CHAPTER VIII

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CHIEF DESIGNS NOT EXECUTED.

Large number of designs not executed--Views of Metropolitan Improvement--Reasons for notice of such designs--Clumber Park--New Law Courts--National Gallery--Horse Guards--British Museum--General scheme laid before the late Prince Consort--Design for new Royal Academy--Crystal Palace--Alterations of Piccadilly and the Green Park--Prolongation of Pall Mall into the Green Park--Westminster Bridge--Extension of the New Palace at Westminster round New Palace Yard--GREAT SCHEME OF METROPOLITAN IMPROVEMENTS. Plan and description--General remarks thereon.

The list of Sir Charles Barry’s designs in the Appendix will show, that the numerous works which he executed formed only a part of the many designs conceived by him. It could not well be otherwise. In his early days he, of course, entered into many competitions, and made many fruitless designs. Even later in life his mind was always at work in the conception of designs, often without regard to immediate practicability. It was almost impossible for him (as has been said) to enter a building, or survey a town, without devising plans for its improvement. As few buildings were perfect, and hardly any to be despaired of, his naturally sanguine temperament, and consciousness of resource, often led him to forget or disregard all difficulties which stood in the way of his improvements.[106]

In London especially his eye was always on the watch. Comparing it with continental capitals, and especially with Paris, he, of course, felt painfully the contrast of what might be with what is, and sighed over the waste of resources, and the neglect of grand opportunities for architectural display. His architectural career indeed began at a time of strict economy and rigid utilitarianism. But as it advanced, he could not but see that men were gradually emancipating themselves from the conventional fallacy, which separated the useful by a strong line of demarcation from the ornamental. Art was shown to involve, not mere arbitrary taste, but substantial and reasonable principle, and accordingly its influence was recognised, as important and valuable, not only in the case of the individual, but in that of the community. Accordingly artistic efforts have been allowed greater scope, and higher reward.[107] Schemes are proposed, and sums of money voted for them, which would have made the hair of the economists of 1835 stand on end with horror. Nor is the feeling for artistic display confined to the higher classes. It does not appear that the tendency to greater democratic influence is likely to check the growth of this feeling. Sir Charles rejoiced of course in its development, and his notions of metropolitan improvement grew in boldness and comprehensiveness of scale. His natural activity in this direction was quickened by the fact of his long official connection with the Board of Works. Many of the Chief Commissioners had much confidence in his opinion and designs. He was not unfrequently consulted as to public improvements; and it was seldom that his vivid imagination confined itself to the limits of his official instructions. The great scheme of London improvements, which was his last work, was only the expression and completion of the ideas of a life-time.

Some of the conceptions which he formed for public and private buildings may fitly find a brief record here. In a memoir, the interest of which is mainly architectural, it is in some sense even more necessary to refer to designs, which exist only on paper, than to buildings, which are before the public eye, and which speak for themselves. But independently of this consideration, it is not impossible that they may still have a practical value. That many of them pointed in directions of real public utility is obvious from the fact, that they have been since carried out with success, although by different methods, and by other hands. It is not unreasonable to conclude that those, yet unrealised, may show a similar insight into public requirements, and into the means of meeting them, and may therefore have some power of suggestiveness, in relation to the many improvements which we yet hope to see. It will (I think) appear, that, though his plans were comprehensive and often costly, too costly for immediate execution, they were always thoroughly practical. He had no sympathy with vague architectural dreams; nor did his artistic taste and power make him forget reality.

[Illustration: CLUMBER HOUSE, NOTTINGHAMSHIRE.

BLOCK PLAN OF PREMISES AS THEY EXISTED IN 1857.]

[Illustration: CLUMBER HOUSE, NOTTINGHAMSHIRE.

BLOCK PLAN SHEWING SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENT.]

[Illustration: CLUMBER HOUSE, NOTTINGHAMSHIRE.

PLAN OF GROUND FLOOR, SHEWING SUGGESTED ALTERATIONS. THE PROPOSED ALTERATIONS ARE ETCHED IN LIGHT TINT.]

CLUMBER PARK.--In his connection with private clients, he made, of course, many fruitless designs--admired in themselves, but rejected as too grand and costly. Of all these the one which most deserves notice, and which may well serve as a specimen of the whole, is the design made in 1857 for the late Duke of Newcastle, in respect of Clumber Park. For of all Sir C. Barry’s designs for a grand private residence, this was the largest and most comprehensive.

The house is situated in a rich and pleasant country, not far from Worksop, in an extensive park, and close to a beautiful lake. It is large in size, but singularly ineffective from the lowness of its external elevation--a defect aggravated by the fact that the main approach descends upon it. The interior contains several handsome rooms, but these ill-connected with one another. The house is entered by a small entrance and a low insignificant hall, and does not possess a single good staircase.

The cause of all these defects was obvious. The house had originally been much smaller, and additions had been made with no definite plan. In fact, the desire to preserve a room in the centre of the building, which had been the chief room of the old house, had caused the sacrifice of all good general effect in the much larger rooms and passages, which were added.

The late Duke saw the cause, and determined to remedy it. He had long been something more than an admirer of Sir Charles Barry as an architect. He had shown him much personal friendship, and given him a kindly and generous support, at a time when such support was invaluable. Accordingly he applied to Sir Charles to furnish a general plan, not with the idea of carrying it out at once, but in the hope that, by having it before his eyes, he might make some alterations, which were absolutely necessary, as an instalment of a satisfactory work, and “leave a record to those who came after him of a design, which they might be better able than he was to carry out.”

The work was naturally one in which Sir Charles took a more than professional interest. He saw that only an extensive scheme of alterations could utilize what existed, and add that which was still necessary.

The annexed plans will show the general design which he formed.

The first change was to turn the approach to a new entrance court, through an avenue which should mask the building till the visitor was close to it, and conceal the lowness of site and elevation. A new entrance hall led to a grand staircase, roofed over with a high cupola or dome, which might serve externally to give height and unity to a low and straggling building. The old west front was to be made a part of the interior of the building--a large new block of buildings being erected in front it, containing a grand range of galleries to unite the disconnected rooms of the building. The interior court, so formed, was to be treated in a somewhat novel manner, by being glazed over, and made into a winter garden, connected with the state-rooms on the new west front. Last, but not least, the private chapel, existing on the first floor in a very inconvenient position, for the use of the tenants as well as the

[Illustration: CLUMBER HOUSE, NOTTINGHAMSHIRE.

VIEW OF THE GARDEN FRONT, AS EXISTING.]

[Illustration: CLUMBER HOUSE, NOTTINGHAMSHIRE.

VIEW OF GARDEN FRONT, WITH PROPOSED ALTERATIONS.]

family, was removed, and a church erected on the east side of the house, with an access to it through a newly-formed conservatory.

Externally, the Italian garden was to be extended so as to encircle the house, and a range of conservatories added on the eastern side. For architectural effect, Sir Charles relied greatly on the central dome or cupola, and the new west front.

The plan was grand in scale and conception, and would have made Clumber one of the finest of noblemen’s seats in England. But it was so arranged that it could be executed in detail, and without interfering with the occupation of the house.

The only part of it as yet carried out is the erection of the new church by the present Duke, in the position indicated by Sir Charles, but from the designs of Mr. Thomas C. Hine, of Nottingham. Whether any other portion will be attempted is as yet uncertain. But the plan exists as a guide for all future work, to be modified, of course, as circumstances shall dictate. For the want of such plans, both in public and private buildings, it is lamentable to see how much labour and money are actually wasted.[108] In this point of view, as well as for its own grandeur of scheme, the plan for the new house at Clumber may have some interest to all.

But the great majority of these designs had reference to public buildings, and to some of these it will be well to refer.

LAW COURTS.--The first design was intended to meet a public need, which has been long increasing in urgency, and now, after twenty-five years of discussion, is to be supplied on a scale of unparalleled magnificence.

In 1840 the need of additional accommodation for the Law Courts attracted the attention of the Government. It was always felt that they could not remain as they are, insufficient in accommodation, and a mere excrescence upon Westminster Hall and the New Palace. To enlarge them was impossible without a serious and unwarrantable encroachment on New Palace Yard. Therefore, it was concluded that the old associations of Westminster Hall must be set aside, and the Courts must be removed, and on the removal Sir C. Barry was consulted. Two sites appeared to him eligible: one in the centre of Lincoln’s Inn Fields; the other, fronting the Strand near St. Clement Danes Church, between Lincoln’s Inn and the Temple. Of these sites the former was clear, and would involve no expense in the purchase of existing buildings. He believed that the area occupied would be so small in comparison to the whole, that no serious injury to one of the “lungs of London” need be apprehended; and, though he yielded to the outcry, which arose against the scheme, he did not recognise its justice.

The choice of the other site, instead of interfering with the free space so highly valuable in London, had undoubtedly the advantage of clearing away one of the worst of neighbourhoods.[109] To it accordingly his attention was afterwards directed.

In his first design he returned once more to the Greek style, which he had so long discarded. He considered that, for convenience sake, the principal floor ought not to be raised much above the street, and that, for acoustic reasons, the Courts themselves ought not to be high. This would make the whole design low, in comparison with the large extent of ground which it would necessarily cover; and to screen it by lofty piles of offices or residences would interfere with light and air. Under these circumstances, especially as he at first intended the building to be in an open space, visible on all sides, he determined to surround it with a classic peristyle, and seek massiveness and simplicity rather than height or grandeur. In Lincoln’s Inn Fields, grouped with, and screened by, masses of trees, so as not to be first visible at a great distance, he conceived that the old classic style might appear at advantage. But the scheme was afterwards abandoned, and the only Greek design of his later days fell with it.

In 1845 he was again examined before a Committee of the House of Commons, and submitted two designs; one occupying the second of the two sites above noticed, a space of about seven and three-quarter acres, which he proposed to clear for the purpose; the other involving the enclosure of New Palace Yard, and the extension of the New Palace itself.

But once more the scheme was deferred, to be now executed on the Strand site, but on a far different scale and by other hands.[110] In any case, it is a comfort to hope that the present unsightly “Law Courts” will no longer disgrace the magnificence which surrounds them.

NATIONAL GALLERY.--The alteration of the present National Gallery has formed a part of most schemes of metropolitan improvements. It was constantly in Sir C. Barry’s thoughts from the very time of its erection. He shared the universal opinion that its elevation was far too low and uninteresting, and this impression he embodied in a little sketch, made at the desire of Sir E. Cust, who was at that time a member of a Parliamentary Committee on the subject, and intended for his private information only. Unfortunately the fact of its existence oozed out, as such facts always do; and, what was worse, imperfect copies of it were made, and circulated without the author’s knowledge. He thought himself compelled to allow a correct representation of it to go abroad, and from this arose inevitably a serious difference between him and Mr. Wilkins, the architect of the National Gallery. Mr. Wilkins not unnaturally conceived its publication to be a breach of professional etiquette, and denounced it as such in no measured terms, especially when the success of Mr. Barry in the competition for the New Palace at Westminster still further embittered his feelings. But to this, as to the other attacks of the period, Mr. Barry made no reply, perhaps feeling himself in the wrong, certainly regretting the anomalous position into which he had been drawn, in his anxiety to rescue from comparative insignificance the building which occupies “the finest site in Europe.”

For some time the matter slept, till he was again consulted on the subject of enlargement of the Gallery, and made in 1848 a design for improving and extending the present building. He proposed to build over the vacant space in front, and advance the building to the line of the street. Several designs were made by him for the elevation, all having some great central mass, to overcome, as much as possible, the fatal effect of the Nelson Column upon the façade. He returned to the work again in 1852, in connection with larger schemes, and with designs upon a larger scale, for a building almost entirely new.

But nothing was done. The work, like all those which touch various interests, and which have to be debated upon in a popular assembly, presented difficulties, opened the door to various opinions, and ended for a time in mere discussion. Now again, as in the former case, it seems that substantial results may be hoped for. Another competition on a grand scale, though not attaining to the magnificence of the Law Courts, has been entered upon, and can hardly be allowed to be undertaken in vain.

These two great plans are now shortly to be carried out. There remain others, the execution of which must surely be a question only of time. For the work, which has been commenced, of remodelling our public offices, can hardly stop short. The Board of Trade, the Foreign Office, and the India Board cannot be allowed to exist as isolated specimens of a better style, contrasting with the meagre ineffectiveness of our older buildings.

HORSE GUARDS.--In 1846 Sir Charles received instructions to prepare plans for the enlargement of the Horse Guards. To confine himself to the limits of instructions was hardly possible for him. He had long sighed over the insignificance of the building, and the want of all effect about the Parade. Insignificant in itself, it seemed still more unworthy of its position, as forming a part of the “Via Regia,” the Sovereign’s approach to Parliament. Ideas floated before his mind of a second “Place du Carrousel.” The opportunity was too tempting to be resisted. Accordingly he provided indeed for additional accommodation by an additional story; but, having done this, he made a further ideal design, raising the centre into a tower-like mass, introducing other alterations on all sides, and transforming the building into a grand composition. The Parade by ornamental enclosures was brought into architectural connection with the design; the road from the Mall led by a gentle sweep to a grand entrance opposite the building, and at this entrance the “Marble Arch,” then just removed from its position at Buckingham Palace, and cast upon the world for a habitation, was to be placed. The Wellington Statue, then also in search of a resting-place, was to form a central feature of the Parade, over which its illustrious original still presided. The other buildings near, the Admiralty, Treasury, &c., were to be brought into connection with its design; and a grand Place d’Armes was to be formed, second to none in Europe.

The idea was long a favourite one; he returned to it again in his “Metropolitan Improvements,” and his work at the Board of Trade shows what might have been effected by his talent for conversion. Nothing indeed was done; there was some doubt whether the foundation of the old building would bear the additions contemplated. The design itself, intrusted to the Government, was lost, and no trace of it can now be found. But, sooner or later, the work must be carried out, and, when it is carried out, it will in all probability follow the main lines of the arrangement which has thus been indicated.

BRITISH MUSEUM.--Another design of his on a still larger scale had relation to an institution, in which he always felt the most lively interest.

The problem of securing sufficient accommodation for the collections at the British Museum--a problem which constantly recurs, as the collections increase, and the requirements of scientific men expand--at one time occupied Sir C. Barry’s most anxious thoughts. The simplest method of enlargement, by advancing the building towards Great Russell Street, was rendered impossible by the existence of the grand portico. Little could be done except to raise the building, unless additional space were occupied. This could only be done at considerable cost, larger in fact than would have been at that time contemplated, though not larger than will probably at some time or other be found necessary.

Accordingly a plan was prepared, confining the building to its actual site. It was Sir Charles’s opinion, an opinion which he strongly maintained in public before a Parliamentary Commission, that the collections of Natural History were out of place in the Museum. It appeared to him, that they should be associated with “Zoological Gardens;” so that the dead and living specimens of the animal creation might be seen in connection, and the relations of the present to the past, in contrast or similarity, be distinctly traced. On the present site of the Museum this would be impossible; but, were the collections removed, as for instance to South Kensington, room could be found for any number of live animals, and for museums large enough to content Professor Owen himself.

This being done, he would have devoted the whole building in Great Russell Street to literature and art. He proposed to meet the requirements of the former by surrendering the Natural History Rooms to the Library, and providing for readers, not in one great hall, as at present, but in a series of rooms of moderate size. The claims of art and antiquities were to be satisfied by forming a magnificent hall, which was to be nothing less than the whole central area of the building, roofed with glass, capable of containing even the Egyptian colossi, and unsurpassed in any building in Europe. There were some objections to it in detail, which he thought might be easily overcome. The idea was a grand one, and would have been carried out without serious difficulty. But M. Panizzi proposed a different scheme; the Government yielded to his authority, and the great Reading Room was formed.

This being the case, the matter slept, until, some years afterwards (in 1853), it became evident that the National Gallery must be either extended or removed. Against the notion of moving it out of the way to South Kensington, entertained by many, and favoured by His Royal Highness the late Prince Consort, Sir Charles most strongly protested, and he ventured (as a Member of the Royal Commission of 1851) to address a detailed letter to His Royal Highness, containing an elaborate counter-scheme. This letter is printed (by permission) in the Appendix, both for the sake of the intrinsic importance of its suggestions, and as a specimen of his official correspondence.

Its substance was as follows: After stating forcibly the objection which he conceived to exist to the proposed concentration at South Kensington, he proceeded first to develope a plan for the formation of the “British Museum of Art and Literature” on the site of the present British Museum in Great Russell Street, by the alterations already referred to, which had previously been submitted to the Government. It may be remarked that it was based on a principle, analogous to that on which he had advocated the removal of the Natural History collections. It seemed to him that the works of art of all ages should fitly be viewed together, that the “National Gallery” was chronologically a sequel to the Gallery of Antiquities. The rudest efforts of imitative art, the works of Assyrian, Egyptian, Grecian, and Roman antiquity, the schools of art of mediæval and modern Europe, all seemed to form one great whole. He would have united them locally, as they are connected theoretically. Accordingly, removing the Natural History collections as before, he proposed to raise the whole suite of rooms assigned to them, to re-roof and re-light them, and so to form a range of galleries, excellently adapted for pictures and sculpture, and capable of containing the national collection for many years to come. This scheme, or some scheme like it, he at all times strongly advocated. It had certainly much to recommend it in abstract principle; he endeavoured, not unsuccessfully, to prove that it could be carried out gradually and systematically, without enormous outlay and without public inconvenience.

He next proceeded to urge the scheme, already referred to, for the transference of the Natural History collections to South Kensington, in connection with zoological and botanical gardens; and he would have united it to a “National Gallery of Science” in its various practical applications, with museums, laboratories, and the like.

In the third place, he went on to deal with the present National Gallery, which was, according to his scheme, after being enlarged and remodelled, to be divided between the Royal Academy of Fine Art and the School of Design for Practical and Decorative Art. Here again he depended on the principle that art must be regarded as a whole, and that “Fine Art” cannot be separated from decorative and practical art, especially in a building, which he regarded as the home of art-teaching, and a place for exhibition of its results, and which he accordingly placed in a position second to none in respect of prominence and centrality.

Fourthly, he proposed to deal with the Museum of Economic Geology, in Jermyn Street, by removing its collection to the Temple of Science in South Kensington, and devoting it to form a “National Polytechnic Institution,” mainly for the use and instruction of the industrial classes.

Lastly, the building of the Society of Arts in the Adelphi was to be given up to meetings and lectures on all subjects connected with trade and commerce.

Such is the outline of a scheme, to the elaboration of which he devoted much time and trouble, and which will probably be thought to show well-digested principle, and careful study of practicability and convenience. It produced no effect at the time, for it opposed a plan in which His Royal Highness was greatly interested, and in the support of which many eminent men were already enlisted. Its author expected little result; but such considerations seldom kept him back from bearing testimony in the cause of his art, and so satisfying the imperious requirements of his architectural conscience.

ROYAL ACADEMY.--In connection with these important schemes, another fruitless design was made by Sir Charles Barry.

In 1859 the Government of Lord Derby proposed to dispossess the Royal Academy of their present accommodation in Trafalgar Square, with a view to that enlargement and alteration of the National Gallery, which was felt to be inevitable. Burlington House was fixed upon, as a site which might accommodate the Royal Academy, and certain other Institutions which had claims upon the Crown. Messrs. Banks and Barry (of which firm Sir Charles’s eldest son was a member), having lately gained high distinction in the Public Offices’ competition, were appointed by the Government to prepare general plans, showing how the entire area of Burlington House and its gardens might be best made available. It was ascertained that the Royal Academy would accept a portion of the site, would conform to the general block plan, and would erect a building at their own cost.

The whole area was to contain two great courts, with a grand thoroughfare through them from Piccadilly to Burlington Gardens. The Government placed ground at the disposal of the Academy occupying two-thirds of the Piccadilly front, and the whole of the western side of the first of the great courts. Sir Charles Barry was appointed by the Academy to carry out the work.

His design occupied the entire frontage to Piccadilly, which necessarily required an uniform treatment. It contained three great divisions divided by bold turrets, with similar turrets terminating the façade. The lower part of the central division was occupied by three great archways for carriages leading into the court. The western wing, and the upper stories of the centre, were occupied by the Royal Academy. The corresponding eastern wing was given up to scientific societies.

The front was simple and massive in character. The central archways were divided by bold Doric columns on plinths, and each of the wings had similar columns dividing its three bays of windows. A fully detailed cornice of the order terminated this story. On the principal story there were no columns. The central wall-surface was occupied by three bays of windows; the wings by niches, elaborately treated and occupied by statues.[111] The whole was surmounted by a noble cornice and balustrade.

The internal arrangement was simple. A grand staircase, entered from the covered carriage-ways, led to the principal story, which was occupied by magnificent suites of galleries lighted from above. The lower story was occupied by official rooms and residences, and schools for the various Professors.

All was ready to carry out the design. But a change of Government introduced new ideas, and the whole scheme slept, till it was revived under Lord Derby’s Government in 1866. The whole plan has now been changed; the great thoroughfare is to be done away with, and the Royal Academy building, designed by Mr. Sydney Smirke, R.A., is to occupy the centre of the whole site, with frontage not to Piccadilly, but to the northern side of the front court, entered by central archways from Piccadilly, as originally proposed. The rest of the building remains under the direction of Messrs. Banks and Barry, except the portion assigned to the London University on the Burlington Gardens front, which is intrusted to Mr. Pennethorne.

CRYSTAL PALACE.--His connection with the Commission of 1851 led him to volunteer another suggestion which would certainly have had a magnificent effect. He had been greatly interested in the original Exhibition building in Hyde Park, and (as will be seen elsewhere) had urged during its erection several alterations which he thought likely to improve it. Though he freely recognised the simplicity of its idea, and its practical efficiency, he regarded that building as ineffective and ugly. But this was a temporary building only, and therefore its design mattered little.

When, however, the present “Crystal Palace” was projected as a permanent building, with all the advantage of a splendid position, Sir Charles felt persuaded that its external effect would be utterly unworthy of its scale and site. He was not consulted on the matter; but, at the risk of apparent obtrusiveness, he ventured to send the directors a sketch, as a suggestion, for the benefit of their great undertaking. It exhibited a great dome, rising in the centre of the present building, grouped with

[Illustration: CRYSTAL PALACE, SYDENHAM.

VIEW SHEWING THE IMPROVEMENTS SUGGESTED BY SIR CHARLES BARRY.]

[Illustration: CRYSTAL PALACE, SYDENHAM.

VIEW OF BUILDING AS DESIGNED BY SIR JOSEPH PAXTON.]

cupolas and towers, so as to produce a grand outline. The annexed woodcut shows its effect, side by side with that of the present building. And an extant correspondence proves that it was allowed to be practicable and grand, and that the expense of carrying it out was found to be a comparatively small percentage on the whole outlay--a sum quite insignificant in comparison with that devoted to the waterworks, and with other sums lavished on less important objects. But once more he was to be disappointed. The design was “declined with thanks.” Yet it would have been worth while to do much to redeem from ugliness a building, which has the advantage of enormous scale, and which must be a conspicuous feature in every view of the environs of London. The plan proposed would have had a striking and even magnificent effect, and one, moreover, unique in its kind. Few can fail to regret that, even when rejected, it was not allowed to suggest some bolder and more artistic treatment than is seen in the existing building.

ALTERATIONS IN PICCADILLY AND PALL MALL.--Another improvement, on which he was consulted by the Government in 1841, was the proposed widening of Piccadilly. He put the project into proper shape, and it was carried out accordingly, bringing into Piccadilly the fine row of plane-trees which extend to Hyde Park Corner, and which are the only trees standing in a great London thoroughfare. But, as usual, his desires went beyond the instructions given him. He cast a longing eye upon the Green Park, which seemed to give room for a great design. The reservoir now existing was to be transformed into an ornamental basin, flanked by appropriate fountains, and surrounded by terraces with balustrades, vases, and statues. Fine broad flights of steps were to lead down to the Park, and thence by a long walk ornamented with sculpture to Hyde Park Corner. The object was to combine in one grand design what is now a somewhat wasted and ineffective space. But here again economy stepped in to forbid its execution; and the design exists on paper only.

Another fine idea, referring to the same quarter of London, remained equally barren of result. When the Marble Arch was in want of a site, Sir Charles proposed to do away with the obstructions which now encumber the east end of Pall Mall, so as to make a wide opening to the Park, which should be occupied by the Marble Arch with Stafford House on one side, and Bridgewater House on the other.[112] It was in such positions alone, where the Arch was combined with flanking buildings or rested on solid masonry as abutments, that he thought it a grand or even a rational feature. Standing alone, or with mere iron railing on each side of it, it seemed absolutely unmeaning, and therefore unsatisfactory. In the position proposed, it would certainly have looked well, and supplied (what is much needed) a grand termination to Pall Mall, and a good entrance into the Park. The annexed woodcut will show its effect, and the amount of alteration which it would

[Illustration: PLAN AND ELEVATION OF SUGGESTED CONTINUATION OF PALL MALL TO THE GREEN PARK.]

entail. It may not be too much to hope, that hereafter some such worthy termination may be found for one of the finest streets in London.

WESTMINSTER IMPROVEMENTS.--While thus conceiving designs for the architectural improvement of the metropolis in general, it was only natural that he should pay special attention to the neighbourhood of Westminster, in which his own main work lay. More particularly the constant sight of the river, with its glorious capabilities, and the miserable defacements of its banks, stirred him up to many projects for its embellishment.

Westminster Bridge was, of course, his first anxiety. The old bridge (the oldest in London since the old London Bridge had disappeared) was not only ugly in itself, but by its high roadway and parapets, and the massiveness of its general structure, exaggerated the defects of the site of the New Palace. He looked upon it with a jealous eye, eager to notice the first symptoms of decay. When that decay became serious, he suggested every device for lowering it and lightening in the course of its repairs; and, when all repair failed, and its demolition was found to be inevitable, he rejoiced over it as an enemy removed from his path. He then set to work at once to design a new bridge; its width he made no less than 100 feet, its height he lowered as much as possible, in defiance of all complaints as to the navigation. The lowness of the banks, in his mind, forbade a grand massive bridge, like London or Waterloo Bridges, which must dwarf all architecture near it, and which was only fit to rest on banks of rock, or granite abutments, massive as itself. Lightness and elegance here were the first things needful. In style he would have Gothicized to suit the New Palace, and he would have carried out the work far beyond the erection of the bridge itself. In his design there was to have been a second Gothic bridge at Lambeth, a new river front was to be given to Lambeth Palace, and a fine avenue and quay formed along Bishop’s Walk to some new Gothic building at the foot of Westminster Bridge. All the eyesores on the Surrey side of the river, which marred the view from the terrace of the New Palace, were to have been swept away, and the river would have flowed on through a vast Gothic quadrangle.

But this again was one of those comprehensive schemes by which he alarmed economists, and the general design for the time was set aside. There is now a bridge at Lambeth, but it is the present paltry-looking suspension-bridge. There is to be the Surrey embankment, but it will hardly harmonize with the new bridge erected at Westminster. Yet, probably, by the time all is done, the same area will be covered, and the same expense incurred, without any general and comprehensive scheme. When it was set aside, he thought it better to keep the bridge distinct, though not inharmonious, in character. He adopted, rather in deference to authority than to his own taste, elliptical arches, at first seven in number, afterwards for convenience reduced to five; and submitted to the Board of Works a design, in which he endeavoured to preserve strictly the requisites above mentioned.

The design was never carried out, but the present bridge fulfils many of the requirements which he had in view, and does something like justice to the great building at its foot.

His views as to the improvement of the river were not indeed confined to Westminster. The Thames Embankment schemes, so long discussed, and now at last in course of execution, were not unfrequently in his mind. He made several designs[113] for carrying out a work, which he felt to be essential to the thorough usefulness and architectural beauty of the Thames, and in which his own work at the New Palace gave him a special interest.

EXTENSION OF THE NEW PALACE AT WESTMINSTER.--But of all designs in this quarter of the town the one which he had most at heart, and to which he returned again and again, was the extension of his great building on the land side. Such an extension was (as has been shown) contemplated in his very first design; and, almost up to the time of his death, he continued to urge it on the Government.

The extension was certainly contemplated by him mainly as an architectural improvement. In 1853 he wrote as follows:--“By means of these additional buildings the irregular, disjointed, and incongruous character of the present building on the land side would be removed, a degree of unity given to it on that side, in harmony with that already obtained on the river front; and the principal entrance to the palace would then become a marked and important feature of the building.”

But it was also intended to meet an absolute necessity. The requirements of public business have greatly increased within the last twenty years. The Government are at this moment renting house property, for the accommodation of public offices and Royal Commissions, and for other purposes, at an annual cost exceeding 37,000_l._[114] The houses in Bridge Street are now removed: the Law Courts are speedily to follow them. The Government are therefore now, as he foresaw that they would be, in possession of a valuable site. The question with him was, whether it should be made use of to meet the official requirements by supplying the accommodation wanted close at hand, with great convenience and economy to the public, or whether it should be left open, and so far useless, while these requirements were still met insufficiently and inconveniently elsewhere.

To the latter course Sir Charles was strongly opposed. There could be nothing to recommend it, except the notion that it would give a better architectural effect (for there is already open space close at hand, fully sufficient for sanitary requirements). But this notion appeared to him utterly erroneous. By leaving New Palace Yard open, or enclosing it only by a railing, the buildings surrounding it (Westminster Hall and the rest) are viewed from the higher ground of Bridge Street, and appear actually sunk, while the area itself, having a considerable diagonal fall across the open space, is singularly unfortunate in its effect. By pulling down the Law Courts, and opening the whole side of Westminster Hall, he conceived that a still worse effect would be produced; for the scale and parts of the Hall are so large, that it must be utterly incongruous with the buildings round it. He conceived therefore that this proposal to leave the space unoccupied would be detrimental architecturally, while in an economic and practical point of view it would be an unwarrantable waste.

Accordingly his proposal[115] was to erect a line of building, occupying the site of the Law Courts and the western and northern sides of New Palace Yard, giving ample and even liberal accommodation for all public needs. New Palace Yard was to be entered on its west side by a grand gate-tower, or triple archway flanked by towers, leading by a gentle and uniform slope (about 1 in 50) to the present entrances, which, having been always intended as archways for an interior court, have not sufficient dignity or importance for the chief public entrances to the building. On the south side, Westminster Hall would form a grand centre with a range of buildings on each side of it; and on the north side, if a high range of buildings were thought objectionable, a cloister with one story above it, or an open arcade, might mask the building from the high ground of Bridge Street. The great entrance gate-tower he had proposed to call the Albert Tower, in a kind of correspondence with the Victoria Tower, which is the great royal entrance, serving like it to mark the date of the building, and to commemorate the lively interest which the late Prince Consort took in all that concerned its artistic decoration.

Such was the scheme formed by him, and again laid before Lord Palmerston’s Government by his son Edward in 1864. The annexed woodcuts will show its general character. It has now some special interest, because the removal of the Law Courts must soon give the question a practical importance. All that is at present being done is to complete the Clock Tower on its western side, to enclose New Palace Yard by an iron railing, and to construct an arcade or cloister along its eastern side, with a subway at the northern end passing under Bridge Street to the Thames Embankment. There is nothing in all this, which is inconsistent with the subsequent execution of Sir Charles Barry’s designs, either in their original form, or with some modifications of detail. It can hardly be doubted that such execution would have much to recommend it, in regard both of artistic and of practical considerations.

GENERAL SCHEME OF METROPOLITAN IMPROVEMENTS.--But all these designs were embodied, and, as it were, absorbed, in the great design for Metropolitan Improvements, which he exhibited in 1857, on occasion of the Public Offices’ competition. Into that competition he did not wish to enter. He was indeed retiring from his profession; his constitution had been a good deal shaken; the remuneration controversy, and the attacks made on the New Palace

[Illustration: NEW PALACE AT WESTMINSTER.

BLOCK PLAN SHOWING SIR CHARLES BARRY’S PROPOSAL FOR ENCLOSING NEW PALACE YARD AND FOR NEW BUILDINGS ON SITE OF THE COURTS OF LAW.

THE BUILDING AS EXECUTED IS SHOWN BY THE DARK TINT.]

[Illustration: NEW PALACE AT WESTMINSTER.

VIEW, FROM THE SOUTH-EAST, OF SIR CHARLES BARRY’S PROPOSED ADDITIONAL BUILDINGS ON THE SITE OF THE PRESENT COURTS OF LAW, AND ENCLOSING NEW PALACE YARD.]

at Westminster, had disheartened, though they had not overcome him. But he wished to embody all the designs for the improvement of the Metropolis, which had floated before his mind, in one grand scheme, and to leave it (so he expressed it) as a legacy behind him. He thought of Sir Christopher Wren’s grand design for the rebuilding of London after the fire, and the example stirred him up to boldness and extensiveness of conception. That it would be but an ideal he knew well; he exhibited it without reference to the conditions of the competition, and without any idea of seriously concerning himself with it. It was, in fact, brought forward in the names of his sons Charles and Edward, in the hope that, if it secured public attention and approval, some of its leading features might be executed by their hands. At any rate he conceived that it would point in the right direction. Even if it were not substantially adopted at any time, yet it might set the minds of others at work. Before all things, he felt that in the great Metropolitan improvements, which every day’s experience proves to be something more than desirable, the chief danger to be avoided was that absence of a general scheme, or at least general conceptions, which has, in England especially, wasted time and money on erections of isolated and often misplaced magnificence. He wished to place on record the strong expression of this feeling, and he left the scheme, which he himself conceived to be the best, for the criticism and consideration of those who should come after him. With that vague presentiment elsewhere noticed, that the end for him was not distant, he often said that he desired to leave it as his architectural memorial.

It has been thought right accordingly to embody in this work, first the general plan of his Westminster improvements, and next a considerable part of a large drawing, executed almost entirely by his own hand, and containing on a small scale, but with an artistic effect which can hardly be reproduced, elevations of the chief buildings, which he proposed to open to public view, to remodel, or to erect.

The following is the description of the design which he himself attached to it:--

GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF PLAN.

In forming this Plan, its authors have ventured to be guided by the spirit rather than by the letter of the official instructions, which they consider to be incompatible with the best realisation of the objects in view.

They suggest that the whole of the Public Offices should be concentrated and combined in one group of buildings; that the Parade should be treated architecturally; that the New Palace at Westminster should be completed, as proposed, to Parliament Street; that the Abbey should have a central tower and spire and be freed from all its Italian solecisms of detail, and, together with the Chapter-house, be properly restored; that additions should be made to the Prebendal Houses, and a new Palace added, if need be, within the Abbey precincts, for a future Bishop of Westminster; and, for the due display of these important edifices, it is recommended that large areas should be laid open to them for ample thoroughfares and ornamental gardens. Thus these buildings, so isolated, could not fail, when seen under varied combinations and effects, to produce a most striking appearance.

The removal of the several public edifices and other buildings, which happen to be on the site of the proposed ornamental enclosures, would be necessary for the ultimate development of the plan; but they need only be removed from time to time, as may be found convenient. In the mean time the plan is so arranged, that these enclosures, and the main thoroughfares adjoining them, may be formed without necessitating the previous removal of the buildings, and their unsightliness, in the interim, may be screened from view to a considerable extent by planting.

With reference to the public buildings in question, it is proposed that, sooner or later, St. Margaret’s Church should be removed to the west side of the proposed Abbey-close, that the National Schools should be placed in proximity with it, that the Westminster Hospital should be placed in a more central position of the district, that the Sessions House should be removed to the Westminster Bridewell, that the Stationery Office should be placed between Victoria Street and Tothill Street near their eastern termination, and that the office of the Board of Control should be removed, as soon as the accommodation provided for it in the proposed group of Public Offices is obtained. The only residence of any importance, that is sacrificed to the suggested improvement of thoroughfares, is Carrington House, which, in its isolated position, with thoroughfares on three sides of it, is not very eligible as a nobleman’s residence.

THE GOVERNMENT OFFICES AND THEIR ADJUNCTS.

Considering the large expenditure already incurred upon the existing Public Offices of the locality, the authors of this plan are induced, upon economical as well as upon practical grounds, to recommend that the Board of Trade and Treasury Chambers towards St. James’s Park, the Horse Guards, and the Admiralty should be retained, and, with certain external modifications, be made to group with and form part of a scheme _for concentrating the whole of the public offices in one connected mass of building_ between the Park and Whitehall, which suggestion they believe may be carried out in a most convenient and striking manner. Owing to the lowness of the site, which is less than two feet above the highest known tides, great loftiness of structure is proposed, and all habitable accommodation in the basement is deprecated. A great dome over the main entrance of the Public Offices is suggested, in order that they may vie in importance with the Abbey and new Legislative Palace, and have a distinctive character, both as a feature of Westminster, and also as seen from a distance. To allow of a comparison being formed between these offices and other existing and proposed buildings of the district, a reference is solicited to the illustrations of the block plan, where all such buildings are shown truly upon one scale, in their relative positions, and on their true levels. It is proposed that the principal carriage and foot entrance to the Public Offices should be from Whitehall, into a grand hall 320 feet long and 150 feet wide, covered with a glass roof, and affording access by archways to the several courts of the edifice. Upon the occasion of great receptions and other gatherings the great hall would afford ample accommodation for all carriages in attendance, and might be found useful occasionally for other public purposes, when a large and well-lighted covered area might be required. The magnitude and arrangement of the main building are such as to afford ample accommodation for all the offices enumerated in the official instructions, with the exception of the Admiralty, for which it is proposed to have the additional quota of accommodation provided for towards the Parade, where also, as well as on each side of the Horse Guards, is provided accommodation for other public purposes which may hereafter be required. The boundary of the Public Offices towards the Park is so arranged as to increase its present area.

The only existing office, in a sound state, and having any architectural pretensions, which must be removed, is the State Paper Office, which is obviously too much in the way of a good general arrangement of plan to be allowed to remain. The Parade, enclosed by the Public Offices on three sides, and by the open screen to the Park on the fourth, would form a striking feature of the locality, and provide a larger and more conveniently arranged area for inspections than at present; and the advantage which is proposed, of being able to close it at pleasure, might be found to be of important use, in times of public excitement, not only for the inspection of the military but also of the police.

THOROUGHFARES AND TRAFFIC.

Ample accommodation is provided for the diversion of the eastern and western traffic, through the proposed main north and south thoroughfares of Whitehall and St. James’s Park, by means of two new bridges across the river, and a public thoroughfare through the Mall to the Strand. Westminster Bridge, rebuilt as proposed, should be retained in its present position, as being the natural line of communication with the Birdcage Walk, and the most convenient approach to the three important buildings in Westminster, from the Surrey side of the river. It is of the utmost importance, however, that the level of its roadway, as determined by Parliament, should remain unaltered; otherwise the effect of not only the Palace at Westminster, but also of the proposed Government Offices, will be seriously injured. To obviate in some degree the sunken effect of the New Palace at Westminster, as it will be seen from the bridge, even when lowered to the level determined by Parliament, a raising of the River Terrace of that building might be worthy of consideration upon that as well as other grounds. The plan exhibits two alternative propositions for the bridge at Charing Cross,--one, an entirely new bridge, and the other the present Suspension Bridge, widened for carriages. The former is preferred by the authors of this plan, but, if the latter should be adopted, it is hoped that its principle of suspension may be abolished, so that the present towers and chains may no longer destroy some of the finest effects of London, as seen from various points of view.

MISCELLANEOUS IMPROVEMENTS.

Assuming that the long-proposed and in part adopted plan of embanking the river, with a view to the improvement of its navigation and appearance, and the removal of its present offensive and unwholesome effluvia, must at no distant period be accomplished, it is proposed that at least such portion of the river as lies between the proposed Lambeth Bridge and Waterloo Bridge should be treated ornamentally, and have public quays on each side of it, with houses and terraces adjoining them, so as to screen from view the mean, unsightly, and in fact ruinous buildings, which at present disfigure both shores of this noble river. Amongst these buildings it is proposed to place a great hotel, at the Middlesex end of the Charing Cross Bridge, the promoters of which (it is believed) would construct so much of the embankment as is needed for their purposes at their own cost, upon having the fee simple of the site reclaimed assigned to them as an equivalent. An extension of the National Gallery is proposed, for an increase of the accommodation for the national collections of art, and for the use of the Royal Academy and Schools of Design, as well as for periodical displays of art and science, &c., in galleries exclusively devoted to the purpose. This is however proposed on the assumption that no better locality can be found for such objects. The extension of Whitehall Chapel provides for an improved United Service Museum, and would remedy the present fragmentary appearance of the building, while it would form an appropriate entrance to the road to the new Charing Cross Bridge. If this suggestion were entertained, it might be worthy of consideration, whether accommodation should not be provided in the new museum for a gallery of portraits of all the most eminent men of the naval and military services. With respect to the basin shown for the use of the wharves under the Adelphi Terrace, it might perhaps be worthy of consideration, whether the whole of the site of that basin and adjoining wharves might not be devoted to a great central terminus for the whole of the railways of the metropolis. In such case it would be advisable that the present Suspension Bridge should be converted into a railway bridge exclusively for communication with the several railways on the Surrey side of the river, and, with respect to those on the Middlesex side, it is proposed that advantage should be taken of the Metropolitan Act to connect them as far as the proposed station in Farringdon Street, and continue that connection by tunnelling under Fleet Street and the Strand to the great central terminus in the site suggested.

Such was his own sketch of his great plan, which, with the annexed plan and illustration, will render further description needless.

It is probable that few will question its grandeur and comprehensiveness. It would have made Westminster a palatial quarter of the town, grouping together the buildings, which the public service of a great country requires, in an unity, justified by their actual unity of purpose, and all but necessary to their full architectural effect. The great quadrangle of nine acres, with its sides formed by the Abbey, the Government Palace, the New Palace of Westminster, and the public buildings removed in order to clear the area, must have been its most striking feature. Hardly inferior in magnificence would have been the Park view of the Government Palace with the enclosed Parade, the large area cleared along the Thames Embankment, and the great line of public buildings extending from Great George Street to Trafalgar Square. Essential points in the scheme were the embankments on both sides of the river and the large spaces reserved, to be laid out in public gardens, and so to give breathing space and opportunity for seeing the great piles of building proposed. Taken altogether it would have produced a general effect hardly to be equalled in Europe.

But it should also be noticed, that the plan was eminently practical. It sacrificed little, it indicated the main lines which public improvements must eventually take, and it was capable of being carried out gradually. The concentration of public offices is demanded by public convenience; the opening out the great buildings to be erected will be an architectural necessity. The Thames Embankment is now a reality, though Sir Charles would have little dreamt that its effect would have been allowed to be broken in upon by the Hungerford Railway Bridge, and the enormous mass of the Charing Cross Station. The enlargement of the National Gallery is now only a question of time. The opening of great lines of communication is hardly likely to be long deferred. In the whole scheme therefore there was nothing visionary, nothing impracticable.

Its cost no doubt would have been great. But it would not have exceeded the cost, which will be ultimately incurred; and, if it had been carried out gradually, the burden on the public resources would have been almost imperceptible.

In the present state of public feeling as to the value of Art in itself, and in its influence on the national character, there can be no doubt that great public improvements will be demanded. The example set in Paris can hardly be quite lost upon us. Unless unforeseen necessity should absorb the public resources, great sums of public money will certainly be expended. That which is to be ardently desired is that the authorities who direct the public expenditure should have before them some great and comprehensive scheme, which, while it leaves all details perfectly free, and so avoids monotonous uniformity, may indicate the general principles to be followed, and at least see that one improvement does not destroy or ruin another.

If the great scheme which occupied Sir Charles Barry’s last years sets men’s minds to work, indicates public necessities, and suggests the general lines of public improvement, it will (as has been said) do all that its author hoped for. An artist, himself incapable of following servilely the plans of others, could have desired nothing more than to stimulate and guide the free conceptions of the future.

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