The Sun.
London, England, 1862-02-13 00:00:00

THE O_REAI J.SXILIBIIIOIV.

Yesterday marked the first great era in the pro-
gress of the building, when Messrs. Kelk and Lu-
cas virtually completed their contract by formally
giving up possession of the vast structure, and
handing it over to the care of the Royal Commis-
sioners. By the terms of their agreement the
contractors were bound to give over the entire
building finished at twelve o'clock yesterday; but
as the works advanced it was seen that so many
alterations were necessary, and such difficulties
arose from the unexampled magnitude of the
whole undertaking, that it would be strain-
ing matters almost to harshness to look for a
literal fulfilment of the terms of the con-
tract. Nevertheless, from the very first Messrs.
Kelk and Lucas never took this doubtful view of the
question, and announced themselves confident and
determined that they would do their work within
the allotted days. It was a very hard struggle
against time, and at one period it seemed more than
probable that, in spite of all their skill, energy, and
lavish expenditure, the contractors would be beaten.
Fortunately, however, they were favoured by the
mild weather, and this unlooked-for aid, together
with their own untiring personal exertions, at last
turned the balance in their favour, and at 12 o'clock
yesterday, the day and hour named in their contract
nine months ago, they gave over the building vir-
tually in a finished state. As a matter of course,
though the structure is nominally given over, an
immense amount of work still remains to be done,
but all this is now Well in hand. The whole place
is roofed in, the courts in the southern side are
floored and painted, and at least one half of the
entire edifice is ready now for the reception of goods,
and the other half will be floored and ready within
a fortnight, if necessary. It is a fact that never has
the same amount of solid and most difficult work
been done within the same short space of time, and
it would be difficult to overpraise either Mr. Kelk
or Messrs. Charles and Thomas Lucas for the zeal
and. care with which they have worked almost
night and day to bring about a result so gratifying
to our national reputation for skill and punctuality
in these matters. There was no ceremony or public
form observed yesterday when the structure was
given over. The Royal Commissioners were the
Duke of Buckingham, Sir Wentworth Dilke, and
Mr. Fairbairn, who, with the three contractors, went
round all the building shortly before 12 o'clock, and
as the clock struck they accepted its delivery, and
in the most condial manner thanked Messrs. Lucas
and Kelk for the promptitude and completeness
with which they had adhered to the letter of their
agreement, and still more for the liberal spirit in
which they had met the suggestions of the Commis-
sioners, and executed a great deal more work in the
buiiding than they were bound under their contract to
do. As soon as the Royal Commissioners had received
the building a detachment of police, under Mr. Dur-
kin, were stationed in it, with a division of the Fire
Brigade, who instantly proceeded to make them-
selves acquainted with the mains and stand pipes,
and to arrange lengths of hose to reach all parts of
the interior. With these also came a fine detachment
of commissionaires to make themselves generally
useful, and a company of Sappers and Miners to
assist in unloading, &c. The latter, singularly
enough, arrived on the same date and almost at the
same hour as the Sappers who were sent in for the
same work at the Exhibition of 1851. These now
remain in charge of the building for the Royal Com-
missioners, and from this date goods will be received
through the entrance left open for this purpose in
the Cromwell-road. No goods, however, are expected
for a day or two. Belgium is likely to be the first in
the field, and perhaps after her Norway and Russia.
and with or after them will come a general delivery
of manufactures and works of art from all pario of
England and the world. It is said that the French
will spend nearly £lOO,OOO sterling on the decora-
tion and fitting up of their court. The tree which
was preserved with such difficulty in the centre of
the south side of the English court was yesterday cut
down. It wis found impossible to keep it, as it stood
in the midst of the space allotted to Sheffield, and the
constant watering it would have required in summer
(
would have rusted the steel goods around it most in.
juriously. On Monday last, before the building was
formally delivered over, it underwent a most severe
test as to its strength of galleries and stairways, &c.
Before the dimensions of the columns, girders, and
timber rafters of the building were decided on a pre-
liminary test was adopted by crowding 80 "navvies"
on to a weigh-bridge of 79 feet (superficial) space.
This number of very heavy men gave a weight of
1531 b. to the superficial foot—a•weight that, broken
up as the floors and galleries will be by counter
space, and allowing for the number of women and
children in even the densest crowd, could not
by any possibility come upon any one part of
the building. When, therefore, the size of the
columns and girders was decided on it was deter-
mined to load them to the extreme strain of 140 lb.
to the foot before erecting. At this weight the de-
flection of the trussed beams was trifling, and on
the removal of the load the rods recovered them-
selves to the fraction of an inch. But not satisfied
ii ith this, the still more severe test of the vibration
and concussion produced by a body of men march-
ing was resorted to on Monday last. The testing
occupied nearly three hours, and during that time a
body of 400 navvies went through all the picture
and side galleries and stairways of the building,
erot marching, then at a quick march, and then at 4

" the double," stamping hard. The greatest deflec-
tion of the iron beams under this heavy ordeal was
only one-eighth of an inch, and of the iron and
wooden tresses of only from three eighths to live-
eighths. In fact, all the galleries showed a firmness
which even those who were acquainted with the
heavy test they had previously undergone were not
prepared to find. Opinions as to the great strength
of the interior were therefore definitely set at rest
by all parts of the structure bearing this severe trial
without complaint or sign of weukness'of any kind.
On Saturday the last centres were removed from
under the domes, and they were left to stand alone.
Every part of these huge works were found, on
examination, to be as rigid as a single bolt. Much
of this is of course due to the perfection of work-
manship with which the Thames Iron Company has
turned out all the component parts of each struc-
ture, but a good deal is also owing to the extreme
care which Mr. Hussey and Mr. Ashton have taken
respectively in the erection of the eastern and
western domes. The western one is already being
glazed, and the eastern will progress with equal
rapidity, and when the painting is done the removal
of the immense scaffolding will at once commence.
Mr. Crace has designed a very rich and most effec-
tive decoration for the dome interiors, the leading
colours in which are blue, crimson, and gold, and,
as far as can be judged from small designs for a
work of such magnitude, we think the effect will
be satisfactory. The painting of the 50-feet courts
on the south side is finished in all save toning
down the rather full red capitals of the co-
lumns. The body of the column is tinted a pale
bronze green, with the vertical moulding re-
lieved with a yellow stripe. The upper cornice is
marked with a bright line of crimson, which shows
the dimensions of each court with full effect. As
these courts will be filled with goods of the richest
and most varied colours, it was absolutely necessary
to keep the surrounding columns of as quiet and
neutral a tint as possible. The walls of the picture
galleries are to be tinted with a very pale neutral
colour, but the cooing of the ceiling will be deco-
rated in panels. The heavy cornice will also be
lightened by decorations, and the upper end wall of
each gallery painted in festoon gfirlands ani medal-
lions. It is difficult to judge of what the whole
effect will be in such a large interior as these
galleries until a great deal of them is done; but
Mr. Crace's design seems at least to promise high
success. The decoration of the nave is advancing
very rapidly. Five of the bays will be finished this
week, nine next week, and 12 for each week after-
wards until both nave and transepts are done. Of
course, the painting of the domes will go on simul-
taneously with the rest of the building. The re-
freshment departments are advancing as rapidly as
all the rest, though in connexion with these a most
unsightly effect is produced in the interior of the
building by tiers of four or five kitchen windows
rising one above another in the wall on the north
side of the courts. These give to this portion of the
building much the same effect as would be produced
by taking in as a boundary four or five oddly built
houses. Surely the cooking might be done by gas-
light, and this hideous eyesore removed ? A 12ft.
gallery is to be erected round this side of the
building, with properly apportioned entrances to
the dining-rooms overlooking the Horticultural
Gardens.

The western annexe for machinery in motion is
at last, we are glad to say, getting into a forward
state of readiness, though still by no means on a
par with the progress of the rest of the building.
Three square sewers, if we may so call them, have
been built along its entire length for the steam,
waste, and exhaust pipes. These are all constructed
of very solid brickwork, and as carefully finished
as the noble entrances under the domes themselves.
Along the edges of these rows of sunk brick walls
a tramway will be laid, on which the heavy machi-
nery and locomotives will be moved up to their
places. Still, apparently there is no preparation
made for the most difficult task of all—that of fixing
the shafting by which the machinery is to be driven.
Fixing the shafts to the light wooden framework of
the annexe itself is, of course, out the question, and
it is equally certain that there is no proper room
for them, with their drums, where the steam pipes
are to be laid. Of course, like all the other difficul-
ties in the structure, these can be got over; but,
unfortunately, their consideration has been so long
delayed that it seems unlikely that the machinery
will be in work by the Ist of May. The annexe in
the eastern side is going on very well indeed, and
this will be ready as soon as it is wanted. In both
these annexes the plan of colouring adopted, now
that it is finished, comes out remarkably well. An
arrangement has been concluded between the Com-
missioners and Mr. Robert Hunt, who compiled the
Synopsis and Handbook of the Exhibition of 1851,
by which that gentleman has undertaken to pro-
duce two similar works for this display. The
Synopsis is to be ready by the Ist of May, and the
Handbook before the Ist of June, and both to be
sold for 6d. The wet weather during the last few
weeks has tested the covering of felt and tar over
the flat roofs of the building apparently beyond its
endurance. If a fortnight's fine weather could have
been depended on it would have been easy to re-tar
it all and make it perfectly water-tight. Last week,
however, Messrs. Kelk and Lucas determined to
risk nothing on this head, and at their own expense
covered all the fiats (a superficial extent of nearly
200,000 ft.) with zinc roofing over the felt. Now,
therefore, it is truly a waterproof building in the
most literal sense of the wore. The extra cost of
making it so, however, has been a large sum.