The Sun.
London, England, 1858-12-23 00:00:00

THE NEW PALACE FOR THE PEOPLE
AT MUSWELL-HILL.

This undertaking, which until quite recently has
been considered chimerical, seems likely to become
an accomplished fact. On Tuesday afternoon the
designs for its construction were privately exhibited
at St. James's Hall ; they are by Mr. Owen Jones,
and do vast credit to his experience and skill. The
grounds of the new palace will be entirely sur-
rounded by a carriage drive. In order to give the
public an idea of the progressive development of
the gardening art, portions of the land will be
planted in the early English style, and in that of
the French, Italian, Dutch, and our own modern
day ; there will also be special grounds for archery
and cricket. In the centre of the gardens, on an
eminence, will stand the palace to which they are
accessory. Like its predecessor, it will be erected
with iron and glass. There are no transepts ;
circular dome, upwards of 200 feet in diameter, rises
from ,the centre of the building, between four
towers 'Wfth cupola-shaped tops ; this elevation
with the towers forms a square block, 276 by 276. It
is intended that the dome should be separated by
glazed walls from the rest of the palace, and will, when
heated, form a winter garden in the most prominent
site in the building, visible from all its parts. From
this point two naves, each 336 ft. by 120 ft., stretch
east and west, terminating in two towers of
similar design to the four centre ones. At eacb-
extremity of the building proper is a semicir-
cular colonnade of 120 feet internal diame-
ter. These, with the area they enclose, will 'form
the refreshment department. The total length of
the proposed building is 1,296 ft., the greatest
width, 492 ft. There will be two galleries 48 ft.
wide running round the dome and naves, and the
total area of these, with the ground floor, reaches
740,862 ft. Each nave will possess two aisles 72
ft. in width. The nave to the east will be devoted
tolthe general illustration of fine arts, the aisle to
the north being specially assigned to ancient, and
the southern to modern art. In the western nave`,
productions of a purely industrial character will be
represented. The courts of the palace will be in
the principal gallery ; those over the industrial
nave will be severally dedicated to tapestry, mixed
fabrics, clothing, cutlery, painting, and the cera-
mic art, while the courts over the fine art portion
will be devoted to sociology, biology, chemistry,
mathematics, astronomy, and physics. The south
front of the building is quite plain, but that towards
the north is built out in the centre to a large semi-
circular projection 216 feet in diameter, the mterior
of which will be fitted up as a lecture theatre*
capable of seating nearly 10,000 spectators, all or
whom, it it stated, will be able to see and hear dis-
tinctly. This theatre is surrounded by corridors,
24-feet wide, communicating with the main build-
ing, and which will form the principal entraT;tee
from the north.

The now palace will be distant from
/3x ford-
street about five miles, and will have it 4 principal
communication with the metropoliel,,y the Great
Northern Railway, from whose station of Night-
ingale's Nest, a branch will be e:onstructed of about
a mile and a half in length te, the palace direct.
It may be summarily stated that the designs 01
Mr. Owen Jones are both elegant and practicable;
The general effect of the building is light ana,
graceful. Its site is in the midst of a crowded and
respectable neighbourhood, and if it could be
erected at a moderate cost, it might prove a specula-
tion as profitable to the shareholders as it certain*"
would be advantageous to the public.