HINTS FOR A NEW PALACE FOR THE P:IRLIAMENT.
Tile important duty now devolves upon the Government of' providing buildings for the assembly of the two Houses of Legislature. Circum- stances must determine the temporary place of meeting for the next session, or longer. Dismissing from our attentiou, therefore, the various suggestions upon this point, we come at once to the preliminary arrangements for the planning and erection of a new structure. Many great and serious evils resulted from the inconveiderices of the old Hodse of Commons ; and we have a right to demand, that all those inconveni- ences shall be completely obviated, and every accommodation, which the highest skill and unlimited means can furnish, should be supplied. The wants of the Peers, also, are to be considered, not with reference to the present unhappy position and circumstances of that House, but look- ing forward to the time when the Second Chamber will have been purified, and attained its proper rank and value in the eves of the nation. It is a great subject, and must be gravely and deliberately viewed in all its bearings. The Palace of the Legislature, where the laws arc propounded and settled, and the interests of a whole people are discussed, should include every accommodation that past experience and forethought of the prospect of future improvements may show to be required. It is a structure to endure for ages ; and as such should anticipate, as tar as may be foreseen, future wants. It should like- wise be a monument of the greatness of the nation, its wealth and re- sources, tad the advancement of the arts.
Viewing the subject in Entine, the grand points for consideration arc— The Accommodation required in the new building; Its Site; Its A rehitectural character.
The cost is not an object : money is not to be wasted, but it is not to be spared.
There are also evils to be shunned jobbing, secresy, and precipitancy. The two latter almost include the first ; for if due deliberation be had, and publicity be given, there is little chance of a job going undetected. The first and great point to be insisted upon is DELIBERATION. One rash and inconsiderate step leads to an infinite series of blunders and makeshifts., No decided step should be taken, no course be resolved upon, without the concurrence of both Houses, after mature inquiry. The best information should be collected upon every branch of the subject ; suggestions be well weighed ; opinions carefully considered ; and above all, modem be given to the various plans submitted. Let these be well tested by free discussion. There is no fear that the public mind will be divided between two or more plans. In a matter of such moment, there will be little doubt but that what is really the best course will sooner or later appear so to all intelligent persons. We have had too much of secret juntas and self-styled committees of taste, deciding agreeably to the whispered counsel of interested persons. The subject being thoroughly sifted in a Committee of the whole of each House, should then be referred to a Select Committee chosen from both, to carry the views of the two bodies into effect. With such preparation there can be no doubt but that the fiat of the nation would approve and confirm their decision.
As regards the Site—that will be mainly determined by the quantity of ground required for the accommodation of the two Houses. Three loca- lities more immediately suggest themselves,—the site of the old build- ings; the open space at Charing Cross; and the Green Park. The old site, though not so spacious as could be wished or might be required, has much to recommend it ; and the ground would allow of being appropriated to much greater advantage,—especially. if the Speaker were to forego his house and garden, and be content with a re- thing-room, like the Lord Chancellor, having a residence elsewhere. The old spot, besides having "old associations" in its favour, is in many respects convenient; being near to the Government offices and the Palace; and removed from the noise and bustle of the town, yet sufficiently central. The contiguity of the Law Courts, though a lesser advantage, is not to be overlooked. The dimensions of the available ground are about 500 to (i00 feet in length, by 200 feet in depth to the extent of the Hall; beyond which, the depth increases 40 or 50 feet. Charing Cross, as suggested by a correspondent of the Courier, is more central ; but the open space of Trafalgar Square is too small ; and even if the National Gallery, which is in part erected, were rased, the additional ground occupied by that building and the Barracks would be scarcely sufficient ; leaving out of consideration the inconvenience arising from making Pall Mall East a cal de sac—the noise of traffic in such a public thoroughfare as Charing Cross—and the inconvenience of the carriages of Members occupying the road-way round the statue of Charles. Quietness, and convenient space for the carriages waiting to take up the Members of either House, though not the most essential requisites, are desirable.
The Green Park certainly offers the most extensive, isolated, and retired site, within a convenient distance of the Government offices and the King's Palace. It is, however, less central than the old site. We should regret to cover with buildings an open space devoted to the recreation of the people. But a public walk along the River might make up for the loss. A convenient House of Parliament would be the means of promoting the public benefit in a more substantial way ; and the great good would swallow up the lesser evil. If the old site does not afford sufficient space, the Green Park seems to be the only alternative.
True, space may be found anywhere, by virtue of an act of Parlia-
ment. Lincoln's Inn Fields, if not too far east, and the crowded neighbourhood west of it, might be cleared for the purpose of forming a grand moors. of Government offices, with the Houses of Parliament in the centre. But accident having laid open ground every way con- venient, if the space is sufficient, it should have the preference. The site of St. James's Palace, even if Marlborough House and gardens were added, is hardly equal in extent to the space by the River-side. The next point to be considered is the nature and extent of the A
commode/ions required ; which, being first determined on, are to be pro- vided for in the, plan of the building. This forms the most important part of the architectural arrangements ; not excepting the elevation. Ample room, and facilities of communication between the various parts of the building, are the two points to which the attention of the architect should be directed. As the greatest amount of space will be required for Committee-rooms and offices, it will be for consideration whether they would be better on one floor, or if two or three could be employed without inconvenience. As regards the Chambers them- selves, the amphitheatrical form would seem to be the best adapted for seeing, hearing, and facility of approach to the seats. The Theatre or Lecture-room of the Royal Institution is a model, on a small scale, for a building of this kind. The table, where the clerks sit, would occupy the central space on the floor ; and the Speaker's chair the opening of the semicircle or horse-shoe. At the back, above the chair, might be the Reporter's Gallery, whence every Member would be dis- tinctly seen and heard ; and round the walls a gallery for " Strangers." The seats for the Members would be of course separated by a space sufficient for one person to pass ; and each be provided with a desk and writing materials, with a drawer for papers in front. The contrivances for ventilation, lighting, warming, and the conveyance of sound, would form essential parts of the details ; as would the relative situations of the Library, Division-rooms, Lobbies, and Committee-rooms. Too much attention could not be paid to making the communications direct and spacious, so that ingress and egress might be provided for numbers without the slightest crowding or inconvenience. When it is consi- dered how much needless trouble and inconvenience, and consequent hindrance of business, would result from one single error or oversight in the arrangement of the plats the importance of attention to the minute points is obvious. With respect to the Design of the exterior elevation, we are very much at the mercy of the architects. Our opinion of the taste and inven- tion of modern architects, being formed solely on the specimens they have given of their skill, is not of the highest ; but we believe they have seldom had a fair opportunity of exercising it unfettered. In re- gard to the selection of a design, a competition, open to all, foreign as well as native artists, would secure ample choice. The successful com- petitors would be remunerated by prizes awarded to them. The erec- tion of the building is another matter. The taste to design and the practical ability to carry the plan into effect are distinct qualities, and are not always combined in the same individual. Nevertheless, if the designer be not manifestly incompetent to put his plans into execution, be should of right have the preference.
A set of designs made by KENT for the rebuilding of the Parlia- ment Houses is extant : but we should hope there is no necessity, at this day, to go back a century, and adopt what may now be obsolete. A building ought to bear the stamp of the age in which it is erected. The wants of the Legislature and the expectations of the nation are not so limited as they were in KENT'S time. Besides, his plan expressly provided for the preservation of St. Stephen's Chapel, which is now destroyed. The idea of restoring this narrow and anti- quated structure, as suggested by the Morning Herald, is too absurd to claim any serious regard. KENT'S plans may, however, furnish some useful hints ; as may likewise Sir JOHN SOANE'S designs for rebuild- ing the Parliament Houses in conjunction with the Law Courts, en- closing, but not including Westminster Hall. The Composite style of Sir JOHN SOANE, however, is more ornate than beautiful. This design is profusely garnished with columns and domes; but it is rather ostentatious and ambitious than lofty and imposing. Architectural beauty and grandeur is not to be measured by the number of columns or domes. Simplicity and unity of design, beauty and grandeur of pro- portions, harmony of parts, a judicious distribution of light and shade, all combine to give character to a building. Decorations are often em- ployed to cover defects, and not unfrequently are in themselves eye- sores. An unadorned building stands forth in naked beauty—or de- formity. The skill required to employ decorations successfully, is ,greater than in designing a plain building ; but it is not so often suc- cessful. As regards the Style, much will depend upon the nature of the site ; and if the former site be chosen, the contiguity of Westminster Hall and Abbey would seem at first sight to suggest the Gothic as the most • appropriate. No one, we suspect, would recommend this style if the edifice were to be erected elsewhere : nor are we of opinion that the style of these venerable structures should determine the character of that to be erected near them. Contrast is not a less beautiful, while it is a more striking feature in architectural effects, than similarity. The :uses of the building and the nature of the site should decide its style of ar- chitecture. Gothic runs to the extremes of loftiness and lowness. Its halls are too vast, its lodgings too small, its passages too narrow : at least such are its prevailing characteristics. Castellated Gothic is better suited to military and conventual buildings ; pointed Gothic to ecclesias. tical edifices: neither is well adapted for a building in which apace and symmetry of form and arrangement are everywhere re- quired. The general character of a Palace for the Legislature should be massiveness and grandeur; combining a noble simplicity of effect with magnificence of decoration ; the rich details subserving to the isnrenible of the design. The Roman, or Palladian style, would seem best suited to such a building. Its boldness is equally impressive in the Tuscan or Doric, as its magnificence is in the Corinthian or Com- posite orders; and it admits of numerous details combined to form large masses. &low well it harmonizes with Gothic, too, is seen at Oxford. The Greek is equally massive on a grand scale ; but it de- pends greatly for its effect upon fewness and compactness of parts, as well as symmetry of external form : these are requisite fully to develop the beauty of its proportions, and to display the chaste elegance of its ornaments.
Whatever site be determined upon—whatever style or order of archi- tecture be selected for the new edifice—again and again we repeat, that the most important point of all, the first to he regarded, and upon which should depend every other, is ample accommodation for carrying on the business of the nation, not only without hindrance of any kind, but with all the appliances and means of contributing to convenience that experience can suggest and art can furnish.
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