of the tracery were painted a bright azure blue, which must have had a most striking effect from below. All the elaborate and most wonderful carving was the work of English craftsmen throughout.
When, in 1922, I made an extensive examination of the roof I found it to be in a most precarious condition. It was, in fact, on the very point of collapse. Its condition was partly due to the method of construction adopted by the master carpenter, partly due to the attack of Xestobium tesselatum, and partly due to a very virulent attack of dry-rot of the Merulius lacrymans type. The dry-rot attack was particularly noticeable in timbers laid on to, built in, or adjoining, walls. For instance, the principal wall plate, which was a massive timber 1 foot 9 inches by 9 inches, of considerable length, was found to be merely a hollow shell and could be crushed with the hand. It was quite incapable of transmitting the weight to the wall end of the hammer beam, or to prevent this sagging and letting down the members it was designed to support.
The attack of the death watch beetle was particularly severe and was fully active at the junctions of timbers near the outer air; as, for example, the junction of the collar with the queen post and the principal rafter. Again, extensive attack was found at the springing of the principals off the stone corbals; while the wall posts in nearly every instance were very severely attacked. Generally, the defects caused a decided drop of the hammer beams, and an inward leaning of the hammer posts; the truss thrusting out the walls and buttresses as a result of unsustained lateral pressure, to a varying extent, causing definite failure and fracture of the buttresses. In order to overcome these fundamental defects the trusses had to be stripped, exposed and strengthened, each truss being fitted with a reinforcement of steel of a girder type, which, while relieving the load of the roof, was designed so as not to bring any appreciable outward pressure on to the walls and buttresses.
Many alternatives to the steel relieving truss design were considered, but no piecing up with oak, no scarfing or jointing to the oak or plating with steel would have met the problem, particularly in instances where resistance to tension was required.
[Slides were then shown of Westminster Hall, illustrating the parallel decay and the character of the structure as a statical scheme in comparison with Hampton Court Great Hall roof. ]
Coming to Eltham Palace Great Hall roof, the date of which is about 1480, we get a very interesting parallel of timber construction. The hall is under the charge of the Commissioners of Woods and Forests, and in 1911 I made a careful and detailed examination of the condition of the roof, which showed that owing to causes which I will explain by slides the roof was in imminent danger of collapse. The walls were leaning outwards, the trusses had heavily sagged, the principal rafters had sprung 8 inches out of truth, and most of the jointing of the timbers, although temporarily secured with straps, was definitely failing, as will be readily realised, owing to the spreading of the principal rafters, which caused certain of the outer walls to overhang as much as 2 feet 6 inches in a height of 10 feet.
[Some views were also shown of the Middle Temple Hall roof, which was erected during the first half of Queen Elizabeth’s reign. ] This hall, remarkable for its beauty and design, was chosen from many others as the model for the Great Hall of Trinity College, Cambridge, which was completed in 1605. The Middle Temple Hall is 101 feet 3 inches long, 40 feet 9 inches wide and 57 feet 6 inches from the floor to the ridge.
When I examined the roof in 1923 I found it had been attacked in all parts by the death watch beetle, but that there was no attack of dry-rot whatever. Its
condition was much better than that of Eltham Palace Hall and Westminster Hall before repair, primarily due to the fact that open fires and gasoliers formerly used in the hall had possibly caused the death of the beetle attacking the timber.
The Kit-Cat Restaurants, Haymarket
(Illustrated on page 947. )
Where so many thousands of shop fronts jostle each other in the streets, it becomes ever more difficult to invent a novel design by which the ground-floor storey and entrance to any given premises may be suitably distinguished from the architectural treatments on either side of it. In the present instance, it was obviously desirable to emphasise the fact that the building was not a shop, and consequently the wide window spaces each side of the entrance required to be given a certain elaboration and even opacity such as would prevent them from being confused with the ordinary shop front, with a display of merchandise at which people are invited to gaze. The arrangement here adopted, whereby each window is divided into three glazed cylinders with semi-spherical domes, seems to achieve this object admirably. The broad entrance shows a pleasing contrast between plain jambs and ornate panels to the door, which, in spite of the simplicity of the decorative motif employed in its design, is highly effective.
The interior is especially of interest inasmuch as it exemplifies the Classic style in its modern application. The scrolled pediment of the doorway may be described as a conventional feature, though it is none the worse for that; the treatment of the Order, however, is characterised by various novelties which are worthy of mention. It will be observed that the square piers, with fluted capitals, support an entablature which is bereft of its two upper members. The architrave or bressumer, however, although obviously a plain constructional member, is yet made interesting by the narrow band of ornament which punctuates its lower extremity, while the ceiling as a whole, of which the “ribs” are candidly exposed,
produces an effect of freshness and gaiety by virtue of its painted decoration.
Competition News
Bolton
The Bolton Education Committee propose to erect a new elementary school on a site at Castle Hill, Tonge Moor, Bolton, and it is intended to invite architects residing in Bolton to compete in a competition for the building.
The estimated cost of the repairs to the Church of St. Botolph, Boston, Lincolnshire (‘‘Boston Stump’’),
the timber roof of which has been badly ravaged by the death watch beetle, and the tower of which has serious cracks in the walls, is estimated at £30, 000. The Mayor and Corporation of Boston are broadcasting an appeal for assistance, and the Church authorities are taking active steps to raise funds for the work.
Relics of the Transitional Period, about 1000 to 700 b. c., between the Bronze and Iron Ages, have been found in Wiltshire. These consist of eighteen funerary urns, containing cremated human remains, discovered by Mr. J. P. Preston, of Landford Manor, in a mound about 27 feet in diameter and 18 inches above the surrounding ground. The urns, which vary in shape and decoration, are about a foot in diameter and 18 inches in height.
When, in 1922, I made an extensive examination of the roof I found it to be in a most precarious condition. It was, in fact, on the very point of collapse. Its condition was partly due to the method of construction adopted by the master carpenter, partly due to the attack of Xestobium tesselatum, and partly due to a very virulent attack of dry-rot of the Merulius lacrymans type. The dry-rot attack was particularly noticeable in timbers laid on to, built in, or adjoining, walls. For instance, the principal wall plate, which was a massive timber 1 foot 9 inches by 9 inches, of considerable length, was found to be merely a hollow shell and could be crushed with the hand. It was quite incapable of transmitting the weight to the wall end of the hammer beam, or to prevent this sagging and letting down the members it was designed to support.
The attack of the death watch beetle was particularly severe and was fully active at the junctions of timbers near the outer air; as, for example, the junction of the collar with the queen post and the principal rafter. Again, extensive attack was found at the springing of the principals off the stone corbals; while the wall posts in nearly every instance were very severely attacked. Generally, the defects caused a decided drop of the hammer beams, and an inward leaning of the hammer posts; the truss thrusting out the walls and buttresses as a result of unsustained lateral pressure, to a varying extent, causing definite failure and fracture of the buttresses. In order to overcome these fundamental defects the trusses had to be stripped, exposed and strengthened, each truss being fitted with a reinforcement of steel of a girder type, which, while relieving the load of the roof, was designed so as not to bring any appreciable outward pressure on to the walls and buttresses.
Many alternatives to the steel relieving truss design were considered, but no piecing up with oak, no scarfing or jointing to the oak or plating with steel would have met the problem, particularly in instances where resistance to tension was required.
[Slides were then shown of Westminster Hall, illustrating the parallel decay and the character of the structure as a statical scheme in comparison with Hampton Court Great Hall roof. ]
Coming to Eltham Palace Great Hall roof, the date of which is about 1480, we get a very interesting parallel of timber construction. The hall is under the charge of the Commissioners of Woods and Forests, and in 1911 I made a careful and detailed examination of the condition of the roof, which showed that owing to causes which I will explain by slides the roof was in imminent danger of collapse. The walls were leaning outwards, the trusses had heavily sagged, the principal rafters had sprung 8 inches out of truth, and most of the jointing of the timbers, although temporarily secured with straps, was definitely failing, as will be readily realised, owing to the spreading of the principal rafters, which caused certain of the outer walls to overhang as much as 2 feet 6 inches in a height of 10 feet.
[Some views were also shown of the Middle Temple Hall roof, which was erected during the first half of Queen Elizabeth’s reign. ] This hall, remarkable for its beauty and design, was chosen from many others as the model for the Great Hall of Trinity College, Cambridge, which was completed in 1605. The Middle Temple Hall is 101 feet 3 inches long, 40 feet 9 inches wide and 57 feet 6 inches from the floor to the ridge.
When I examined the roof in 1923 I found it had been attacked in all parts by the death watch beetle, but that there was no attack of dry-rot whatever. Its
condition was much better than that of Eltham Palace Hall and Westminster Hall before repair, primarily due to the fact that open fires and gasoliers formerly used in the hall had possibly caused the death of the beetle attacking the timber.
The Kit-Cat Restaurants, Haymarket
(Illustrated on page 947. )
Where so many thousands of shop fronts jostle each other in the streets, it becomes ever more difficult to invent a novel design by which the ground-floor storey and entrance to any given premises may be suitably distinguished from the architectural treatments on either side of it. In the present instance, it was obviously desirable to emphasise the fact that the building was not a shop, and consequently the wide window spaces each side of the entrance required to be given a certain elaboration and even opacity such as would prevent them from being confused with the ordinary shop front, with a display of merchandise at which people are invited to gaze. The arrangement here adopted, whereby each window is divided into three glazed cylinders with semi-spherical domes, seems to achieve this object admirably. The broad entrance shows a pleasing contrast between plain jambs and ornate panels to the door, which, in spite of the simplicity of the decorative motif employed in its design, is highly effective.
The interior is especially of interest inasmuch as it exemplifies the Classic style in its modern application. The scrolled pediment of the doorway may be described as a conventional feature, though it is none the worse for that; the treatment of the Order, however, is characterised by various novelties which are worthy of mention. It will be observed that the square piers, with fluted capitals, support an entablature which is bereft of its two upper members. The architrave or bressumer, however, although obviously a plain constructional member, is yet made interesting by the narrow band of ornament which punctuates its lower extremity, while the ceiling as a whole, of which the “ribs” are candidly exposed,
produces an effect of freshness and gaiety by virtue of its painted decoration.
Competition News
Bolton
The Bolton Education Committee propose to erect a new elementary school on a site at Castle Hill, Tonge Moor, Bolton, and it is intended to invite architects residing in Bolton to compete in a competition for the building.
The estimated cost of the repairs to the Church of St. Botolph, Boston, Lincolnshire (‘‘Boston Stump’’),
the timber roof of which has been badly ravaged by the death watch beetle, and the tower of which has serious cracks in the walls, is estimated at £30, 000. The Mayor and Corporation of Boston are broadcasting an appeal for assistance, and the Church authorities are taking active steps to raise funds for the work.
Relics of the Transitional Period, about 1000 to 700 b. c., between the Bronze and Iron Ages, have been found in Wiltshire. These consist of eighteen funerary urns, containing cremated human remains, discovered by Mr. J. P. Preston, of Landford Manor, in a mound about 27 feet in diameter and 18 inches above the surrounding ground. The urns, which vary in shape and decoration, are about a foot in diameter and 18 inches in height.