St. James’s Palace and Park. (Green Park in the distance.)
These two preliminary glances at the City and the West End having (as we will suppose) given the visitor some general idea of the Metropolis, we now proceed to describe the chief buildingsand places of interest, conveniently grouped according to their character—beginning withPalatial Residences.
St. James’s Palace.—This is an inelegant brick structure, having its front towards Pall Mall. Henry VIII. built it in 1530, on the site of what was once an hospital for lepers. The interior consists of several spacious levée and drawing rooms, besides other state and domestic apartments. This palace is only used occasionally by the Queen for levées and drawing-rooms; for which purposes, notwithstanding its awkwardness, the building is better adapted than Buckingham Palace. The fine bands of the Foot Guards play daily at eleven, in the Colour Court, or in an open quadrangle on the east side. The Chapel Royal and the German Chapel are open on Sundays—the one with an English service, and the other with service in German.
Buckingham Palace.—This edifice stands at the west end of the Mall in St. James’s Park, in a situation much too low in reference to the adjacent grounds on the north. The site was occupied formerly by a brick mansion, which was pulled down by order of George IV. The present palace (except the front towards the park) was planned and erected by Mr. Nash. When completed, after various capricious alterations, about 1831–2, it is said to have cost about £700,000. The edifice is of stone, with a main centre, and a wing of similar architecture projecting on each side, forming originally an open court in front; but the palace being too small for the family and retinue of the present sovereign, a new frontage has been built, forming an eastern side to the open court. There is, however, little harmony of style between the old and new portions. The interior contains many magnificent apartments, both for state and domestic purposes. Among them are the Grand Staircase, the Ball-room, the Library, the Sculpture Gallery, the Green Drawing-room, the Throne Room, and the Grand Saloon. The Queen has a collection of very fine pictures in the various rooms, among which is aRembrandt, for which George IV. gave 5000 guineas. In the garden is an elegant summer-house, adorned with frescoes by Eastlake, Maclise, Landseer, Stanfield, and other distinguished painters. This costly palace, however, with all itsgrandeur, was so badly planned, that in a number of the passages lamps are required to be kept lighted even during the day. Strangers are not admitted to Buckingham Palace except by special permission of the Lord Chamberlain, which is not easily obtained. In the front was once theMarble Arch, which formed an entry to the Palace, and which cost £70,000; but it was removed to the north-east corner of Hyde Park in 1851.
Buckingham Palace, and West End of St. James’s Park. (Queen’s Garden and Hyde Park Corner in the distance.)
Marlborough House.—This building, the residence of the Prince and Princess of Wales, is immediately east of St. James’s Palace, being separated from it only by a carriage-road. It was built by Sir Christopher Wren, in 1709, as a residence for the great Dukeof Marlborough. The house was bought from the Marlborough family by the Crown in 1817, as a residence for the Princess Charlotte. It was afterwards occupied in succession by Leopold (the late king of the Belgians) and the Dowager Queen Adelaide. More recently it was given up to the Government School of Design; and the Vernon and Turner pictures were for some time kept there. The building underwent various alterations preparatory to its occupation by the Prince of Wales.
Kensington Palace.—This is a royal palace, though no longer inhabited by royalty, occupying a pleasant situation west of Hyde Park. It was built by Lord Chancellor Finch late in the 17th century; and soon afterwards sold to William III. Additions were made to it from time to time. Certain portions of the exterior are regarded as fine specimens of brickwork; and the whole, though somewhat heavy in appearance, is not without points of interest. During the last century Kensington Palace was constantly occupied by members of the royal family. Many of them were born there, and many died there also. The present Queen was born in the palace in 1819. The Prince and Princess of Teck reside there at present. This, like the other royal palaces, is maintained at the expense of the nation; though not now used as a royal residence, pensioned or favoured families occupy it.
Lambeth Palace from the River
Lambeth Palace.—This curious and interesting building, situated in a part of the metropolis seldom visited by strangers, is the official residence of the archbishops of Canterbury. It is on the south bank of the Thames, between Westminster and Vauxhall Bridges. The structure has grown up by degrees during the six centuries that Lambeth has been the archiepiscopal residence; and on that account exhibits great diversities of style. Leaving unnoticed the private and domestic apartments, the following are the portions of the irregular cluster possessing most interest. TheChapel, some say, was erected in the year 1196; it is in early English, with lancet windows and a crypt; but the roof, stained windows, and carved screens, are much more recent. The archbishops are always consecrated in this chapel. TheLollard’s Tower, at the western end of the chapel, was named from some Lollards or Wickliffites supposedto have been imprisoned there. It is about 400 years old. The uppermost room, with strong iron rings in the walls, appears tohave been the actual place of confinement; there are many names and inscriptions cut in the thick oak wainscoting. TheHall, about 200 years old, is 93 feet long by 78 feet wide; it is noticeable for the oak roof, the bay windows, and the arms of several of the archbishops. TheLibrary, 250 years old, contains about 15,000 volumes and numerous manuscripts, many of them rare and curious. TheGatehouseis a red brick structure, with stone dressings. TheChurch, near it, is one of the most ancient in the neighbourhood of London; it has been recently restored in good taste. Simon of Sudbury, Archbishop of Canterbury, was murdered here, in 1381, by Wat Tyler’s mob, who stormed the palace, burned its contents, and destroyed all the registers and public papers. Lambeth Palace is not, as a rule, shewn to strangers.
Lambeth Palace—Lollard’s Tower
Mansions of the Nobility.—London is not well supplied with noble mansions of an attractive character; they possess every comfort interiorly, but only a few of them have architectural pretensions.Northumberland House, lately alluded to, at the Charing Cross extremity of the south side of the Strand, looks more like a nobleman’s mansion than most others in London. It was built, in about 1600, by the Earl of Northampton, and came into the hands of the Percies in 1642.Stafford Houseis perhaps the most finely situated mansion in the metropolis, occupying the corner of St. James’s and the Green Parks, and presenting four complete fronts, each having its own architectural character. The interior, too, is said to be the first of its kind in London. The mansion was built by the Duke of York, with money lent by the Marquis of Stafford, afterwards Duke of Sutherland; but the Stafford family became owners of it, and have spent at least a quarter of a million sterling on the house and its decorations.Apsley House, at the corner of Piccadilly and Hyde Park, is the residence of the Dukes of Wellington, and is closely associated with the memory oftheDuke. The shell of the house, of brick, is old; but stone frontages, enlargements, and decorations, were afterwards made. The principal room facing Hyde Park, with seven windows, is that in which the Great Duke held the celebrated Waterloo Banquet, on the 18th of June in every year, from 1816 to 1852.The windows were blocked up with bullet-proof iron blinds from 1831 to the day of his death in 1852; a rabble had shattered them during the Reform excitement, and he never afterwards would trust King Mob.Apsley House, Hyde Park Corner, Wellington Statue. (Knightsbridge and Sloane Street in the distance.)Devonshire House, in Piccadilly, faces the Green Park, and has a screen in front. It has no particular architectural character; but the wealthy Dukes of Devonshire have collected within it valuable pictures, books, gems, and treasures of various kinds.Grosvenor House, the residence of the Marquis of Westminster, is situated in Upper Grosvenor Street, and is celebrated for the magnificent collection of pictures known as theGrosvenor Gallery;a set of four of these pictures, by Rubens, cost £10,000.Bridgewater House, facing the Green Park, is a costly modern structure, built by Sir Charles Barry for the Earl of Ellesmere, and finished in 1851. It is in the Italian Palazzo style. Its chief attraction is the magnificentBridgewater Galleryof pictures, a most rare and choice assemblage. This gallery contains no fewer than 320 pictures, valued at £150,000 many years ago—though they would now, doubtless, sell for a much higher sum.[40]Holland House, Kensington, is certainly the most picturesque mansion in the metropolis; it has an old English look about it, both in the house and its grounds. The mansion was built in 1607, and was celebrated as being the residence, at one time of Addison, at another of the late Lord Holland. The stone gateway on the east of the house was designed by Inigo Jones.Chesterfield House, in South Audley Street, was built for that Earl of Chesterfield whose “Advice to his Son” has run through so many editions; the library and the garden are especially noted.Buccleuch House, in Whitehall Gardens, is recently finished.Lansdowne House, in Berkeley Square, the town residence of the Marquis of Lansdowne, contains some fine sculptures and pictures, ancient and modern. Scarcely less magnificent, either as buildings or in respect of their contents, than the mansions of the nobility, are some of those belonging to wealthy commoners—such as Mr. Holford’s, a splendid structure in Park Lane; Mr. Hope’s, in Piccadilly, now theJunior Athenæum Club; and Baron Rothschild’s, near Apsley House, lately rebuilt.
Houses of Parliament.—This is the name usually given to theNew Palace of Westminster, which is not only Sir Charles Barry’s greatest work, but is in all respects one of the most remarkable structures of the age. The building, which occupies a site close tothe river, and close also to the beautiful new Westminster Bridge, was constructed in consequence of the burning of the old Houses of Parliament in 1834. It is perhaps the finest modern Gothic structure in the world—at least for civil purposes; but is unfortunately composed of a stone liable to decay; and, to be critical, its ornaments and details generally are on too minute a scale for the magnitude of the building. The entire structure covers nearly eight acres.Houses of Parliament from the RiverCertain old plain law courts on the north are intended to be removed. The chief public entrance is by Westminster Hall, which forms a vestibule to the Houses of Parliament and their numerous committee-rooms. The rooms and staircases are almost inconceivably numerous; and there are said to be two miles of passages and corridors! The river front, raised upon a fine terrace of Aberdeen granite, is 900 feet in length, and profusely adorned with statues, heraldic shields, and tracery, carved in stone. The other façades are nearly as elaborate, but are not so well seen. It is a gorgeous structure, which, so long ago as 1859, had cost over two millions. A further cost of £107,000, for frescoes, statuary,&c., &c., had been incurred by the end of March, 1860; and the constant outgoings for maintenance of the fabric, and additions thereto, must every year represent a heavy sum. Nevertheless, the two main chambers in which Parliament meets are ill adapted for sight and hearing. On Saturdays, both Houses can be seen free, by order from the Lord Chamberlain, easily obtained at a neighbouring office; and certain corridors and chambers are open on other days of the week. Admission to the sittings of the two Houses can only be obtained by members’ orders; as the benches appropriated in this way are few in number, such admissions are highly prized, especially when any important debate is expected. On the occasion when the Queen visits the House of Lords, to open or prorogue Parliament, visitors are only admitted by special arrangements.
Among the multitude of interesting objects in this stupendous structure, the following may be briefly mentioned. TheHouse of Peersis 97 feet long, 45 wide, and 45 high. It is so profusely painted and gilt, and the windows are so darkened by deep-tinted stained glass, that the eye can with difficulty make out the details. At the southern end is the gorgeously gilt and canopied throne; near the centre is the woolsack, on which the Lord Chancellor sits; at the end and sides are galleries for peeresses, reporters, and strangers; and on the floor of the house are the cushioned benches for the peers. At either end are three frescoes—three behind the throne, and three over the strangers’ gallery. The three behind the throne are—“Edward III. conferring the Order of the Garter on the Black Prince,” by C. W. Cope; “The Baptism of Ethelbert,” by Dyce; and “Henry Prince of Wales committed to Prison for assaulting Judge Gascoigne,” by C. W. Cope. The three at the other end are—“The Spirit of Justice,” by D. Maclise; “The Spirit of Chivalry,” by the same; and “The Spirit of Religion,” by J. C. Horsley. In niches between the windows and at the ends are eighteen statues of Barons who signed Magna Charta. TheHouse of Commons, 62 feet long, 45 broad, and 45 high, is much less elaborate than the House of Peers. The Speaker’s Chair is at the north end; and there are galleries along the sides and ends. In a gallery behindthe Speaker the reporters for the newspapers sit. Over them is the Ladies’ Gallery, where the view is ungallantly obstructed by a grating. The present ceiling is many feet below the original one: the room having been to this extent spoiled because the former proportions were bad for hearing.
Strangers might infer, from the name, that these two chambers, the Houses of Peers and of Commons, constitute nearly the whole building; but, in truth, they occupy only a small part of the area. On the side nearest to Westminster Abbey areSt. Stephen’s Porch,St. Stephen’s Corridor, theChancellor’s Corridor, theVictoria Tower, theRoyal Staircase, and numerous courts and corridors. At the south end, nearest Millbank, are theGuard Room, theQueen’s Robing Room, theRoyal Gallery, theRoyal Court, and thePrince’s Chamber. The river front is mostly occupied byLibrariesandCommittee Rooms. The northern or Bridge Street end displays theClock Towerand theSpeaker’s Residence. In the interior of the structure are vast numbers oflobbies,corridors,halls, andcourts. The Saturday tickets, already mentioned, admit visitors to thePrince’s Chamber, theHouse of Peers, thePeers’ Lobby, thePeers’ Corridor, theOctagonal Hall, theCommons’ Corridor, theCommons’ Lobby, theHouse of Commons,St. Stephen’s Hall, andSt. Stephen’s Porch. All these places are crowded with rich adornments. TheVictoria Tower, at the south-west angle of the entire structure, is one of the finest in the world: it is 75 feet square and 340 feet high; the Queen’s state entrance is in a noble arch at the base. TheClock Tower, at the north end, is 40 feet square and 320 feet high, profusely gilt near the top. After two attempts made to supply this tower with a bell of 14 tons weight, and after both failed, one of the so-called ‘Big Bens,’ the weight of which is about 8 tons, (the official name being ‘St. Stephen,’) now tells the hour in deep tones. There are, likewise, eight smaller bells to chime the quarters. TheClockis by far the largest and finest in this country. There are four dials on the four faces of the tower, each 22½ feet in diameter; the hour-figures are 2 feet high and 6 feet apart; the minute-marks are 14 inches apart; the hands weigh more than 2 cwt. the pair; the minute-hand is 16 feet long, and the hour-hand9 feet; the pendulum is 15 feet long, and weighs 680 lbs.; the weights hang down a shaft 160 feet deep. Besides this fine Clock Tower, there is aCentral Tower, over the Octagonal Hall, rising to a height of 300 feet; and there are smaller towers for ventilation and other purposes.
Considering that there are nearly 500 carved stone statues in and about this sumptuous building, besides stained-glass windows, and oil and fresco paintings in great number, it is obvious that a volume would be required to describe them all. In theQueen’s Robing Roomare painted frescoes from the story of King Arthur; and in thePeers’ Robing Room, subjects from Biblical history. TheRoyal Galleryis in the course of being filled with frescoes and stained windows illustrative of English history. Here, among others, specially note the late D. Maclise’s stupendous fresco, 45 feet long by 12 feet high, representing “The Meeting of Wellington and Blucher after the Battle of Waterloo;” and the companion fresco, “The Death of Nelson.”
Westminster Hall.—Although now made, in a most ingenious manner, to form part of the sumptuous edifice just described,Westminster Hallis really a distinct building. It was the old hall of the original palace of Westminster, built in the time of William Rufus, but partly re-constructed in 1398. The carved timber roof is regarded as one of the finest in England. The hall is 290 feet long, 68 wide, and 110 high. There are very few buildings in the world so large as this unsupported by pillars. The southern end, both within and without, has been admirably brought into harmony with the general architecture of the Palace of Parliament. Doors on the east side lead to the House of Commons; doors on the west lead to theCourts of Chancery,Queen’s Bench,Common Pleas,Exchequer,Probate,and Divorce, &c. No building in England is richer in associations with events relating to kings, queens, and princes, than Westminster Hall.St. Stephen’s Crypt, lately restored with great splendour, is entered from the south end of the Hall.
Somerset House, in the Strand, was built in 1549 by the Protector Somerset; and, on his attainder and execution, fell to the Crown.Old Somerset House was pulled down in 1775, and the present building erected in 1780, after the designs of Sir Wm. Chambers. The rear of the building faces the Thames, its river frontage being 600 feet long, and an excellent specimen of Palladian architecture. In Somerset House are several Government offices—among the rest, a branch of the Admiralty, the Inland Revenue, and the Registrar-General’s department. More than 900 clerks are employed in the various offices. The rooms in which Newspaper Stamps are produced by ingenious processes, and those in which the Registrar-General keeps his voluminous returns of births, marriages, and deaths, are full of interest; but they are not accessible for mere curiosity. The learned Societies are removed to Burlington House, Piccadilly.
Somerset House, King’s College, Waterloo Bridge, &c. (St. Clement’s and St. Mary’s Churches in the distance.)
Government Offices.—A few words will suffice for the otherWest-End Government offices. TheAdmiralty, in Whitehall, is the head-quarters of the Naval Department. The front of the building was constructed about 1726; and the screen, by the brothers Adam, about half-a-century later. Most of the heads of the Admiralty have official residences connected with the building. TheHorse Guards, a little farther down Whitehall, is the head-quarters of the commander-in-chief. It was built about 1753, and has an arched entrance leading into St. James’s Park.Whitehall, Horse Guards, Government Offices, &c. (Westminster Abbey and Houses of Parliament in the distance.)The two cavalry sentries, belonging either to the Life Guards or to the Oxford Blues, always attract the notice of country visitors, to whom such showy horsemen are a rarity. TheTreasury, theOffice of theChancellor of the Exchequer, theHome Office, thePrivy-council Office, and theBoard of Trade, together occupy the handsome range of buildings at the corner of Whitehall and Downing Street. The interior of this building is in great part old; after many alterations and additions, the present front, in the Italian Palazzo style, was built by Sir Charles Barry in 1847. TheForeign Office, theIndia Office, and theColonial Office, occupy the handsome new buildings southward of Downing Street. TheWar Officein Pall Mall is a makeshift arrangement: it occupies the old quarters of the Ordnance Office, and some private houses converted to public use. After many discussions as to architectural designs, &c., the so-called “Battle of the Styles” ended in a compromise: the Gothic architect (Mr. G. G. Scott, R.A.) was employed; but an Italian design was adopted for the new Foreign and India Offices.
St. Paul’s Cathedral.—This is the most prominent object in the metropolis. The lofty dome, seen for miles around, stands in the centre of an enclosed churchyard of limited dimensions, at the head of Ludgate Hill. A church is said to have existed here four hundred years before the Norman conquest; and, under various shapes and extensions, it remained till destroyed by the Great Fire of London in 1666. An entirely new edifice was then erected in its stead, the important work being committed to Sir Christopher Wren. It was opened for divine service in 1697, and finished in 1710—one architect and one master-mason having been engaged on it for 35 years.[47a]The cathedral is built in the form of a cross, 514 feet in length by 286 in breadth.[47b]Outwardly, thewalls, which have a dark sooty appearance, except where bleached by the weather, exhibit a double range of windows. There are three porticos at as many entrances on the north, west, and south. That on the west is the principal, with twelve lofty Corinthian pillars below, and a second order carrying the pediment above; the angles are crowned with handsome bell-towers, much larger than ordinary church steeples, and 222 feet high.St. Paul’s Cathedral and Churchyard, from Ludgate HillBut this entrance,which fronts Ludgate Hill, is not much used; the common entrance is by the north portico and flight of steps. On entering, the impression produced by the vastness of the internal space is great, although the walls want something in tone and relief. (Subscriptions are being gradually raised for richly adorning the interior.) There are two domes, an outer and an inner, having a brick cone between them. The inner dome has six paintings relating to events in the life of St. Paul: they were painted by Sir James Thornhill, and have recently been renovated. In the choir is much beautiful carving, by Grinling Gibbons. In various parts of the cathedral are statues and monuments of John Howard, Dr. Johnson, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Bishop Heber, Nelson, Cornwallis, Abercrombie, Sir John Moore, Lord Heathfield, Howe, Rodney,Collingwood, St. Vincent, Picton, Ponsonby, and others. In theCryptbeneath are the tombs of Wellington, Nelson, Wren, Collingwood, Picton, Reynolds, Lawrence, Opie, West, Fuseli, Turner, Rennie, and other eminent men. Service is performed on Sundays at 10.30a.m.and 3.15p.m.; on week-days at 8.0, 10.0, and 4.0. A screen, on which the organ stood, has lately been removed, throwing open the beautiful choir to view from the nave. The organ has been placed on the north side of the choir. Several times in the year service is performed under the dome on Sunday evenings by gaslight; and an additional organ for this service has been set up in the south transept. The appearance of the dome at these times, with a soft light shed around it, is extremely beautiful; and the congregation generally assembled is enormous. If the stranger pleases to pay the required fees, he may mount, by means of stairs and ladders, to the top of the dome; and he will be amply repaid by the extensive view from the balcony or gallery, which comprehends the whole of London, with the country beyond its outskirts, and the Thames rolling placidly in its winding course between dense masses of houses. TheWhispering Gallery, at the bottom of the inner dome, renders audible the slightest whisper from side to side. TheLibrarycontains chiefly ecclesiastical works for the use of the Chapter. The twoGolden Galleriesare at the top of the inner and outer domes. TheBallandCross, reached by more than 600 steps, are at the summit of the building; the ball, about 6 feet in diameter, is reached with some difficulty. TheClock-workandGreat Bellalways attract the notice of visitors. The pendulum measures 14 feet in length, while the mass at its extremity is one hundredweight. The great bell, which is only tolled when a member of the royal family dies, is placed in the southern turret above the western portico; it weighs 4½ tons, and is 10 feet in diameter. The fine deep tones of this mighty bell, on which the hours are struck, sweep solemnly, in a quiet evening, across the metropolis, and are at times heard distinctly by families at their firesides far out in the suburbs. Altogether, St. Paul’s is a magnificent structure; and though it cost a million and a-half of money in the erection—a great sum in the seventeenth century—the amount was well spent on so worthy an object. St. Paul’s is open, during the greater part of the day, free to the public, but no place is exhibited during divine service.—Fee for admission to the whispering gallery and the two outer galleries, 6d.; the ball, 1s. 6d.; the clock, great bell, library, and geometrical staircase, 6d.; and the crypt, 6d.
Tomb of Nelson—crypt
Westminster Abbey.—Nearly opposite the Houses of Parliament stands Westminster Abbey, open to inspection on the north, west, and east, but much crowded upon by private dwellings on the south. In very early times this spot of ground was a small insular tract, surrounded by the waters of the Thames, and called Thorney Island. Here a monastic institution was founded on the introduction of Christianity into Britain. Under Edward the Confessor an abbey was raised upon the site of the ruined monastic building. The ground-plan, as usual, bore the form of the cross. Rights and endowments were granted; and the edifice assumed a great degree of architectural grandeur. It had become the place for the inauguration of the English monarchs; and William the Conqueror was crowned here with great pomp in 1066. Henry III. and Edward I. enlarged the abbey; and the building continued nearly in the state in which they left it, until Henry VII. added a chapel, built in the perpendicular style, on which the greatest skill of the architect and the sculptor was displayed; exhibiting one of the most splendid structures of the age, and so highly esteemed, that it was enjoined that the remains of royalty alone should be interred within its walls. During the reign of Henry VIII., the abbey was considerably defaced; but on the surrender of its revenues, Henry raised Westminster to the dignity of a city, and its abbey was constituted a cathedral. It was, however, afterwards re-united to the see of London, in 1550. (An archbishopric of Westminster, created by the Pope a few years ago, is connected only with Roman Catholic matters, and is not recognised by the English law.) Westminster Abbey, during the reign of William and Mary, was thoroughly repaired, and the towers added at the western entrance, under the direction of Sir Christopher Wren. These towers, however, though good in outline and general mass, are not in harmonywith the rest of the building. The length of the abbey is 416 feet; breadth at the transept, 203 feet; and at the nave, 102 feet; height of the west towers, 225 feet. The exterior measurement, including Henry VII.’s Chapel, is 530 feet.
Westminster Abbey, and St. Margaret’s Church
On entering at the great western door between the towers, the magnificence of the abbey soon becomes apparent. The interior displays grand masses of marble columns separating the nave from the side aisles. A screen, surmounted by a noble organ, divides the nave from the choir; while beyond the eye soars, amid graceful columns, tracery, and decorated windows, to the summit of the eastern arch that overlooks the adjacent chapels. The walls on both sides display a great profusion of sepulchral monuments, among which are some finely executed pieces of sculpture, and touching memorials of those whose exploits or exertions have deserved the notice of posterity; but too many, unfortunately, are in very bad taste. Above the line of tombs are chambers and galleries, once occupied by ecclesiastics; solemn and dreary in theirantiquity, though relieved by occasional sunbeams glancing across the misty height of the nave. The northern window is richly ornamented with stained glass.
Westminster Abbey—Chapel of Henry VII.
The Chapel of Edward the Confessor is at the eastern end of the choir, and contains the shrine of St. Edward: that it was an exquisite piece of workmanship, is evident even in its decay. Here also is the coronation-chair, under which is placed the celebrated stone brought from Scone, in Scotland, by Edward I. in 1297. The Chapel of Henry VII. is also at the eastern end; and among the ashes of many royal personages interred here are those of Mary and Elizabeth. The ascent to this splendid work of Gothic art is bysteps of black marble. The entrance gates display workmanship of extraordinary richness in brass. The effect produced on entering this chapel is striking: the roof is wrought in stone into an astonishing variety of figures and devices; the stalls are of oak, having the deep tone of age, with Gothic canopies, all elaborately carved. Here, before the remodelling of the order, used to be installed the knights of the Order of the Bath. In their stalls are placed brass plates of their armorial insignia, and above are suspended their banners, swords, and helmets; beneath the stalls are seats for the esquires. The pavement is composed of black and white marble; beneath which is the royal vault. The magnificent tomb of Henry VII. and his queen stands in the body of this chapel, in a curious chantry of cast brass, admirably executed, and interspersed with effigies, armorial bearings, and devices relating to the union of the red and white roses.
The number of statues and monuments in Westminster Abbey is very great. Most of them are contained in side-chapels, of which there are several: viz., St. Benedict’s, St. Edmund’s, St. Nicholas’s, St. Paul’s, St. Erasmus’s, John the Baptist’s, and Bishop Islip’s; besides Henry VII.’s and Edward the Confessor’s Chapels, already mentioned. These Chapels contain about ninety monuments and shrines, some of great beauty. The Choir, the Transept, and the Nave, also contain a large amount of sculpture—many specimens in wretched taste, by the side of some of the first works of Flaxman, Chantrey, Roubiliac, Nollekins, Bacon, Westmacott, Gibson, Behnes, and others.Poets’ Corner, occupying about half of the south transept, is a famous place for the busts and monuments of eminent men—including Chaucer, Spencer, Shakespeare, Drayton, Ben Jonson, Milton, Butler, Davenant, Cowley, Dryden, Prior, Rowe, Gay, Addison, Thomson, Goldsmith, Gray, Mason, Sheridan, Southey, Campbell, &c. Lord Macaulay and Lord Palmerston were recently buried in the Abbey—the one in January, 1860; the other in October, 1865. William Makepeace Thackeray does not lie there, but at Kensal Green, though his bust is placed next to the statue of Joseph Addison. On the 14th June, 1870, Charles Dickens was interred there. His grave is situated at the foot ofthe coffin of Handel, and at the head of the coffin of R. B. Sheridan, and between the coffins of Lord Macaulay and Cumberland the dramatist. Near to England’s great humorist, towards his feet, lie Dr. Johnson and Garrick, while near them lies Thomas Campbell. Shakespeare’s monument is not far from the foot of the grave. Goldsmith’s is on the left. A monumental brass, to the memory of Robert Stephenson, has recently been inlaid in the floor of the nave. TheCloistersand theChapter Housecontain some curious old effigies.
Westminster Abbey is a collegiate church, with a dean and chapter, who possess a considerable authority over the adjoining district, and a revenue of about £30,000 per annum. The abbey may be considered as sub-divided into chapels; but in the present day divine service (at 7.45,10, and 3) is performed only in a large enclosed space near the eastern extremity of the building—except on Sunday evenings during a portion of the year, when service is performed in the nave, in a similar way to the Sunday evening services under the dome of St. Paul’s. This evening service, at 7 o’clock, is very striking in effect. There are usually a considerable number of strangers present at the services, particularly at that on Sunday evenings. The entrance chiefly used is that at Poets’ Corner, nearly opposite the royal entrance to the Houses of Parliament; but on Sunday evenings the great western entrance is used. There is admittance every week-day free to the chief parts of the building, and to other parts on payment of a fee of 6d.
Parish and District Churches.—When we consider that the metropolis contains nearly 1000 churches and chapels, it may well be conceived that only a few of them can be noticed here. In addition to St. Paul’s and the Abbey, the following are worth the notice of strangers.St. Michael’s, Cornhill, has lately been restored and re-decorated in an elaborate manner by Mr. Gilbert Scott.St. Bartholomew’s, Smithfield, which has been lately restored, was once the choir and transepts of a priory church; it is interesting, not only for some of its monuments, but for the varieties of Norman and Gothic styles which it exhibits.St. Stephen’s, Walbrook, close to the Mansion House, is especially worthy of attention; as theinterior is considered to be one of Wren’s happiest conceptions.Bow Church, or the Church of St. Mary-le-Bow, occupies a conspicuous position on the south side of Cheapside, and has a spire of great elegance, designed by Sir Christopher Wren. The clock projects over the street from the lower part of the tower. Standing as this church does, in the centre of the city, those who are born within the sound of its bells are jocularly calledCockneys, a name equivalent to genuine citizens.St. Stephen’s, WalbrookThe consecration of the Bishop of London takes place at Bow Church.St. Bride’s, Fleet Street, is adorned with one of the most beautiful of Sir Christopher Wren’s steeples.The Temple Churchis described in the section relating to the Temple and other Inns of Court.St. Saviour’sis by far the most important parish church on the Surrey side of the water. It isnear the foot of London Bridge, on the west side of High Street, Southwark. It originally belonged to the Priory of St. Mary Overy, but was made a parish church in 1540. The Choir and the Lady Chapel are parts of the original structure, and are excellent examples of the early English style; they have been restored in the present century. Many other parts of the building deserve notice. TheSavoy Church, between the Strand and the Thames, near Waterloo Bridge, was once the Chapel of the Hospital of St. John the Baptist; it was destroyed by fire in 1864, and re-built in 1866.St. Paul’s, Covent Garden, built by Inigo Jones, is noticeable for its massive Doric portico.St. James’s, Piccadilly, one of the least sightly of brick churches outside, has an interior which exhibits Wren’s skill in a striking degree.St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields, at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square, has always been admired for its elegant spire and portico, constructed by Gibbs.St. George’s, Hanover Square, is chiefly celebrated for the fashionable marriages that take place there; the exterior, is, however, picturesque.Whitehall Chapelwas originally intended as part of a royal residence. It is, in fact, the Banqueting House of the palace of Whitehall, the only remaining portion of what was once an extensive pile. The former brick structure is entirely gone. The present edifice, built by Inigo Jones in the time of James I., is considered to be one of the finest specimens of Italian architecture in England. Charles I. was executed on a scaffold erected in front of one of the windows. The interior of Whitehall is about 112 feet long, 56 wide, and 56 high, forming exactly a double cube; the ceiling is painted by Rubens, with mythological designs in honour of James I. The building, being appropriated to no other use, was converted into a chapel in the time of George I., and was modernized in the interior, about 30 years ago, by Sir Robert Smirke.Old St. Pancras Church, in Pancras Road, a small but venerable structure, has in recent years been altered and adapted as a District Church. Its churchyard was remarkable for the number of artists and other eminent persons interred in it; at one time it was the great metropolitan burial-place for Roman Catholics, and consequently an unusual number of foreigners of celebrity, Frenchemigrésduring the Reign of Terror, &c., were buried there. Recently, however, the old graveyard has been sadly cut about by the pickaxes and shovels of railway excavators, engaged by the Midland Railway, which passes thereby.
It is worthy of note, that Sir Christopher Wren built the large number offifty-threechurches in London after the Great Fire. Nearly all of them are still standing. Among the most noted are St. Paul’s; Bow Church; St. Stephen’s, Walbrook; St. Bride’s; St. Andrew’s, Holborn; St. Sepulchre’s; St. Antholin’s, Watling Street; Christ Church, Newgate; St. Clement Danes; St. Dunstan’s-in-the-East; St. James’s, Piccadilly; St. Lawrence, Jewry; St. Magnus, London Bridge; St. Martin’s, Ludgate; and St. Mary, Aldermanbury.
Among churches and chapels of the Establishment, of more recent date, the following are worth looking at:—New St. Pancras, near the Euston Railway Station, is the most notable example in London of an imitative Greek temple; it was built by Messrs. Inwood, in 1822, and cost nearly £80,000.St. Marylebone, in the Marylebone Road, built by Mr. Hardwick in 1817, cost £60,000; the interior is heavy in appearance, having two tiers of galleries; in few London churches, however, is divine service, according to the established ritual, performed on a more impressive scale.St. Stephen’s, Westminster, in Rochester Row, was built wholly at the expense of Miss Burdett Coutts, and is a fine example of revived Gothic; the choral service on Sundays is grand and complete.St. Paul’s, at Knightsbridge, andSt. Barnabas, at Pimlico, especially the latter, are noticeable for the mediæval revivals, in arrangements and in service, which belong to what is called the high-church party.All Saints’ Church, Margaret Street, is, perhaps, the most sumptuous of modern London churches. Although small, it cost £60,000. Mr. Butterfield was the architect. The exterior is of red and black brick, very mediæval in appearance. The interior is ornate, with polished granite piers, alabaster capitals, coloured marble decorations, stained-glass windows, and frescoes by Dyce.St. James the Less, in Garden Street, Westminster, is a truly remarkable specimen of coloured-brickarchitecture, both within and without; Mr. Street was the architect; and the cost was defrayed by the daughters of the late Dr. Monk, Bishop of Gloucester. A very noteworthy and costly brick church has been constructed in Baldwin’s Gardens, Gray’s Inn Lane, from the designs of Mr. Butterfield, and at the sole cost of Mr. J. G. Hubbard. It is dedicated toSt. Alban. The Rev. A. Mackonochie, whose extreme ritualistic views have several times brought his name prominently before the public, was the incumbent.
Catholic, Dissenting, and Jewish Places of Worship.—It is almost impossible to give an exact enumeration of the places of worship in London, seeing that so many new ones are in the course of building. But the following figures, based on information supplied by the London Post-Office Directory, and otherwise, will, it is hoped, be found to convey a very fair approximate notion on the subject. In that Directory, then, there will be found the names of about 100 city parishes. But of these, some 40 have, of late years, been united to other parishes. Thus, All Hallow’s, Honey Lane, is united with St. Mary-le-Bow; St. Mary Magdalen, in Milk Street, is united with St. Lawrence, Jewry; and so forth. Many of the parishes so united have their own churches now closed, or in course of demolition, and worship is provided for them at the churches of the particular parishes into which they have been merged. Without counting the city proper, there are, in London, 50 parish churches, and at least 300 district churches and chapels belonging to the Church of England. The Roman Catholics have 41 churches and chapels, without reckoning sundry religious houses. The Wesleyans have 152. The recognised Dissenters from the Wesleyan body have 4; the Baptists, 109; the Independents, 109; the United Methodist Free Church, 27; Primitive Methodists, 16; the Unitarians, 8; Methodist New Connexion, 8; the Quakers, 5; the Presbyterians (English) 15; the Church of Scotland, 5; the Calvinists have 2; the Calvinistic Methodists, 3; the Welsh Calvinistic Methodists, 4. The Jews have 12 Synagogues; there are 3 French Protestant churches; 9 German (Reformed) churches and chapels; Swiss Protestant, 1; Swedenborgians, 2; PlymouthBrethren, 3; Catholic Apostolic (not Roman) 6; 1 Swedish, and 1 Greek church; 1 Russian chapel, and 3 meeting-houses of Free Christians; 1 Moravian; and some 40 other places for public worship, belonging to miscellaneous denominations. Of Roman Catholic churches, the chief isSt. George’s Cathedral, near Bethlehem Hospital—a very large, but heavy Gothic structure; the tower has never been finished for want of funds.The TabernacleThe service here is more complete than at any other Roman Catholic structure in England.St. Mary’s, near Moorfields; theSpanish Chapel, near Manchester Square; and theItalian Church, in Hatton Wall—are three other Roman Catholic chapels that attract many strangers by their excellent music. TheCatholic and Apostolic Church, in Gordon Square, may be regarded as the cathedral of the so-called Irvingites (a designation, however, which they repudiate); it is one of the best modern examples of early English, but there are no funds availablefor finishing the tower. The minister of the National Scotch Church, in Crown Court, Drury Lane, is the celebrated Rev. J. Cumming, D.D., whose preaching attracts large congregations. Of the dissenting chapels in London, by far the most remarkable is Mr. Spurgeon’sTabernacle, built at a cost of about £30,000, at Newington, near the Elephant and Castle; everything, within and without, has been made subservient to the accommodating of 4000 or 5000 persons, all of whom can hear, and nearly all see, the celebrated preacher. The principalJews’ Synagogueis in Great St. Helen’s, near Leadenhall Street—remarkable rather for the ceremonies, at certain seasons of the year, than for anything in the building itself. A synagogue exists for the Jews residing in the western half of the metropolis, in Great Portland Street.
Cemeteries.—Intramural burial is now forbidden in London. The chief cemeteries are those at Highgate, Finchley, Abney Park, Mile-End, Kensal Green, Bethnal Green, Ilford, Brompton, Norwood, Nunhead, and Camberwell. There is a very fine view of London, on a clear day, from the first-named. Kensal Green contains the graves of many distinguished persons. Princess Sophia was buried at the last-named cemetery; and a sedulous visitor would discover the tombs and graves of Sydney Smith, the daughters and a grandchild of Sir Walter Scott, Allan Cunningham, John Murray, Thomas Hood, Liston, Loudon, Callcott, Birkbeck, Brunel, Thackeray, and other persons of note. Cardinal Wiseman lies interred in the Catholic Cemetery adjacent to Kensal Green. TheGreat Northern Cemetery, near Colney Hatch, lately opened, has special railway facilities from the King’s Cross Station. TheWoking Necropolis, in Surrey, is too far distant to be included within London; nevertheless, the admirable railway arrangements, from a station of the South-Western, in the Westminster Road, make it, in effect, one of the metropolitan cemeteries. If the old burial-grounds are no longer attended to for funerals, many of them are deeply interesting for their memorials of the past.Old St. Pancras Churchyardhas already been named; and another worthy of attention isBunhill Fieldsburying-ground. It has been called the ‘Campo Santo’ of Dissenters, forthere lie the remains of Daniel Defoe, John Bunyan, John Owen, George Fox, (who founded the sect of the Quakers about 1646,) Dr. Isaac Watts, and many a stout defender of nonconformity.
British Museum.—This is a great national establishment, containing a vast and constantly-increasing collection of books, maps, drawings, prints, sculptures, antiquities, and natural curiosities. It occupies a most extensive suite of buildings in Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, commenced in 1823, and not even now finished. The sum spent on them is little less than £1,000,000. Sir Richard Smirke was the architect. The principal, or south front, 370 feet long, presents a range of 44 columns, the centre being a majestic portico, with sculptures in the pediment. Since its commencement, in 1755, the collection has been prodigiously increased by gifts, bequests, and purchases; and now it is, perhaps, the largest of the kind in the world. The library contains more thaneight hundred thousandvolumes, and is increasing enormously in extent every year. The Reading-Room is open only to persons who proceed thither for study, or for consulting authorities. A reading order is readily procured on written application, enclosing the recommendation of two respectable householders, to “the Principal Librarian.” It is open nearly 300 days in the year, and for an average of eight hours each day. No general inspection of this room by strangers is allowed, except by a written order from the secretary, which can, however, readily be obtained on three days in the week. The porters in the hall will direct to the secretary’s office; and strangers must be careful to observe the conditions on which the order is given. The present reading-room, opened in 1857, and built at a cost of £150,000, is one of the finest apartments in the world; it is circular, 140 feet in diameter, and open to a dome-roof 106 feet high, supported without pillars. This beautiful room, and the fireproof galleries for books which surround it, were planned by Mr. Panizzi, the late chief librarian.
The portions of the British Museum open to ordinary visitorsconsist of an extensive series of galleries and saloons on the ground and upper floors, each devoted to the exhibition of a distinct class of objects. Among others are—terracottas, Roman sculptures and sepulchral antiquities, Sir T. Lawrence’s collection of casts, British antiquities, ethnological specimens, Egyptian antiquities, several saloons containing the Elgin and Phigalian Marbles, Nineveh and Lycian sculptures, &c. The rooms containing objects in natural history and artificial curiosities are handsomely fitted up with glass-cases on the walls and tables. Days may be spent in examining this vast assemblage of objects; and to assist in the inspection, catalogues for the entire Museum may be purchased at the door at a cheap price.Reading Room, British MuseumThe following will convey an idea of the order in which the general contents of the Museum meet the eye. Outside the building, in unsightly glass sheds under the porticos and colonnades, are ancient Greek sculptures from Asia Minor, chiefly from the famous Mausoleum of Halicarnassus; they are temporarily soplaced until room can be found for them elsewhere. On entering the hall or vestibule, and ascending the staircase, the galleries of natural history are reached—stuffed quadrupeds, including agorillapurchased from M. Chaillu; stuffed birds; birds’ eggs; shells in immense variety and of surpassing beauty; minerals; and fossils. These occupy the eastern, northern, and part of the southern galleries. The western, and the rest of the southern galleries, are occupied by numerous antiquarian and ethnological collections—including Egyptian mummies and ornaments, Greek and Etruscan vases, Greek and Roman bronzes, ancient and mediæval porcelain, ivory carvings, and specimens of the dresses, weapons, instruments, &c., of various nations. On the ground-floor, to the right of the hall, visitors are admitted to a room containing a curious collection of manuscripts, autographs, and early printed books; and to the King’s Library, a beautiful apartment, containing the books presented by George IV. This room also possesses a small but extremely choice display of Italian, German, and Flemish drawings and engravings; together with a fewnielli, (black engravings on silver plates.) The west side of the ground-floor is occupied by the ancient sculptures—Egyptian, Greek, Assyrian, Lycian, Roman, &c.—A refreshment-room for visitors was opened in 1866, and is situated in the western basement.
The British Museum is open on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and the whole of Christmas, Easter, and Whitsun weeks. It is closed on the first week in January, May, and September, and on Christmas-day, Good-Friday, and Ash-Wednesday. The hour of opening is 10 o’clock; that of closing varies from 4 till 6 o’clock, according to the season of the year. During many years past there have been newspaper controversies and parliamentary debates touching the disposal of the rich contents of the Museum. Almost every part is filled to overflowing; but much diversity of opinion exists as to which portion, if any, shall be removed to another locality. Burlington House and the South Kensington Museum, each has its advocates. Immediate removal of part of the contents has been decided on.
Kensington Museum
South Kensington Museum.—This very interesting national establishmentis situated at South Kensington, near the Cromwell and Exhibition Roads, on ground bought out of the profits of the Great Exhibition of 1851. The varied contents have been either presented to, or purchased by, the nation, with the exception of a few collections which have been lent for temporary periods. They consist of illustrations of manufactures and the useful arts; models of patented inventions; collections of raw produce, derived from the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms; a museum of educational appliances; casts from sculptures and architectural ornaments; objects of ornamental art, both mediæval and modern; naval models, &c. Besides these, there are the fine collections of paintings presented to the nation by Mr. Sheepshanks, and other liberal donors; and a portion of the Vernon collection, the rest being at the National Gallery. Turner’s pictures, bequeathed to the nation in his will, were kept here for some years, but were removed to the National Gallery in 1861. There are, among the group of buildings, some devoted to the Government Departmentof Science and Art; but the Museum generally is, so far as concerns the public, distinct. The Gallery of British Art contains many hundred pictures, including choice specimens by Turner, Wilkie, Mulready, Landseer, Leslie, Hogarth, Wilson, Gainsborough, Reynolds, Lawrence, Constable, Loutherbourg, Callcott, Collins, Etty, Stanfield, Roberts, Uwins, Creswick, Maclise, Webster, Eastlake, Ward, Cooke, Cooper, Danby, Goodall, &c. The rooms containing these pictures, planned by Captain Fowke, are remarkable for the admirable mode of lighting, both by day and in the evening. On Mondays, Tuesdays, and Saturdays, the admission is free from 10a.m.till 10p.m.; on the other three days, calledstudents’days, 6d. is charged from 10a.m.till 4, 5, or 6, according to the season. This is one of the very few free exhibitions open in the evening (thrice a-week) as well as the daytime.
Bethnal Green Museum.—This is really a branch of the South Kensington Museum, and is situated not far from Shoreditch Church. It is accessible by omnibus from most parts of the City and the West End, and is not far distant from Victoria Park. It was formally opened, in 1872, by the Prince and Princess of Wales. At the present, its great attraction is the picture gallery; but it promises to become as popular as any museum in London, especially as technical information will become an essential feature of its future existence. It is open under the same regulations as are observed at the South Kensington Museum.
Museum of Economic Geology.—This small but interesting establishment, having an entrance in Jermyn Street, is a national museum for the exhibition of all such articles as belong to the mineral kingdom. It was built from the designs of Mr. Pennethorne, and was opened in 1851. Though less extensive than the British and South Kensington Museums, it is of a very instructive character. Besides the mineral specimens, raw and manufactured, it contains models, sections, and diagrams, illustrative of mining, metallurgy, and various manufactures. It is open,free, every day, except Friday.
Museum of the College of Surgeons.—This building, on the south side of Lincoln’s Inn Fields, can be visited by strangers only through the introduction of members of the College. The Government, about seventy years ago, bought John Hunter’s Anatomical Museum, and presented it to the College. The contents of the museum are illustrative of the structure and functions of the human body, both in the healthy and the diseased state; they have been classified and arranged with great skill by Professor Owen.
United Service Museum.—This is situated in Whitehall Yard. Admission is obtained through the members of the United Service Institution. The contents of the museum consist of models, weapons, and implements interesting to military men. Here see the robe worn by Tippoo Sahib, when killed at Seringapatam, in 1799. Also observe Siborne’s extraordinary model of the battle of Waterloo; and notice the skeleton of the horse which Napoleon rode at that battle.
East India Museum.—Near the building last noticed, in Fife House, Whitehall, is deposited the collection known as the East India Museum, formerly deposited at the India House, in Leadenhall Street, and now belonging to the nation. It comprises a very curious assemblage of Oriental dresses, jewels, ornaments, furniture, musical instruments, models, paintings, tools, implements, idols, trinkets, &c. Among the rest is the barbaric toy known asTippoo’s Tiger. It consists of a figure of a tiger trampling on a prostrate man, whom he is just about to seize with his teeth; the interior contains pipes and other mechanism, which, when wound up by a key, cause the figure of the man to utter cries of distress, and the tiger to roar. Such was one of the amusements of Tippoo Sahib! The museum is open free on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, from 10 till 4.
Royal Institution.—This building, in Albemarle Street, is devoted to the prosecution of science, by means of lectures, experiments, discussions, and a scientific library. It has been rendered famous by the brilliant labours of Davy and Faraday. Admission is only obtainable by membership, or by fees for courses of lectures.
Society of Arts.—This institution has existed in John Street,Adelphi, for a long series of years. Its object is the encouragement of arts, manufactures, agriculture, and commerce. Under the auspices of the late Prince Consort, it was mainly instrumental in bringing about the two great International Exhibitions of 1851 and 1862. The lecture-room contains six remarkable pictures by Barry, illustrative of ‘Human Culture.’ Every year there are free exhibitions of manufactures and new mechanical inventions.
Scientific Societies.—There are many other Scientific Societies which hold their meetings in London; but only a few of them possess buildings worthy of much attention, or contain collections that would interest a mere casual visitor. TheRoyal, theAstronomical, theGeological, theChemical, and theLinnæanSocieties, theCollege of Physicians, theInstitution of Civil Engineers, and others of like kind, are those to which we here refer. Many of these societies are at present accommodated with the use of apartments at the public expense, in Burlington House, Piccadilly.
National Gallery.—This building, in Trafalgar Square, is the chief depository of the pictures belonging to the nation. In 1824, the Government purchased the Angerstein collection of 38 pictures, for £57,000, and exhibited it for a time at a house in Pall Mall. The present structure was finished in 1838, at a cost of about £100,000, from the designs of Mr. Wilkins. Since that year till 1869, the Royal Academy occupied the eastern half, and the National Gallery the western. In the last-named year, the Royal Academy was removed to Burlington House; and the whole of the building is now what its name denotes. This National Gallery now comprises the Angerstein collection, together with numerous pictures presented to the nation by Lord Farnborough, Sir George Beaumont, the Rev. Holwell Carr, Mr. Vernon, and other persons; and, most recent of all, the Turner collection, bequeathed to the nation by that greatest of our landscape painters. Every year, likewise, witnesses the purchase of choice old pictures out of funds provided by Parliament. The grant annually is about £10,000. To accommodate the constantly increasing collection, the centre ofthe building was re-constructed in 1861, and a very handsome new saloon built, in which are deposited the choicest examples of the Italian Schools of Painting: forming, with its contents, one of the noblest rooms of the kind in Europe. To name the pictures in this collection would be to name some of the finest works of the Italian, Spanish, Flemish, and French schools of painters. Some of the most costly of the pictures are the following:—Murillo’s ‘Holy Family,’ £3000; Rubens’s ‘Rape of the Sabines,’ £3000; Francia’s ‘Virgin and Child,’ £3500; Sebastian del Piombo’s ‘Raising of Lazarus,’ 3500 guineas; Coreggio’s ‘Holy Family,’ £3800; Perugino’s ‘Virgin and Child,’ £4000; Claude’s ‘Seaport,’ £4000; Rubens’s ‘Judgment of Paris,’ £4200; Raffaelle’s ‘St. Catherine,’ £5000; Rembrandt’s ‘Woman taken in Adultery,’ £5250; Correggio’s ‘Ecce Homo,’ and ‘Mercury instructing Cupid,’ 10,000 guineas; and Paul Veronese’s ‘Family of Darius,’ £14,000.
Royal Academy,Burlington House.—The Academy was established in 1768, for the encouragement of the fine arts. Until the finishing of Mr. Wilkin’s building, the Academy held its meetings and exhibitions in a small number of rooms at Somerset House. Students are admitted on evidence of sufficient preliminary training, and taught gratuitously; but so far as the public is concerned, the Royal Academy is chiefly known by its famous Annual Exhibition of modern English pictures and sculptures, from May to July. This Exhibition is a very profitable affair to the Academy. Royal commissions and parliamentary committees find a difficulty in investigating the revenues, privileges, and claims of the Academy; it is known, however, that the schools are maintained out of the profits. Concerning the building in Trafalgar Square, most persons agree that the main front is too much cut up in petty detail, and that one of the finest sites in Europe has thus been comparatively neglected. Some have humorously nicknamed it “The National Cruet Stand.”
National Portrait Gallery.—This infant gallery, established by the nation in 1857, is now at Exhibition Road, South Kensington. The object is to be strictly confined to the collecting of a series of national portraits of persons of any note, whether of early or of latedays. A sum of £2000 a-year is voted for this purpose. The collection is yet only small, but very interesting, and is yearly increasing. Open free on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Soane Museum.—This closely-packed collection, presented to the nation by the late Sir John Soane, the architect, occupies the house which he used to inhabit, at No. 13, on the north side of Lincoln’s Inn Fields. Every nook and corner of about 24 rooms is crowded with works of art—sarcophagi, ancient gems and intaglios, medals and coins, sculptures, sketches and models of sculptures, books of prints, portfolios of drawings, Hogarth’s famous series of pictures of the ‘Rake’s Progress,’ and numerous other examples ofvertu, some of which cost large sums of money. The place is open every Wednesday from February to August inclusive, and every Thursday and Friday in April, May, and June, from 10 till 4. Still, these are very insufficient facilities (only 56 days out of the 365 in the year) for seeing a fine collection of treasures. Orders for admission are sent, on application, by post.
Art Exhibitions.—There are always numerous picture exhibitions open in the summer months—such as those formed by theBritish Institution, theSociety of British Artists, theSociety of Painters in Water Colours, &c.; concerning which information can be seen in the advertisement columns of the newspapers. At the British Institution there is a spring exhibition of modern pictures, and a summer exhibition of ancient. The price of admission to such places is almost invariably One Shilling. Other exhibitions, pertaining more to entertainment than to fine arts, are briefly noticed in a later section.