Fall Of The Central Tower And Spire Of Chichester Cathedral.

all were out , the door was locked at a quarter-past one . The workmen waited in anxious groups outside the cathedral enclosure , aud were soon joined by the citizens , oppressed and OKcited with the suspense . The spire , notwithstanding the alarming ruin going on below , appeared still to stand upright , when suddenly it was seen to incline slightly to the south-west , the stones and dust from the "base of the tower rushed into the nave , choir , and transepts , and , rapidly crumbling at the bottom as it descended , the mass subsided

in the centre of the church , and the top of the spire falling at last to the south-west , threw its capstone against the abutment of one of the flying buttresses of the nave , and broke itself across another of them intervening . The fall was a matter of only a few seconds , and was complete at half-past one . One bay of the nave ancl choir , and of each transept , is included in the ruin . As far as can at present be ascertained , the destruction of the two western piers appears to he complete ; but of the

two eastern , the remains are about 25 feet high . The tower appears to havo slid off from them at that height ; and in the case of the south-east pier , the separation took place at old fissures , as may still he seen . The removal of the ruin has commenced . scarcely a stone remains in its perfect form . "We have only to add to this recital , which we believe to be complete and correct , that Mr . Slater called to his assistance Mr . Gordon M . Hillsarchitectfor the conduct of the

, , active operations described in the latter part of it . A meeting of the inhabitants and of the most influential persons of the neighbourhood has been held , at which measures were taken to bring about the re-building of the spire , and the strongest feeling of determination was evinced to repair the calamity . — Builder .

Alterations To The National Gallery.

ALTERATIONS TO THE NATIONAL GALLERY .

There aro few buildings which have been more generally abused than that ivhich Wilkins placed some thirty-five years ago upon the "finest site in Europe . " The many difficulties which the architect had to contend with have been but slightly considered , and the genuine merit iu the structure has been altogether disregarded . Tear after year a clamour has been raised against it , and when the

management ofthe collection has been attacked , the building scarcely ever escaped a side-blow . It found no friends , or but feeble ones , and its opponents didnot spare it . The " pepper boxes " have become a byword , and its dome has provoked a contemptuous smile . There is no denying that it has many and very glaring defects , but our surprise is great , when we consider the fetters in which its author worked , that it had not

more . The excuses which may be urged for the architect , as regards the exterior , cannot , however , be fairly brought forward on behalf of tbe interior . Every visitor to the galleries must have remarked the unequal quality of the admitted light , and the gloomy shade which enveloped the upper portions of tho walls . To hang a picture high up was to consign it to obscurity , and to bide whatever it possessed of good or ill . For this the architect , and the architect alone , is to be blamed . He knew , or ought to have known , the effect which his lanterns would have

produced . The size of thc rooms and tbe bad accommodation , the octagon room , the sculpture-cellar , and the dark corridors were , perhaps , beyond his entire control . Many have been the suggestions thrown out to remedy the evils complained of . Last ^ year we had an elaborate plan , extensively circulated , which contemplated the remodelling of tho whole of the interior , as well as the removal of the objectionable and

ridiculed external features . The alterations of the interior would have been valuable . Tho drawing of the proposed alteration to the front almost reconciled us to its present state . The expense of the contemplated works was , however , most likely the stumbling-block which prevented its realisation . But for that , the "finest site in Europe " would probably have been improved upon b y the officer of

Engineers who designed the Brompton boilers , and architects would have mourned and grumbled at the loss of an opportunity to place a suitable building there . It was , nevertheless , felt that something must be done . The National Collection was getting too large for the space given to it , and thc Royal Academy were not read y to move . Mr . James Penuethorne was applied to in the course of last autumn , and from his designs and under his superintendence the present alterations have taken placo . Little will , we believe , bo done to thc exterior , beyond piercing a few of

the upper niches by the side of the portico , to provide light to some upper rooms . The main alteration consists in utilizing the vast hall in the centre of the building . There are three doorways under the portico . The central one was , we believe , never used , and now it never can be , for a couple of small rooms are built behind it for umbrellas , & c . The side entrances , as before , lead to the Royal Academy and the

National Gallery , but db-ectly we pass the portals , the change is at once apparent . The arrangement of the balls and staircases has been entirely altered . The general disposition of the rooms at the Academy Exhibitions are tolerably familiar to our readers . The flight of stairs led from an irregular hall to tbe corridor between the miniature and architectural

rooms . The stairs are now brought nearer the entrance , and run in the same direction into the old miniature-room , disturbing the quiet corner where the parasols , walkingsticks , and umbrellas were stowed temporarily away . The old corridor is then thrown into the architectural room which forms , by , this addition , a fine apartment very nearly 40 feet square . A new skylight has been put to ita lantern with sloping sides—and a cove runs round between it and the cornice below . All shadow is thus avoided on

the walls , and every portion of them is sufficient lit . The sides of the lantern are sli ghtly decorated with paterai , which are repeated on the soffit , and perforations are provided for the thorough ventilation of the room . The walls will be boarded and painted . The warming is by means of pipes behind the skirting . A doorway has been formed to ctfmmunicate eventually with the long gallery , of which we shall presently speak , but it is bricked up for the present , to shut off the Academy from the National Gallery .

Returning to the ground floor , we find that a space of something like 35 or 40 feet has been gained by the contraction ofthe hall , because a similar alteration to that which we have described has likewise been carried out on the opposite or National Gallery side , where the northernmost of the small side galleries has been enlarged to the same extent as the architectural room . The space thus gained

has been thrown into the sculpture gallery , which is now approached by a flight of eight steps on the left hand of the hall and thence by one of four steps at right angles with the upper flight . This leads to a sculpture gallery , 75 feet by 30 feet , with a central bay 40 feet wide at the north side , on the site of the old semi-circle . This latter deviation from the original plan was made to admit of windows being

inserted on each side to light the main portion of ths new gallery . The bay itself has curved recesses at each end , and is covered by an iron waggon-headed glazed roof . The whole of this space , ivith the exception of the central projecting bay , is devoted on the upper floor to a new gallery for the National Collection . It is approached from the newly formed square gallery wc have before mentioned . Its length is tho same as the now sculpture gallery , and its height is 32 feet . The floor is carried on iron girders aud

brick arches . Hot water pipes are laid down iu the floors ou this side of the building to warm the apartments . The walls are papered with paper corresponding with that iu the old rooms of the National Gallery—a subdued crimson tint . The ceiling is waggon-headed and glazed with embossed ground plate glass . The lighting is perfect in every way . There is no cornice or projection to obstruct the rays . The

decoration consists of a guiloeho frieze picked out with crimson and gold , and of beautifull y designed circular panels of carton pierre and wood , pierced for ventilation . This portion is quietly aud tastefully tinted in salmon colour and grey . The new gallery will form a very valuable addition to the rooms for the National Collection , and will stay , for a time , the demand for increased space . The next move will

be to appropriate the whole of the rooms now tenanted by tho Royal Academy . Provision has , as ive have shown , been made for this by a new doorway leading to them from this long gallery . Tbe alterations have necessitated others of a minor character , such as tho removal of the clerks' and other rooms , but they are of no great importance ; new back staircases have been built behind the principal stairs ,

leading to either end of the sculpture gallery , which , when the Academy is closed , will be devot . d to class-rooms , and smaller staircases have been constructed to load to the upper rooms ,