at Westminster, had disheartened, though they had not overcome him. But he wished to embody all the designs for the improvement of the Metropolis, which had floated before his mind, in one grand scheme, and to leave it (so he expressed it) as a legacy behind him. He thought of Sir Christopher Wren’s grand design for the rebuilding of London after the fire, and the example stirred him up to boldness and extensiveness of conception. That it would be but an ideal he knew well; he exhibited it without reference to the conditions of the competition, and without any idea of seriously concerning himself with it. It was, in fact, brought forward in the names of his sons Charles and Edward, in the hope that, if it secured public attention and approval, some of its leading features might be executed by their hands. At any rate he conceived that it would point in the right direction. Even if it were not substantially adopted at any time, yet it might set the minds of others at work. Before all things, he felt that in the great Metropolitan improvements, which every day’s experience proves to be something more than desirable, the chief danger to be avoided was that absence of a general scheme, or at least general conceptions, which has, in England especially, wasted time and money on erections of isolated and often misplaced magnificence. He wished to place on record the strong expression of this feeling, and he left the scheme, which he himself conceived to be the best, for the criticism and consideration of those who should come after him. With that vague presentiment elsewhere noticed, that the end for him was not distant, he often said that he desired to leave it as his architectural memorial.
It has been thought right accordingly to embody in this work, first the general plan of his Westminster improvements, and next a considerable part of a large drawing, executed almost entirely by his own hand, and containing on a small scale, but with an artistic effect which can hardly be reproduced, elevations of the chief buildings, which he proposed to open to public view, to remodel, or to erect.
The following is the description of the design which he himself attached to it:—
General Principles of Plan.
In forming this Plan, its authors have ventured to be guided by the spirit rather than by the letter of the official instructions, which they consider to be incompatible with the best realisation of the objects in view.
They suggest that the whole of the Public Offices should be concentrated and combined in one group of buildings; that the Parade should be treated architecturally; that the New Palace at Westminster should be completed, as proposed, to Parliament Street; that the Abbey should have a central tower and spire and be freed from all its Italian solecisms of detail, and, together with the Chapter-house, be properly restored; that additions should be made to the Prebendal Houses, and a new Palace added, if need be, within the Abbey precincts, for a future Bishop of Westminster; and, for the due display of these important edifices, it is recommended that large areas should be laid open to them for ample thoroughfares and ornamental gardens. Thus these buildings, so isolated, could not fail, when seen under varied combinations and effects, to produce a most striking appearance.
The removal of the several public edifices and other buildings, which happen to be on the site of the proposed ornamental enclosures, would be necessary for the ultimate development of the plan; but they need only be removed from time to time, as may be found convenient. In the mean time the plan is so arranged, that these enclosures, and the main thoroughfares adjoining them, may be formed without necessitating the previous removal of the buildings, and their unsightliness, in the interim, may be screened from view to a considerable extent by planting.
With reference to the public buildings in question, it is proposed that, sooner or later, St. Margaret’s Church should be removed to the west side of the proposed Abbey-close, that the National Schools should be placed in proximity with it, that the Westminster Hospital should be placed in a more central position of the district, that the Sessions House should be removed to the Westminster Bridewell, that the Stationery Office should be placed between Victoria Street and Tothill Street near their eastern termination, and that the office of the Board of Control should be removed, as soon as the accommodation provided for it in the proposed group of Public Offices is obtained. The only residence of any importance, that is sacrificed to the suggested improvement of thoroughfares, is Carrington House, which, in its isolated position, with thoroughfares on three sides of it, is not very eligible as a nobleman’s residence.
The Government Offices and Their Adjuncts.
Considering the large expenditure already incurred upon the existing Public Offices of the locality, the authors of this plan are induced, upon economical as well as upon practical grounds, to recommend that the Board of Trade and Treasury Chambers towards St. James’s Park, the Horse Guards, and the Admiralty should be retained, and, with certain external modifications, be made to group with and form part of a scheme for concentrating the whole of the public offices in one connected mass of building between the Park and Whitehall, which suggestion they believe may be carried out in a most convenient and striking manner. Owing to the lowness of the site, which is less than two feet above the highest known tides, great loftiness of structure is proposed, and all habitable accommodation in the basement is deprecated. A great dome over the main entrance of the Public Offices is suggested, in order that they may vie in importance with the Abbey and new Legislative Palace, and have a distinctive character, both as a feature of Westminster, and also as seen from a distance. To allow of a comparison being formed between these offices and other existing and proposed buildings of the district, a reference is solicited to the illustrations of the block plan, where all such buildings are shown truly upon one scale, in their relative positions, and on their true levels. It is proposed that the principal carriage and foot entrance to the Public Offices should be from Whitehall, into a grand hall 320 feet long and 150 feet wide, covered with a glass roof, and affording access by archways to the several courts of the edifice. Upon the occasion of great receptions and other gatherings the great hall would afford ample accommodation for all carriages in attendance, and might be found useful occasionally for other public purposes, when a large and well-lighted covered area might be required. The magnitude and arrangement of the main building are such as to afford ample accommodation for all the offices enumerated in the official instructions, with the exception of the Admiralty, for which it is proposed to have the additional quota of accommodation provided for towards the Parade, where also, as well as on each side of the Horse Guards, is provided accommodation for other public purposes which may hereafter be required. The boundary of the Public Offices towards the Park is so arranged as to increase its present area.