side colum ns, thus facilitating th e erection
o f tem porary awnings. It is a pity th a t the w estern portion of
M addox Street was not a few yards fu rth er south so th at this portico
could have been well seen from Bond Street. (It is curious th at
we had to wait another h u n d red years before we had a church
w ith a portico term inating a street vista. St. M arylebone was
built w ith its axis n o rth and south in order th a t the portico should
face Y ork G ate. U ntil th e form ation o f T rafalgar Square the
portico o f St. M a rtin ’s could only be seen, foreshortened, in a
narrow lane.)
It is curious th at H aw ksm oor m ade such an im posing west
fro n t w hen one rem em bers th a t in his tim e, and for a century
later, the ch u rch only faced a narrow lane. T h e British M useum
has about tw enty original plans, sections and elevations, all of w hich
th ey attrib u te to H aw ksm oor. T hese show how m uch trouble he
took and how m uch th e executed w ork surpassed the earliest
conception. T h e n o rth front shows one of the finest com positions
o f its kind, a w indow less wall full o f interest and strong yet refined
beauty, a little soot-laden and shut off from the direct sunlight
w hich w ould make its deep recesses and rusticated joints very
effective. Butterfield undertook w ork there in 1875 b u t showed
m ore respect for H aw ksm oor’s w ork than m ight have been
expected from a G othic architect. I recollect th at the walls were
once decorated w ith the double lines o f red ochre used to represent
m asonry join ts th a t he em ployed at St. Cross, W inchester. It is
probable, therefore, th a t some of B utterfield’s w ork has been undone.
T h e steeple o f St. G eorge’s is rath er original and is said to
have been the first to rise from behind a portico. It rises visibly
from a su b stru ctu re of stone form ed by carrying u p the walls
containing the gallery staircases above th e m ain roof. T h e west
wall contains three window s and six em pty niches. Possibly
Jam es never expected them to be filled, for they are shallow and
six was an awkward num ber in those u ltra-P rotestant tim es, w hen
the twelve apostles and the four evangelists provided alm ost the
only selection. T h ere is a flat block at th e sum m it of the pedim ent
w hich it is th o ught was intended for a statue of the king, G eorge I.
284
285
�C om ing to th e interior, we find the difficult m atter of side
galleries has been successfully surm ounted, b u t Jam es and his
contem poraries had all W re n ’s exam ples before their eyes. T h e
fact th a t th e rem oval o f th e galleries w ould spell artistic disaster
is p ro o f th at they are an integral p a rt o f the whole design. T h e
fittings are harm onious, dignified and even sum ptuous. T h e altar
piece o f th e L ast Supper, by Sir Jam es T h o rn h ill, has lost some
o f its original brilliance. T h e present arrangem ent of stalls and
screens is th e w ork o f Sir Reginald Blomfield, who is also responsible
for the designs o f the L ady C hapel and B aptistery. T h e stained
glass in th e w indow o f the L ady C hapel is rem arkable.
T h e first burial ground belonging to this parish was that
w hich now form s th e pleasant recreation ground behind M ount
Street. L ater, a large area o f ground at T y b u rn , ju st n orth of the
O xford road, was acquired and attached to the parish. A nyone
w ho has not visited it should do so. N ot only are there m any
fam ous graves, b u t the chapel has been beautifully fitted up and
is decorated w ith w all-paintings by F rederic Shields, w hich
occupied a large p a rt o f his life.
THE PARISH CHURCH OF ST. JOHN,
HAMPSTEAD
RURAL AND
L A T E R SUBURBAN
E F O R E th e m iddle o f th e eighteenth century th e m ediaeval
ch u rch had becom e a rath er shapeless agglom eration, m uch out
of repair, and was considered u nw orthy o f a village w hich was
th e n quite a fashionable resort. In 1745 the parochial services
were tem porarily transferred to the C hapel of Ease at D ow nshire
H ill and th e old church was com pletely dem olished.
F litcroft, the architect o f St. G iles-in-the-F ields, is said to
have been th e architect o f the H am pstead church, of w hich the
present nave co nstituted th e w hole building. M r. B arrett (author
of th e “ A nnals o f H a m p s te a d ” ) considered this to be an error
and stated th a t a com petition was organised, the w inner being a
local m an nam ed H orns. A t th a t tim e F litcroft was a resident of
H am pstead and was invited to com pete b u t declined. H is interest
as a w orshipper here m ay have induced him to collaborate w ith
H orns to some extent, however.
It is alm ost incredible th a t a
practically unknow n m an could be responsible for this fine interior.
T h e colum ns rise from near th e floor to the ceiling, the gallery
fronts being broken in short lengths by them , and help to su p p o rt
th e galleries b u t take no visible cognisance of th e fact. A nother
illogicality, copied from b o th W re n and G ibbs, is the broken
entablature introduced betw een th e capitals of the colum ns and
th e springing o f the vault.
T h is feature is unnecessary structurally,
is expensive and affords an unapproachable lodgm ent for dust.
T h e ceiling need have been no lower had the entablature been
B
286
om itted, for the colum ns would have been slightly increased in
height and proportionate diam eter. T h e original gallery-fronts
show ed solid wood panels and stood slightly m ore forw ard, as
m ay be seen in a picture by H ogarth.
T h e present chancel and transepts, like the gallery fronts,
date from 1878. T h ere was no central door to the tow er, b u t only
a w indow lighting the vestry, w hich was behind the reredos.
W h e n the enlargem ent o f the ch u rch and th e reversal of its
orientation w ere contem plated, it was intended to dem olish the tower
and build a new one at the west end, b u t a num ber of residents,
strengthened by m any artists, strongly protested. W illiam M orris
was am ong those w ho preferred the som ew hat ungainly tower,
w ith its rather absurd battlem ents, to any new design. T h a t
M orris was a " G othic m an ” makes his plea for th e o th er the
m ore interesting. T h e green copper spire of H am pstead had been
for several generations alm ost as conspicuous as th at of H arrow
and form ed a picturesque term ination to the vista of C h u rch Row.
T h e authorities bow ed to the protest and the arrangem ent of the
ch u rch as to orientation and plan is alm ost unique in London.*
T h e re was probably another controversy before the new designs
were settled. W h en th e church was rebuilt in th e seventeenth
century a part o f the funds was raised by the sale o f sittings in
p erp etu ity at £50 each. T h e new pews faced the other way
round, so th a t the first becam e last and th e last first. T h e num ber
o f sittings was increased by the addition of galleried transepts
and, doubtless, this helped tow ards a solution. T h e design o f
th e new w ork was entru sted to F rederick Cockerell, an architect
w ho was willing and able to w ork in harm ony w ith the older
edifice. W ar-tim e conditions obscured one of th e m ost attractive
features o f his w ork; the M orning C hapel as seen th ro u g h the
transeptal arch in com parative shade, for the circular ceiling light
o f the chapel was, of course, covered.
Externally, Cockerell accepted th e m ain lines of the nave,
b u t used dressings of P o rtland stone m ore freely, and em phasised
the sanctuary by a balustraded parapet o f rather unusual design,
in place o f th e plain brick parapet of the nave. T h e natural fall
o f the ground outside and the raised floor of the chancel w ithin,
enabled him to form a sort o f open crypt to enclose th e coffins and
graves displaced or built over. T h e additional height of wall makes
th e west end very effective and dignified, and I particularly adm ire
the elevation of the south tran sep t w ith its well proportioned
doorw ay approached by a flight o f sem i-circular steps and th e
reticent treatm en t of th e wall surface and the lunette.
Shortly after the com pletion o f these works M r. A lfred Bell,
a parishioner, o f th e firm of C layton and Bell, designed th e rich
* T he altar o f St. Thom as’s Church, Camden Town, is in an apse at the
west end; the tower is central. Towers at St. Botolph, Aldgate, and at Bishopsgate
are at the east ends, but the altar o f the former church has always been at the north.
287
�decorations o f th e nave. T hese consist chiefly o f cherubs' heads
and texts in a setting o f Renaissance ornam ent. T h e pendentives
o f the crossing represent th e four archangels, w hile above are
angels and a text. T h e effect was very rich, b u t our L ondon
atm osphere has m arred it considerably. M r. Bell’s firm executed
all th e stained window s except a small one inserted in the n orth
transept.
T h e w indow s are brilliant in design and form an
harm onious series, th e th ird from th e west on the n o rth gallery
being a personal m em orial to Sir G ilbert Scott, w ho at one tim e
lived in Frognal and was M r. Bell's old m aster.
Prof. Ellis W ooldridge decorated th e chancel and the M orning
C hapel. T h e stalls, w ith th eir rich intarsia work, w ere designed
by Sir T hom as Jackson. I know nothing of their kind finer in
L ondon. Jackson was also responsible for the organ case and the
new font. T h e reredos in th e chancel resem bles th a t form erly
at th e east end. I surm ise th a t it is partly of the old oak, worked up.
In 1911 T em p le M oore, th en living in W ell W alk, designed
the spacious vestries and arranged the M orning Chapel. A fter
his d eath th e w ork was com pleted by M r. Leslie M oore. T h e
reredos fram es a fine replica o f a p ainting by F ra L ippo Lippi.
T h e C arolean oak balusters in and about the chapel are probably
relics o f the form er church.
SUMMARY OF REPORTS
FO R T H E YEARS
1943
TO
1946
T h e following L ectures were given and Visits made.
1943.
L ectu res
A t 6 Queen Square, Holborn.
Jan.
9.
Feb. 13.
English Colleges o f C h antry Priests, by Prof. A. H am ilton
T hom pson.
C hurch B uilding in A frica, by the Rev. R. Park.
M iss D . Tickell also spoke on D ornakal C athedral.
M ar. 13.
T h e Earliest C hristian C hurches in Rom e and Italy,
by C. A . R. R adford, Esq.
A pr. 10. English C hurches o f the V ictorian Era, by B. A. P.
W in to n Lewis, Esq.
Ju n e 26.
C ongregational C hurches o f the L ondon D istrict, by
E. W . T alb o t, Esq.
July 24.
A nim al C arvings in B ritish C hurches, by M iss M . D .
A nderson.
A t S t. M artin s School o f A rt, Charing Cross Road.
O ct.
“ I f any who peruse these published reminiscences shall derive
from them hints and information worth remembering, or i f they shall
gain fo r me one good, m an’s favourable opinion or confirm one
estimable frien d ’s or acquaintance’s regard, I shall not have journeyed
or written in vain.”
— T. Francis Bumpus, '‘ Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine.”
2.
N ov. 6.
D ec.
C h u rch B uilding from the Cape to Cairo, by Sir H erb ert
Baker.
St. Sophia, Istanbul, by C lifton Kelway, Esq.
4. R avenna and its M osaics, by D . C hisholm Simpson, Esq.
Visits
A ug. 14. St. M ary-le-B one C hurch and O ld St. M arylebone
Chapel, by John Sum m erson, Esq.
A ug. 28. St. M ary, P addington G reen, th e C atholic A postolic
C hurch, M aida H ill, and St. M ary M agdalen,
Paddington, by B. A. P. W in to n Lewis, Esq.
Sept. 18. St. L eo n ard ’s, St. C h a d ’s and St. C olum ba’s C hurches,
Shoreditch, by F . H . M ansford, Esq.
238
289
�1944.
1945. Visits
Ju n e 30. Southw ark C athedral, by the Rev. C anon T . P. Stevens.
L ectu res
A t St. M a rtin ’s School o f A rt.
Jan.
8.
G uildford C athedral, b y E dw ard M aufe, Esq.
July 28.
K ingston-upon-T ham es (Parish C hurch, C oronation
Stone, etc.), by D r. W . E. St. Law rence Finny.
Jan. 15.
Ely C athedral, by A. J. M ason, Esq.
F eb.
F o n t Covers, by A . G . R. Buck, Esq.
A ug. 11.
St. M ary ’s C hurch, and the C h u rch of the Sacred H eart,
W im bledon, by the Rev. H . M attinson.
Feb. 19.
T h e E ast E nds o f E nglish C hurches. D iscussion opened
by F. H . M ansford, Esq.
Sept. 8.
St. G eorge’s C hapel, W in d so r, by W . A. F orsyth, Esq.
M ar. 4.
Surrey C hurches, by th e Rev. C. K. F. Brown.
Sept. 29.
Some of the Bom bed C hurches of the C ity of L ondon,
by T h e F riends of the C ity C hurches.
A p r.
1.
R ecollections o f W . Butterfield and H . W oodyer, by
H arry R edfern, Esq.
O ct. 27.
T h e H ouses o f Parliam ent, by the Rt. H on. L o rd N athan.
M ay
6.
N ew m an as an E ducationalist, by J. L. M ay, Esq.
N ov. 10.
Jam es Brooks’s C hurches in N o rth -E ast L ondon, by
W . W . Begley, Esq.
T h e Surroundings o f St. P au l’s C athedral— A N ational
W a r M em orial, by W . H . A nsell, Esq.
1946.
5.
Ju n e 17.
Visits
A p r. 29, C hurches o f th e A nnunciation, Bryanston
and St. Peter, V ere Street, by B.
W in to n Lew is, Esq.
Square
A.
P.
Jan.
L ectu res
* A t St. M a rtin ’s School o f A rt.
12. L ancing College C hapel, by B. W . T . H andford, Esq.
M ar. 6.
T h e C hurches o f V ictorian London, by J.S um m erson, Esq.
M ay 11.
T h e M usician and the A rchitect, by Sir S. H . N icholson.
Sept. 21.
A t Archbishop Davidson Institute, Lambeth.
T h e A nthem — its history and justification, by the Rev.
T . H . Croxall.
O ct.
C hristian Rom e, by D . C hisholm Sim pson, Esq.
June 10. A ll Hallows, T w ickenham , by F . R. T aylor, Esq.
July 15.
H am p to n C o u rt Palace, by E dw ard Yates, Esq.
Sept. 16.
St. N icholas, Chiswick, by F. R. T aylor, Esq.
1945.
L ectu res
O ct. 19.
3.
M ar. 24.
C rypts, by D . C hisholm Sim pson, Esq.
Jo h n M ason N eale— an E nglish W o rth y , by D .
M urray, Esq.
T h e Face of C hrist in A rt, by M rs. A. R. H atley.
N ov. 6.
A t S t. M a rtin ’s School o f A rt.
M ar.
2.
T h e A daptation of Parish C hurches as C athedrals, by
Sir C. A . N icholson.
N ov. 23.
F rench R om anesque Sculpture, by A. G ardner, Esq.
St. D avid’s C athedral, by F. D arw in Fox, Esq.
L.
A p r. 28.
L incoln C athedral, by A . J. M ason, Esq.
D ec.
Ju n e 23.
T h e F u tu re o f the E nglish Bible, by T . F . F ord, Esq.
D ec. 21.
July 14.
T h e C raftsm an and th e F o n t, by
H . L. M ann, Esq.
Southwell M inster, by H . L. M ann, Esq.
Visits
5. W esley’s Chapel and H ouse, C ity Road, E .C ., by the
Rev. G . A. V ernon.
Sept. 22.
In and about th e Village C hurch,
O ct. 20.
J. F . R edfern— Sculptor (1838-76), by Prof. C . C. J.
W eb b .
Jan. 26.
T h e H ouses o f Parliam ent, by John R. Battley, Esq., M .P .
N ov. 17.
Salisbury C athedral, by W . A. Forsyth, Esq.
F eb.
2.
St.
D ec.
T h e N ative E lem ent in C h u rch B uilding w ithin the
fields o f th e L on d o n M issionary Society, by
M rs. A. R. H atley.
M ar.
2.
St. A ndrew ’s, Plaistow, by F . H enley, Esq., and W est
H am Parish C hurch, by R. S. M orris, Esq.
W ells C athedral, by A. J. M ason, Esq.
A p r.
6.
St. M a ry ’s C hurch and All Hallows C hurch, T w ickenham .
8.
D ec. 22.
290
by T . A . Coysh, Esq.
Jan.
4.
Paul’s C ovent G arden, and St. M ary-le-Strand,
by the Rev. V. Howson.
291
�1946.
Visits (cont.)
M ay 25.
T h e In d ep en d en t M eeting H ouse, M arsh Street C ongre
gational C hurch, and St. M ary 's Parish C hurch,
W altham stow , by M rs. A . R. Hatley.
A ug. 17.
Kew Parish C h u rch and Kew G reen, by M iss M . S.
Johnson.
Also, St. M ichael, Chisw ick (the
Rev. T . H . Croxall).
Sept.
7.
St. A ugustine, K ilburn Park Road, by W . W . Begley, Esq.
O ct.
5.
Parish C h u rch , Chigw ell School, and “ K ing’s H ead ”
Inn, Chigw ell, by A. Fellows, Esq.
N ov. 2.
St. P au l’s C h u rch and St. N icholas C hurch, D eptford,
by T . F. F o rd , E sq., and B. R. Leftw ich, Esq.
Dec.
T h e L ondon M osque, Southfields, by the Im am o f the
M osque.
7.
T h e A n n u a l C o m m e m o r a tio n S erv ice, w ith a special rem em
brance o f past m em bers, was held each year. In 1943, in the C hurch
o f AU Saints, M argaret Street, th e Serm on was preached by the
D ean o f St. P au l’s (P resident o f th e Society) and after the Service
M r. J. N . C om per gave a description o f the C h u rch and its history.
In 1944 the Rev. E. T . T h o rn to n preached in the C h u rch of St. George,
Bloom sbury, an account o f w hich was given by J.N . Sum m erson, Esq.
N ex t year, St. Bartholom ew the G reat, Sm ithfield, was the scene,
w hen th e L o rd Bishop o f K ensington preached the Serm on and
D r. Rose G raham described the C hu rch . In 1946 the Service, at
th e C h u rch o f St. M ary th e V irgin, L am beth, was conducted by
th e R ector, th e Rev. H . H edley, and th e Serm on was preached by
D r. D . H . S. C ranage. F ro m 1944 onw ards th e Service was
sung by th e augm ented choir o f St. A lban, G olders G reen,
u n d er the direction o f E. B. G lanfield, Esq.
T ransaction s.
as follows :—
R ep resen tation . In 1944, the Royal Society of A rts set up a
W a r M em orials A dvisory Council, the Ecclesiological Society being
one o f th e constituent bodies, w ith M r. J. D . D aym ond as its
representative. In the following year the Society accepted rep re
sentation on th e L ondon Regional C om m ittee o f the B ritish Council
for A rchaeology and has three representatives, also a seat on the
N ational C om m ittee.
T h e Society is represented on the Councils o f th e L ondon
Society, the Friends o f the C ity C hurches, and the L ondon and
M iddlesex Archaeological Society.
M e m b e r sh ip figures in these years are not very reliable owing
to w ar conditions. A t the end of 1943 the total stood at 225,
increasing to 275 by the end of 1946.
T h e L aw s of the Society were revised at the A nnual G eneral
M eeting in 1944.
T h e C ouncil has for som e tim e felt that the present rates of
subscription are inadequate, having regard to the increased cost o f
printing and postage. It also considers th a t the entrance fee should
be raised. R ecom m endations on these subjects will accordingly
be subm itted to an A nnual G eneral M eeting.
T h e Council regrets th at after acting for m ore th an tw enty
years as H onorary T reasu rer to the Society, M r. E d w a r d Y a t e s
has found it necessary to relinquish th at office. His services will
be greatly missed.
T h e C ouncil is sure th at m em bers will wish
to record their great appreciation of his work.
Parts o f Vol. 1 (N ew Series) have been issued
P art II.
“ E nglish Colleges o f C h an try P riests," by Prof. A.
H am ilton T h o m p so n , in 1943.
P art III.
“ T h e C ontin u ity o f th e English T ow n ” in 1944 (the
L ectures given in th e course of an Exhibition of
th at nam e in 1943).
P art IV.
“ St. N icholas, D e p tfo rd ," in 1946.
292
293
�B A T T L E Y BRO TH ERS L IM IT E D
T
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��
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Architecture and Place
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Humanist Library and Archives
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016
Description
An account of the resource
A collection of digitised items from the Humanist Library and Archives telling the story of buildings and spaces occupied by the Conway Hall Ethical Society (formerly the South Place Ethical Society). Also includes several born digital items.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Conway Hall Ethical Society
Subject
The topic of the resource
Architecture
Conway Hall (London, England)
South Place Chapel, Finsbury
Mansford, Frederick Herbert (1871-1946)
Language
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English
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Title
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Frederick Herbert Mansford; citizen and architect of London: selection from his papers
Description
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The Ecclesiological Society Transactions, vol. 1 (new series), part 5.
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Mansford, Frederick Herbert (1871-1946)
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Begley, W. W.
Landau, Dorothy
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The Ecclesiological Society
Date
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1947
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© J. Sally Spencer and the Dyer family. Digitised with their kind permission.
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G1052
920 MAN
Subject
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Architecture
Churches
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application/pdf
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Text
Language
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English
London
Mansford, Frederick Herbert (1871-1946)
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Text
����������������
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Victorian Blogging
Description
An account of the resource
A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
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Conway Hall Library & Archives
Date
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2018
Publisher
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Conway Hall Ethical Society
Text
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Pamphlet
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Title
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Land lessons for town folk
Creator
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Jameson, William
Description
An account of the resource
Place of publication: London
Collation: 12 p. ; 22 cm.
Series title: Clarion Pamphlet
Series number: No. 9
Notes: The cover states "Clarion" Pamphlet - No, 9; half title page reads "Pioneer" Pamphlets - No, 1. (1) "Why should London grow?" (2) "Guardian angels." (3) "Cockneyfied socialism." Date of publication from KVK (OCLC, WorldCat). Publisher's series list inside back cover. William Jameson was Hon. Sec. of the Land Nationalisation Society.
Publisher
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"Clarion" Newspaper Company, Limited
Date
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[1896]
Identifier
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G5776
Subject
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London
Land reform
Socialism
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<a href="http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/"><img src="http://i.creativecommons.org/p/mark/1.0/88x31.png" alt="Public Domain Mark" /></a><span> </span><br /><span>This work (Land lessons for town folk), identified by </span><a href="https://conwayhallcollections.omeka.net/items/show/www.conwayhall.org.uk"><span>Humanist Library and Archives</span></a><span>, is free of known copyright restrictions.</span>
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application/pdf
Type
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Text
Language
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English
Land Reform-Great Britain
London
Population Increase
Socialism
-
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3e242d799a8ccc02addc5d889972b0ca
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Text
��CROSBY HALL,
ITS EARLY HISTORY AND PRESENT RESTORATION.
is one of the most interesting buildings
in the Metropolis, and may be said to be the only
authentic example of Gothic domestic architecture
belonging to that period when the merchant princes
began to take rank with the nobles of the Court. The Great
Hall at Westminster is perhaps the finest existing specimen of
the public buildings of ancient London, (omitting of course
ecclesiastical edifices), and Crosby Hall is the most striking
and splendid of those palatial residences, only a few of which
were erected in the City.
It is remarkable, considering how closely this grand old building
has been identified with the history of the country, that it should
have been permitted to undergo such strange vicissitudes in its
own fortunes, and it is yet more wonderful that notwithstanding
those vicissitudes it should have been spared from the alterations
and adaptations which too often deface and destroy some of the
most beautiful structures of a past age. The truth seems to be
that Crosby Hall was so nobly planned and built as to restrain
by the force of its own beauty the unhallowed hands which might
otherwise have desecrated it; while its history and associations
were in themselves so interesting that they secured its public
recognition, and forbade the destruction of a building that had
been able to defy the touch of Time himself, and seemed only to
have mellowed into a more solemn beauty as the years went by.
Not that the entire edifice, which was originally called Crosby
Place or Crosby House, remains standing. The less important
portion exists no longer, and the building which has for so long
been known as Crosby Hall is in fact the Grand Banqueting
Room, the Council Chamber, the State Reception Room, and
rosby hall
B
�4
some other apartments belonging to the Palace, Court-yard, and
Garden, which once occupied the site of what is now Crosby
Square.
This splendid mansion of Crosby Place was built in 1466 by
Sir John Crosby, on the ground leased from Dame Alice Ashfield,
Prioress of the Convent of Saint Helene. For this ground, which
had a frontage of no feet in the “King’s Road of Bishopsgate
Streete,” he paid £11 : 6: 8 a-year, no small sum in those days,
and immediately set about the erection of the hall and dwelling
house, which was afterwards described as being “ye highest and
“ fairest in ye Citie.”
Sir John Crosby, Member of Parliament for London, Aiderman,
Warden of the Grocer’s Company, and Mayor of the Staple of
Calais, was the eminent grocer and woolstapler, who with eleven
others received the honour of knighthood in the field for their
gallantry in resisting the attack made by the Bastard Falconbridge
on the City. Sir John Crosby died in 1475, four years after the
completion of the building to which he gave his name, and was
buried in the Church of Saint Helen, where his tomb may still be
seen, bearing upon it the recumbent figures of himself and his
wife. The knight is fully armed, but wears over his armour his
Alderman’s mantle, and round his neck a collar of suns and roses,
the badge of the House of York.
In the following year, 1476, Crosby House became a palace in
name as well as in reputation, in consequence of the widow of
Sir John Crosby parting with it to Richard, Duke of Gloucester,
afterwards Richard the Third. Then Crosby Place, like the less
important Baynard’s Castle, became the scene of those intrigues
by which the wily Richard obtained the Crown, and must
have been peculiarly convenient to him as a residence, both from
its contiguity to the Tower, where first King Henry VI., and
afterwards the Princes were confined, and from its occupying a
prominent place in the City, where he had influential and doubtless
sincere supporters, and where he was anxious to obtain the suffrages
of the people. The choice of Crosby House as a Palace may
indeed be included among those devices by which Richard achieved
success ; for in its magnificent apartments he was able to hold a
sort of regal state, and having, as Sir Thomas More says, “ lodged
“ hymself in Crosbye’s Place, where, by little and little, all folks
“ drew unto, so that the Protector had the Court, and the King was
“ in a manner left desolate;” he began at once to aspire to the
Crown, which in 1483 was offered to him in the Council Chamber
of Crosby Hall by the Mayor, Sir Thomas Billesden, and a
deputation of citizens.
We are most of us familiar with the story of Richard’s treachery
during his residence at this City Palace, and not a few of us have
learnt by heart that most familiar of all the plays of Shakspeare in
which the story is told. Crosby Hall occupies a conspicuous
position in the drama of Richard the Third, and it is evident that
the Poet had ample opportunities for studying the building itself;—
�5
probably the play was written in the immediate vicinity of the
building, or possibly even next door, for we know from the Parish
Assessments that he was a resident in Saint Helen’s in 1598, and
from the amount of the sum levied must have occupied a house of
some importance.
It is in the Third Act of Richard the Third that the allusions to
Crosby Place occur, and in that most enthralling portion of the
play where the Duke is plotting with awful dissimulation to win at
once a queen and a crown, to both of which he had been a traitor.
It was the last achievement of his triumphant falsehood to induce
Anne to await at Crosby Place his return from the funeral of the
King his father-in-law. The wonderful chain of lies winds up with
the words:—
“ And if thy poor devoted servant may
“ But beg one favour at thy gracious hands,
“ Thou dost confirm his happiness for ever.”
Anne (who is already yielding to his serpent’s tongue), says
“ What is it ?”
and he replies
“ That it may please you leave these sad designs
“ To him that hath most cause to be a mourner,
“ And presently repair to Crosby Place.”
In the following scene the action is still laid in reference to
Crosby Place, where the murderers who have been commissioned
to destroy Clarence in the Tower are to meet Richard after they
have accomplished their evil work.
“ Gloucester—Are you now going to despatch this thing ?
“ First Murderer—We are, my lord ; and come to have the warrant,
That we may be admitted where he is.
“ Gloucester—Well thought upon : I have it here about me.
\Gives Warrant^.
When you have done repair to Crosby Place.”
Again, in the Third Act, where, after the meeting of Gloucester
with the Prince of Wales, the Cardinal, and the nobles in a
street in London, and when Buckingham and Richard send Catesby
to tamper with the wretched Hastings, Gloucester says :—
,
“ Shall we hear from you, Catesby, ere we sleep ?”
“ Catesby—You shall, my lord.”
“ Gloucester—At Crosby Place there you shall find us both.”
During the time of Shakspeare’s residence in the parish, Crosby
Hall was in the occupation of Sir John Spencer, a London mer
chant, known by, what to some people would be the enviable name,
of “ the rich ” Spencer. In 1594 he bought the palace for/'256o,
and afterwards held his Mayoralty there in splendid style, the
celebrated Duke of Sully, then French Ambassador to the English
Court, being one of the guests, who were lodged and entertained
�6
in right royal fashion. Sir John Spencer’s daughter was married
to the first Earl of Northampton, and the wealth of the great
London merchant served to increase the revenues of the succeeding
marquises.
Between the time when the Duke of Gloucester became King
Richard the Third and the year in which Shakspeare wrote his noble
drama, Crosby Hall had been in possession of several masters.
The palace seems at once to have been recovered by the then
Lord Mayor of London as the appropriate residence of the chief
magistrate of the Metropolis, and in 1501 Sir Bartholomew Reade
took possession of it, and during his mayoralty entertained and
lodged the ambassadors who came from.Maximilian of Germany.
The famous Banqueting Hall was in full occupation at this time;
and in reference to the distinguished guests received there,. Stowe
himself thinks one feast worthy of record for its great magnificence.
Fifteen years afterwards (in 1516) we find Sir John Rest installed
at Crosby Hall, after one of the most remarkable “ Lord Mayor’s
Shows” on record, in which there appeared, according to the
veracious chronicler, four giants, one unicorn, one dromedary, one
camel, one ass, one dragon, six hobby-horses, and sixteen naked
boys.
What was the symbolical significance of these remarkable
objects we are not informed, but it may be remembered that the
display had very little moral effect on the London ’prentices, for it
was in that very year that the disturbances began which ended in
the tragedy of what has ever since been known as “ The evil May
day,” when the ’prentices and journeymen determined to assault
the foreign artisans and merchants.
The cry of “ down with the Lombards” was heard on the night
of the 30th of April, when the young men were at buckler play in
Chepe, and the mischief began by an attack on a calender of
worsted, a native of Picardy, who lived near Leadenhall. Very
soon 'a general attack was made in several quarters upon the
foreign dealers and workmen, who fled for their lives, leaving their
goods to be destroyed. The gaol of Newgate was broken open,
and some of the assailants who had been imprisoned there were
released ; the work of destruction went on all night, and when
the May-day morning broke there was still a crowd in. the streets,
especially near the church of St. Andrew Undershaft, which
' occupied an open space in Leadenhall Street, where Lime Street
now stands. Here the “ Great Shaft of Cornhill,” the mighty
maypole, which had given the very church its name, was being
set up, its top reaching above the steeple; but there were no
^Iay-day revels that morning, for the shout of the crowd of rioters
was echoed by an answering shout, and an armed force from the
Tower bore down upon the ’prentices and carried them off to
that stronghold to be tried for their lives. Fifteen unhappy
creatures were executed, and the rest went to Westminster Hall,
half naked and tied together with ropes, each with a halter about
his neck. There they besought the mercy of the King, and were
�7
pardoned. But the first of May, 1517, has ever since been known
as the evil May-day, and the Great Shaft was reared nevermore,
but hung on hooks under the pent houses of Shaft Alley for thirtytwo years, until the Reformation, when it was denounced as an
idol by some zealous preacher, whose hearers, as Stow says, “ after
they had well dined to make themselves strong,” sawed it in
pieces and divided the logs amongst them.
Long before that, however, Crosby Hall had passed into
new hands. No less distinguished a person than Sir Thomas
More, Under Treasurer, and afterwards Lord High Chancellor
of England, became its occupant. Here he received the visits
of Henry VIII., and here he doubtless wrote some of those
works which have contributed so much to his fame. Erasmus,
who was his intimate friend and frequent guest, thus speaks
of the domestic life of the author of “Utopia”:—“With him
“ you might imagine yourself in the academy of Plato ; but I
“ should do injustice to his house by comparing it to the academy
“ of Plato, where numbers and geometrical figures, and sometimes
“ moral virtues, were the subjects of discussion ; it would be more
“ just to call it a school and an exercise of the Christian religion.
“ All its inhabitants, male and female, applied their leisure to
“ liberal studies and profitable reading, although piety was their
“ first care. No wrangling, no idle word, was heard in it; every
“ one did his duty with alacrity, and not without a temperate
“ cheerfulness.” Surely these were the palmy days of Crosby
Hall.
On being made Speaker of the House of Commons in 1523, Sir
Thomas More sold Crosby Hall to his “dear friend” Antonio
Bonvici, a merchant of Lucca, to whom the Chancellor sent that
well-known letter from the Tower, written with a piece of charcoal
the night before his execution. After the dissolution of the convent
of Saint Helene, Bonvici purchased the property of the King for
^207 : 18 :4, and so Crosby Hall became a freehold, though not
much to his immediate advantage, for in 1549 he forfeited the
property “by illegally departing the kingdom,” in consequence of
the persecution, and Henry VIII., with his usual indifference to
the rights of others, granted it to Lord Daryce of Chule. This
nobleman, however, was induced, for “ divers good causes,” to
restore it to its proper owner on the accession of Queen Mary in
1553. It remained without any remarkable change until 1560,
when we find it occupied by German Cioll, who had married a
cousin of Sir Thomas Gresham. A weekly bequest of this lady,
Mistress Cycillia Cioll, is still distributed in Saint Helen’s Church.
Again, in 1566, CroSby Hall changed hands, and became the
residence of Aiderman Bond, the inscription on whose tomb in
Saint Helen’s Church describes him as “a Merchant Adventurer,
“ and most famous in his age for his great adventures by both sea
“ and land.”
It was at Crosby Hall that D’Assenleville, the Spanish Ambas
sador, was entertained by this civic Sindbad, and after the Alder
�8
man’s death, when his sons occupied the palace in 1586, the Danish
Ambassador, Ramelius, was made an honoured guest there, and
treated with all the sumptuous hospitality that belonged to the
Elizabethan age. It was during the time of “ the rich Spencer,”
however, that Crosby Hall was probably most distinguished, for
the splendour of that mayoralty is traditional; and we might, in
imagination, repeople the old- hall with the brilliant guests that
came and went; their very names a roll-call of the history of
England during the period of England’s growing fame and honour.
Raleigh, Spencer, Sidney, Grenville, perhaps Drake and Hawkins,
and the rest of those great men, all of whom were in sympathy
with “ merchant adventurers,” in days when Richard Hakluyt was
at Oxford, and Edward Osborne, clothworker and ancestor of the
Dukes of Leeds, had but six years before served his mayoralty,
with Spencer for sheriff, and the mercantile navy of Great Britain
had founded the empire of the sea. It was six years after the
defeat of the Spanish Armada that Sir John Spencer lived at
Crosby Hall. Need one say more in order to conjure up a scene
that may well make the heart heave and the eye brighten ? And
yet four years afterwards a man lived close by whose name is more
potent than that of any in that brilliant assembly; a man who
stands first, not only in the muster-roll of that period of English
history, but who stands in the very foremost rank among the
thinkers of all time,—William Shakspeare. The great dramatist
had at that time become a joint proprietor in the theatre at
Bankside, and doubtless found it convenient to live in this quiet
courtly nook of the city.
In 1603 Shakspeare probably assisted at the entertainment of
the Ambassadors from Holland and Zealand, who lodged at
Crosby Hall at that time, but in 1609 he had gone to live at
Stratford, while his friend, Ben Jonson, was in London, perhaps
waiting on the Dowager Countess of Pembroke, who then occupied
the City Palace. Most of us remember Jonson’s celebrated epitaph
on this distinguished woman :—
“ Underneath this sable hearse
Lies the subject of all verse,
Sidney’s sister, Pembroke’s mother :
Death ! ere thou canst find another,
Good and fair, and wise as she,
Time shall throw a dart at thee.”
Jonson, who survived Shakspeare, was perhaps a guest at
Crosby Hall when, in 1630, it came into possession of Spencer,
Earl of Northampton, who inherited it by the marriage of his
father with the only daughter of the Sir John Spencer already
referred to. This nobleman was killed .fighting by the side of
Charles I. at the battle of Hopton Heath, in 164.2. He had then
leased Crosby Hall to Sir John Langham, Sheriff of London,
and the king’s cause having been defeated the Great Hall was used
as a prison in which royalists were detained for trial. An order of
the House of Commons, dated 7th December, 1642, directs the
�9
removal of ten prisoners from Crosby Place to Gresham College,
and thence, on the 19th, to Lambeth House. The vicissitudes of
this grand old building may be said to have commenced from that
period, though strange to say it escaped the great calamity of the
fire of London ; the house alone being injured, and the hall itself
remaining unscathed.
For the next twelve years there is nothing very remarkable to
record. The “ Merry Monarch” spent his subjects’ money merrily
in the midst of his “ merry Court,” and the City lost its old
influence. All England lost its influence, and public honour and
virtue seemed about to wither under that “ Merry Monarch ” of
misrule. It must be said in Charles’s favour, however, that he
was no persecutor, and there was a leaven in the nation which
did suffice to leaven the whole lump, a leaven associated with
the word patriotism, but which will be also found in the lives
and works of those eminent teachers, preachers, and politicians,
known as the Puritan Divines.
It is in connection with these that we discover Crosby Hall
in 1672 with a floor put into the Great Hall, so that the upper
part of it, from the level of the minstrel’s gallery, might be
used for a Nonconformist meeting, under licence of the indulgence
act. For ninety-seven years it was devoted to this purpose, and
during that time twelve different ministers succeeded each other,
some of them men of high distinction indeed, the first being
Thomas Watson, previously Rector of Saint Stephen’s, Walbrook,
and the author of the tract “ Heaven taken by Storm,” which
is said to have been the means of the conversion of the celebrated
Colonel Gardiner. A numerous and wealthy congregation assem
bled at Crosby Hall, and Thomas Watson was succeeded by
the more celebrated Stephen Charnock.
The ministers who officiated there after Charnock were Samuel
Slater, M.A., John Reynolds, Daniel Alexander, Benjamin Gros
venor, D.D., Samuel Wright, D.D., John Barker, Clerk Oldsworth,
Edmund Calamy, Jun., John Hodge, D.D., and Richard Jones.
Two years after the adaptation of the building to this purpose,
that is to say, in 1674, the dwelling house, which adjoined the
hall, and occupied the present site of Crosby Square, was burnt
down, but the hall remained still uninjured.
For some time afterwards the grand old building remained unas
sociated with any especial public event, although the Mercury of
May 23rd, 1678, advertises a public sale at Crosby Hall, where
“ ye late general post office was kept,” the articles for sale including
“ tapestry hangings, a good chariot, and a black girl about fifteen
“ years of age.” In 1692 the property was purchased by the family
in whose possession it still remains, and the lower part of the hall
was let as a wholesale warehouse ; and in 1700 it seemed about to
take rank again as an important public building, for the Council
Chamber and Throne Room were occupied by those “ Merchant
Adventurers” trading to the East Indies, who afterwards formed the
East India Company, and obtained their privileges by Royal Charter.
�IO
This was probably only during the building of the India House,
however, for we hear little of Crosby Hall until sixty-nine years
afterwards, when it was disused as a meeting house, the last sermon
being preached on the ist of October, 1769, by the Rev. Richard
Jones, the congregation removing to Maze Pond.
There was indeed great fear that this magnificent hall would be
utterly wrecked, for it was let to private individuals whose adapta
tions were likely to do it serious damage. It was greatly owing to
the public spirit of Miss Hackett, a lady who lived beside it, that
this almost unique example of domestic Gothic architecture was
ultimately preserved. In 1831 this lady made strenuous efforts for
its conservation, assisted by a few of the residents, some of whom
still remain in the neighbourhood; and in 1836 it was reinstated
and partially restored by public subscription, after which it was
re-opened by the Lord Mayor, W. T. Copeland, Esq., M.P., a
banquet in the old English style being held on the occasion. In
1842 the entire premises were occupied by a Literary and Scientific
Institute, under the presidency of the Rev. C. Mackenzie, the
hall being let from time to time for Lectures and Concerts ;
but in i860 this society came to an end, and the place was then
taken by Messrs. H. R. Williams & Co., the well-known Wine
Merchants. In Mr. Williams’s hands Crosby Hall underwent
no damaging alteration, and although it was used for purposes
of business due regard was had to its historical reputation and
its intrinsic beauty. It is only just to add that its late occupiers
fully appreciated and carefully preserved it from injury; but we
may be forgiven for saying that there were no conditions under
which it was possible really toz restore it to its original beauty,
except those which included its restoration to its original purpose.
We trust that both these objects have been attained, and that as
the City Banqueting Hall of the present the public will recognise
and admire the Crosby HAll of the past.
�CROSBY HALL
THE RESTORATION OF THE GREAT BANQUETING
ROOM, THE THRONE ROOM, AND THE
COUNCIL CHAMBER.
T is believed that the restoration of this magnificent
building to its original purpose of a Great Banqueting
'
Hall will secure it from decay or demolition, and pre
serve to the City one of the most attractive objects
which have been spared by the necessities of modern
innovation. At the same time by securing Crosby
Hall as a Public Dining Establishment, the Proprietor
is satisfied that he will be able to meet one of the
most pressing and constant requirements of City life,
by enabling employes engaged daily in mercantile pursuits to
obtain their principal meal in comfort and even with elegance,
at a price consistent with the strictest economy.
It has hitherto been almost impossible to provide even for a large
number of customers a dinner which should combine excellence of
quality, prompt and comfortable service, convenient and elegant
appointments, and at the same time should not cost more than the
majority of those who wished to avail themselves of it could afford.
The difficulty has arisen first from the fact that the City Dinner
hour is mostly the middle of the day, and in connection with this,
that it is almost impossible to obtain spacious premises on a
“ground floor” that are suitable for a Dining Hall.
The proprietor of Crosby Hall has overcome these disadvantages
by securing this splendid and spacious building, and he is confident
that long and constant experience will enable him to inaugurate a
new system of City Dinners which may it is to be hoped supersede
the delay and discomfort to which those who frequent many of the
public dining rooms are so often subjected. The reinstatement
and restoration have been completed by Messrs. Wallace, Gordon
& Co., under the superintendence of Messrs. F. & H. Francis, the
eminent Architects. The decorations and stained glass are the
work of Mr. Alexander Gibbs, of Bedford Square.
I
THE LOBBY
is reached by the entrance in Bishopsgate Street, the Wine Office
occupying the niche on the left of the doorway. This entrance
�12
has been entirely refitted in a manner worthy of the building to
which it leads, from designs by the Architects, while the decorations
of the ceiling are considered very fine examples of that particular
branch of art.
THE COUNCIL CHAMBER.
This fine and lofty apartment is entirely devoted to the Great
Luncheon and Refreshment Bar which nearly surrounds it,
and the ample accommodation afforded by this arrangement enables
the proprietor to consult the convenience of the large number of
his customers who dine at home, but require light refreshment in
the middle of the day. The Council Chamber is one of the
handsomest Halls in the City of London; the historical wall
paintings are themselves worth a visit, and from the large space at
disposal the surrounding counters, even when they are fully occupied
by gentlemen at luncheon, leave complete access to
THE GREAT BANQUETING HALL,
A large and lofty building which is in reality “ Crosby Hall.”
This room is unequalled in London for beauty, its noble height
and superb Gothic roof being in perfect accordance with its large
proportions and those beautiful architectural decorations which
Lave been preserved and restored.
As a matter of policy the proprietor might have been induced
to fit this truly grand Hall with a series of “ boxes,” but to use a
common expression he “ could not find it in his heart to do it.”
He believes, however, that he has best consulted the comfort and
the tastes of his customers by furnishing it with dining tables and
chairs of a fashion in accordance with the general design of the
building; and he sincerely hopes that even in the table appoint
ments the same character has been preserved as far as is consistent
with complete convenience.
THE THRONE ROOM,
though of less noble proportions, is in some respects more beautiful
than the Banqueting Hall, and is decorated in the same style
of architecture. Its ancient ornamentation has been carefully pre
served, and as few adaptations as possible have been introduced.
It is devoted to the convenience of those who desire to enjoy select
dinners ;—select, that is to say, not by the superiority of the viands,
for these are of one uniform quality throughout the Establishment;—
but apart from the greater business of the large Hall, and with a
slight superiority in the appointments of the table and the general
luxury of the service.
Both here and. in the great Banqueting Hall there is a large
Grill for supplying Hot Chops and Steaks ; but the capacious
fire-places have been so adapted as to keep out all smell of
cooking from the rooms. -
�X
■
\
amfnrtnblp and lofty apartment,
little abov&.and at the
back of\he Throne Rocm. Here everi^comfort ma^be found.
The table\are supplied wi Chess, Draughts, and thX leading
Periodicals \the attendant spd^s French arf^ German, as^vell as
English ; an
ea, Coffee, or a
at the same pri
as at the Lu
one uniform quality and of guarantee! excellence!
THE LAVATORY AND RETIRING <OOMS
for Gentlemen are near the Smoking Room, and will be found
replete with every accommodation, including clean towels, and all
the usual accessories.
THE LADIES’ BOUDOIR AND RETIRING ROOMS
are in a separate part of the building, and accessible only to Ladies,
by a distinct staircase leading from the lobby in Bishopsgate Street,
The proprietor of Crosby Hall believes that Ladies dining in the
City will appreciate the comfort of other bever&ae in the Throne
a select table will be s
Room or the Banqueting Hall, especially as waitresses and not
heon Bar.
waiters are employed. The Boudoir and Lavatories are ad
mirably contrived, and are furnished with every convenience for
the toilette, under the charge of a special female attendant.
THE KITCHENS AND STORE ROOMS
occupy the upper part of the building, so that the odour of the
preparation of food will not enter the public part of the Establish
ment. The whole of the culinary apparatus has been fitted by
Messrs. Benham & Sons, whose names are a guarantee of efficiency
in this department. With respect to the kitchens the proprietor
desires to say a word to his customers on the subject of a very
prevalent fallacy. It is frequently surmised that the soups, stews,
ragouts, &c., in large dining establishments are helped out with, if
not composed of, the scraps and remainders from the dining tables.
The proprietor believes that this opinion is altogether unfounded
as far as it relates to any of the more respectable dining rooms.
It is true as regards the cheaper Parisian and Viennese Restaurants,
and the use of such ingredients may be possible in the inferior
French cuisine; but it would be quite impossible in the broths,
stews, and soups most in request in England.
The mere mention of this subject involves the announcement
that all the remainders of food at Crosby Hall will be carefully
and cleanly set aside, and since they afford a good and nutritious
material for certain kinds of soup, hash, or stew, arrangements
have been made for their proper distribution to the poor, either
for “ relief kitchens,” or to help to feed hungry children.
The proprietor of Crosby Hall invites his customers to inspect
the kitchens of the Establishment, that they may see for them
selves in what mariner the food is prepared. At any reasonable
�time he will be glad to accompany them all over the Building, and
as Crosby Hall is the state part of one of the most interesting
of our old English Palaces, he will at any time be happy to receive
visitors, quite irrespective of their being also customers.
PROVISIONS.
It has often been asked why the cheap, varied, and well-served
dinners of the great French Restaurants cannot be imitated in
London, and the question is one well worth considering, especially
as so many of us had an opportunity of making experiments during
our visit to the Paris Exhibition.
The proprietor of Crosby Hall has given the subject his most
careful attention, and with considerable knowledge of the great
French and German Establishments, as well as a long experience
of English tastes and habits, has come to the conclusion that
while much may be done in adopting the methods of “ service,”
the variety of choice, and the regard to economy observed in
the best foreign Restaurants, a complete revolution would have
to take place in English tastes before they could accommodate
themselves to an ordinary Parisian dinner, day after day.
During a week’s visit to a foreign Capital where everything,
including the climate, is new and strange, and where that very
newness constitutes the great holiday charm, we may thoroughly
enjoy a series of experimental meals, but it would be quite another
thing to adopt the same way of living at home. Indeed it is quite
certain that the few distinctly French and.German Restaurants
which have been established in London, either depend upon
their native customers, or soon adopt a “ Carte ” including several
of our well-known English dishes.
At Crosby Hall, therefore, there will be a Bill of Fare
containing entrees and viands of a recherche character, but in which
the simplicity of an English dinner will be most obvious. The
employment of first-rate cooks, and the completeness of all the
culinary arrangements, will however ensure the best method of
preparing every article of food, so that the superior quality of our
national materiel will have the advantage that properly belongs to it.
BEVERAGES.
The system, too often adopted, of urging every customer to
partake of wine or ale with his dinner, is so repulsive, that the
proprietor of Crosby Hall wishes it to be thoroughly understood
that nobody will be expected to order anything “ for the good of
the “ house.” Both the Luncheon Bar and the dining tables are
supplied with pure filtered water, and as all the Wines, Spirits, and
Malt Liquors are of the best description, they will recommend
themselves. Tea and coffee are always ready at the Refreshment
Counter, as well as the usual aerated waters.
The Ale and Beer are supplied precisely, as they are furnished by
the best brewers, and will be so drawn as to ensure their being in
fine condition, clear and sparkling.
�i5
With regard to Wii^es it is necessary to say a few words, not in
the way of advertisement, for “good Wine needs no Bush but in
order to call attention to the fact that the proprietor is determined
to give the public the full benefit of the remission of the duty by
selling Light Wine of excellent character and perfect purity at a
price to bring it within the means of all his customers. He has
made arrangements by which a Bordeaux of excellent vintage,
pure, sound, and of admirable quality, can be supplied at fifteen
pence a bottle, or eightpence the hfllf bottle ; a large glass of the same
Wine may be had for twopenc£, and threepence is the charge for a glass
of sound, pure, and wholesome Sherry. The Crosby Hall Wines
are specialities to which reference may be made without undue
praise, since the prices at which they are offered preclude any very
remunerative profit. The proprietor relies on their excellent
quality for obtaining a large demand, and he is confident that they
will be fully appreciated.
First-class vintage Wines will be found in the Wine List, many
of them of rare selection and great maturity; while the Spirits and
Liqueurs are of the most celebrated brands.
It is necessary to mention that the system of giving Standard
measure has been adopted at Crosby Hall. Every ale and beer
glass in the Establishment holds an imperial half-pint. Draught
wines will also be served by Imperial Measure. Bottled wines will
be brought up in the original bottles by the Cellarer, who will not
decant them unless he be requested to do so.
ATTENDANCE.
The system adopted at Crosby Hall being designed to overcome
one of the most serious difficulties of daily occurrence to those who
are engaged in the City, it became necessary to ensure, not only a
good and economical dinner, but such prompt and careful attendance
as should at once save valuable time and secure general comfort.
Careful consideration of this subject resulted in the conviction
that in such a large and at the same time such a compact
establishment an unusual opportunity would arise for the employ
ment of women in one of the very few avocations which remain
open to them in this country.
■ It is obvious that in no occupation can they be more properly
employed than in that kind of domestic attendance which includes
waiting at table, and it was therefore determined to employ
Waitresses instead of Waiters at Crosby Hall.
This is not mentioned as a first experiment, for there are already
establishments where the plan has been partially adopted, and has
been found eminently successful. The proprietor of Crosby Hall
has had considerable opportunities of obtaining the opinions of
gentlemen dining in the City, and they bear almost unanimous
testimony to the civility, quietude, and obliging attention, as well as
to the promptitude of Waitresses wherever they have been employed.
It only remains to say that all the attendants at Crosby Hall
have furnished ample evidence of character and competency; and
�i6
as they will be engaged fully in their daily business no doubt
is entertained that they, will be treated with that respect and
consideration which gentlemen accord to the female attendants
whose duty it may be to wait on them at the houses at which they
may be invited guests.
As every one employed at Crosby Hall receives liberal wages,
fees for attendance are not permitted. A definite charge is made
of a penny for each person in the Banqueting Hall, and of
twopence in the Throne Room, and will be received with the
amount of the bill as the customer leaves the Establishment.
It is requested that any negligence on the part of the attendants
be at once mentioned to the proprietor, who will guard against its
recurrence.
WHOLESALE WINE DEPARTMENT.
As the Wines supplied at Crosby Hall,—and particularly the
light Wines, to which allusion has already been made,—are highly
appreciated by a numerous class of customers, arrangements have
been made for supplying them, either by the single bottle or in any
larger quantity, for home consumption. To suit the requirements
of a large section of the public a single bottle is charged only at
the same rate as at per dozen. Orders given at the Wine Office
in the lobby at the entrance in Bishopsgate Street will receive
immediate and careful attention.
PURVEYING DEPARTMENT.
As the provision for an establishment on the scale of Crosby
Hall is necessarily very considerable, it is intended to give
customers the advantage to be derived from large purchases in the
various Metropolitan Markets, by supplyift^ them, whenever they
please, with meat, poultry, game, and other articles of consumption
for their householdSx^at such a merely nominal addition to the
wholesale cost as wilXcover the expense of packing, &c. Any
gentlemen wishing to secure this advantage have only to give a
week’s notice of what will oe required for the following week, and
they will be punctually and carefully supplied. It is purely unne
cessary to remark that such an arrangement will enable^urchasers
to effect a considerable saving during the year; and though the
proprietor of Crosby Hall has n© desire to interfere with the
legitimate profits of other tradespeople, the present disparity
between the wholesale and retail prices of all description^ of
provisions is ample reason for his givmg his customers thbse
advantages to which they are justly entitled.
In conclusion,
“ When you have done, repair to Crosby Place.”—Shakspeare.
Marchant Singer & Co., Printers, Ingram Court, Fenchurch Street, E.C.
�
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Title
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Victorian Blogging
Description
An account of the resource
A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
Creator
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Conway Hall Library & Archives
Date
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2018
Publisher
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Conway Hall Ethical Society
Text
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Pamphlet
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Title
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Crosby Hall: the ancient city place and banqueting hall, it's history & restoration
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Frederick Gordon & Company
Description
An account of the resource
Place of publication: [London]
Collation: 16 p. ; 21 cm.
Notes: From the library of Dr Moncure Conway. Printed by Marchant, Singer & Co., London E.C. Annotations in ink; some paragraphs crossed through. Date of publication and author attribution from WorldCat.
Publisher
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[s.l.]
Date
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[1876?]
Identifier
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G5568
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History
Architecture
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<a href="http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/"><img src="http://i.creativecommons.org/p/mark/1.0/88x31.png" alt="Public Domain Mark" /></a><span> </span><br /><span>This work (Crosby Hall: the ancient city place and banqueting hall, it's history & restoration), identified by </span><a href="https://conwayhallcollections.omeka.net/items/show/www.conwayhall.org.uk"><span>Humanist Library and Archives</span></a><span>, is free of known copyright restrictions.</span>
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application/pdf
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Text
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English
Conway Tracts
Crosby Hall
London
-
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Text
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When Hotspur treads the stage with passionate grace, the spectator
hardly dreams of the fact that the princely original lived, paid taxes,
and was an active man of his parish, in Aldersgate Street. There,
however, stood the first Northumberland House. By the ill-fortune
of Percy it fell to the conquering side in the serious conflict in which
Hotspur was engaged; and Henry the Fourth made a present of it
to his queen, Jane. Thence it got the name of the Queen’s Wardrobe.
Subsequently it was converted into a printing office; and, in the
course of time, the first Northumberland House disappeared altogether.
In Fenchurch Street, not now a place wherein to look for nobles,
the great Earls of Northumberland were grandly housed in the
time of Henry the Sixth; but vulgar citizenship elbowed the earls
too closely, and they ultimately withdrew from the City. The deserted
mansion and grounds were taken possession of by the roysterers.
Dice were for ever rattling in the stately saloons. Winners shouted
for joy, and blasphemy was considered a virtue by the losers. As
for the once exquisite gardens, they were converted into bowlinggreens, titanic billiards, at which sport the gayer City sparks breathed
themselves for hours in the summer time. There was no place of
entertainment so fashionably frequented as this second Northumber
land House; but dice and bowls were at length to be enjoyed in
more vulgar places, and “ the old seat of the Percys was deserted by
fashion.” On the site of mansion and gardens, houses and cottages
were erected, and the place knew its old glory no more. So ended
the second Northumberland House.
While the above mansions or palaces were the pride of all
Londoners and the envy of many, there stood on the strand of the
Thames, at the bend of the river, near Charing Cross, a hospital and
chapel, whose founder, William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, had
dedicated it to St. Mary, and made it an appanage to the Priory of
Boncesvalle, in Navarre. Hence the hospital on our river strand
was known by the name of “ St. Mary Rouncivall.” The estate went
the way of such property at the dissolution of the monasteries; and
the first lay proprietor of the" forfeited property was a Sir Thomas
Cawarden. It was soon after acquired by Henry Howard, Earl of
Northampton, son of the first Earl of Surrey. Howard, early in
the reign of James the First, erected on the site of St. Mary’s
Hospital a brick mansion which, under various names, has developed
�190
NOKTIIUMBEELAND HOUSE AND THE PEECYS.
into that third and present Northumberland House which is about to
fall under pressure of circumstances, the great need of London* and
the argument of half a million of money.
Thus the last nobleman who has clung to the Strand, which, on
its south side, was once a line of palaces, is about to leave it for ever.
The bishops were the first to reside on that river-bank outside the
City walls. Nine episcopal palaces were once mirrored in the then
clear waters of the Thames. The lay nobles followed, when they
felt themselves as safe in that fresh and healthy air as the prelates.
The chapel of the Savoy is still a royal chapel, and the memories of
time-honoured Lancaster and of John, the honest King 'of France,
still dignify the place. But the last nobleman who resided so far
from the now recognised quarters of fashion is about to leave what has
been the seat of the Howards and Percys for nearly three centuries,
and the Strand will be able no longer to boast of a duke. It will
still, however, possess an English earl; but he is only a modest
lodger in Norfolk Street.
When the Duke of Northumberland goes from the Strand, there
goes with him a shield with very nearly nine hundred quarterings;
and among them are the arms of Henry the Seventh, of the sovereign
houses of France, Castile, Leon, and Scotland, and of the ducal
houses of Normandy and Brittany I Nunquam minus solus quam
cum solus, might be a fitting motto for a nobleman who, when he
stands before a glass, may see therein, not only the Duke, but also the
Earl of Northumberland, Earl Percy, Earl of Beverley, Baron Lovaine
of Alnwick, Sir Algernon Percy, Bart., two doctors (LL.D, and D.C.L.)
a colonel, several presidents, and the patron of two-and-twenty livings.
As a man who deals with the merits of a book is little or nothing
concerned with the binding thereof, with the water-marks, or with
the printing, but is altogether concerned with the life that is within,
thatjs, with the author, his thoughts, and his expression of them, so,
in treating of Northumberland House, we care much less for notices
of the building than of its inhabitants—less for the outward aspect
than for what has been said or done beneath its roof. If we look
with interest at a mere wall which screens from sight the stage
of some glorious or some terrible act, it is not for the sake of the
wall or its builders: our interest is in the drama and its actors.
Who cares, in speaking of Shakespeare and Hamlet, to know the
name of the stage carpenter at the Globe or the Blackfriars ? Suffice
it to say, that Lord Howard, who was an amateur architect of some
merit, is supposed to have had a hand in designing the old house in
the Strand, and that Gerard Christmas and Bernard Jansen are
said to have been his “ builders.” Between that brick house and the
present there is as much sameness as in the legendary knife which,
after having had a new handle, subsequently received in addition a
�NORTHUMBERLAND HOUSE AND THE PERCYS.^lOT
new blade. The old house occupied three sides of a square. The
fourth side, towards the river, was completed in the middle of the
Seventeenth century. The portal retains something of the old work,
but so little as to he scarcely recognisable, except to professional eyes.
From the date of its erection till 1614 it bore the name of
Northampton House. In that year it passed by will from Henry
Howard, Lord Northampton, to his nephew, Thomas Howard, Earl of
Suffolk, from whom it was called Suffolk House. In 1642, Elizabeth,
daughter of Theophilus, second Earl of Suffolk, married Algernon
Percy, tenth Earl of Northumberland, and the new master gave his
name to the old mansion. The above-named Lord Northampton was
the man who has been described as foolish when young, infamous
when old, an encourager, at threescore years and ten, of his niece,
the infamous Countess of Essex; and who, had he lived a few months
longer, would probably have been hanged for his share, with that niece
and others, in the mysterious murder of Sir Thomas Overbury. Thus,
the founder of the house was noble only in name; his successor and
nephew has not left a much more brilliant reputation. He was con
nected, with his wife, in frauds upon the King, and was fined heavily.
The heiress of Northumberland, who married his son, came of a
noble but ill-fated race, especially after the thirteenth Baron Percy
was created Earl of Northumberland in 1377. Indeed, the latter title
had been borne by eleven persons before it was given to a Percy, and
by far the greater proportion of the whole of them came to grief. Of
one of them it is stated that he (Alberic) was appointed Earl in
1080, but that, proving unfit for the dignity, he was displaced, and a
Norman bishop named in his stead! The idea of turning out from
high estate those who were unworthy or incapable is one that might
suggest many reflections, if it were not scandalum magnatum to
make them.
In the chapel at Alnwick Castle there is displayed a genealogical
tree. At the root of the Percy branches is “ Charlemagne ”; and
there is a sermon in the whole, much more likely to scourge pride
than to stimulate it, if the thing be rightly considered. However this
may be, the Percys find their root in Karloman, the Emperor, through
Joscelin of Louvain, in this way: Agnes de Percy was, in the
twelfth century, the sole heiress of her house. Immensely rich, she
had many suitors. Among these was Joscelin, brother of Godfrey,
sovereign Duke of Brabant, and of Adelicia, Queen Consort of Henry
the First of England. Joscelin held that estate at Petworth which
has not since gone out of the hands of his descendants. This princely
suitor of the heiress Agnes was only accepted by her as husband on
condition of his assuming the Percy name. Joscelin consented; but
he added the arms of Brabant and Louvain to the Percy shield, in
order that, if succession to those titles and possessions should ever be
�192
NORTHUMBERLAND HOTSE AND THE PERCYS.
stopped for want of an heir, his claim might be kept in remembrance.
Now, this Joscelin was lineally descended from “ Charlemagne,^ and,
therefore, that greater name lies at the root of the Percy pedigree,
which glitters in gold on the walls of the ducal chapel in the castle
at Alnwick.
Very rarely indeed did the Percys, who were the earlier Earls of
Northumberland, die in their beds. The first of them, Henry, was
slain (1407) in the fight on Bramham Moor. The second, another
Henry (whose father, Hotspur, was killed in the hot affair near
Shrewsbury), lies within St. Alban’s Abbey Church, having poured
out his lifeblood in another Battle of the Boses, fought near that
town named after the saint. The blood of the third Earl helped to
colour the roses, which are said to have grown redder from the gore
of the slain on Towton’s hard-fought field. The forfeited title was
transferred, in 1465, to Lord John Nevill Montagu, great Warwick’s
brother; but Montagu soon lay among the dead in the battle near
Barnet. The title was restored to another Henry Percy, and that
unhappy Earl was murdered, in 1489, at his house, Cocklodge, near
Thirsk. In that fifteenth century there was not a single Earl of
Northumberland who died a peaceful and natural death.
In the succeeding century the first line of Earls, consisting of six
Henry Percys, came to an end in that childless noble whom Anne
Boleyn called “ the Thriftless Lord.” He died childless in 1537. He
had, indeed, two brothers, the elder of whom might have succeeded to
the title and estates; but both brothers, Sir Thomas and Sir Tngram,
had taken up arms in the “ Pilgrimage of Grace.” Attainder and
forfeiture were the consequences; and in 1551 Northumberland was
the title of the dukedom conferred on John Dudley, Earl of Warwick,
who lost the dignity when his head was struck off at the block, two
years later.
Then the old title, Earl of Northumberland, was restored in 1557,
to Thomas, son of that attainted Thomas who had joined the
“ Pilgrimage of Grace.” Ill-luck still followed these Percys. Thomas
was beheaded—the last of his house who fell by the hands of the
executioner—in 1572. His brother and heir died in the Tower in
1585.
None of these Percys had yet come into the Strand. The brick
house there, which was to be their own through marriage with an
heiress, was built in the lifetime of the Earl, whose father, as just
mentioned, died in the Tower in 1585. The son, too, was long a
prisoner in that gloomy palace and prison. While Lord Northampton
was laying the foundations of the future London house of the Percys
in 1605, Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, was being carried into
durance. There was a Percy, kinsman to the Earl, who was mixed
up in the Gunpowder Plot. Eor no other reason than relationship
�WOBTHUMBEKBEND HOUSE AND THE PEBCYS? 193
with the conspiring Percy the Earl was shut up in the Tower for
life, as his sentence ran, and he was condemned to pay a fine of thirty
thousand pounds. The Earl ultimately got off with fifteen years’ im
prisonment and a fine of twenty thousand pounds. He was popularly
known as the Wizard Earl, because he was a studious recluse,
company ing only with grave scholars (of whom there were three,
known as “ Percy’s Magi ”), and finding relaxation in writing rhymed
■satires against the Scots.
There was a stone walk in the Tower which, having been paved by
the Earl, was known during many years as “ My Lord of Northumber
land’s Walk.” At one end was an iron shield of his arms; and holes
in which he put a peg at every turn he made in his dreary exercise.
One would suppose that the Wizard Earl would have been very
grateful to the man who restored him to liberty. Lord Hayes
(Viscount Doncaster) was the man. He had married Northumber
land’s daughter, Lucy. The marriage had excited the Earl’s anger,
as a low match, and the proud captive could not u stomach ” a benefit
for which he was indebted to a son-in-law on whom he looked down.
This proud Earl died in 1632. Just ten years after, his son, Algernon
Percy, went a-wooing at Suffolk House, in the Strand. It was then
inhabited by Elizabeth, the daughter and heiress of Theophilus, Earl
of Suffolk, who had died two years previously, in 1640. Algernon
Percy and Elizabeth Howard made a merry and magnificent wedding
of it, and from the time they were joined together the house of the
bride has been known by the bridegroom’s territorial title of Northum
berland.
The street close to the house of the Percys, which we now know
as Northumberland Street, was then a road leading down to the
Thames, and called Hartshorn Lane. Its earlier name was Christopher
Alley. At the bottom of the lane the luckless Sir Edmundsbury
Godfrey had a stately house, from which he walked many a time and
oft to his great wood wharf on the river. But the glory of Hartshorn
Lane was and is Ben Jonson. No one can say where rare Ben was
born, save that the posthumous child first saw the light in Westmin
ster. “Though,” says Fuller, “I cannot, with all my industrious
inquiry, find him in his cradle, I can fetch him from his long coats.
When a little child he lived in Hartshorn Lane, Charing Cross, where
his mother married a bricklayer for her second husband.” Mr. Fowler
was a master bricklayer, and did well with his clever stepson. We
can in imagination see that sturdy boy crossing the Strand to go to his
school within the old church of St. Martin (then still) in the Fields.
Kt is as easy to picture him hastening of a morning early to Westmin
ster, where Camden was second master, and had a keen sense of the
stuff that was in the scholar from Hartshorn Lane. Of all the
figures that flit about the locality, none attracts our sympathies so
von. xxxviii.
o
�194 NORTHUMBERLAND HOUSE AND THE PERCYS.
warmly as that of the boy who developed into the second dramatic
poet of England.
Of the countesses and duchesses of this family, the most singular
was the widow of Algernon, the tenth Earl. In her widowhood she
removed from the house in the Strand (where she had given a home
not only to her husband, but to a brother) to one which occupied the
site on which White’s Club now stands. It was called Suffolk
House, and the proud lady thereof maintained a semi-regal state
beneath the roof and when she went abroad. On such an occasion
as paying a visit, her footmen walked bareheaded on either side of
her coach, which was followed by a second, in which her women were
seated, like so many ladies in waiting! Her state solemnity went so
far that she never allowed her son Joscelin’s wife (daughter of an
Earl) to be seated in her presence—at least till she had obtained per
mission to do so.
Joscelin s wife was, according to Pepys, “ a beautiful lady indeed.”
They had but one child, the famous heiress, Elizabeth Percy, who at
four years of age was left to the guardianship of her proud and wicked
old grandmother. Joscelin was dead, and his widow married Ralph,
afterwards Duke of Montague. The old Dowager Countess was a
matchmaker, and she contracted her granddaughter, at the age of twelve,
to Cavendish, Earl of Ogle. Before this couple were of age to live
together Ogle died. In a year or two after, the old matchmaker
engaged her victim to Mr. Thomas Thynne, of Longleat; but the
young lady had no mind to him. In the Hatton collection of manu
scripts there are three letters addressed by a lady of the Brunswick
family to Lord and Lady Hatton. They are undated, but they con
tain a curious reference to part of the present subject, and are
thus noticed in the first report of the Royal Com-mission
on Historical Manuscripts : “ Mr. Thinn has proved his marriage
with Lady Ogle, but she will not live with him, for fear of
being ‘rotten before she is ripe.’ Lord Suffolk, since he lost
his wife and daughter, lives with his sister, Northumberland.
They have here strange ambassadors—one from the King of Fez, the
other from Muscovett. All the town has seen the last; he goes to
the play, and stinks so that the ladies are not able to take their
muffs from their noses all the play-time. The lampoons that are
made of most of the town ladies are so nasty, that no woman would
read them, else she would have got them for her.”
“ Tom of Ten Thousand,” as Thynne was called, was murdered
(shot dead in his carriage) in Pall Mall (1682) by Konigsmark and
accomplices, two or three of whom suffered death on the scaffold.
Immediately afterwards the maiden wife of two husbands really
married Charles, the proud Duke of Somerset. In the same year
Banks dedicated to her (Illustrious Princess, he calls her) his ‘ Anna
�NORTHUMBERLAND HOUSE AND THE PERCYS. 195
Bullen,’ a tragedy. He says: “ You have submitted to take a noble
partner, as angels have delighted to converse with menand “ there
is so much of divinity and wisdom in your choice, that none but the
Almighty ever did the like ” (giving Eve to Adam) “ with the world
and Eden for a dower.” Then, after more blasphemy, and very free
allusions to her condition as a bride, and fulsomeness beyond concep
tion, he scouts the idea of supposing that she ever should die. “ You
look,” he says, “ as if you had nothing mortal in you. Your guardian,
angel scarcely is more a deity than youand so on, in increase of
bombast, crowned by the mock humility of “ my muse still has no
other ornament than truth.”
The Duke and Duchess of Somerset lived in the house in the
Strand, which continued to be called Northumberland House, as
there had long been a Somerset House a little more to the east.
Anthony Henley once annoyed the above duke and showed his own
ill-manners by addressing a letter “ to the Duke of Somerset, over
against the trunk-shop at Charing Cross.” The duchess was hardly
more respectful when speaking of her suburban mansion, Sion House,
Brentford. “ It’s a hobbledehoy place,” she said; ££ neither town nor
country.” Of this union came a son, Algernon Seymour, who in
1748 succeeded his father as Duke of Somerset, and in 1749 was
created Earl of Northumberland, for a particular reason. He had no
sons. His daughter Elizabeth had encouraged the homage of a
handsome young fellow of that day, named Smithson. She was told
that Hugh Smithson had spoken in terms of admiration of her beauty,
and she laughingly asked why he did not say as much to herself.
Smithson was the son of “ an apothecary,” according to the envious,
but, in truth, the father had been a physician, had earned a baronetcy,
and was of the good old nobility, the landowners, with an estate, still
possessed by the family, at Stanwick, in Yorkshire. Hugh Smithson
married this Elizabeth Percy, and the earldom of Northumberland,
conferred on her father, was to go to her husband, and afterwards to
the eldest male heir of this marriage, failing which the dignity was
to remain with Elizabeth and her heirs male by any other marriage.
It is at this point that the present line of Smithson-Percys begins.
Of the couple who may be called its founders so many severe things
have been said, that we may infer that their exalted fortunes and best
qualities gave umbrage to persons of small minds or strong prejudices.
Walpole’s remark, that in the earl’s lord-lieutenancy in Ireland “ their
vice-majesties scattered pearls and diamonds about the streets,” is good
testimony to their royal liberality. Their taste may not have been
unexceptionable, but there was no touch of meanness in it. In 1758
they gave a supper at Northumberland House to Lady Yarmouth,
George the Second’s old mistress. The chief ornamental piece on the
supper table represented a grand chasse at Herrenhausen, at which
o 2
�196 NORTHUMBERLAND HOUSE AND WE PERCYSl
there was a carriage drawn by six horses, in which was- seated an
august person wearing a blue ribbon, with a lady at his side. This
was not unaptly called “the apotheosis of concubinage.” Of the
celebrated countess notices vary. Her delicacy, elegance, and refine
ment are vouched for by some; her coarseness and vulgarity are
asserted by others. When Queen Charlotte came to England, Lady
Northumberland was made one of the ladies of the queen’s bed
chamber. Lady Townshend justified it to people who felt or feigned
surprise, by remarking, “ Surely nothing could be more proper. The
queen does not understand English, and can anything be more neces
sary than that she should learn the vulgar tongue ?” One of the
countess’s familiar terms for conviviality was “junkitaceous,” but
ladies of equal rank had also little slang words of their own, called
things by the very plainest names, and spelt physician with an “ f.”
There is ample testimony on record that the great countess never
hesitated at a jest on the score of its coarseness. The earl was dis
tinguished rather for his pomposity than vulgarity, though a vulgar
sentiment marked some of both his sayings and doings. For example,
when Lord March visited him at Alnwick Castle, the Earl of North
umberland received him at the gates with this queer sort of welcome:
“ I believe, my lord, this is the first time that ever a Douglas and a
Percy met here in friendship.” The censor who said, “ Think of this
from a Smithson to a true Douglas,” had ample ground for the excla
mation. George the Third raised the earl and countess to the rank
of duke and duchess in 1766. All the earls of older creation were
ruffled and angry at the advancement; but the honour had its draw
back. The King would not allow the title to descend to an heir by
any other wife but the one then alive, who was the true representative
of the Percy line.
The old Northumberland House festivals were right royal things
in their way. There was, on the other hand, many a snug, or uncere
monious, or eccentric party given there. Perhaps the most splendid
was that given in honour of the King of Denmark in 1768. His
majesty was fairly bewildered with the splendour. There was in the
court what was called “ a pantheon,” illuminated by 4000 lamps.
The King, as he sat down to supper, at the table to which he had
expressly invited twenty guests out of the hundreds assembled, said
to the duke, “ How did you contrive to light it all in time ?” “ I had
two hundred lamplighters,” replied the duke. “ That was a stretch,”
wrote candid Mrs. Delany; “ a dozen could have done the business
which was true.
The duchess, who in early life was, in delicacy of form, like one of
the Graces, became, in her more mature years, fatter than if the whole
three had been rolled into one in her person. With obesity came
“ an exposition to sleep,” as Bottom has it. At “ drawing-rooms ” she
�NOTTHUMBERLOTD EroWbrANDEn^ PEROVS? 197
no sooner sank on a sofa than she was deep in slumber; but while
she was awake she would make jokes that were laughed at and cen
sured the next day all over London. Her Grace would sit at a win
dow in Covent Garden, and be hail fellow well met with every one of
a mob of tipsy and not too cleanly-spoken electors. On these occa
sions it was said she “ signalised herself with intrepidity.” She could
bend, too, with cleverness to the humours of more hostile mobs; and
when the Wilkes rioters besieged the ducal mansion, she and the duke
appeared at a window, did salutation to their masters, and performed
homage to the demagogue by drinking his health in ale.
Horace Walpole affected to ridicule the ability of the Duchess as a
verse writer. At Lady Miller’s at Batheaston some rhyming words
were given out to the company, and any one who could, was re
quired to add lines to them so as to make sense with the rhymes
furnished for the end of each line. This sort of dancing in fetters
was called bouts rimes. “On my faith,” cried Walpole, in 1775,
“ there are loouts rimes on a buttered muffin by her Grace the
Duchess of Northumberland.” It may be questioned whether any
body could have surmounted the difficulty more cleverly than her
Grace. For example:
The pen. which I now take and
Has long lain useless in my
Know, every maid, from her own
To her who shines in glossy
That could they now prepare an
From best receipt of book in
Ever so fine, for all their
I should prefer a butter’d
A muffin, Jove himself might
If eaten with Miller, at
brandish,
standish.
patten
satin,
oglio
folio,
puffing,
muffin;
feast on,
Batheaston.
To return to the house itself. There is no doubt that no mansion
of such pretensions and containing such treasures has been so
thoroughly kept from the vulgar eye. There is one exception, how
ever, to this remark. The Duke (Algernon) who was alive at the
, period of the first Exhibition threw open the house in the Strand to
the public without reserve. The public, without being ungrateful,
thought it rather a gloomy residence. Shut in and darkened as it
now is by surrounding buildings—canopied as it now is by clouds of
London smoke—it is less cheerful and airy than the Tower, where the
Wizard Earl studied in his prison room, or counted the turns he made
when pacing his prison yard. The Duke last referred to was in his
youth at Algiers under Exmouth, and in his later years a Lord of
the Admiralty. As Lord Prudhoe, he was a traveller in far-away
countries, and he had the faculty of seeing what he saw, for which
many travellers, though they have eyes, are not qualified. At the
�198 NOETHUMBERLAND HOUSE AND THE’ KEHCyS.
pleasant Smithsonian house at Stanwick, when he was a bachelor, his
household was rather remarkable for the plainness of the female
servants. Satirical people used to say the youngest of them was a
grandmother. Others, more charitable or scandalous, asserted that
Lord Prudhoe was looked upon as a father by many in the country
round, who would have been puzzled where else to look for one. It
was his elder brother Hugh (whom Lord Prudhoe succeeded) who,
represented England as Ambassador Extraordinary at the coronation
of Charles the Tenth at Eheims. Paris was lost in admiration at the
splendour of this embassy, and never since has the hotel in the Eue
de Bac possessed such a gathering of royal and noble personages as
at the fetes given there by the Duke of Northumberland. His sister,
Lady Glenlyon, then resided in a portion of the fine house in the
Eue de Bourbon, owned and in part occupied by the rough but cheery
old warrior, the Comte de Lobau.
When that lady was Lady
Emily Percy, she was married to the eccentric Lord James Murray,
afterwards Lord Glenlyon. The bridegroom was rather of an
oblivious turn of mind, and it is said that when the wedding morn
arrived, his servant had some difficulty in persuading him that it was
the day on which he had to get up and be married.
There remains only to be remarked, that as the Percy line has
been often represented only by an heiress, there have not been wanting
individuals who boasted of male heirship.
Two years after the death of Joscelin Percy in 1670, who died the
last male heir of the line, leaving an only child, a daughter, who
married the Duke of Somerset, there appeared, supported by the Earl
of Anglesea, a most impudent claimant (as next male heir) in the
person of James Percy, an Irish trunkmaker. This individual pro
fessed to be a descendant of Sir Ingram Percy, who was in the Pil
grimage of Grace, and was brother of the sixth earl. The claim was
proved to be unfounded; but it may have rested on an illegitimate
foundation. As the pretender continued to call himself Earl of North
umberland, Elizabeth, daughter of Joscelin, “ took the law ” of him.
Ultimately he was condemned to be taken into the four law courts in
Westminster Hall, with a paper pinned to his breast, bearing these
words: “ The foolish and impudent pretender to the earldom of
Northumberland.”
In the succeeding century, the well-known Dr. Percy, Bishop of
Dromore, believed himself to be the true male representative of the
ancient line of Percy. He built no claims on such belief; but the
belief was not only confirmed by genealogists, it was admitted by the
second heiress Elizabeth, who married Hugh Smithson. Dr. Percy so
far asserted his blood as to let it boil over in wrath against Pennant
when the latter described Alnwick Castle in these disparaging words:
At Alnwick no remains of chivalry are perceptible; no respectable
�NOETHUMBERLAND HOUSE AND THE'PEED xS 199
|trainFof attendants; the furniture and gardens inconsistent; and
nothing, except the numbers of unindustrious poor at the castle gate,
excited any one idea of its former circumstances.”
“ Duke and Duchess of Charing Cross,” or “ their majesties of Mid
dlesex,” were the mock titles which Horace Walpole flung at the
ducal couple of his day who resided at Northumberland House,
London, or at Sion House, Brentford. Walpole accepted and satirised
the hospitality of the London house, and he almost hated the ducal
host and hostess at Sion, because they seemed to overshadow his
mimic feudal state at Strawberry I After all, neither early nor late
circumstance connected with Northumberland House is confined to
memories of the inmates. Ben Jonson comes out upon us from Hartshorn Lane with more majesty than any of the earls; and greatness
has sprung from neighbouring shops, and has flourished as gloriously
as any of which Percy can boast. Half a century ago, there was a
long low house, a single storey high, the ground floor of which was a
saddler’s shop. It was on the west side of the old Golden Cross, and
neariy opposite Northumberland House. The worthy saddler founded
a noble line. Of four sons, three were distinguished as Sir David, Sir
Frederick, and Sir George. Two of the workmen became Lord
Mayors of London; and an attorney’s clerk, who used to go in at
night and chat with the men, married the granddaughter of a king
and became Lord Chancellor.
�
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Northumberland House and the Percys
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Doran, John
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Place of publication: [London]
Collation: 189-199 p. ; 23 cm.
Notes: From the library of Dr Moncure Conway. Article from Temple Bar magazine, May 1873; attribution from Virginia Clark catalogue.
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Text
429
BY FRANCIS TURNER PALGRAVB,
Late Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford.
PART I.
Monumental statues, common in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Italy,
were hardly known during the Gothic or Mediaeval period of Western
Europe ; and they first appear in England in connection with the Lord
Arundel who collected antique marbles. He caused the bronze eques
trian group of Charles I. at Charing Cross to be modelled in 1633 by
Hubert le Sueur, who is called a pupil of the Italian sculptor, John of
Bologna. Before it was put up, the monarchy had been abolished ;
and it is a well-known story, how a brazier, who read the signs of the
times better than the politicians of the Commonwealth, concealed the
group when its destruction was ordered. But it is probably little
remembered by those who now pass it, that the vacant spot was selected
for the scaffold of Major-General Harrison and four other patriots who
suffered under the Restoration. There is something vindictive and bar
barous in the choice of this site for the statue ; something that recalls
old frightful tales of human sacrifice and superstition. But people
gossiped in those days as in ours, and much discussion seems to have
accompanied the elevation of the statue to the pedestal, which was
then elaborately carved for it, perhaps from the design, if not by
the hands, of Grinling Gibbons.
What can be the mystery, why Charing Cross
This five months continues still muffled with board ?
Thus, about 1672, sang Andrew Marvell—a writer from whose ode
on Cromwell, one of the noblest and most stately poems in our lan
guage, a more serious strain might have been expected.
Anecdotes about artists have ordinarily little more to do with their
art and the merit of it than these; but, in case of the Charles I., it is
such historical associations that lend the group its main value. Placed
well for effect, but (like other statues to be hereafter noticed) too high
for convenient study as a work of art, it appears to be in a tame, at least a
timid style, which hardly rises above the common monumental sculpture
of that day; and in the age of Vandyck, one would have expected a
�430
public «Statues in 5Lontion>
more picturesque and effective likeness, especially since, when seen in
front, one traces a distinct reference to that great painter’s equestrian
portraits. The horse is fairly natural, though not free from indications
that the artist was thinking of the ill-modelled breed of the ancient
Roman sculptors; and the best thing we can say of the group, is that
it avoids the bad extravagant style, which had by 1633 corrupted
Italian sculpture, and of which, .John of Bologna was one of the most
brilliant representatives.*
Strange, as it may seem, London contains at least one public sta
tue, the subject of which is hardly less uncertain, than if it had been
dug up in Greece or Italy. Probably during the reign of Charles II.
when Soho Square was begun, a stone figure was placed there, which
has been assigned to the unhappy Duke of Monmouth, to James II.,
and to Charles himself. The last appears the most probable. It is
a standing figure, clothed in English armour, but with a robe twisted
behind; a wig surrounds the mutilated features.
Cromwell still waits for his statue; and he, in truth, should be a
very powerful and accomplished sculptor, whose hands could safely
attempt the difficult task of doing justice to the great man who stands
up like some huge rock among the petty figures of the Stuarts. But
unless we commemorate a prince or a general (and Cromwell was
something more than most princes and generals), English funds are
rarely forthcoming. Men even greater than the Protector are equally
unrepresented. Yet there are few methods by which a wealthy man
might more certainly or more honourably hand his name down to
future generations, than by a first-rate public monument to departed
genius.
James II., by Gibbons the wood-carver, apparently completed in
1687, stands behind Whitehall, and considering its age and exposed
position, is well-preserved. He is in full Roman armour, laurelcrowned, and a robe falling behind him ; the attitude, that of a man
giving some command, is rather too showy, yet is rendered with ease
and a certain dignity, and there is a considerable air of likeness in the
harsh but narrow-looking features. The modelling is fair in its con
ventional way, which reminds one rather of the Roman-antique style
than of nature ; and it deserves special praise that Gibbons has known
how to take advantage of his material, and has given his figure the
comparatively disengaged or “ open ” attitude of which bronze, from
* For some of the facts stated in this paper, the writer is indebted to Mr. 0.
Knight’s “London” (1843), and Mr. P. Cunningham’s “Handbook” (1849).
�public States in ^oiWon.
431
its superior tenacity, admits. The drapery, from the same reason, has
been kept light and flat in the folds. These may seem obvious
merits; but it will be found that sculptors of much greater pretension
and experience than Gibbons, have not felt the difference between
working in stone, and working in metal, and have made their bronze
figures dark and heavy, by a massive treatment, which only looks well
in its own appropriate and light-coloured material. The artist received
¿6500 for this work—a very large sum, the time and the size of the
figure considered, and a proof that ho must have obtained fashionable
recognition as a sculptor.
The great William, fated to learn in England, by a bitter and
pathetic experience,
The unwilling gratitude of base mankind,
has but one statue—that in the centre of St. James’s Square. So far
us its distance from the eye admits of a judgment, this group (it is
equestrian) though rather clever and lively, appears to be in a poor
style, imitating the French statues of Louis XIV., and has all the look
of a contemporary production. Yet it seems certain that the younger
Bacon not only placed this figure here in 1808, but modelled
it. He speaks of it as “my equestrian statue,” in a letter which
has been kindly pointed out to the writer by Mr. G. Scharf; and
a print of the Square, dated 1751, shows a basin and fountain where
the group now stands. Except upon such evidence (especially when
one considers how unlikely it was that anyone should go to the great
expense involved at the above date), it might have been conjectured
that a contemporary statue had been presented to the Square by one
of the great families who have houses about it, and might have been pro
vided with its pedestal and “put in order” by Bacon. Though wantingin
dignity and grace, this group has some truth to character* in its expres
sion of will and energy. The curious way in which the hair of the
tail is detached in little masses in the direction of the horse’s pro
gress, was probably intended to increase this effect. But there is
always a want of due stability and repose when a figure appears to be
rapidly moving off its pedestal. The pause of arrested motion, the
moment of suspended action, by the laws of the material, is almost
always the right instant for sculpture to express.
Anne figures thrice: before St. Paul’s, and in the two Queen’s
Squares named after her. Of these statues it will be enough to
describe one. That in Queen’s Square West (apparently Portland
�432
public Statues in Mention,
stone painted) represents her exactly as she might have looked in one
of the pictures of the time, in full court-robes, wearing a crown, and
rising up or walking forward ; whilst the right hand is extended over
a cushion resting on a twisted column. The features are pleasing, and
though the work is without any trace of proper style, the figure has a
ladylike and dignified air. The broken sceptre now lies upon the
cushion,—an emblem of her ill-fated family 1—The quiet Square, with
its solemn but not ungraceful houses around, some still preserving
fragments of contemporary carving, the trees and the untrodden grassplats, is a fit place for the monument of the last reigning Stuart.
A figure of George I., showy but effective, and infinitely better
designed for its position than the Duke of York and the Nelson by
two once fashionable Academicians, surmounts the picturesque cam
panile of St. George’s, Bloomsbury.
George II. (or George I.,—the point is disputed), in Leicester
Square, has been lately mutilated and ordered for removal; equal acts
of folly, for though the statue was, perhaps, not of greater merit in
art than several of our most recent figures presently to be noticed,
yet it had real interest for all who feel that to love their land is to
love its history, and are aware how much a past period is vivified
and realized by the sight of any actual monument which the men of
that day saw and handled.
A second statue of George II., perhaps by the same hand as the
one of his father, stands like a Roman warrior in Golden Square.
This, again, is a stone figure painted over (with the exquisitely absurd
English taste in these matters) to look, no doubt, more like stone!
The statue is of the ordinary monumental sort, though very elaborately
wrought in the drapery and armour, which, from unskilful arrangement,
give it a clumsy air. The warrior character may here be accepted as a
not undeserved, if pedantic, compliment to the king’s distinguished
personal courage and firmness in danger. He and his father, in com
parison with their Stuart. predecessors, have, in truth, been rather
harshly dealt with in our literature, which forgets their good points and
cannot forgive their imperfect English.
The Duke of Cumberland, an equestrian bronze, set up in 1777
within Cavendish Square, is the last and perhaps the worst public
statue in the primitive style which need be mentioned ; for a standing
figure of Sir H. Sloane, by Rysbrack, in the Apothecaries’ Gardens at
Chelsea, though noteworthy as the first extant memorial to a private
citizen of distinction, hardly falls within our subject. Awkwardly
�public Statues in &onUon.
433
huddled together in his robes, and seemingly desirous to ride off and
hide himself, the statue of the Duke almost justifies a criticism which
it drew from Sir J. Reynolds—that modern dress was radically unsuit
able for sculpture. But no powerful sculptors had proved then, as
David d’Angers in France, Rietschel in Germany, and Watson and
Woolner with us, have since proved, that the reverse of Sir Joshua’s
verdict is the truth. Indeed, it is obvious to common sense, that if
we cannot clothe our contemporaries as they were really clothed, we
had better leave monumental sculpture alone.
These figures all date before sculpture was studied as an art in
England—nay, before it was thought possible that genuine English
hands could produce anything worthy to be called sculpture. It is
worth while recalling this state of things, for the encouragement of our
race here or across the seas. During the first half of the last century
nearly the same scepticism existed also in regard to our capacity for
painting. These arts, at least in their highest form, were supposed by
some natural law of selection to be confined to Italy—a country which,
for more than a hundred years, had not only ceased to produce the
great things which have justly made her celebrated, but had fallen into
a degeneracy, in which tameness and extravagance, both alike almost
entirely forgetful of nature, contended for the mastery. Yet the super
stition that Italian taste necessarily meant something superior, from
which the French had freed themselves, survived in England, and we
find even Reynolds apologizing with his graceful good sense, for
placing Gainsborough on a level with the Roman picture-manufac
turers of the time, not one of whom, to judge by their works, would
have been qualified even to “ set his pallette ” for our great landscapepainter.
“ Sturdy Hogart,” as Swift called him, was the first artist of power
who spoke out, somewhat rudely no doubt, against this silly supersti
tion, and satirized our art-patronizing classes for wasting their money
on the Italian charlatans and sharks who then abounded, in terms
which have even now not lost all their applicability. Hogarth’s own
pictures were, however, his best argument; Reynolds, Gainsborough,
and Wilson followed; and the English school of painting, in oil ant!
water-colours, whatever deficiencies it may be justly charged with, has
at least proved that we stand on a level with any other civilized race in
capacity for these forms of art. If our sculpture has not emerged to
similar excellence, it has not been from want of men equal to the best
of those hitherto known in Christendom, but from the want of general
VI.
28
�434
«Statues in bonbon.
public knowledge and taste on the subject, which has prevented ability
from obtaining fair play, or impressing itself on the country.*
Some revolution, analogous to that initiated by Hogarth, from the
books and reviews which have reached the writer, appears to be required
in America. There, as in eighteenth-century England, in spite of a con
siderable activity and pleasure in art, an unreasoning reliance on
European taste seems to prevail; a half-unconscious distrust of native
power ; a disposition, at least, among artists or their patrons to think
that art is only to be learned abroad. This is particularly perceptible
in case of sculpture, towards which the American mind shows a marked
bias, which should in time produce good work. In the interests of this
noblest of the Fine Arts, may an Englishman be allowed to observe
that it is an injurious tendency which leads American sculptors, like
some English, to settle in Italy ? Attractive as the prospect may seem
in the pages of a sentimental novelist, ignorant of art, everything is
there really against them: ancient models, mostly indifferent when
compared with our fragments of genuine Greek art, and rarely useful
as guides for modern practice; renaissance models, mostly unsculptural in style, however beautiful or grand in their execution; a native
modern school detestable in taste, though seductive by its showy
cleverness; above all, coterie worship of the most ruinous kind; idle
and dilettante wealth seeking to flatter itself by patronizing art, and
blinded in its pursuit by the flattery which it receives, in turn, from the
interested artist. This sickly maZanu was near ruining Michael Angelo
himself. It is, hence, little wonder that Rome, to the present day, has
bred no great or sound sculptor for centuries: at best a Canova, a
Thorwaldsen, or a Gibson, to show how fatal a delusion it is, even for
men with some natural vocation for the art, to put their trust in con,»
noisseurship and fashion, museums and mythologies.
It is about a century since the efforts of Nollekens, Banks, and
others, began to lift sculpture above the church-figure fashion, or the
mere imitation of French and Roman models; and there is hence
forward some attempt at sculptural style, although often imperfectly
carried out, in the public statues of London. Henceforth we
also notice another change which, though promising well, has but
partially fulfilled its promise. The royal family has hitherto filled
our list of public statues; nor, considering the considerable place
which the heads of every state, even if not to their own credit,
* The writer may refer those who are curious for further details on this point
to his “ Essays on Art,” Macmillan and Co., 1866.
�public statues in 3Lonbotx+
435
must necessarily fill in its history, should we grudge any of their
images as superfluous. But the more liberally we concede , their
claims, the more' will a high-spirited nation demand similar recognition
of those citizens who have been born “nobles by nature.” All kinds
of private merit were, from a very early time, honoured among the
Greeks by monumental sculpture; their healthy minds and lively
intellects soon saw that a musician might be not less of a public
benefactor than a ruler or a general; but in England these honours
were long confined to the royal lineage, just as Rome reserved a
triumph for members of the privileged houses. This feeling broke
down with us after the French Revolution, and a more liberal order of
things began. So sculpture, like all the arts, images the politics of
a nation. But the plan has failed hitherto in several respects, which
it is worth while to notice as lessons for the future. In the first place,
whether because a man of action has more powerful or more united
friends flian a man of mind, or through what is now spoken of as the
“Philistinism” of the race, intellect and genius have been almost ex
cluded from these national honours, and every foreigner in England has
remarked that the statues of Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, Bacon,
Newton, and others of “the blood of the gods,” are conspicuous in
London by their absence. And a second cause of failure, when any
thing in this way has been tried, has arisen from the low state, not
only of sculpture, but of taste and knowledge of the art among us,
already alluded to. Without personal disrespect to men who follow
the art as they have received it, and might have made more of natural
capacity under a better system, it may be said that the large majority
of our professors bear the same relation to sculptors, in the strict sense,
that the Holloways and Morrisons bear to a Cullen, a Holland, or a De
Mussy. They are unscientific. The large majority of our patrons or
committees of selection, again, have no more fitted themselves, by study
of the art, to decide on the merits of the respective artists than an
average Englishman is qualified to decide between Armstrong or Whit
worth ordnance. If they were qualified, their first discovery would
necessarily be that there is no art wherein excellence is rarer than
Sculpture ; and in place of falling in with the thoughtless practice of the
day, and encouraging monuments and statues to every politician or
general of note, they would resolutely determine to have none unless
they could have them by first-rate ability. That one or two sculptors
of such rank should be found in any country is the most that can be
looked for; there have been many periods when no genius in this
�436
public Statues tn SLonbon.
difficult art has existed anywhere ; but the man of trained taste would
make this his first rule—to have excellence in sculpture, or give up
the wish for it. There is no pleasure, or life, or honour in a mediocre
statue. Genius can only be duly commemorated by genius.
With the development of sculpture as an art in England the indivi
dual style of the artist becomes also conspicuous, and must hence
forward be carefully considered in any attempt to criticise our public
statues. It may, therefore, be convenient to class them under their
respective sculptors. The first example in which the art raised itself
above the primitive style with which we have been hitherto engaged
was given by Bacon, in the bronze group of George III., which stands
■within the quadrangle of Somerset House; and it still remains one of
the best works in London. We are so familiar with the appearance of
this king in his later years, that it is a surprise to see him here with
the delicate and almost girlish features of his youth, as he might have
looked, before his mind clouded into obstinacy, when he made love to
Lady Sarah Lennox, or gossiped respectfully with Dr. Johnson in the
palace library. The figure is treated in a half-classical style, in a robe
which follows and displays the form, hair bound with a fillet, legs and
arms bare. The limbs are rather timidly modelled, but the attitude
has a fair degree of animation, and the draperies are managed with
carefulness and grace. Bacon, though a sound, was not an imagina
tive artist, like his distinguished contemporary Banks; he is, hence,
not happy in the emblems with which he has grouped the King.
George holds a classical rudder, and a classical galley lies behind him,
balanced on his right side by a lion. In itself this Hon is much better
modelled than those in Trafalgar Square, to be presently described.
The back is particularly good; but through an absurd diminution of
natural size, the effect is altogether thrown away. Below the king
the Thames, figured in Roman fashion as an aged but vigorous man,
reclines, with a vase and an immense “ cornucopia,” which—reversing
the error committed in regard to the lion—is far too large. This
figure is ably and powerfully modelled, but misses the repose of ancient
art: it reveals something of the extravagant taste of the Roman
sculptor Bernini, or of Bacon’s own contemporary, Fuseli. Altogether,
however, this group (especially when its date in our school is con
sidered) ranks as a very creditable work, and teaches a lesson greatly
needed now ;—how much care and completeness may do for the art in
the absence of those high gifts of genius which are only given once
or twice in a century to the sculpture of any country.
�
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Victorian Blogging
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A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
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2018
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Conway Hall Ethical Society
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Public statues in London. Part 1
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Palgrave, Francis Turner [1821-1893]
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Collation: 429-436 p. ; 23 cm.
Notes: From the library of Dr Moncure Conway. From Broadway 1 (1868). Attribution of journal title and date: Virginia Clark catalogue.
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Legislation
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Conway Tracts
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Sculpture
Statues
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Text
IMPROVED DWELLINGS FOR THE INDUSTRIAL
CLASSES.
(Brounb JJlan anb Cilcbation
OF
LANGBOURN BUILDINGS,
MARK STREET,
PAUL STREET, FINSBURY SQUARE,
DESIGNED AND ERECTED FOR MR. ALDERMAN WATERLOW
BY MR. MATTHEW ALLEN:
WITH DESCRIPTIVE NOTES, AND AN APPENDIX,
BY
J. A. MAYS.
LONDON:
ROBERT HARDWiCKE, 192,
1863.
PICCADILLY
�*** The number of visitors who are flocking to the building,
which it was the purpose of the following notes to describe for the
benefit of those who were present at the Opening, renders a further
issue of them necessary.
An account of the proceedings at the Opening is now added.
J. A. MAYS.
�IMPROVED DWELLINGS FOR THE
INDUSTRIAL CLASSES.
The friends of the movement for improving the condition
of the dwellings of the working classes have cause to he
thankful, in one respect, to the projectors of the twentynine schemes now before Parliament, for extending and
completing the railway system of the metropolis, as great
good is likely to be accomplished by causing public
attention to be forcibly directed to the tremendous extent
of the evils under which hundreds of thousands of the
working population of London are suffering—evils arising
mainly from the overcrowded and unhealthy condition
of their dwellings. The success of the Underground
Railway seems to have given extraordinary vitality to
a whole host of metropolitan extension and junction lines,
the construction of which, while necessitating the appro
priation of some of the very few open areas that London
still possesses, and going further towards converting the
metropolis into a huge network of tunnels, aqueducts
and arches, will also necessitate the entire removal of
many hundred houses, the majority of which are occu
pied by the industrial classes. The unhealthy nature
and the insufficient extent of the accommodation with
which thev are already provided, coupled with the
sweeping and sudden destruction of the large number
of dwelling-houses which the carrying out of these
�4
projects involves, becomes a matter of serious incon
venience to the working portion of the population, and
of more than ordinary anxiety to the employers of labour
and to the legislature. It is perfectly needless therefore
to offer one word of apology in introducing the accom
panying drawings to public notice. The importance of
the project to which they relate, whether considered as
regards the furtherance of social reforms, the prevention
of disease, the extension of the railway systems of the
country, the general amelioration of the condition of the
labouring classes, or as purely a commercial speculation,
renders it of the deepest moment that everything in the
shape of practical experience, especially of that kind
which points to a remedy for a state of things which every
one deplores, should be placed before the public without
delay.
The nature and extent of the evils sought to be grappled
with by a well-organized scheme, having for its object the
rendering of the dwelling place of the working man a
home in its truest sense, need not be here depicted, as they
have been so often and so eloquently described by abler
pens ; but assuming that there is no longer any doubt as
to their existence, the object of the present paper is to
attempt the indication of a cure rather than to describe
the disease. Laborious efforts have been made of late
years, under the auspices of the two great Societies, and by
many benevolent persons, in attempting to surmount this
subject, beset as it is on every hand with apparently unap
proachable difficulties. Society is indebted to an incal
culable extent to the labours of the late Prince Consort,
the Earl of Shaftesbury, Miss Burdett Coutts, and many
other generous spirits who have been content to spend
large sums in this good work—a work which the noble
earl just named rightly appreciates when he says : “ This
�o
is a subject about which you cannot think or speak too
earnestly. The condition of the dwellings of the labour
ing classes is the besetting sin and difficulty of. the time,
for it stands in the way of every good moral impression.”—
It is due to the unremitting efforts of philanthropists,
under the auspices chiefly of the two great bodies,—the
Society for Improving the Condition of the Working
Classes, and the Metropolitan Association, coupled with
the beneficial operation of certain legislative enactments,
that the debasing condition of the dwellings in which so
many many thousands of our countrymen arc located
has been to some extent alleviated. A perusal of the
annual reports of these Societies shows the long period
over which their operations have extended, and the large
amounts which they have expended ; but it is with a pang
of heartfelt regret that one is forced to acknowledge that,
most praiseworthy as their exertions have been as
pioneering this good work, the success which might have
been expected to result, from their labours has not yet been
achieved. Though they have succeeded in producing in
certain cases houses which satisfy the requirements of
the working classes it is undoubtedly true that no
building has yet been erected which, while combining
the essential elements of comfort and respectability,
produces in the shape of rent such a return on the money
sunk in its erection as to induce capitalists to repeat
similar experiments on a larger scale for the sake of the
profits. It is obvious that if a scheme could be devised which
would in every case attain these important objects, espe
cially the latter, the matter would be set at rest at once
and for ever; and it is equally obvious that until this can
be done the subject must continue to be regarded as the
greatest social difficulty of the day. The late Prince
Consort indicated his clear perception of this truth some
�6
years since in the observation he made to the Honorary
Architect of Lord Shaftesbury’s Society—“ Mr. Roberts,
unless we can get 7 or 8 per cent, we shall not succeed, in
inducing builders to invest their capital in such houses,”
Instead of addressing themselves vigorously to the ac
complishment of what is here indicated, architects and
builders, on whom such a project would naturally devolve,
seem in a great measure to have relaxed their efforts
latterly, and to be content to allow the question to be con
sidered as one incapable of a profitable solution by any
known application of the materials at their disposal.
It would seem to be a matter of extreme importance,
therefore, to examine previous experiments, with a view
to ascertain in what respects greater economy in the cost
of construction may be attained, and whether at the
same time any of the buildings themselves present features
which may be judiciously avoided. Addressing one’s
attention to the last point, first let us notice incidentally
the Institutional appearance that many of them present.
It is unquestionable that in most of the buildings of this
class the long rows of windows have a dreary monotonous
effect, and impress on the mind the idea of a workhouse or
of a penitentiary. This is perhaps not altogether preventible where many suites of dwellings have to be arranged
in floors or flats one above the othei’; but it certainly
speaks volumes as to the great want of decent accommo
dation felt by the working classes, that although this
is an objection which is universally admitted, it does
not seem to operate to the exclusion of tenants ; still,
it is an objection that should, if possible, be obviated
in planning other buildings. Every opportunity should
be seized of providing, if possible, a home which in
every way tends to increase the self-respect of its occu
pant, and to engender that principle in the mind which
�7
indicates its presence in the cleanly appearance of the
home itself, and sometimes adorns it with flowers and
shrubs. It is advisable to give to each dwelling an
individuality of appearance; and also to dissipate the
feeling, unfortunately but too general, that the occu
pants of the “ model dwellings ” are the recipients of
charity. The next thing to be borne in mind is, that
every tenant should have complete and exclusive use
of all the essential accessories to a home ; such as water
supply, sink, copper, dusf-shoot, coal-place, and watercloset. In some cases economy both of space and cost of
building has been sought to be obtained by arrange
ments whereby two or more tenants have had the use of
these in common; but the divided use of such important
requisites, which ought if possible to be in a decent wellregulated home reserved to the exclusive use of only a
single family, is, I think, far from compensated by a
slight saving of space and cost of erection. It would
certainly be preferable to provide these appendages to
every dwelling, even though it should render it necessary
to adopt an exterior of tlic plainest possible description.
In some of the so-called model dwellings recently erected,
and to which the foregoing remarks would also apply,
that which must at once be characterized as a defect of no
ordinary kind is observable. Somewhat showy exteriors
have been obtained at a great sacrifice of internal comfort ;
—in the one case by the introduction, at a very great
expense, of elliptical counter arches over every window
and doorway in four large blocks of buildings containing
in the aggregate some hundreds of openings : and in the
other bv the use of ornamental stone columns at the door
ways. These architectural luxuries seem to me to be
sadly misplaced in buildings which cannot boast a
particle of either plastering or paper on their internal
�8
walls, and where every room, whether parlour, living-room
or bed-room, presents a repetition of the bare and cheer
less aspect of a prison cell. It is surely to be regretted
that money should be lavishly applied to the production
of that which is clearly unnecessary, at the expense of
denying to the tenants the cheerfid effect and air of
comfort that would be given to these dwellings by the
addition of a few yards of plastering and paper-hangings.
In no case save in the houses for working people would any
architect venture to ignore the power of appreciation on
the part of any portion of the community of the decencies
of a well-arranged dwelling, or to profess that a mere
whitewashed brick wall complies with the requirements
of a modern dwelling-house in respect to its internal
decoration.
I am not alone in believing that the
homes of workmen cannot by any possibility be rendered
too attractive, complete, and comfortable; and that while
they will often meet with stolid indifference anything of a
“ missionising ” tendency, the working classes gladly
welcome and warmly appreciate the efforts made to
obviate the evils and improve the condition of their
dwellings. What they very properly desire is, that,
if possible, homes shall be provided capable of meeting the
requirements of an English workman’s family—a home
which shall present an appearance not unattractive, and
the occupation of which shall not engender a feeling on
their part that their friends will regard them as being the
occupants of almshouses.
I am conscious that this brief introduction has already
extended beyond its proper limits; without indulging in
any further digression, therefore, let me at once proceed
to call attention to the peculiarities of the building repre
sented in the accompanying })lan and elevation of a block
of dwellings recently designed and erected by Mr. Matthew
�9
Allen, of Tabernacle Walk, Finsbury, for Mr. Alderman
Waterlow.
A patient and anxious consideration of the whole subject
led to the conclusion that the following were among the
most important points which required consideration :—
I. A ground plan easily adaptable to any plot of
ground, capable of repetition to any extent, and
presenting in the elevation a pleasing and attrac
tive appearance.
II. Suites of rooms at different rents, so planned as
to secure the greatest economy of space, mate
rials, and labour, in the erection of the building,
providing at the same time for the exclusive
use of each family, within the external door of
the lettings, every essential requisite of domestic
convenience.
III. The construction of a flat roof capable of being
used as a drying and recreation ground, so as to
leave as much space as possible available for
building.
IV. Planning the positions of the doors, windows,
and fireplaces, with reference to a suitable ar
rangement of the furniture of the apartments,
and the placing of proper fireplaces, cupboards,
shelves, &c., in every room.
V. An efficient system of drainage and ventilation.
VI. Making the joinery as near as possible to an
uniform size and pattern, so that machinery
might be brought to bear in economizing its
manufacture to a considerable extent.
VII. The discovery and adaptation of a new material
combining the properties of strength and dura
�10
bility, adaptability, attractiveness of appearance,
and cheapness, in an eminent degree.
VIII. The combination of these advantages in build
ings which, when let at fair rentals, would
produce a good return on the outlay incurred in
their erection.
IX. The selection of a locality where the ground rent
would not be excessive, although the tenants
would be sufficiently near* their work to enable
them to take their meals at home.
Let us now see to what extent these advantages have
been attained and combined in the present building. Its
general plan may be described as a parallellogram of 56
feet by 44 feet, divided into four sections by a party wall
in the centre and the two passages (EE) in the middle of
each wing. The two centre sections arc set back about
3 feet from the line of frontage, for the purpose of giving
space for a balcony of that width on each of the upper
floors. Each section comprises one suite of rooms, to
which access is obtained from the passages (EE) leading
(on all the upper floors) direct from the balcony (G). The
balconies arc reached by a fireproof staircase having a semi
elliptical form, the entrances to which are shown on the
elevation by the two doorways in the centre of the building.
This staircase is continued to and gives access to the roof.
The larger lettings, consisting of three rooms and a wash
house, occupy the end sections of the building. E D the
entrance door, g is a living room provided with a range
having an oven and boiler. Leading out of the living room
is tlie washhouse or scullery (ft) which contains in every
case what may be called the accessories of the dwelling,—
water cistern, sink, a small fireplace, washing copper, dust
shoot, water-closet, &c. It is expected that the fireplace
�11
in the washhouse will conduce greatly to the comfort of
the living room in the summer time. Q is a comfortable
bedroom having a fireplace; a capacious cupboard (H) is
arranged in the party wall between this room and the
entrance lobby, and over the latter is a useful receptacle
for the stowage of bulky objects. Passing out towards
the front parlour (0), is a series of shelves having
an artificial stone bottom and back, intended by its
proximity to the living room to serve as a cupboard for pro
visions, &c. 0 is a, spacious handsome parlour having two
windows : the fireplace is placed a little out of the centre
of the room, so as to leave a convenient space in which to
put an additional bed in cases where this would be
required to be used as a bedroom. On the other side of
the fireplace is a sideboard and cupboard.
The centre sections, comprising the smaller lettings,
consist of two rooms and a washhouse, &c. The wash
house A and the living room B are exactly similar to
those in the larger letting The bedroom Q can be con
veniently converted into a parlour by arranging a set of
curtains across the recess at the back of the room, and
thus dividing the part where the bed would be placed from
the rest of the apartment. WWW represent the win
dows. The plan is the same on each side of the party
walls, and every floor or flat is a repetition of the
other. Close to the ceilings of all the rooms a ventilator
is placed which communicates with air shafts running
through the centres of the chimney stacks. The air is thus
constantly rarified, and a system of natural ventilation is
produced. Besides this, it will be seen that by setting open
the windows a current of external air can be at one
passed through every room in the direction of the dotted
lines. The lower panes of the windows are filled in
with ornamental ground glass, so that no window blinds
�12
are necessary. The windows are constructed oil a some
what novel principle, being made to open outwards
like ordinary French casements, but the two lower
panes are not made to open, so that the danger of
children falling out, as well as the disadvantages of
the ordinary window sashes, are avoided. All the rooms
are 8 ft. 9 in. in height. The other dimensions are figured
on the plan, and need not be repeated here. Drainage is
effected by means of 4-in. stoneware pipes passing from
the top of the building, down the corners of the washhouses,
directly to the common sewer. The dust shaft carries the
dust to covered receptacles at the base of the building,
and each shoot is provided with an iron cover so as to pre
vent the return of dust and effluvia. The dust shafts are
also continued to the top of the building, and act as ven
tilators to the dust bins. The greater part of the rooms
especially the living rooms, have scarcely any external
walls, so that they will be always warm and dry. All
the rooms are plastered and papered, and the wash
houses are plastered and coloured. Every tenant has
his apartments completely to himself, and nothing
is used in common except the roof as a drying
and recreation ground. By extending the area of the
building three or four feet in every direction the size of
the rooms could be easily increased, and suites of rooms
obtained well adapted to the requirements of any class
of the community. With the view of judging of the
happy effect that a row of these buildings would produce,
the visitor is requested to stand a hundred yards away
from the building and imagine the pleasing appearance of
a street having several buildings like this on eacli side
of the way. The party walls on the roofs might be
dispensed with in cases where several blocks arc built
side by side, and the roofs thus connected together would
���observing the rapid and facile manner in which it is made
to assume any desired shape. Castings will be made and
removed from moulds in the presence of the visitors.
With respect to the window
dressings and sills it will, probably, be admitted that the use
of the new material is a vast improvement on the ordinary
York sills, and yet the moulded ornamental sill is actually
the cheaper of the two. In the case of the chimney pieces,
too, a marked improvement is recognizable. The com
monest Bath stone, got up in the plainest style, would
cost about twice as much as those of artificial stone with
ornamental sunk panels, and as there are seventy fire
places in the building, there is a great saving in the
aggregate. The effect when these are painted to imitate
marble is very tasteful. The Building Act renders
it imperative to make the stairs of fireproof materials ;
and when we compare the cost of the stairs formed of
this material with the price of ordinary stone steps, the
saving is found to be enormous. The patent material
possesses all the advantages of appearance and durability
of allrtland stone staircase at one-fifth of its cost, and at
half the price of even the commonest York staircase.
These stairs were all fixed in their places as the building
progressed, and they have endured the wear and tear of the
�1G
workmen s heavy boots for some months past—more wear,
probably, than they will suffer for the next three or foul
’s. In some cases they were “nosed” with Portland
nreprooi noors, m ordinary c
construction of 9-in. walls for their support, but here the
extraordinary lightness and strength of the material just
described enables 4-in. walls to be used with perfect safety.
The economy of materials and labour in this respect in a
building of five stories is so obvious that it need hardly be
referred to. Portions of the building will remain unoc
cupied for a few days after the opening for the inspection
of visitors presenting their cards, and opportunities of
making accurate comparisons of the superiority and
diminished cost of various articles formed of this material
and of the ordinary building stones will be afforded.
The judicious arrangements of the plan already alluded
to as securing the greatest economy of space and cost of
construction, combined with the application of this
beautiful material, overcome the great difficulty hitherto
felt in attempting to deal with the problem of reducing
the cost of such buildings to a sum that the net rent
would pay a good return in the shape of interest on the
outlay. The pleasure with which one greets the appear
ance of such a building is enhanced by the knowledge,
�17
based on experience, that similar erections can be under
taken at a cost of something like £110 per dwelling
(see account annexed at page 20). All that is now required
seems to be the judicious application of capital to the ex
tension of the system in the overcrowded districts of the
metropolis and the large towns of the kingdom.
It is earnestly desired to avoid the use of any names
which could have the effect of attaching to the buildings
the idea of their being intended for the exclusive use of
a particular class. It is feared that the somewhat indis
criminate use of the word “model” in connection with
this and kindred subjects, has had anything but a bene
ficial effect; it seems to be associated with the ideas of
centralization so repugnant to the feelings of Englishmen.
The Earl of Shaftesbury honoured the building with a
visit some few days since, and stated distinctly that a more
cheerful and attractive home had been built for £110 than
either of the Metropolitan Associations had produced at a
minimum of £180. On leaving, he expressed himself as
having spent one of the happiest afternoons of his life, as
he had that day seen that which he had been looking for
in vain for many years, viz., a clean, healthy, and desira
ble home for a mechanic, erected at a price that would pay a
fair return on the money invested.
The careful inspection of the friends of the movement,
with which the name of this noble earl is so honourably
associated, are cordially invited to afford the projectors the
benefit of their criticism. It is hoped that it will be easy
to engraft upon the plan as it stands any minor improve
ments that may be suggested by the experience and know
ledge of others.
It should not be forgotten that the buildings now under
review have been erected within a quarter of an hour’s
walk of the Bank of England, and therefore easily within
2
�18
the reach of the large number of artizans employed in
the City of London. This is a most important feature, for
the oftener a man takes his meals at home, and the more
he cultivates a domestic life, the less he is likely to yield
to the flaring attractions of the beershop and the gin
palace : the more he associates with his family, and sub
mits to the gentle influence of little children, the easier
will he be elevated in the social scale, improved as a
neighbour and influenced as a Christian.
Looking down from the beautiful flat roof of Lang
bourn Buildings, the eye-rests upon four or five acres of
ground covered with the most wretched houses, or rather
hovels, the majority of them containing only two rooms each
and having no back windows : the sight is saddening, and
would be most depressing if it were not cheered with a
knowledge that all these vile, tumble-down dwellings, so
close to the heart of the City of London, are now the
property of the Corporation of London, and will in 1867
revert to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners : there is some
hope that one or both of these public bodies, being so
deeply interested in the improvement of the homes of the
labouring classes, may devote a large portion of the site
to the accomplishment of so important an object.
In conclusion, it is possible that the objection may be
raised that the rents of the dwellings in Langbourn
Buildings (0.5. to 6-s. 6<7. per week) are beyond the means of
the working class. The reply to this would be, that, con
tiguous to the spot where this building stands, four other
blocks are to be erected ; and that long before this the first
block was completed, applications were received to a suffi
cient number to have filled the whole of the five blocks had
they been ready, and now that this one is ready for occupa
tion, not a day passes without bringing with it swarms of
eager applicants to be received as tenants at these and even
���APPENDIX.
THE OPENING.
After a minute inspection of the building in every part, and an
examination of the various uses to which the patent material had
been applied, as explained by the builder and inventor, Mr. Allen,
the company adjourned to the flat roof, where refreshments were
served under an awning.
Amongst the noblemen and gentlemen present were :—
Lord Radstock,
Lord Ebury,
W. A. Wilkinson, Esq.,
Samuel Morley, Esq.,
S. Gregson, Esq., M.P.,
C. S. Fortescue, Esq., M.P.,
Fredk. Byng, Esq., M.P.,
Edwin Chadwick, Esq., C.B.,
Wm. Hawes, Esq.,
Hy. Roberts, Esq ,
Benjamin Scott, Esq., F.R.S.S.,
Russell Scott, Esq.,
J. H. Friswell, Esq.,
Rev. W. Denton,
George Godwin, Esq., F.R.S.,
Revd. E. Bayley,
H. Barnett, Esq.,
Thos. Benton. Eso..
W. H. Collingridge, Esq.,
C. Reed, Esq.,
J. C. Colquhoun, Esq.,
Hy. Dawson Esq.,
Robt. Dimsdale, Esq.,
Edward Enfield, Esq.,
C. Gatliff, Esq.,
J. C. Conybeare, Esq.,
A. Haldane, Esq.,
C. J. Hilton, Esq.,
Jno. Hollinshead, Esq.,
H. De Jersey, Esq., C.C.,
D. Simms, Esq., C.C ,
Rev. A. P. Kelley,
W. J. Makwell, Esq.,
Rev. S. Minton,
Jno. Sperling, Esq.,
HrV. Tt TiinrwAll
Ebury.
The noble Chairman said that at the request of Mr. Waterlow he
proposed to say a few words in reference to the object which had
brought them together that day ; but it was a subject so extremely
interesting in itself, and of such extraordinary importance, that it
was really hard to say only a few words upon it. At that high
altitude and somewhat low temperature, however, he would endea
vour to be as brief as possible. Important and absorbing as had
�22
been the events of the past week in connection with the marriage of
the Prince of Wales, fraught as they were with interest to every one
present, and the excitement of which would be still fresh in their
minds, he yet felt that the circumstance which had brought them
together on the top of that house were of deeper interest and of far
more importance than those of which he was quite certain they all
had so lively a recollection, for upon the successful solution of this
great problem the welfare of our town populations entirely depended.
It was a subject upon which, as Lord Shaftesbury had eloquently said,
no man could think or speak too earnestly; for the condition of the
dwellings of the labouring classes was the besetting sin and difficulty
of the time, as it stood in the way of every good moral impression.
He was very sorry that that noble Lord was not present to share
their gratification, but he was quite sure that he would have been
there had it been possible. He saw before him a great number
of gentlemen who with himself had been long labouring in this
cause, and though they had met with somewhat bare success, he
was sure he was but speaking the feelings of all his friends and
fellow-labourers in saying that although they had not achieved
great commercial success, yet the work had not disgusted or
dissatisfied them, because they knew the real good they had effected
among certain classes of the people, and that in the commence
ment of an undertaking with the details and practical working of
which they were not practically acquainted they must expect to meet
with considerable failures. But to-day their interest in that under
taking centred itself in the project before them. He did not know
whether it was too early in the clay to say that the problem was
solved altogether ; but after having very attentively perused
the document which described the building, and having now care
fully inspected the building itself, he must say that, taking the
figures to be correct, and that it was capable of producing a rent
which would give a per-centage of seven or eight per cent, on the
outlay in its erection, a result had been obtained of no slight impor
tance, as it solved the difficulty over which previous experimentalists
had stumbled, and proved that building enterprises of that nature
could be rendered commercially remunerative. There were tides in
the affairs of men,—crises in the development of all great movements.
Buildings (5s. to 6s. 6c/. per week) are beyond the means c
the working- class. The reply to this would be, that, cor
tiguous to the spot where this building stands, lour othi
, 1 -]
J •) _ X J
-1 i 1
rftAll lUVfveti 111 villi
there to criticise the budding in every way, and he could tell him
that he had some severe critics there that day—critics who would
look to the proper accommodation of even the smallest child in the
establishment, and that had in fact been done; indeed,it was neces
sary that all these things should undergo the most careful scrutiny.
He could fairly say for himself, although he did not pretend to
possess the knowledge and experience of some of his friends around
him, that he could really find but little fault. He had looked at it
�23
in the most careful manner—he had felt it with his fingers—he had
walked about it—he had poked it with his umbrella, and he had
asked his friends’ opinion about it; and at that moment he had not.
been able to find anything of any importance to criticise. He was
quite unable to pick a hole in the undertaking, and he thanked God
that he had put it into the heart of a Christian man to do this great
and good work. (Cheers.) He thanked Mr. Waterlow from the
bottom of liis heart for the privilege of being allowed to be present
that day. He felt that this was a movement which laid at the
foundation of all social and religious progress, for it was impossible
to make impressions for good which could have any permanent
effect on the min<ls of the people, surrounded as they were in their
homes with that which tended only to brutalize and degrade. He
begged to propose Mr. Alderman Waterlow’s very good health.
(Loud cheers.)
In responding to the toast, Mr. Alderman Waterlow thanked
the noblemen and gentlemen present for their attendance there that
day and for their kind appreciation of his endeavours. He said that
his object in asking them there was twofold—first, of obtaining the
advice and criticism of men far better acquainted with the subject than
himself, before proceeding to the further development of his scheme ;
and he hoped also that the result of assembling together so many
distinguished philanthropists would be, that they would not separate
without laying the foundation of some broad and comprehensive
scheme for giving further stimulus to this most important movement,
in which he had endeavoured to render some assistance. He would
not dwell upon that which the Chairman had already urged with so
much clearness, as to the necessity of improving the domestic con
dition of the people before hoping to effect anything in the way of a
permanent moral reform, but he would <ask how much of the great
increase of that form of crime which was designated the social evil
owed its origin to the over-crowded and immoral huddling together
of the sexes. So long, too, as the working classes were compelled
to live in close, inconvenient, badly devised and overcrowded dwell
ings, it was impossible to make them thoroughly feel and appreciate
the great truths of the Bible. He was thoroughly convinced that
before the preaching and teaching of ministers of religion could have
that beneficial effect on the labouring classes which they all lookedfc >r ■
ward to, that the demoralizing influences which now surrounded the
poor in the condition of their homes must be removed. So strongly
had this been seen of late, that vigorous attempts had been made to
improve the dwellings of the poor. Without referring in detail to
the great efforts that had been already put forth in various quarters,
he would go at once to that which was undoubtedly the great diffi
culty of the matter—the apparent impossibility of obtaining a good
return on the outlay incurred in the erection of Improved Dwellings.
It was because of this failure of remuneration that capitalists could
not be found willing to continue the erection of such dwellings. He
wanted to show that 8 or 9 per cent. CQuld be obtained by the adoption of the present plan. He was constantly referred to the practical
�24
results realized by the Metropolitan Associations, and was told that
the return he predicted looked better on paper than would eventually
tarn out; but the Metropolitan Associations were the pioneers of
the movement—they had had to contend with and conquer diffi
culties which would now be avoided—they had gradually acquired
an experience of which others were reaping the profit; and their
own accounts showed a return of 4| per cent, on the Family Dwell
ings erected in St. Pancras Square on a cost of erection at the
rate of £160 per dwelling, but here the cost of such a dwelling
would be only £110, and the same rents were obtained: there
fore it was obvious that that which returned 4J per cent, on
£160 would amount to 7 per cent, on £110. But the average
return on the operations of the Metropolitan Association was not
encouraging. This society had spent about £80,000, and had
only realized a return of about 2| per cent. He felt certain that
it was on this point that he was able to demonstrate a remedy.
It was simply a question of reducing the cost of dwellings to such
a sum that the amount received by their rental should form a good
and encouraging return on the outlay. It was absurd to suppose
that the great body of working people were to be allowed to depend
on the efforts of charitable people to provide them with homes.
He was quite prepared, if any gentlemen were desirous of proof,
to show that these buildings, which were certainly quite equal to
those of St. Pancras, could be erected in any number for £110
each. He would say one word as to locality : he believed it to be a
m atter of the most essential importance, both as a matter of economy
and policy, that the working man’s home should be near enough to
his work to enable him to take every meal with his family ; it was
better, cheaper, and more comfortable in every respect. He believed
that the more a man was Subjected to home influences of a healthy
kind, the less he was likely to succumb to the flaring attractions of
the gin palaces. One of the best possible localities, he thought,
for carrying out an experiment of this kind was that in which they
then were,the freehold of which belonged to the Ecclesiastical Com
missioners, and held by the Corporation of the City of London, on
a jease expiring in 1867. If those two powerful bodies could be
influenced to give preference in reletting the ground to the pro
moters of a movement having for its object the removal of the
wretched hovels they saw around them, and the replacing them
with dwellings of a similar character to that on which they then
stood, a great advantage would be gained. The importance of such a
movement was admitted on all hands, and he thought that he had now
proved its feasibility. He did not, for one moment, mean it to be
understood that they were desirous of obtaining possession of the
ground on more favourable terms than others ; all that he wanted was,
the assurance of an ordinary lease on the ordinary terms at the
ordinary market value of the ground. In the present case, the ground
rent was twice that which it ought to be, in consequence of his
having had to negotiate with and pay large premiums to persons who
stood between himself and the freeholders. He would add a word
�25
or two further, before sitting down, when he would be prepared,
and anxious, to answer any question which might be put to him. The
piece of ground of which he had obtained possession was sufficient for
the erection of ninety homes such as they had just inspected, by
the removal of 32 two-roomed houses such as those around him ;
he felt that in the erection of these ninety homes, and in thus
assisting to prove the possibility of making such undertakings pay,
he was doing as much as could be properly expected of him as a
private individual; but he could not sit down without saying, that, in
his opinion, the figures and facts he had brought forward made out
a proper case for the operations of a public company, a body having
a large capital divided into two classes, the protected capital and the
unprotected capital, the former bearing a fixed rate of interest, 4 per
cent., the latter taking the commercial risk and the rest of the
profit. He made this suggestion because he was told, on very good
authority, that there were plenty of people who, if they could be
guaranteed a fixed rate of 4 per cent., would be glad to invest large
sums of money in such an undertaking; and he believed that the
public would be readily tempted to take up the unprotected capital,,
on the prospect of obtaining 10 or 12 per cent, for their money.
In this case he showed a return of over 9 per cent., even under the
disadvantage of the high ground-rent which he had mentioned 'r
but if they thought this overestimated, let them strike off 20
or 25 per cent., as a discount on his statements ; that would then
leave them more than 6 per cent., and the difference between
that and 4 per cent., which would have to be paid on the protected
capital, would bring up the other half—the unprotected capital—
to 9 per cent. If the suggestion was thought worth acting on, he
would be only too happy to do all in his power to carry it out.
He, was sure that there were many gentlemen present who were
able to offer valuable advice and criticism, and he assured them
that he was very anxious to hear everything they might have tosay. He begged to thank them heartily for the honour they did
him in drinking his health, and to express the great pleasure he
derived in seeing so many friends of the working classes present on
the occasion.
Edwin Hill, Esq., as an old director of the Metropolitan Associa
tion, claimed the privilege of saying a few words. He said that
the physical and moral good created by the erection of such a
building as the present extended far beyond its own area, as it
acted as a most powerful competitor with the dirty, squalid habita
tions by which it was surrounded, and that in many cases the
landlords of the latter had been compelled in self interest to
imitate the good example of cleanliness set by these kind of dwell
ings. He felt, moreover, that such a home greatly conduced tothe moral purity of its inmates.
Edwin Chadwick, Esq., C.B., said there could not be a doubt that
these buildings were a very large stride in economy of construction,
and that if the same economy had been enforced by the Metropo
litan Association they would have had 7 or 8 per cent. All the
�26
medical officers of health would agree with him that this building
was perfectly fever proof if they took care to prevent two people
occupying space intended only for one. This building might be
looked upon as well adapted to the requirements of the
Earl of Shaftesbury’s provision, that in future railway com
panies proposing to pull down a number of dwellings should be
compelled to erect a proportionate number of others in their place.
It was plain, in fact, that the railway companies would probably
make more money by the erection of such buildings than by the
construction of their lines.
Lord Radstock thought that as the gentlemen invested with the
disposition of Mr. Peabody’s munificent gift appeared to be
undecided as to how to apply it, it might go with some force
to them if those present were to unite in suggesting to them,
that before making any arrangement for its disposition they
should, at any rate, give this matter their most careful considera
tion. He was quite sure that any representation from such an
influential body of gentlemen as those then present would be apt to
attract more attention on the part of the trustees than would be
likely to be awakened by merely seeing the reports in the news
papers.
Mr. Alderman Waterlow had hoped that the trustees of the
Peabody Fund would have dealt with it in a different way, and he
thought that instead of turning their attention to building homes, it
would be better if they applied the money to the purchase of sites, to
be let at nominal reuts, under a stringent covenant that the lease
should be instantly void if the ground was at any time used for any
other purpose than providing dwellings for the poor. They would
thus be offering most direct inducements for the construction of good,
healthy, well-built dwellings; the ground would be constantly
increasing in value, and would remain in perpetuity as the poor
man’s site.
J. C. Conybeare, Esq., had been long convinced that the only
remedy for the existing evils was the use of some material which
would at once effect a great reduction in the prune cost of construc
tion, and he felt that that was obtained in the present building.
With regard to the proper carrying out of any undertaking for the
complete development of this very valuable idea, he would much
prefer to see it left in the hands of a London Aiderman ; he would
be glad to see it worked by a philanthropic citizen, aided by his
commercial and mercantile fellows of the citizen world of England.
It required to be taken up and prosecuted entirely as a business
matter. He would be sorry to see the Peabody Fund applied to
building any of these houses, but he thought that the suggestion
as to its acquiring sites was a remarkably good one. He was anxious
that something should be done, too, for the improvement of the
cottages of England ; he could speak from experience of the fact
that they were in a most disgraceful condition in several counties.
Samvel Morley, Esq., in moving the first resolution, “ That this
meeting having inspected Mr. Aiderman Waterlow’s model building
�27
ancl listened to the explanations afforded, is of opinion that the very
best moral and social results, and very fair expectations of an ample
return on the capital invested, would result from, the erection of
such buildings,” said, he had very great pleasure in meeting then
Lordships and the gentlemen present on that occasion for he could
not doubt that if the statements they had heard and the figures put
forward in the balance-sheet were borne out by the facts a great
stride had been made in the subject which laid so close to the great
social questions of the day. He joinedmost heartily in the encomiums
that had been pronounced upon the building.. He thought that the
builder had in a very prominent manner exhibited a degree of talent
in designing, and attention to his work in executing it, whic 1
deserved to be taken notice of by them, and that, at any rate, he
ought to receive the expression of their respectfid admiration. He
had read with great interest the pamphlet with which lie supposed
they had all been provided, and he quite agreed with the writer m
insisting that attention should be paid to the provision of every
necessary accessory of a home to the exclusive use of a single letting.
He sympathized also with the respectful attention, which it demanded,
to the comforts of the working-man. He would have been glad to
have seen the fulfilment of the promise which the late Mr. Pearson
made, by which arrangements could be made for large numbers ot
workmen living out of town. With regard to the rents, he accepted
the explanation offered in the pamphlet on that subject, andlie thought
at, the same time that the accommodation was well worth what was
charged. He was entirely in favour of carrying the matter further
under private supervision, and he was quite prepared to go into le
matter if Aiderman Waterlow would put himself at the head of such
an undertaking. He should go into it with a clear and distinct
expectation of receiving a good return on his capital. The amount
of money which could be used iu connection with such a scheme was
perfectly enormous, and he believed it could now be most, profitably
applied in this way.
.
m-Datn
The City Chamberlain (Benjamin Scott, Esq., f .K.b.b.) naci
great pleasure in seconding the resolution He did not know
whether he had been invited there in his official capacity or not,
but he felt that he should not be unduly committing himself, or the
other members of the Corporation who were present, in stating
that in the event of his advice being required as to whether the invest
ment of a portion of the Corporation’s large funds m this undertaking
was advisable, he should have no hesitation whatever in saying that,
in his opinion, such an investment would be a highly safe and proper
one, and that it would be likely to be productive, at the same time,
of the greatest moral and social benefit to the people of the metro
polis. They had gone into the consideration of the question some
years since, and obtained powers from Parliament to apply a large
portion of their spare capital in the erection of Improved Dwellings.
The question had, however, remained m abeyance, m consequence
of their finding they could not build them at a remunerative rate.
The building to which their attention was then directed, how
�28
ever, would, no doubt, lead to a revival of the subject. This building,
so far as his observation went, was a return to a practice uni
versal in the ancient world, and general at the present time in the
eastern world, of availing themselves of the pure air and light of
heaven which were to be obtained at the elevated position in which
they stood. Medical men would tell them that the cheerful
influence of the solar rays, and the refreshing breezes, were of as
much importance to health as a proper supply of good food and pure
water. He saw no reason why we should not, as far as possible,
adopt the salutary practice of the Turk, of constantly frequenting
the housetop.
Henry Roberts, Esq., F.R.S., said that he wished to give ex
pression to the great interest and satisfaction with which he had
gone over this building. It seemed to him to be one of the fruits
produced by the small building erected by His Royal Highness
Prince Albert at the Exhibition of 1851. He had seen that build
ing repeated in various forms, not only in the United Kingdom, but
in many places on the Continent; and he now saw the same build
ing extended and repeated here. Here were the open staircase and
gallery—the fire-proof floors and the flat roof—all of which were
leading features in the lamented Prince Consort’s model dwellings.
He was quite sure that, if they knew as he did, the great interest
with which His Royal Highness devoted himself to the subject,
they would feel especial pleasure in finding that this building was
a further development of the excellences which were so notice
able in those model dwellings of 1851. He would take that oppor
tunity of testifying to the fact that up to the closing scene of his
eventful life the subject before them had been to Prince Albert
one of unflagging interest.
Mr. Robert Cranston supported the resolution, and dwelt with
great force on his experience in connection with the erection of
buildings of a similar class in Edinburgh. He was prepared to
show a clear return of 8 per cent, as the result of his investments.
If a proper plan were adopted in the first instance, and a suitable
locality chosen, he could not have the slightest doubt that this re
turn might be always obtained. He might state that he was origi
nally himself a practical builder, and Mr. Allen had kindly allowed
him access to the figures in connection with this undertaking, and
in the presence of these and his own experience he hoped to hear
no more of the operations of charitable associations, as the necessity
for their help in the matter had now passed away, and it would be
only a matter of time to apply the natural remedy which was now
happily attained.
The resolution on being put from the chair was carried unani
mously.
W. A. Wilkinson, Esq. proposed the health of the noble Chair
man, and bore testimony to the readiness with which he associated
himself with every movement of a progressive nature.
The toast having been drank,
The Chairman thanked the gentlemen present for the compli
�29
ment, and said that the work in which they were engaged was bound
to go forward ; it had received an impetus that day which would
not allow of the question standing still any longer. There was one
omission to which he felt bound to call the worthy Alderman’s at
tention. He had invited only gentlemen to be present that day.
Now, the ladies were quite as much interested in the question, and,
whether they knew it or not, he believed that they had a great deal
more influence in it than the gentlemen. (Cheers.)
Mr. Alderman Waterlow explained that the building would
remain open for public inspection for two or three weeks, and he
hoped that would afford a better opportunity for ladies to inspect it.
The Chairman continued. There was a duty before them which
he was sure all would gladly discharge. They had inspected the
whole of this building, and were delighted with the completeness ofits arrangement in every part; but they ought to be mindful of the
fact that that which gave them so much pleasure to see realized
had been a matter of long-continued patient thought and effort on
the part of Mr. Allen. He could quite understand that there must
have been an enormous amount of really laborious work in re
arranging, and altering, and turning about in every way. He proposed
that they should drink the health of the architect and builder, Mr.
Allen, and wish success to the project which had been suggested.
The toast was drank with great cordiality.
Mr. Allen thanked their lordships and the gentlemen present
for the kind manner in which his name had been referred to, and
for the honour they had just done him. He could assure them
that this building had been a matter of the greatest anxiety and
interest to him for the past three or four years, but now that it was
completed he felt that it amply rewarded him for all the time he
had bestowed upon it. He was now only anxious that the number
of them should be greatly increased, and after what had been said
that day he had no doubt that the matter would be placed in
the hands of men capable of ensuring it the success which he was
proud to believe it deserved. (Cheers.)
The Chairman said that the whole subject seemed to him one of
such vital importance in every way that he proposed to ask the
Rev. Samuel Minton, with Mr. Waterlow’s permission, to offer a few
words of prayer for its success.
The Rev. S. Minton having complied with this request the com
pany dispersed.
���HEALTHY DWELLINGS FOR THE INDUSTRIAL
CLASSES,
LANGBOURN BUILDINGS, MARK STREET, PAUL STREET, FINSBURY SQUARE.
Designed and erected by Mr. Matthew Allen, for Mr. Alderman Wateri.ow.
��Ground Plan af a Flat, Nos. 1 and 4 having Four! Rooms, and Nos. 2 and 3 Three Rooms in each Letting.
The coloured parts indicate that the floors are constructed of Alien’s patent fireproof material, of which also the staircases and roofs are composed.
References: A-Wash-house
W
*_________________ ,_______________ _
___________________________________ ___________________ 56' 3‘
W
F' External Staircase
_____________________________________________________________________________________
HEALTHY DWELLINGS FOR THE INDUSTRIAL CLASSES,
LANGBOURN BUILDINGS, MARK STREET, PAUL STREET, FINSBURY SQUARE.
Designed and erected by Mr. Matthew Allen, for Mr. Alderman Waterlow
�
Dublin Core
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Title
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Victorian Blogging
Description
An account of the resource
A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
Creator
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Conway Hall Library & Archives
Date
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2018
Publisher
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Conway Hall Ethical Society
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Original Format
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Pamphlet
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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Improved dwellings for the industrial classes: ground plan and elevation of Langbourn Buildings, Mark Street, Paul Street, Finsbury Square, designed and erected for Alderman Waterlow by Mr. Matthew Allen, with descriptive notes, and an appendix by J.A Mays
Description
An account of the resource
Place of publication: London
Collation: 29 p. : ill. (2 folded plates) ; 20 cm.
Notes: Incomplete: p.15/16, part cut away; p. 19/20 removed; p. 21/22 part cut away. From the library of Dr Moncure Conway,
Creator
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Mays, J.A.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1863
Publisher
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Robert Hardwicke
Subject
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Housing
Social problems
Rights
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<img src="http://i.creativecommons.org/p/mark/1.0/88x31.png" alt="Public Domain Mark" /><br /><span>This work (Improved dwellings for the industrial classes: ground plan and elevation of Langbourn Buildings, Mark Street, Paul Street, Finsbury Square, designed and erected for Alderman Waterlow by Mr. Matthew Allen, with descriptive notes, and an appendix by J.A Mays), identified by </span><span><a href="https://conwayhallcollections.omeka.net/items/show/www.conwayhall.org.uk">Humanist Library and Archives</a></span><span>, is free of known copyright restrictions.</span>
Identifier
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G5396
Format
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application/pdf
Type
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Text
Language
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English
Conway Tracts
Housing
Langbourn Buildings - London
London
Sidney Hedley Waterlow
Social Problems
Working Classes