such a policy rather suggests a ‘ ‘ masterly inactivity. ’ ’ And in these days of fevered house building, and even more fevered motor transport expansion, we have no time to wait. The advent of steam power found our forefathers entirely unprepared and unfitted to cope with or direct the expansion it brought with it, and the resulting disorder and chaos still remains to be cleared up. It looks as if petrol power will land us in an even worse mess unless matters are speedily taken in hand. One might remind the Minister of Health that delays are dangerous. There will always be objections from some quarter to any improvement scheme, or regional planning scheme, even though it embodies the combined wisdom of a committee representing all the authorities in a particular area. After all, if a local authority decides to appoint representatives on a Committee armed with executive powers, we do not see why they should not be bound as much by this as by any other resolution. The fact is, we cannot wait to appease or resolve all the differences that may arise. Sufficient difficulties are encountered now through the changing personnel and, consequently, varying opinions Of elected civic bodies. To conciliate or persuade every recalcitrant body, or member of a body, would postpone radical and overdue improvements until the Greek Kalends.
* * *
Mr. MacColl’s denunciation of “ the weary, silly routine of battlements, mullions, transoms and nasty little spandrels of doorheads ” in revived Gothic, to which we referred last week, has drawn Sir Reginald BlomfLeld to his support; also a tu guogue from Sir Robert Lorimer about the “ tedious paraphernalia ” of the Classic style—the triglyphs and trusses and swags, the eggs and darts, the dentils and guilloches, the skeleton sheep’s heads-----” Sir Robert seems to have slipped up on the last item—the “ bucrania ” in the metopes of the Doric frieze— and it left him open to Sir Reginald’s riposte that the sheep’s head might be “ a peculiarity of Classical design as practised north of the Tweed.” All this, however, seems to be rather getting away from Mr. MacColl’s original plea for the sane domestic building tradition of Queen Anne and later, which was not afflicted by the “ weary, silly routine ” of one style or the “ tedious paraphernalia ” of the other. However, as Sir Reginald plumps for Mr. MacColl’s “ living architecture which really gives us what we want, ’ ’ and as Sir Robert wants 1 ‘ to get back to sane, straightforward, logical building,” these leaders in the profession would appear to have an aspiration in common which we may hope will have tangible results. Meanwhile the French modernists are substituting stable ramps for staircases and fitting reinforced concrete bookshelves. Well, a not far distant generation may come to this, whether it wants to or not, if we continue to use up timber as we are doing now.
* * * * *
To the introduction of a small but appreciable amount of tin in the lead of the cames, Mr. Sidney Brown, the American expert on lead, attributes the long life of our medieeval stained glass windows. This striking conclusion, the result of his researches, was communicated in the paper he read before the British Society of Master Glass-Painters, by whose courtesy some excerpts are given on another page. The tin counteracts the formation of lead carbonate, the result of surface erosion to which all commercial lead is liable ; but while, on leadwork of sufficient substance, the lead carbonate will eventually form a coating that resists further erosive action, very much as the charred exterior of a heavy wooden beam will save its core in a fire. Cames for glazing are too thin, however, to prevent the erosion penetrating right through, with the consequent disintegration of the whole window structure in from 10 to 15 years, judged by an ex
ample of modern stained glass in America. An additional and curious fact, if Mr. Brown’s thesis is correct, is that this alloy of tin was not added for its protective virtue but to overcome a technical difficulty of temperature in the simple flow casting by which the mediaeval cames were made. For lasting came work, Mr. Brown specifies the use of undesilverised chemical lead, i.e., the quality used in America for chemical vats, plus an alloy of 1-J per cent, of tin, the cames being made by the vise method of drawing and casting or by extrusion, “ flat ” lead being allowed only on the outer borders of windows to take up the inevitable expansion. We may add that those interested in stained glass, though not professionally connected with the craft, are eligible for ordinary membership of this Society, whose office is at 6 Queen Square, Bloomsbury.
* * *
One is glad to note that the National Gallery of British Art, familiarly known as the ‘ ‘ Tate, ” is to be enriched by the addition of the late Theodore Roussel’s picture, “ The Reading Girl,” described by Sir William Orpen as “ the finest nude that has ever been painted.” The picture was offered to the trustees of the gallery by the owner, Miss ITerriott, formerly a pupil of the deceased painter, who, born in Brittany in 1847, settled in England in 1874 and died at Hastings last year. Roussel never secured public recognition, either in his native or his adopted country, although as an “ artists’ artist,” his work was esteemed by his confreres of the brush. Probably public neglect rather fired Sir William’s praise for this picture by way of atonement. Photographic reproductions, of course, give no hint of the colouring, but the figure of the girl with a book, half reclining in the chair, is extraordinarily beautiful and graceful. Incidentally, the title seems open to misconception. One person we have met imagined that the subject had some connection with the biscuit town.
* * * *
The past week has brought to light two more notable victims of the “ death-watch ” beetle. These are St. Bartholomew the Great, Smithfield, and Boston Parish Church—the famous “Boston Stump” —in Lincolnshire. The latter building seems in a bad way, as, in addition to the extensively damaged roof, there are serious and extending cracks in the walls of the tower, necessitating a stoppage of bell-ringing. £25,000 is the sum mentioned as required to put this famous church in sound structural repair. St. Bartholomew’s appears to be less affected, but recent damage by the beetle has been discovered, and several sections of the roof have yet to be examined. The number of ancient and famous buildings which, in recent years, have been suddenly disclosed as greatly damaged, or in danger of collapse, through the ravages of this pest, seems to us to raise the question whether some inquiry into the incidence of the evil should not be instituted; whether these are to be regarded as a normal casualty rate attaching to age, or whether there is an extraordinary increase due to some factor in modern conditions which favours the propagation and spread of the beetle; further, whether preventive measures cannot be taken to safeguard the more famous of our mediaeval timber roofs.
The Mayor of Lincoln re-opened Bracebridge Bridge, over the Witham, on Newark Road, last week. The bridge Has cost £5,485, and £3,818 have been spent on road-widening.
* * *
Piccadilly was again opened to through traffic last Friday. It is estimated that the work of repaving and widening has cost approximately £45,000. The work, which was begun on July 20th, was estimated to last until October 30th.
* * *
Mr. MacColl’s denunciation of “ the weary, silly routine of battlements, mullions, transoms and nasty little spandrels of doorheads ” in revived Gothic, to which we referred last week, has drawn Sir Reginald BlomfLeld to his support; also a tu guogue from Sir Robert Lorimer about the “ tedious paraphernalia ” of the Classic style—the triglyphs and trusses and swags, the eggs and darts, the dentils and guilloches, the skeleton sheep’s heads-----” Sir Robert seems to have slipped up on the last item—the “ bucrania ” in the metopes of the Doric frieze— and it left him open to Sir Reginald’s riposte that the sheep’s head might be “ a peculiarity of Classical design as practised north of the Tweed.” All this, however, seems to be rather getting away from Mr. MacColl’s original plea for the sane domestic building tradition of Queen Anne and later, which was not afflicted by the “ weary, silly routine ” of one style or the “ tedious paraphernalia ” of the other. However, as Sir Reginald plumps for Mr. MacColl’s “ living architecture which really gives us what we want, ’ ’ and as Sir Robert wants 1 ‘ to get back to sane, straightforward, logical building,” these leaders in the profession would appear to have an aspiration in common which we may hope will have tangible results. Meanwhile the French modernists are substituting stable ramps for staircases and fitting reinforced concrete bookshelves. Well, a not far distant generation may come to this, whether it wants to or not, if we continue to use up timber as we are doing now.
* * * * *
To the introduction of a small but appreciable amount of tin in the lead of the cames, Mr. Sidney Brown, the American expert on lead, attributes the long life of our medieeval stained glass windows. This striking conclusion, the result of his researches, was communicated in the paper he read before the British Society of Master Glass-Painters, by whose courtesy some excerpts are given on another page. The tin counteracts the formation of lead carbonate, the result of surface erosion to which all commercial lead is liable ; but while, on leadwork of sufficient substance, the lead carbonate will eventually form a coating that resists further erosive action, very much as the charred exterior of a heavy wooden beam will save its core in a fire. Cames for glazing are too thin, however, to prevent the erosion penetrating right through, with the consequent disintegration of the whole window structure in from 10 to 15 years, judged by an ex
ample of modern stained glass in America. An additional and curious fact, if Mr. Brown’s thesis is correct, is that this alloy of tin was not added for its protective virtue but to overcome a technical difficulty of temperature in the simple flow casting by which the mediaeval cames were made. For lasting came work, Mr. Brown specifies the use of undesilverised chemical lead, i.e., the quality used in America for chemical vats, plus an alloy of 1-J per cent, of tin, the cames being made by the vise method of drawing and casting or by extrusion, “ flat ” lead being allowed only on the outer borders of windows to take up the inevitable expansion. We may add that those interested in stained glass, though not professionally connected with the craft, are eligible for ordinary membership of this Society, whose office is at 6 Queen Square, Bloomsbury.
* * *
One is glad to note that the National Gallery of British Art, familiarly known as the ‘ ‘ Tate, ” is to be enriched by the addition of the late Theodore Roussel’s picture, “ The Reading Girl,” described by Sir William Orpen as “ the finest nude that has ever been painted.” The picture was offered to the trustees of the gallery by the owner, Miss ITerriott, formerly a pupil of the deceased painter, who, born in Brittany in 1847, settled in England in 1874 and died at Hastings last year. Roussel never secured public recognition, either in his native or his adopted country, although as an “ artists’ artist,” his work was esteemed by his confreres of the brush. Probably public neglect rather fired Sir William’s praise for this picture by way of atonement. Photographic reproductions, of course, give no hint of the colouring, but the figure of the girl with a book, half reclining in the chair, is extraordinarily beautiful and graceful. Incidentally, the title seems open to misconception. One person we have met imagined that the subject had some connection with the biscuit town.
* * * *
The past week has brought to light two more notable victims of the “ death-watch ” beetle. These are St. Bartholomew the Great, Smithfield, and Boston Parish Church—the famous “Boston Stump” —in Lincolnshire. The latter building seems in a bad way, as, in addition to the extensively damaged roof, there are serious and extending cracks in the walls of the tower, necessitating a stoppage of bell-ringing. £25,000 is the sum mentioned as required to put this famous church in sound structural repair. St. Bartholomew’s appears to be less affected, but recent damage by the beetle has been discovered, and several sections of the roof have yet to be examined. The number of ancient and famous buildings which, in recent years, have been suddenly disclosed as greatly damaged, or in danger of collapse, through the ravages of this pest, seems to us to raise the question whether some inquiry into the incidence of the evil should not be instituted; whether these are to be regarded as a normal casualty rate attaching to age, or whether there is an extraordinary increase due to some factor in modern conditions which favours the propagation and spread of the beetle; further, whether preventive measures cannot be taken to safeguard the more famous of our mediaeval timber roofs.
The Mayor of Lincoln re-opened Bracebridge Bridge, over the Witham, on Newark Road, last week. The bridge Has cost £5,485, and £3,818 have been spent on road-widening.
* * *
Piccadilly was again opened to through traffic last Friday. It is estimated that the work of repaving and widening has cost approximately £45,000. The work, which was begun on July 20th, was estimated to last until October 30th.