both points; remarking that Exeter Hall had been greatly improved by substituting a gently curved wooden ceiling for the original ceiling intersected by wide spaces; and noting that "one of the best churches for facility of hearing is the large parish church of St. Pancras in Euston Square, which accommodates 2,500 persons, with a flat ceiling, and no massive arches and columns to intercept the sound, which travels freely round the walls of the spacious building."

2878b. The subject of Church arrangement during the medieval period has been elucidated by Mr. W. H. Dykes, architect, in a paper read before the Yorkshire Architectural Society, in 1852; and the Rev. M. E. C. Walcott, On Church and Conventual Arrangement, a paper read at the Royal Institution of British Architects, Dec. 3, 1860; and published by him in 1861, 8vo., with plates of the conventual plans adopted by the various religious orders.

SECT. IV.

PALACES.

2879. A palace is properly an edifice destined not only for the residence of the sovereign or prince, but for the reception also of persons who have the privilege of public or private audience. It being impossible for the whole of the parties to be present together, there must be, besides the apartments which are occupied by the sovereign and his or her family, ample room and accommodation for the attendants in waiting of every degree, and the consequent accessories. A palace should be disposed with porticoes, vestibules, galleries, halls of waiting suited to every season, wherein those to be admitted may wait with convenience and comfort till their turn of admission arrives. It is evident that, from the nature of such an edifice, much magnificence should be displayed in it.

2879a. The palaces of the Escurial, Versailles, and the Tuileries are, though extremely spacious and imposing, but ill-disposed and imperfect examples of a palace. Perhaps the most perfect in Europe is that at Caserta, near Naples, commenced in 1752, which is described by Milizia as follows:-" The plan of this palace is a vast rectangle, 731 feet long from east to west, 569 from north to south, and 106 feet in height. The interior is divided into four courts, 162 feet by 244. The depth of building that surrounds these courts, in which are the apartments, passages, &c., is 80 feet, including the thickness of the walls, which are in some instances 15 feet. The two principal façades have five stories besides that below the ground, and each contains thirty-seven windows. There are three entrances, one in the centre, and the others at equal distances between it and the extreme angles, where, as well as in the centre, the building breaks forward a little, is carried up to the height of 60 feet, and formed into pavilions by columns 42 feet high. Tous the whole height of the building is 102 feet from the foundation to the top of the pavilion, at the angles 162 feet, and in the centre 190 feet. The basement, which is rusticated, comprises the lower offices, the ground floor, and its mezzanine. Above is placed an Ionic order of columns and pilasters, which contains the two ranges of state apartments; the lower windows are ornamented with pediments; in the frieze are introduced the windows of the upper mezzanine. The centre entrance leads to a superb portico, which traverses the building from north to south, and is sufficiently spacious to allow carriages to pass under from either façade to the centre of the building, where is a large octangular vestibule, which unites the arms of the cross produced by dividing the plan into four courts: two sides of the octagon are open to the portico, four to the four courts, one to the grand staircase, and the eighth is occupied by a statue of Hercules crowned by Virtue, with this inscription:

Virtus post fortia facta coronat.'"

2880. The grand staircase, which is on the right, is lighted by twenty-four windows, and decorated in a beautiful style. At the first landing it is divided into two flights; the bundred steps of which it is composed are 18 feet long, and each of one piece of marble; it is lighted also from the top by a double skylight. The upper vestibule is also octangular, and surrounded by twenty-four columns of yellow marble 18 feet high. Four doors lead from thence to the apartments, the one opposite the landing to the chapel, that to the right to the apartments of the king, which comprehend the south-west angle of the building overlooking the sea and the plains of Naples and Capua. To the left are the apartments of the queen, occupying the north-west angle, the remainder of these floors being occupied by the princes. The chambers throughout are vaulted, and admirably arranged; the apartments of the king and queen are separated by a gallery 138 feet long, 42 wide, and 52 high. The palace contains a small elegant theatre, on a circular plan, divided into nine compartments, with four tiers of boxes. The chapel is rectangular in its plan, with the end terminated semicircularly, and decorated with isolated Corinthian columns on pedestals.

2885. In these, as in other buildings where there is often congregated a great number of persons, the entrances, and at the same time outlets, should be increased in number as much as convenience and the situation will permit; and another indispensable requisite is, that the court itself should be so placed in the design that no noise created on the outside of the building may be heard in the interior, so as to interfere with the attention of those engaged on the business before them.

2886. The assize or law courts at Manchester, erected 1859-64 by Mr. Alfred Waterhouse, architect, in the Pointed style of architecture, have received the highest approbation for the accommodation provided, not only for all those immediately interested in the administration of justice, but for the public. This edifice has been described by its architect, in the Sessional papers of the Royal Institute of British Architects, 1864-5, p. 165, from which we gather that the cost, limited to 70,000l., did not exceed 110,0007. or nearly 9d. per foot cube; the furniture was about 10,000/ more. It consists of two almost distinct parts, the inner structure containing the courts, public offices, and arrangements for business. This is separated by a court yard in front, but connected by a corridor at back, from the judges' residence or "lodgings."

2887. In the basement of the main building, which is 256 feet long by 166 feet deep, and three stories or about 60 feet in height, are cells for the prisoners under trial, chambers for beating and ventilating, kitchens, refreshment rooms, &c. On the principal floor, which is about 17 feet above the level of the street, and close to the entrance, is the central hall, 100 feet long, 48 feet 6 in. wide, and 75 feet high; beyond it are the assize courts, and the sheriffs' or additional court at one end; also the various rooms for the accommodation of the bench, the bar, the different officers of the court, witnesses, and jurors. The crown and civil courts are each 59 feet by 45 feet and 39 feet 6 in. high, being among the largest courts in the kingdom. In them the bar is placed as usual opposite the bench, the jury is on the judge's left hand, the witness box on his right and brought close to the bench. To each of the courts there are eight entrances, and also two to the ladies gallery above. All these are approached from the corridors, 10 feet wide, which, diverging from the central hall, run round the building, and return to the hall again. The barristers' corridor at the rear of the courts is 184 feet long, and shut off so as to keep it for the exclusive use of the bar. Opposite the main entrance, but quite in the rear, is a door leading from this corridor into the library, 60 feet by 25 feet, another into the robing room, beyond which are the lavatories placed round a ventilating shaft. The rooms for the prothonotary, clerk of the crown, and indictment office, all also open into this corridor. Other rooms on this floor are devoted to the witnesses, who are classified as much as possible, to jurors, attorneys, and barristers' clerks, to the various officers of the assizes, and to purposes of consultation. On the upper floor are situated the Chancery court for the county Palatine of Lancaster, 41 feet by 23 feet; the grand jury room, 40 feet by 25 feet; the magistrates' board room; and the barristers' mess room, 55 feet by 22 feet.

SECT. VI.

TOWN 11ALLS.

2888. The town hall of a city or town will necessarily vary with its extent and opulence. In towns of small extent it should stand in the market-place; indeed, in a large proportion of the towns of this country the ground floor is usually on columns, and forms the corn market of the place, the upper floor being generally sufficiently spacious for transacting its municipal business. Where the sessions and assizes, as in cities, are held in the town hall, it is necessary to provide two courts, one for the civil and the other for the criminal trials; and in this case the observations on courts of law in the preceding section equally apply to this in that respect.

2889. In cities and corporations where much municipal business occurs, the number of apartments must of course be increased to meet the exigencies of the particular case; and, if possible, a large hall should be provided for the meetings of the corporation. A certain appearance of its being the property of the public is the character to be imparted to it, and this character must be stamped on the disposition as well as the elevation. Thus, on the ground floor of the first class of town halls, courts, porticoes, or arcades, and spacious staircases should prepare for and lead to the large apartments and courts of law on the first floor. Every means should be employed in providing ample ingress and egress to the persons assembling. Fire-proof rooms, moreover, should be always provided for the records and accounts belonging to the town. The exterior of the building should not be highly decorated, but designed with simplicity, yet with majesty, as it is an index to the wealth and importance of the place for whose use it is erected.

2890. For the disposition of these buildings the student may turn with profit to the examples abroad, in which, generally, apartments are provided for every branch of the

government of the city. Durand, in his Paralléle des Edifices, has given several examples. We have chosen the Belgian examples, as most splendid, to remark upon, but it is not to be understood that fine specimens are only to be found in that country. France and

Germany (see Builder for 1866) abound with such edifices, and a very voluminous work might be produc d on the subject.

2890a Of the four prineipal hotels de ville, that of Bruges is the earliest. Its

date is 1377, and it is chiefly remarkable for the original wooden roof to the great hall. The Hôtel de Ville of Brussels is, as an edifice, the first of the class, whether considered by itseif, or as the dominant feature of a place surrounded by buildings of the most unique and varied appearance, the most interesting that we recollect anywhere to have contemplated. It appears to have been completed in 1445. Fig. 1343. is a view of the east façade. An ancient building which occupied this site, has not been entirely removed; for in the northern

side from the tower, the piers of the loggia, which on the basement extends along the front, consist, at least three of them, of columns whose date is evidently a century earlier, and which it is probable were left when the main front of the building was carried up. Indeed, it seems highly probable that when the architect Jean van Ruysbroeck undertook the tower, his part of the work, the hôtel was in existence as high as the one-pair floor. The whole of the tower seems rather later than the date above given, which accords well enough with the northern wing. The authorities we have looked into scarcely, however, admit us to doubt its correctness. As the building stands executed, taking one of the bays on the northern side as a measuring unit, there are three measuring the central space for the tower, ten for the north wing, and eleven for the south wing; the height, to the top of the parapet, nine; to the ridge of the roof, thirteen; to the top of the spire, thirtythree. The tracery on the spire is very elegant, and is pierced throughout. It is 364 feet high, and crowned with a copper gilt colossal statue of St. Michael, the patron of the city, 18 feet high, which is so well balanced upon the pivot on which it stands that it is susceptible of motion with a very gentle wind. The interior of the edifice has a quadrangular court, with tvo modern fountains, statues of river gods with reeds and vases, as usual in