ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNS

Evening Post, Volume XCIV, Issue 40, 16 August 1917, Page 11

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNS

THE PROPOSED CATHEDRAL

10-IHB EDITOR,

Sir,—lt is-'to be hoped that whoever may foe the architect entrusted with the design and erection of an Anglican Cathedral in Wellington, he -will devote some time to the preliminary study of earthquakes, . river-beds (embracing the fan theory), and the geology of this' rising country; also to the nature of the building materials available. In 1857 the writer was engaged, with Robert Parkj one of. the Now Zealand Company's surveyors, Chief Surveyor of the Wellington Province, in locating some town sections on the Adelaide-road. We sank above the taps of our kneeboots into? an eva-smelling, yellowish, muddy "swamp/ from .which ■ wi» extri-. cated ourselves with some difficulty. At that time Te Aro Pah and Kebbell's flour mill were in existence,, and a goodly stream of water emptied itself into the harbour. Similarly, from the Tinakori-road, down .Hawkestone-street, past the residence .of HenTy St. ( Hill,. Resident Magistrate, to the vicinity -of Pipl'tca Point, existed a stream up which the Maoris dragged their canoes. These facts explain' why, .on the earliest maps- of the City of Wellington, the Basin Reserve was actually intended to be a saltwater basin, and Kent and Cambridge terraces canals leading thereto. Fifty years are a mere nothing in the history of earthquakes, as anyone who saw the results of the shake of 1855 could testify. As previously said, this is a rising country, somewhat lopsidedly perhaps; but then some people are never satisfied. At all events a beneficent earth-tremor shook up Te Aro flat some feet, and naturally drained it; and nigger-heads and tussocks floated gaily out to sea.

1 have not been, privileged to see the design for the proposed Anglican Cathedral. Your reporter, who cannot be expected to be a .professional architect, stated that it was a beautiful design in the Gothic style, with graceful spires pointing heavenward, etc. The Gothic— more correctly, Christian, or ecclesiastical style—is a very wide term, and may include anything from Norman, or even Saxon, to late Perpendicular,' Jacobean, Elizabethan, and even Palladian, when other styles set in, and churches were designed by Sir. Christopher Wren, and Iris pupils, bearing,a.nebulous likeness in outline to s<j-called Gothic architecture, but classic and renaissance in detail. Witness the western towers to Westminster Abbey by Wren,. St. Bride's, Bow Church, and many city churches Picturesque, no doubt, but not pure Art. Sir G. G. Scott was an ecclesiastical architect par. excellence. His soul was steeped in Christian art. The period in which he revelled was the. early Decorated, in which it reached the summit of beauty in sculpture, stained glass, metaiwork, etc. The monks and operative freemasons of those days, who ,wera ai .guild under the aegis of tlie Church, and whose marks axe still, visible, used to flock from afar to lend their aid in; erecting , stately fanes to the glory of _ God, tho honour of His Church, and the spread of the true faith and Christian.charity Every niche on facade, or reredos, then, had its occupant; amgel, saint, pries.t, or king.. Sermons were preached in stones, arid the visible. Church was made to typify the heaven of heavens. Sir G. G. Scott, when designing tlhe Anglican Cathedral for Christchurch, tho City, of the 1 Plains, no doubt had in his mind's eye the lofty spires, landmarks for many miles, rising about the fens of. Lincolnshire; but. he cannot have been aware of tho oscillation the Christ'church spire would be subjected to. In fact, this spire forms an object-lesson. Tho sum of £8000.was spent on the foundations of the Cathedral before they reached ground level; a,nd the upper part of the spire has been shaken down three times. Perhaps ferro-coucrete, as proposed to bo used in tho Wellington Cathedral, . would have solved 'the difficulty, making the structure monolithic; wluie a, suggestion is thrown out' that this method of construction would form a basis for mosaic woik, or other costly embellishment. However, the Christchurch spire has now a metal termination, tho joint design of the late E. Dobsoii, M.1.C.E., and B. W. Mountford, architect Mr Mountford, who hailed from the same London office as myself, informed me that Sir G. G. Scott had submitted an excellent design for, a. Cathedral built principally of massive timbers, which, properly framed and braced together, would resist very violent shocks; but tho largest timbers would have to be imported. As to giant kauri, it will soon be extinct. . The safest of all earthquake-proof buildings is the Maori whaJ-e, with scarcely any side walls, and a light roof. This naturally develops into the tribal meetinghouse; and there you have Maori architecture ! , ...

Many of. the. ancient cathedrals in the British Isles, and the. Continent of Europe comprise a school of architecture in. themselves; and it is strange how; in the earliest examples, the best building materials were carefully selected. At Oxford, for instance, some of.the Early English work, with its, deeply undercut 'mouldings, was as perfectly -preserved as if made of. iron instead of stone; whereas,"the walls, of.-some colleges, built during the Tudor period, were in a. ruinous state, with holes in which you could: put your head. During the period of Henry VIII. havoc wa,s played wth monasteries, convents, and ecclesiastical edifices generally.; and the architecture of the period reflected the generally .growing decadence. . The rich-ly-wrought niches and canopies enclosing beautiful statuary gave way to flat, meaningless panelling., , . ,

The Anglican Church had an opportunity in the early days of the colony, when land was cheap, of securing large tracts of rich country, on which conkl have been reared complete Cathedral and collegiate establishments, not to mention retreats for poor clergy and lay brotherhoods, who would cultivate the soil and run model farms, which Would bo famed for their products. There is no reason why the Church should not be. utilitarian and benevolent.; and worthy workers encouraged by. being well paid and well housed amidst comfortable, healthy, and uplifting surroundings. But I fear the day is past; although- money would do a great deal. The great present need is for parish churches, church schools, and church halls (replacing the old chapter houses), all conveniently grouped together, and forming centres of action. The. late W. J. Locke Travers, solicitor, was strongly of opinion that . the. Wellington Town Belt-was, expressly reserved far all time by the New Zealand Company for the recreation of the inhabitants; and. that all who have encroached thereon, under any pretext, are trespassers. Consequently the Anglicans hay no- moral right to appropriate any portion of the Town Belt for-a Cathedral site. In the writer's opinion. Kelburn. in the vicinity of the Girls' Training College, or Brooklyn .Heights, would offer more commanding sites for an Anglican. Cathedral; and there need be no difficulty of approach. The material to be chiefly ferroconcrete, ay proposed: but as to n lofty spire., it would b« safer to copy ■I lit new Liverpool Cathedral by Mr. 0. 0. Scol.t (son of the famous architect), which, from tho nicagro information in thej Homo papera, aijpertt'ii to be ,& massive-ada-pi-ation of .York Minefcer,

.and a commanding object from the sea. May I also presume to observe that the place occupied by tho Kelburn Tea Kiosk would have offered an admirable and healthy site for a Viceregal residence? But a mere nobody 1 begs, Sir, to .subscribe himself, r DUM- SPIRO BPERO !

13th- August.