The Sun.
London, England, 1862-05-26 00:00:00

THE .NEJV WESTMINSTER BRIDGE.

---~-

On Sat arday morning, at a quarter past 4 o'clock
the roadways and tramways of the new Westmin-
bl:2r-bridge were opened for traffic. This early hour
for the opening was selected, as it was the hour of
the birth of her Majesty on the 24th of May, 1819,
at Kensington. A salute of 25 guns was fired at
the same time, corresponding with the number
of years which her Majesty has reigned. The plan
which has been adoptei of building the bridge by
halves necessitated the use of the footways in the
first instance for the light traffic, and a few days
will elapse before the footways are laid. As Mr.
Cowper had promised that the bridge should be
opened in May, Mr. Page, the engineer, exerted
himself to the utmost to have everything ready for
the traffic, and it was very appropriately decided
that, as far as possible, this should be completed by
the Que'n's birthday. Bat for the lamented death
of the Prince Consort her Majesty would have her-
self been pesent at the opening. The new bridge is
very nearly twice as wide as any of the bridges
over the Thames. Within the parapets it is 84f 2in '
wide. Of this the footways occupy 28ft, the road
for the light traffic 39ft, the tramways 14ft Bin, and
the space between them 2ft 6in. The tramways
consist of iron plates, bolted to timbers, and laid
upon an elastic bed of cork and bitumen, The curb
of the footway is formed of Ross of Mall granite;
the footway itself is of Blashfield's terracotta. It
inclines towards the parapet with a fall of ltin, and
a gutter on each side carries off the water. The
value of this material for paving purposes may be
estimated by the fact that when rubbed with sand
and water against Yorkshire stone the stone lost
twice as much as the terracotta. The pavement is
laid in diamonds, and it has a very pleasing effect.
The bridge consists of seven arches. The spans and
heights of the different arches are :

Ft. In.
Arch span
Height above Trinity datum
1106 i 0
Arch span
Height above Trinity datum
Arch span
Height above Trinity datum
Centre arch span
Height above Trinity datum
The arches are formed of seven ribs, which are of
cast iron, with the exception of the crown or centre
pieces, which are of wroaght iron, as owing to their
not being so deep at this part, greater strength of
metal is required. When the seven ribs of each
arch were fixed, the upper surfaces were covered
over with cast iron buckle plates, pieces of iron plate
about six feet square, turned up at the edges some-
thing like huge tea trays. These were bolted on to
the top of the arches in what appeared like the
body of some monstrous armadillo or crocodile.
Over these iron shells are laid blocks of wood, so
cut as to fit into the interstices or grooves between
each plate. These are oovered with pitch and bitu-
men, and over the whole is laid a surface three or
four inches thick of cork and bitumen. The founda-
tions of the bridge were formed without the use of
the time-honoured coffer-dam, and the large expen-
diture which the construction of them would have
involved has therefore been saved. A series of piles
were driven into the bed of the river, which form
the base upon which the piers were to rest. There
are 145 piles in each pier, and they are driven to
an average depth of 29 feet. The piles were driven
so far that in each case, after 10 blows on the head
with an iron ram one ton in weight, the pile sank
only one inch. This was the test applied to ascer-
tain whether the bearing piles were driven in to a
sufficient depth. Round these timber or bearing
piles, which are placed one foot apart, and which
cover the whole area of the foundations, 44 cast-
iron piles are driven to a depth of 24 feet. These
are cast with grooves on two of their opposite sides;
and between each pair of them iron plates, 15 feet
in length, are driven down 21 feet below low water
mark, or 14 feet below the bed of the river. The
spot upon which each pier stands is thus formed on
the outside with thick sheeting plates of iron ; and
the foundations are encased in this armour up to
within a few inches of low water mark. It appears
from experiments made by a committee of a British
Association that a plate of iron one inch in thick-
ness will take 3,362 years to corrode, with one side
exposed to the action of the air and water, and half
that time if both sides are subjected to the same
corroding agencies. There is not much fear there-
fore with respect to the durability of the piers of
the foundations of the new bridge. But, in
order to make security doubly sure, there is round
the sides of the iron casing a trench 6 feet in depth,
which has been dredged out through the bed of the
gravel at the bottom of the river, and down to the
upper stratum of the London clay ; and into this
trench there has been placed a solid bank of con-
crete, which forms an additional protection or but-
tress to the foundations. The mass of concrete rests
upon the clay, and against the sides of the iron cas-
ing nearly level up to the level of low water. The
following is a statement of the quantities of materials
used in the construction of the new bridge :
Timber in bearing piles cubic feet 45,700
Cast iron (in foundations)
Ditto (in superstructure)
.... 4 „ 2,600
Wrought iron (in foundations) 1) 70
Ditto (in superstructure)
Granite and other stones (in the piers
and abutments
Brickwork (in Portland cement)..cubic yards 21,000
Concrete (in Portland cement) „ 30,000
The pressure on the bearing piles of the bridge is
15 tons, while upon London-bridge it is as much as
80 tons; the pressure on each square foot of ground
is but two tons, as compared with five and a half
tons at London-bridge. The roadway of the new
bridge is 12 feet lower than that of the old West.
minetor-bridge, the gradient at the centre arch is
one in 362, at the two next one in 123 and one in 75,
the two next one in 57, and on the abutments one
in 54. The following statement of the length and
breadth and cost per square foot of the metropolitan
bridges will afford an accurate idea of the cost of the
new bridge:—

Nos. 1 and 7.

Nos. 2 and 6.

Nos. 3 and 5.

Name.

Length. Breadth. Cost
Feet. Ft. in. Per sq. foot.
London .. 901 53 6 .£ll 6 0
gouthw ark
Illackfri4rs
Waterloo ...... 1 3SO 42 0 315 6
41 6 10 0 0
Itungerforcl
Westminster: Olti 146306 13 4 416 6
AV es t mina;er,:*
Chelsea
aall
,new..... ......
36 2 9 16 0
Proposed anew ... 922 40 0 2 6 0
bridge at Black- 980
friars. .. 76 0 3 5 0
The old bridge, which has now been superseded,
has stood for 110 years, and With
very
t
obridge
inter-
ruption had, during the whole of that 7 period,
yslight
afforded
accommodation for the yearly
increasing
.rdaffic be-
tween the two sides of the river, vrh
commenced in 1730, and after 12 years wagse was
yco'rn-
pletod at a cost of £389,500. It was originally
tended to have been built of wood, and some -
pro-
gress was made in the foundations of the piers for
a work of that di script ion, when it was afterwards
found necessary to build it of stone. Westminster
was the second bridge erected in the metropolis, and
at that time there existed only the crazy old Lm-
don-bridge, with its deep ascent and narrow road-
way of 20 feet, with a row of houses on each side
of it, a noble gateway, a chapel. and other buildings
of architectural merit. Old London-bridge, which
had stood for nearly six centuries, had 20 arches, the
whole waterway being but 450 feet. When Lalor-
daye proposed, therefore, to open the river by a
stone bridge with only 13 arches, he was considered
a bold and rash man. He, however, succeeded, and
Westminster-bridge was accounted one of the won-
ders of the world. The arches were 13 in number,
with two small culvert arches. It provided a clear
waterway of 820 feet, or nearly double that of Old
London-bridge. The height of the centre arch was
20 feet, the width of carriage way 28 feet, and of
each of the two footpaths seven feet; the gradient
was as much as 1 in 15, which by subsequent altera-
tions was, however reduced to in 22. The headway
o. f the new bridge is 20 feet • and there are seven
)nstead of 13 arches; it is double, the width of the
old bridge, and the gradient is reduced by making
the new at the
centre
tho old bridge. lO feet lower than that of
The cost of the old structure
was £389,500. The
greatest span of any arch
(tho
of the old bridge
centre one) was 76 feet ;
the centre arch of the
nbridge is 120
feet span. Each of the arehei
and
of the old struc-
ture decreased in span four feet,
thees smallest
kbridge
'was not more than 52 feet. The pr
was commenced in May, 1854, and the Wenotr
con-
tinued in progress to March, 1856, when theys•were

interrupted by the failure of the contractors. A
further delay of about two years took place, in
which Parliament discussed over and ov.r again
the question of proceeding with the bridge upon
the present site, and it was not till about the middle
of 1859 that Mr. Page was enabled to proceed
vigorously with the work. This is the fourth
bridge which that engineer has constructed over
the Thames, and the work is one which reflects the
highest credit upon his good taste as an artist and
his practical experience as an engineer.

THE CHAPTER:HOUSE OF

S 2 ER ABBEY.

A meeting took place on Saturday afternoon at
the Chapter-house of Westminster Abbey, called by
Dr. Trench, the Dean of Westminster, to take into
consideration the steps which are desirable to call
public attention to the ruinous condition of that
beautiful building, with a view to its restoration.
A number of influential noblemen and gentlemen
were present, including Lord Ashburtßs
oni,hLoporodf
Stratford de Redcliffe, Lord Taunton, the
Oxford, the Bishop of St. Andrew's,thTeleßhiost, Lord
Bishop
St. David's, Sir W. Page Wood, Lord
Stanhope, Sir D. Dundas, Mr. MoncktonElenas 'Atl, bar.iln
es,
Mr. Tite, Mr. Beresford Hope, Mr.
Reeve, Mr. Sala, Mr. B. Cochrane, Mr. T. C. Lewis,
and others.
Upon the motion of the Dean of WESTMINSTER)
the chair was taken by
Lord ASHBURTON, who stated that he had re-
ceived
a letter from the Duke of Buccleuch, express-
ing his warm approval of the object of the meet-
ing, but regretting his inability to be present at it.
His lordship said the meeting had every reason
to be thankful to the Dean of Westminster, who,
in his pious zeal for the monuments under his
charge, had called them together upon this occasion.
This most elegant structure, which was justly re-
garded as one of the finest examples of early Eng-
lish architecture, was built by King Henry 111. in
the year 1253. It was earlier than the Charter-
house of Salisbury, but it had suffered from more
than five centuries of neglect and barbarous adap-
tation to every-day uses, and had been reduced to
a mere wreck. The main features had, however,
been diligently traced by Mr. G. G, Scott. The
Chapter-house was made over by the Convent for
the use of the House of Commons earlyin the reign
of Edward 111. with the express condition that the
Crown should keep it in repair. In the time of Ed-
ward VI., the Commons having removed to St.
Stephen's Chapel, the Chapter-house came into the
hands of the Government. It had been ever since
employed as a record office, and it was in adapting
it to this purpose that it had been reduced to its
present unsightly state. It was an octagon of 80 feet
in diameter, and had a vaulted roof which was sup-
ported by an elegant clustered shaft of Purbeck
marble. The windows were of great beauty, and
the walls beneath were occupied by arcaded stalls,
the backs of which were filled with paintings.
Groups of statuary adorned the door-ways, and the
flooring was of encaustic tiles of the most rich and
varied designs. The building suffered only from
neglect until the beginning of the 18th century, but
it was then wantonly reduced to its present state in
order to fit it for a record repository. The vaulted
roof, being considered dangerous, was destroyed,
and cheaply replaced by a flat ceiling. The walls,
rich in most tasteful statuary and paintings, were
concealed by presses and a gallery ; the pavement
was boarded over, and thus fortunately preserved.
The windows were blocked up, partly with brick
and partly with their own tracery. Nothing, in fact,
was left visible of its original beauty, except its
central shaft, and even that was partially concealed
by a rough bulkhead round its base. In consequence
of the erection of the new general repository for re-
cords the, public documents had now been removed
from the Chapter-house, and nothing was wanted
but funds to enable its restoration to be accom-
plished. If it were in France there could be very
little doubt but that the Emperor would, of his
own will, order that the restoration should take
place, But, living as we did under a constitutional
Government, the Queen and Government were
powerless to act without the sanction of Parlia-
ment. Their only course, and perhaps the most re-
gular one, was to appeal to public opinion, and so
to act upon the public mind as to induce the Go-
vernment to make proposals for the restoration of
the building. He would call upon Mr. Scott, the
architect, who had taken great pains to ascertain
the condition of the Chapter-house, to state what
means would be necessary for carr3ing out the
object they had in view.
Mr. SCOTT said it would astonish many persons,
unaccustomed to examine the works of medi-
aeval architecture, to be told that this place, in
which they were now assembled, which had the
appearance of ,being something between a Metho-
dist chapel and a warehouse, had been, and might
still be one of the moat beautiful specimens of
mediaeval art. The period at which the Chapter-
house was built corresponded with that of the Saint
Chapel in Paris, and was as good as that in every
respect. He had made the most minute examina-
tion of the building, and had spent much time
over it during the last four months, and he was able
to state that the whole of the interior, and the
greater part of the exterior, might be restored to
exactly the same state in which it was at the time
when it was finished, in the year 1253. There were
guides apparent in different places, which would
render it possible to ascertain the exact design of
every portion with certainty. Some of the win-
dows had been blocked up, but there were two or
or three that were built in solid masonry, and they
would serve as a guide for the rest. Of the painted
glass of course they could form no idea, but of the
decorations covering the wail there still remained
specimens which were in good preservation. One
of the pictures which had come to light repre-
sented our Lord, after His resurrection, showing
the wound in his feet and hands, and surrounded
with angels on the feathers of whose wings
were the names of the principal virtues. The floor
remained quite perfect, and the finest specimen of
encaustic tiles. It was merely covered over with
wood, and only required to be exposed to view, and
perhaps a few broken pieces replaced. There was
also an exact specimen of the moulding, and the
vaulting could be made complete 'without difficulty.
The next question was as to the stability of the
building. It was evident that the vault had been
taken down because it was considered unsafe; but
he was satisfied that after rebuilding the buttresses,
the walls would be quite capable of carrying the
vaulting. The exterior was different. The stone
had suffered very materially from age and from the
climate, but happily it was not quite so bad as
might have been expected, for there was another
house against one side, and that had in some
measure preserved it. From what was now to
be seen it Was evident that the outside moulding
outside mouldings of the windows was precisely similar to the
inside. For the purpose of renewing the
to replace the
method of he should apply the new
hardening by cement, and then proceed
Parts that were quite destroyed. In
his opinion, however, it would be desirable that
every part that couldlhebe preserved should be left
exactly as it was.
When fully
architecturen fully res t restored he eh thought
ug h
evert
the most exquisitely beautiful
specimens
beofonme
been brought to light.
Lord STRATFORD DE REDCLIETE then
first resolution,—" That this meeting moved the
regret the ruinous condition of a b ui. ws wih with
tiling so rich
in historical interest and in architectural beauty a
the Chapter-house at Westminster," and in doing
so his lordship expressed his conviction that it
would be a shame and disgrace to the country if
this building were not restored.
Mr. COCIIRANE seconded the resolution.
Mr. TITE, the architect, also spoke in support of
the resolution, and said that, as far as he could
judge, the Chapter-house of Westminster was larger
than that of York or Salisbury, both of which had
been renewed most effectively. It would be a re-
proach to the country if this were not also brought
back to its original appearance.
The resolution was then carried.
Lord TAUNTON moved the second resolution :
" That this meeting
is impressed with the desira-
bleness of bringing the restoration of the Chapter-
house under the consideration of her Majesty's Go-
vernment, as well as of Parliament and the public