soldiers who fell in the War shall be erected on the plateau in front of St. George’s Hall. It will be remembered that Professor Lionel Budden’s design was selected in competition for the work. Since the competition was decided, a good deal of opposition has been manifested to placing the Cenotaph on the St. George’s Hall plateau. It culminated in a petition, signed by thirty-three architects, being presented to the Council protesting against the Cenotaph being erected on this site as likely to interfere with the architectural beauty of the Hall. With all due respect the promoters, whose good faith we do not doubt, should have made their point months ago when the competition was first announced. The Cenotaph was all along intended to be built on this site; the majority of the competition designs submitted included an elevation or perspective showing the proposed memorial in its relation to St. George’s Hall. It was rather bad tactics, too, to enlist support for the memorial among the competing architects, because it gave ground for Sir A. Salvidge’s acid comment that he would have been more impressed by the memorial if it had not been signed by so many unsuccessful competitors.
The Ministry of Transport has been moved to make a pronouncement on the subject of the “Committee”
which is considering the design and approximate cost of Charing Cross Bridge. It takes the form of a letter from the Minister to Mr. Arthur Keen, the chairman of the Conference of Societies interested in the preservation of Waterloo Bridge, and it is noticeable that throughout this communication no reference is made to the ‘ ‘ Committee’’ of which so much was pre
viously heard. The Committee has now become an “inquiry, ” conducted by a firm of engineers, appointed by the Minister on the recommendation of the L. C. C., with the addition of the L. C. C. engineer. The engineer of the Southern Railway assists the others as required. Col. Ashley does not apprehend any of the dangers apprehended by the Conference of Societies, because the question of Waterloo Bridge is excluded from the terms of reference to the ‘‘Inquiry. ’’ It would have been preferable, however,
if the engineers appointed by the Ministry had not been previously connected with this controversy. While the Ministerial statement confirms the truth of the statement made by the general manager of the Southern Railway, it shows the report of the L. C. C. Improvements Committee to have been incorrect, does nothing to allay the apprehension of the Conference of Societies, and fails to carry out the undertaking given by the Government in Parliament.
Arising out of a recommendation contained in the report of the British Institute of Industrial Art on “The Art of Graveyard Monuments, ” issued in 1925, a Joint Committee of that Institute and the National
Association of Master Monumental Masons have been considering the use of native stones, especially in localities where stones of suitable quality are to be found, and, generally, the use of suitable materials in relation to different local climatic and economic conditions. They have now issued an interim report indicating seventeen British stones which they regard as technically suitable for monumental work, subject to reservations in some cases as to particular use. Six are put down as unsuitable for headstones in smoky industrial areas and two are indicated as suitable for recumbent memorials. Samples of the stones in question have been deposited temporarily in the Permanent Collection of the British Institute of Industrial Art, North Court Annex, Victoria and Albert Museum, where they may be viewed between the hours of 10 a. m. and 5 p. m. The report indicates that the question is a difficult one, for variations in climatic and atmospheric conditions make it impossible to draw up a list of stones suitable for graveyard monuments in any part of the country. Thus a stone unable to withstand the effects of exposure to sea air may endure quite well in an inland district; while another which can be safely used in the pure air of a village will quickly decay in the air of an industrial town. Moreover, the thin headstone, exposed on all faces, presents a weathering problem that is distinct from that of ordinary building stone, where only one face is exposed. The economic factors of supply, transport and price are other matters that must be taken into account. Any enlightened enquiry which may tend to improve the appearance of our burial grounds will be welcome, for the average cemetery or graveyard is a pretty dismal and hideous affair. The Report, price 9d., can be obtained from the Office of the Institute, 38 Bloomsbury Square, London.
An appeal to the public for £35, 000 to preserve the amenities of Stonehenge has been launched with the blessing of the Premier, Mr. Ramsay MacDonald, Earl Crawford, Viscount Grey and Lord Radnor. The sum is required to purchase the land, partly covered with dilapidated aerodrome buildings, in the immediate vicinity of the famous Druidical circle, to demolish the buildings, and so restore and preserve the pristine solitude so essential to remains of this character. In all the fund aims at the purchase of over 1, 400 acres of ground, and it is to be hoped that readers will assist by sending contributions to the Secretary of the National Trust (Stonehenge Fund), 7 Buckingham Palace Gardens, S. W. l. The sale of the aerodrome buildings after the War was a grave mistake, seeing that Stonehenge had already been scheduled as an ancient monument; but it is also the object of the present effort to prevent the erection near-by of any buildings, especially of the tea-shop class, from which all places of historic interest stand in danger at the present time.
Competition Result
Rotherham
In the competition of the Education Committee for the new Elementary School at Thorpe Desley, the assessor, Mr. W. Carby Hall, has awarded first prize of £50 to Mr. J. Totty, and second, £20, to Mr. D. B. Jenkinson. Mr. Totty has accordingly been appointed architect for the new school.
Competition. Closing Date
University Buildings, Western Australia. — August 23. — To cost £150, 000. Premiums, £400, £300 and £200. Assessors, Prof. Leslie Wilkinson, F. R. I. B. A., Mr. A. R. L. Wright, L. R. I. B. A., President Royal Institute of Architects of Western Australia. Particulars, Agent-General for Western Australia, 115-116 Strand, W. C. 2.
The Ministry of Transport has been moved to make a pronouncement on the subject of the “Committee”
which is considering the design and approximate cost of Charing Cross Bridge. It takes the form of a letter from the Minister to Mr. Arthur Keen, the chairman of the Conference of Societies interested in the preservation of Waterloo Bridge, and it is noticeable that throughout this communication no reference is made to the ‘ ‘ Committee’’ of which so much was pre
viously heard. The Committee has now become an “inquiry, ” conducted by a firm of engineers, appointed by the Minister on the recommendation of the L. C. C., with the addition of the L. C. C. engineer. The engineer of the Southern Railway assists the others as required. Col. Ashley does not apprehend any of the dangers apprehended by the Conference of Societies, because the question of Waterloo Bridge is excluded from the terms of reference to the ‘‘Inquiry. ’’ It would have been preferable, however,
if the engineers appointed by the Ministry had not been previously connected with this controversy. While the Ministerial statement confirms the truth of the statement made by the general manager of the Southern Railway, it shows the report of the L. C. C. Improvements Committee to have been incorrect, does nothing to allay the apprehension of the Conference of Societies, and fails to carry out the undertaking given by the Government in Parliament.
Arising out of a recommendation contained in the report of the British Institute of Industrial Art on “The Art of Graveyard Monuments, ” issued in 1925, a Joint Committee of that Institute and the National
Association of Master Monumental Masons have been considering the use of native stones, especially in localities where stones of suitable quality are to be found, and, generally, the use of suitable materials in relation to different local climatic and economic conditions. They have now issued an interim report indicating seventeen British stones which they regard as technically suitable for monumental work, subject to reservations in some cases as to particular use. Six are put down as unsuitable for headstones in smoky industrial areas and two are indicated as suitable for recumbent memorials. Samples of the stones in question have been deposited temporarily in the Permanent Collection of the British Institute of Industrial Art, North Court Annex, Victoria and Albert Museum, where they may be viewed between the hours of 10 a. m. and 5 p. m. The report indicates that the question is a difficult one, for variations in climatic and atmospheric conditions make it impossible to draw up a list of stones suitable for graveyard monuments in any part of the country. Thus a stone unable to withstand the effects of exposure to sea air may endure quite well in an inland district; while another which can be safely used in the pure air of a village will quickly decay in the air of an industrial town. Moreover, the thin headstone, exposed on all faces, presents a weathering problem that is distinct from that of ordinary building stone, where only one face is exposed. The economic factors of supply, transport and price are other matters that must be taken into account. Any enlightened enquiry which may tend to improve the appearance of our burial grounds will be welcome, for the average cemetery or graveyard is a pretty dismal and hideous affair. The Report, price 9d., can be obtained from the Office of the Institute, 38 Bloomsbury Square, London.
An appeal to the public for £35, 000 to preserve the amenities of Stonehenge has been launched with the blessing of the Premier, Mr. Ramsay MacDonald, Earl Crawford, Viscount Grey and Lord Radnor. The sum is required to purchase the land, partly covered with dilapidated aerodrome buildings, in the immediate vicinity of the famous Druidical circle, to demolish the buildings, and so restore and preserve the pristine solitude so essential to remains of this character. In all the fund aims at the purchase of over 1, 400 acres of ground, and it is to be hoped that readers will assist by sending contributions to the Secretary of the National Trust (Stonehenge Fund), 7 Buckingham Palace Gardens, S. W. l. The sale of the aerodrome buildings after the War was a grave mistake, seeing that Stonehenge had already been scheduled as an ancient monument; but it is also the object of the present effort to prevent the erection near-by of any buildings, especially of the tea-shop class, from which all places of historic interest stand in danger at the present time.
Competition Result
Rotherham
In the competition of the Education Committee for the new Elementary School at Thorpe Desley, the assessor, Mr. W. Carby Hall, has awarded first prize of £50 to Mr. J. Totty, and second, £20, to Mr. D. B. Jenkinson. Mr. Totty has accordingly been appointed architect for the new school.
Competition. Closing Date
University Buildings, Western Australia. — August 23. — To cost £150, 000. Premiums, £400, £300 and £200. Assessors, Prof. Leslie Wilkinson, F. R. I. B. A., Mr. A. R. L. Wright, L. R. I. B. A., President Royal Institute of Architects of Western Australia. Particulars, Agent-General for Western Australia, 115-116 Strand, W. C. 2.