The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1824-08-31 00:00:00

MODERN IMPROMMENTS.

I have lately paid some attrntion to the modiern
pont silents that are going on, both in and out of the me-
tropohs. Nothing is now to he seen but building at all
'wings of the eatnliaFlt; not a green held, nor even a garden,
remains within five or six toles in any direction. Poor
cockneys ! what will they do for the walks; they used W
delight in, to Peckham-nye, Primrose 11111, and other
Mares of rurality, once so fainting for their beauty, the
•
excenericies of toter tea anal lint rolls, their bottled ale, and
other ovuntry luxuries.. I can eympathiso in all their feel-
ings, for, having be. is born aml bud in the country I ant
per .
fectiv alive to the severity of their privatiot.s. if. in-•
awl, the homes erected on theme once del pitiful spots,
that boasted as many picturesque vkwv. were in the style
of !
Isni!ding suited to the situations, and were adorned
with lawns, shrubberies, and pleasure ffrimml they would'
still be ornamental ; but no, builtllng is now a speculation
of profit, and excludes ert ry idea of architectural embel-
lishment. Oh. Capability Brown ! Oh, classic Price ! ye
spirits of rural improvement anal ',dean bcanty ; what
would your rethied taste say to the interminable Rowe,
T•vraers, and Plac..s of formal and tottering held:work,
die " beggarly account of empty boxes," that now deform
the fir face of stature with undevSting monotony. atm, by
thtir miter:red parallelsalmt out from the inleetntatits even
the refreshing verdure of the far distant bilk. DI if per-
chance, a cottage ornie is meted, to break the general
sournees, smiler the fisseinatirg title of Myrtle Lodge, or
seem such sylvan rip elation, its beauty is despoiled by a
patchwork cei ent in pro/rased imitation of skate, which
ezhildts on its chequered surface every tacitly off Shade,
fmm the dusty hue of Egyptian granite, to the sickly yel-
low of time-Worn Portland, or ?lastered on every side with
a dazzling white of the same composition, is relieved by
height green alaa'n and abutters, on the fa rmer of which
brats knockers and bell handles glitter in the sun. In the
front garden, sdeverl with stinti tl evergreens, the shining
leave of the holly blend with the spreading foliage of the I
41wviltir. the cyprew and the yew. Those are interspersed
with hollyhocks, towering to the summit of the parlour
windows, awl limiting down in proud pre-eminence upon
the less aspiring host of peonies, sunflowers, and mari-
golds, by which they are surrounded.
These increasing neighbourhoods swell the parish. s in
which they arc eitnated to an ut-iatural bulk, and the
rliiirelies are found inadequate to ace...rimodate the nu-
merous worshippers, and extra tr topics become necessary ;
but here again we must condemn the taste and judgment
of modern architect,. Oh, ye shades. of Jones, Wren,
and ! arise and behold with weeping astioni4mient
the model of the Parthenon, perforated with Egyptian
windows and dims, flanked by sarcophagi. with Doric
porticos, supported by .reco-r:gyptian caryatides ; finished
at the western front with a heavy lonic porch, and pedi-
ment of gigantic dimension,' ; and to complete the caries-
tore, the edifice is surmounted by a fac-simile of the
Pagan Tower of the Winds, crowned at its au ttttt tit by a
Christian moss nor iv the interior less objectionable ; ter
how can we reconcile with the simplicity of our national
worship and Cie sacred character of a church, the theatrical
looking galleries with their starlet draperies ; and the
slender palm tree pillars that support them ? Let our
theatres, where Folly holds her court, be as gaudy and
glaring as crimson and gold can make them ; tot these
such morn: lift pre appropriate, hut in the name of com-
mon decency, of sournl taste, and the roleinn service of
oar Creator, let not our churches Mar inure resemblance
to a /lace of amusement for the children of vanity, than
act edifice where are held the assemblies of humble Chris-
froia engage,' in the set vice of their Maker. Though I
am nut a Puritan, I cannot help preaching upon a text of
inch importance ; but as neither time nor space will allow
of my in amplification, I shall dismiss the new
elitnettes, of which the above is a specimen, with a fet vent
hope thatalic t oiniisissioners,'unsler whose auspices they
are built, will add to their establishment a Sub-Committee
of Taste, by whose slt.libo:ations the designs may be rest-
der•••l inore romistent aid) the purposes fur which the edi-
fices are inn tided. I am, in tionalnoll With Malty learned
ani:gilariett and cognokenti, in favour of the long-exploded
llothic style, winch, I arts happy to observe., him been
adopted in a few of the new churches, as poser acing a
grandeur and neatness, more in accurdaute with the true
idea of ecclesiastical archit. eture.

Having thus spoken of the buildings in progrest in the
rtrirous, it Is necessary to mention those ill the MC-
MINN; 111(1 grt la praise must be awarded,
yet I would sm st route improvements that would add
grestly to it. I:•:,liety and convenience. Regent-street and
its appendage.. •••• certainly, as a whole, a magnificent de.
earn, auel e national ornament ; hot why Introduce among
the more finished columns of t ire: cc, the whimsical and
miashapeu pillars of Turkey; or destroy the symmetry of
Lang.tani Place with a new church, the form and /tire of
which "so strange and unnatural," as to be compared
to no other building civil or religious; yet, strange as it
mar apritr, it is said to be designed as an eye-trap to the
fa of 11, gent-street, and considered as the eh! f friettrre
of arellit• • !oral Nei, nee. Certainly, the greater the distance
at which it is seen the better, but in soy humble opinion it
would I e better still were it mot area at all ! Neat in mag-
nitude /1.4 a teatienal undertaking is the new Itltts• um ; of
this uu jw!gment can a• present he formed, but its ne•e•e•s-
sity is woriatia, Irmo the want of 1•01/111 in .AlolllagUl'-jil.
eat the come et)' injury that many parts of that collec-
tion have sustained from neetleet. Speaking of this est.th-
lament as a source of public information I would beg
lust. to sum t that the foundation of 'Allelic 1-cturf s on
Yaws'. Iliatory, Mineralogy, &c. here, would be of the
greatcst benefit to the cause of 'deuce, from the facility
5i..11 which speeitaiens might he obtained, and the adven-
t:los that would ne•rue to visitors from such regular forma'
of instruction. A reprint of the library rota ore in a cheap
term, with a clarsitleation of its contenti, er the distinct
It wls of !lisle., y, Biography, &c. is a desiderat 1111 l . This,
however, as Gar at bast as the reprinting in the present
lam,' is, I am happy to bear, in contemplation ; and 1
smelt *is!' Ili it -the other part of the above suggestion
esid also be ailopte r, as it world add incalculahly to the
rdlue arid uti ity • f h. publication.
tbe other numerous improvements at the West-end of
de tarn, moth may be saki, and I casinos help passing a
(tit stricter, ow the We llitigton trophy erecter by the
!.,.Gain Mlle-park. I sin aware that the subject has
taco leTela 1 Lunged by the Lvov: er writers, and lam
Ise to be detereed by the anathemas that have already been
Pavel upon the most indecorous figure, froth adding to,
fie rummer, atd drclarisej it a public disgrace to If rolisA '
not to say J. eJrs. Av. As n copy from the antique, it
mallshle to the talents of the artists ; but that which
v 111Propriate to the taste and feelinga of the hardy sons
_,at
""tee, *bete statuary was made subservient to evil-
Rim, is totally inconsistent n ith the commemoration of a
Mai hereof the 19th c• usury. It is said to represent
."cnitlet; hut let me ask what similarity, what relation is
ti'lt between that hero of antiquity and the victor of
tatl2lo°, either in peewee! character, or the ever-memo-
rablc events in which he was engaged? Besides, what
P°" prim! of his life can he identified with that of
Adillles at the Court of Lycometi where lie was by a
't"14"11 Ilitror last, front the circumstance of his being
Emtetrtl he a snit of armour which that crafty chief
!"es. had brought on purpose to detect him ; and which,
'hitt!ily probable, he retired to put on ; unit it is this
acton,wh'.6 Ach:ll.a with the modesty of youth con-
that the statue in question represents! OA tempura,
P err !
tt Westmirster the itnprovetnents arc great, and highly
to the tablets and research of the architects.
4 "Oralilbll 01 the atrial is beautifully correct ; and
iiofthe hall squally so, with the exception of the North-
'lt "TIM which, though a fine Grecian design, slid ex-
Prot elegance, does not harmonize with the Nor-
" (;Ahic character of the northern front. Of the new
"ttl to the House of Lords, and the King's staircase,
must confess, meat Mg; nuity has been displayed,
"dieter:: true lover of antiquity must lament the de-
r4ei'l of some fine.remains of Gothic embellishments,
1"1"1"; foliage. :U.. of which taut a vestige exists,
1411 Sew loose drawings, made by an artist who bop.
t" he present during •this barbarous act of modsesi
In
tilt city, we have the restoration of St. Paul's and the
"t to the statue of Queen Anne; though I think
~painshcertainly have been extended
mt to theffve
14o1*, le'r4l, whose figures ornament the base of
ea.. _ow _or MIT.
anti •hose disfigured countenances II 11 f
r'ta.'re; tiasr present state, they area disgrace to
wie7;tl The Itoviil l'Arliange hag also been renovated.
I.
14%1 '"1 ti., s:aturs of this went/ Kings; Charles I.
re Lit hex: at the moment 91. reuairal—James 11.