10 JUNE 1899, Page 24

The Beolution of the Dwelling House. By Sidney Oxdall Addy,

M.A. (Swan Sonnenschein and Co. 6s.)—Some years ago Professor Baldwin Brown showed in an ingenious treatise (" From Schola to Cathedral") how the great ecclesiastical buildings of the Middle Ages grew out of the meeting-houses of crafts which in the earliest age Christian congregations used for their places of worship. Mr. Addy's book deals with a cognate subject, though his starting point and his method are his own. The last chapter, "The Church or Lord's House," is, in a peculiar way, complementary to Professor Brown's book. It is very curious to see the Church reverting, if we may say so, to its old use, though under the pressure of very different motives. The growth of the secular house is the chief subject of the volume, and is treated with very instructive, per- spicacity. We shall not attempt to epitomise the argument ; it must suffice to say that it is built on a very thorough and careful study of the subject. One of the most curious points is the relation of the measure of the house to the space required for the stalling of oxen. The volume, we should say, is one of the "Social England Series," appearing under the editorship of Mr. Kenelm D. Cotes.