New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-10-03
WESTMINSTER CORNERS
uooks for PoIitiCianS-Abbey
and SchooI-0ld TaVernS.
London, September 20.

,tors condemned 10 i9te nuns a. -
.tsr,s In the Deans Yard, where
''-,,,,5 Burke once lived, Sir Henry
- Nrr Thomas Tough and other
,-,oners have made their homes
mons the architects and solicitors and
cents Of swarms OF religious socie-
In Great College street. where the
.,sots barge used to anchor of the
,,ssterv gate. Mr.. Alfred Lyttelton,
- charles =. Trevelyan and Lord
-,-.5aric Hamilton. from their upper
.soyrs can look over the gray stone
.t4 into What was once the infirmary
"a and is now known es the College
-.er In Barton street there is n
-. modern house where the president
tbe Board Of Education. Mr. Walter
-...ncir,an. is a strenuous worker in his
,r,s~v. and around the corner, in Cow
..raet in the house where Mr.. Brit
tho secretary Of the Pilgrims, now
80 was Lord Gladstone's home before
=. usrt 70 South Africa. In Grosvenor
- facing the Thames, are the resi-
- NJ Mr.. George Lambert. Mr.. John
,y.rrr Lewis and other members Of Par
lament
This quarter Of Westminster. for a
ING time fouled with the breath Of the
IRE has been undergoing a radical
.-.rsformation during recent years. The
IN Drtcb and Georgian houses have
80, 0rUed down and the ground be-
.-reo, Westminster School and the four
.,v-s~ed. sham-classic Church of st.
r.,, the Evangelist has been cleared for
,,e erection Of expensive flats and lux
,.-iors residences. At the entrance TO
Smith S5rare. where Dickens found a
home for the dolls dressmaker, two fine
--.f5erces for members Of Parliament.
,r- Russell Rea and Mr.. Walter Rea'
ss.her and son. are now approaching
,,r,r-at.on. and if they have the
,,.rr4r az Archdeacon WNberforce's
church bell behind them they will have
broad nrosnects of the Thames from the
r-r,bsrlxr,or+ side. There are no flats
and ,rartment hotels in the Deans Yard,
and Barton. CoUlev and North streets
srm retain the tradition Of quaint sim
-rrftv. but the Ecclesiastical Commits
sforers and speculative builders are put
ting ND towering structures and improv-
3ne I'm their own way the environment Of
zinc Abbey for the convenience of mem
hers Of Parliament.
In place of the architectural anomalies
az this residential quarter behind the
Deans Yard and the Church House
.here might have been a symmetrical
and beautiful Abbey close. if an Eliza
tethan school had not been built upon
the foundations of q Benedictine monas-
.erv. The clergy, having only two resi-
seuces 8n the outer line Of the yard and
Being confined to the seclusion Of the
bcane~y Court and the Little Cloisters.
have reserved the lovely old garden for
their own use. 1t is known as the Col
ees Garden. but the Westminster
s,booraove are allowed 10 enter it only
,ne day I'm che year, although they can
t,.e football when they like under the
ms i'm the outer quadrangle The
cnooI. on the other hand, has inherited
he ancient stones and hooks of the
monastery. The foundation scholars eat
their meals in the Abbot's refectory OPP
p5site the Deans door. the upper school
Isl approached through the dark cloister
NJ tie monastery beyond the PyX chapel;
trs main echooIroou is the monks dor
uftrrv. the classr0oms and libraries are
nm the foundations Of the Misericorde;
Che rpadmaster lives IN the enlarged hall
O.. the Abbey cellarer; the boys sleep
jre rooms and boarding houses are on
the site Of morastic outbuildiugs, and
until recently their gymnasium was a
portion of q crypt with vaulting as old
as anything in the Abbey school and
Abbey have stood in each others way.
With divided Jurisdiction over land
and buildings the school has been re-
tar5ed and crippled in its growth. The
Abbey clergy i'm their turn have been
shut into clustered existence and not
allowed to make fun use Of their spa
c.ous grounds and to open them for pub
d, enjoyment.
While there is 10 Abbey close worthy
Of the storied structure. and some of the
issr .-....s.s If rho south gable and the
.-...-- -,o,.s+.r,. wall are only TO be
,.,-s.. e-.,,, cha ,,r,er windows Of the
,.l.., .,,-..+,,-i,,s.s- is r, longer sur
rounded by dark alleys and noisome
..-rrs ., F.. ,,.se before the transition
s,.r, 49, +,.-royo,ron+ began. The
b......- ~. ...,r,,trsls and becpars have
..,.-,..-.5 ,r.,b tra qanc+uaries for
Co.. 49,. or.-.bo,ses for crinples
ana ,---,...,.- ard Tho tsverns for
- .t