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Article THE LATE SIR C. BARRY, R.A. ← Page 3 of 5 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Late Sir C. Barry, R.A.
could be drawn was booked . His study was unintermitting ; his perseverance indomitable . The world often forgets in the case of men called "fortunate "—of men in tbe possession of powers—the struggles by ivhich fortune was made servant , the labour with which the powers were attained . In July , 1820 , he left Italy , and returned strai ght to England , with little money remaining , ancl after an absence of three years ancl four months . His first works
io . architecture were St . MatthewTs Church , Manchester , anil another at Stand , in the neighbourhood . Of nearly the same date was the erection of St . Peter ' s Church , Brighton , wanting a feature of the original design , the spire , which has not since been supplied . One or all of these works he hacl obtained by competition , not long after his return . Soon afterwards , the late Daniel AVilson gave him three churches to erect in his parish of
Islington—Ball's Pond , Cloudesley Square , and Ilolloivay . Sir Charles Barry had not much studied the detail of Gothic when he built his first churches ; but soon afterwards he made a tour iu England for the express purpose , ancl from that moment he became as great a lover of Gothic as of Italian architecture . Though none of his early Gothic works were much admired b y himself in later they wereseveral of tbemdifferentl
years , , , y regiu-ded by the public at the time of their erection ; so that they did service in their clay , and conduced to the widened field of perception of our art . The churches at Manchester and Stand , the former with a needle-like spire , and the latter with square tower , and each having lofty lancet-formed openings at the base of the tower , arc faulty in detail and defective in proportion ; but theyneverthelesshave merits not undeserving of notice even
, , by the more recent Gothicists . He docs not appear to have done much further jn the same department of practice till about the year 188 G , which is the date we should fix for the commencement of his Unitarian chapel at Manchester , a work ivhich , of early English character , with high-pitched roof , and deeply-recessed arch enclosing the window and doorway of the western end , was
as much as the previous works , remarkable in the district , showing the great advance he had made in the management of detail for its effect , ancl in the knowledge of Gothic ; ancl which still remains a work of merit We have little knowledge of his works in London , of a general class dating immediately after the Brighton church ; but about that time he was engaged in the building of a bouse for Mr ., afterwards Sir Thomas Potter , at Buile Hill , near Manchester of the
. Drawings internal finishings of tbis house show that the ornament ivas of Greek character ; and it is marked by the refinement of design and excellence of delineation , belonging to everything that he did . His Manchester connection shortly procured him the work of erection of the Eoyal Institution of that town . This ivas in progress in the year 1828 . Beyond its conspicuous position in one of the principal streets , and its comparative dimensionsand the
, frontage to three sides , the building was one of great importance , historically speaking , and in results already adverted to . By contrast with the pseudo-Greek which was general in public buildings , and which in Manchester bad even degenerated from the time of Harrison , it presented what was at once Greek derivativel y , or Greco-Eoman , in details or in impress , ancl yet was work new or originated , —work of art and mind . The portico as a feature of architecture was used , but not spoiled ; that feature , ancl the remainder of tlie building , became grouped together , instead of as in Greek of that
day , whore a portico was tacked on to a many-windowed facade ; whilst the staircase-hall of the Manchester building , grand in proportions within , and culminating to a central feature of the exterior , was the forerunner of later efforts of the kind by tlie same architect , and by others . It was after this time that he adopted the style of architecture wliich he first exhibited in 1831 , in the building of the Travellers' Club , a work to a certain extent modelled the Pandolfini Palace
upon , and unfortunately of cement , yct _ valuable for the art ivhich there is in it , in each of its fronts , and in its internal planning and decorative character , as it ivas important in its results . The Athenamm , Manchester , in the same style , and marked by still greater beauty in its mouldings , and of stone , must have been designed about the year 1836 , ancl not completed till about 1839 . In the Reform Club is to be traced in the Travellers
, as ^ ' , the influence of a model of the Romano-Florentine school—in this case the Farnese Palace ; but the result is a work finer than the model . In designing tbis building the drawings were , like all those from Barry ' s hand , subjected to most careful revision ; and an entire second set was made on account of an enlargement ivhich he decided upon of the windows . Both the buildings in Pall Mall are remarkable for the feature of the balustrade of the area-iuclosure , a feature which , with the analogous base ancl foreground given by the terrace-garden in a villa , he both perceived the importance of and understood how to
manage . The Reform Club is especially remarkable for its hall adapted from the quadrangle of the Italian palace . Up to the date of the competition for the Ilouses of Parliament in 1835 , and throughout the period of progress of a work which ivould have sufficed for the whole time of an ordinary man , he was largely occupied in works of ivhich we have yet named only a selection . Amongst the number was Lord Tankerville ' s villa at
Walton-on-Thames , a work of tbe Italian style , with a square tower modelled after the campanile , ivhich may be said to have chiefly conduced to the prevalence of the feature in later works of architects . His Birmingham school should be named as the precursor , in character of style , of the Houses of Parliament . It was in progress in 1833 , and at the time of its erection was regarded as an adaptation from the collegiate and civil with the
ecclesiastical pointed architecture of the Tudor period . A writer of that date considered it as likely , when completed , to afford a "distinguished proof that novel ancl beautiful combinations" might be made of approved models , " without cither servile copying , or tame imitation . " It has the character antiripated ; and such is the character of all Barry ' s Gothic . In 1834 and 1835 we find him at work on the new front of the College of Surgeons . The
ground adjoining tbe original site being taken in , a new front was required . One of the columns of the portico was shifted , ancl two were added to place the new portico in the centre . The work was done chiefly in artificial stone . As the portico has not a pediment , and the details have the merit of everything that came Irom Barry's pencil , there is a satisfactory effect produced very different to that of most of the pedimented porticos then recentlbuiltand
y , notwithstanding any error that there may be in the use of such a feature in advance of windows . The cornice of the building has some elegance . Amongst his works within recent recollection , besides the Reform Club and Bridgeivater House , ivhich we have named , and the front of tbe Imperial Insurance Office , in Pall Mall , ivhich we have not , was that of the arrangement
of Trafalgar Square , with the basins and fountains , —the least successful of his productions - , though many of the details are palpably the work of no less skilful hand . But , as we have saicl , he ivas never idle . We may mention , without affixing dates , the extensive works in ivhich he was engaged for the Duke of Sutherland , the chief of which extended over a period of eight or ten years , and should , in point of fact , be regarded as new building .
They included the works at-Trentham Hall , Staffordshire ; at Clifdcn House , near Maidenhead—perhaps entirely new work ; and at Stafford House , St . James ' s , so far as regards remodelling the interior ; also , he made designs for alterations to Dunrobiu Castle for the same nobleman , but we do not recollect whether these were proceeded with . For the Earl of Carnarvon , at Highclere , he carried into effect works which entirely changed the
character of the building from that of pseudo-Greek to an Italianized form of Jacobean architecture . To Harewood House , near Leeds , a well-known building , he added wings , and he also re-arranged or added a terrace-garden which is one of the examples of his skill , already referred to , in au important element of effect . The same skill was displayed in his terraces and pavilions at Shriiblaiid Park , the seat of Sir ., W . Middleton . Other alterations and additions , most of them considerable in extent , were made by him to the seat of the Earl of Macclesfield ; to Duncombe Park ,
for Lord Feversham ; to a house for Sir John Guest . ; to Gawthorpe Hall , for Sir James Shuttleworth ; to Dulwich College , ancl to Kingston Hall , Dorsetshire . To the College he was surveyor manj' years , till succeeded by his eldest son Charles , now in partnership with Mr . Banks , who had been with Sir Charles previously many years . His works further include alterations and new gates at Bowoocl , the residence of Lord Lansdowne ; the
spire of Pctwortb Church , ancl churches at Saffron Hill , London , and Hurstpierpoint , Sussex , which ( and perhaps there may be others ) ive have omitted to take in account into the previous view of his ecclesiastical architectural labours . There are , however , yet several new works to be added . They comprise the wing of University College , Oxford , including the library , a building in the style of the Birmingham School ; the Sussex County
Hospital ; a new wing and other works to St . Thomas ' s Hospital ; and a late work , the Dowlais Schools . It is impossible , however , just now , to complete the list . The importance , architecturall y , of his alterations , or most of them , where he used the old materials , is , perhaps , best shown by the example of the Government Offices in Whitehall . His designs , exclusive of some which were sent in competitionsbut not carried outare scarcelless
de-, , y serving of notice than those of bis executed works ; since , besides his reports , these ivere made for works of the greatest public importance . The designs , giving those for the public works last , include some for alterations to Worcester College , Oxford ; ancl
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Late Sir C. Barry, R.A.
could be drawn was booked . His study was unintermitting ; his perseverance indomitable . The world often forgets in the case of men called "fortunate "—of men in tbe possession of powers—the struggles by ivhich fortune was made servant , the labour with which the powers were attained . In July , 1820 , he left Italy , and returned strai ght to England , with little money remaining , ancl after an absence of three years ancl four months . His first works
io . architecture were St . MatthewTs Church , Manchester , anil another at Stand , in the neighbourhood . Of nearly the same date was the erection of St . Peter ' s Church , Brighton , wanting a feature of the original design , the spire , which has not since been supplied . One or all of these works he hacl obtained by competition , not long after his return . Soon afterwards , the late Daniel AVilson gave him three churches to erect in his parish of
Islington—Ball's Pond , Cloudesley Square , and Ilolloivay . Sir Charles Barry had not much studied the detail of Gothic when he built his first churches ; but soon afterwards he made a tour iu England for the express purpose , ancl from that moment he became as great a lover of Gothic as of Italian architecture . Though none of his early Gothic works were much admired b y himself in later they wereseveral of tbemdifferentl
years , , , y regiu-ded by the public at the time of their erection ; so that they did service in their clay , and conduced to the widened field of perception of our art . The churches at Manchester and Stand , the former with a needle-like spire , and the latter with square tower , and each having lofty lancet-formed openings at the base of the tower , arc faulty in detail and defective in proportion ; but theyneverthelesshave merits not undeserving of notice even
, , by the more recent Gothicists . He docs not appear to have done much further jn the same department of practice till about the year 188 G , which is the date we should fix for the commencement of his Unitarian chapel at Manchester , a work ivhich , of early English character , with high-pitched roof , and deeply-recessed arch enclosing the window and doorway of the western end , was
as much as the previous works , remarkable in the district , showing the great advance he had made in the management of detail for its effect , ancl in the knowledge of Gothic ; ancl which still remains a work of merit We have little knowledge of his works in London , of a general class dating immediately after the Brighton church ; but about that time he was engaged in the building of a bouse for Mr ., afterwards Sir Thomas Potter , at Buile Hill , near Manchester of the
. Drawings internal finishings of tbis house show that the ornament ivas of Greek character ; and it is marked by the refinement of design and excellence of delineation , belonging to everything that he did . His Manchester connection shortly procured him the work of erection of the Eoyal Institution of that town . This ivas in progress in the year 1828 . Beyond its conspicuous position in one of the principal streets , and its comparative dimensionsand the
, frontage to three sides , the building was one of great importance , historically speaking , and in results already adverted to . By contrast with the pseudo-Greek which was general in public buildings , and which in Manchester bad even degenerated from the time of Harrison , it presented what was at once Greek derivativel y , or Greco-Eoman , in details or in impress , ancl yet was work new or originated , —work of art and mind . The portico as a feature of architecture was used , but not spoiled ; that feature , ancl the remainder of tlie building , became grouped together , instead of as in Greek of that
day , whore a portico was tacked on to a many-windowed facade ; whilst the staircase-hall of the Manchester building , grand in proportions within , and culminating to a central feature of the exterior , was the forerunner of later efforts of the kind by tlie same architect , and by others . It was after this time that he adopted the style of architecture wliich he first exhibited in 1831 , in the building of the Travellers' Club , a work to a certain extent modelled the Pandolfini Palace
upon , and unfortunately of cement , yct _ valuable for the art ivhich there is in it , in each of its fronts , and in its internal planning and decorative character , as it ivas important in its results . The Athenamm , Manchester , in the same style , and marked by still greater beauty in its mouldings , and of stone , must have been designed about the year 1836 , ancl not completed till about 1839 . In the Reform Club is to be traced in the Travellers
, as ^ ' , the influence of a model of the Romano-Florentine school—in this case the Farnese Palace ; but the result is a work finer than the model . In designing tbis building the drawings were , like all those from Barry ' s hand , subjected to most careful revision ; and an entire second set was made on account of an enlargement ivhich he decided upon of the windows . Both the buildings in Pall Mall are remarkable for the feature of the balustrade of the area-iuclosure , a feature which , with the analogous base ancl foreground given by the terrace-garden in a villa , he both perceived the importance of and understood how to
manage . The Reform Club is especially remarkable for its hall adapted from the quadrangle of the Italian palace . Up to the date of the competition for the Ilouses of Parliament in 1835 , and throughout the period of progress of a work which ivould have sufficed for the whole time of an ordinary man , he was largely occupied in works of ivhich we have yet named only a selection . Amongst the number was Lord Tankerville ' s villa at
Walton-on-Thames , a work of tbe Italian style , with a square tower modelled after the campanile , ivhich may be said to have chiefly conduced to the prevalence of the feature in later works of architects . His Birmingham school should be named as the precursor , in character of style , of the Houses of Parliament . It was in progress in 1833 , and at the time of its erection was regarded as an adaptation from the collegiate and civil with the
ecclesiastical pointed architecture of the Tudor period . A writer of that date considered it as likely , when completed , to afford a "distinguished proof that novel ancl beautiful combinations" might be made of approved models , " without cither servile copying , or tame imitation . " It has the character antiripated ; and such is the character of all Barry ' s Gothic . In 1834 and 1835 we find him at work on the new front of the College of Surgeons . The
ground adjoining tbe original site being taken in , a new front was required . One of the columns of the portico was shifted , ancl two were added to place the new portico in the centre . The work was done chiefly in artificial stone . As the portico has not a pediment , and the details have the merit of everything that came Irom Barry's pencil , there is a satisfactory effect produced very different to that of most of the pedimented porticos then recentlbuiltand
y , notwithstanding any error that there may be in the use of such a feature in advance of windows . The cornice of the building has some elegance . Amongst his works within recent recollection , besides the Reform Club and Bridgeivater House , ivhich we have named , and the front of tbe Imperial Insurance Office , in Pall Mall , ivhich we have not , was that of the arrangement
of Trafalgar Square , with the basins and fountains , —the least successful of his productions - , though many of the details are palpably the work of no less skilful hand . But , as we have saicl , he ivas never idle . We may mention , without affixing dates , the extensive works in ivhich he was engaged for the Duke of Sutherland , the chief of which extended over a period of eight or ten years , and should , in point of fact , be regarded as new building .
They included the works at-Trentham Hall , Staffordshire ; at Clifdcn House , near Maidenhead—perhaps entirely new work ; and at Stafford House , St . James ' s , so far as regards remodelling the interior ; also , he made designs for alterations to Dunrobiu Castle for the same nobleman , but we do not recollect whether these were proceeded with . For the Earl of Carnarvon , at Highclere , he carried into effect works which entirely changed the
character of the building from that of pseudo-Greek to an Italianized form of Jacobean architecture . To Harewood House , near Leeds , a well-known building , he added wings , and he also re-arranged or added a terrace-garden which is one of the examples of his skill , already referred to , in au important element of effect . The same skill was displayed in his terraces and pavilions at Shriiblaiid Park , the seat of Sir ., W . Middleton . Other alterations and additions , most of them considerable in extent , were made by him to the seat of the Earl of Macclesfield ; to Duncombe Park ,
for Lord Feversham ; to a house for Sir John Guest . ; to Gawthorpe Hall , for Sir James Shuttleworth ; to Dulwich College , ancl to Kingston Hall , Dorsetshire . To the College he was surveyor manj' years , till succeeded by his eldest son Charles , now in partnership with Mr . Banks , who had been with Sir Charles previously many years . His works further include alterations and new gates at Bowoocl , the residence of Lord Lansdowne ; the
spire of Pctwortb Church , ancl churches at Saffron Hill , London , and Hurstpierpoint , Sussex , which ( and perhaps there may be others ) ive have omitted to take in account into the previous view of his ecclesiastical architectural labours . There are , however , yet several new works to be added . They comprise the wing of University College , Oxford , including the library , a building in the style of the Birmingham School ; the Sussex County
Hospital ; a new wing and other works to St . Thomas ' s Hospital ; and a late work , the Dowlais Schools . It is impossible , however , just now , to complete the list . The importance , architecturall y , of his alterations , or most of them , where he used the old materials , is , perhaps , best shown by the example of the Government Offices in Whitehall . His designs , exclusive of some which were sent in competitionsbut not carried outare scarcelless
de-, , y serving of notice than those of bis executed works ; since , besides his reports , these ivere made for works of the greatest public importance . The designs , giving those for the public works last , include some for alterations to Worcester College , Oxford ; ancl