NEW CHURCHES.-No, XIII. ST. MARY'S CHURCH, BRYANSTONE SQUARE, ST. MARY-LE THE BONE. Architect, Smirke. HE principal front of this Church, contrary to the usual arrangement, is the southern; in the centre of which is the portico and tower. This view of the Church, together with the western front, is shewn in the accompanying engraving, Fig. 1. In its plan the building consists of a nave, or body, with side aisles, a portion of the design at the angles being taken out of the plan to form vestries and lobbies, whereby the body is made longer than the aisles. The tower is circular in plan; the elevation is made into three stories; the basement has a doorway with a lintelled architrave, and above it three round-headed windows. A portico conisting of six Ionic columns and two antæ, sustaining an entablature and attic, the latter ornamented with arched pannels instead of a balustrade, sweeps round that portion of the tower which projects from the main building, Above the parapet the circular tower is continued, and forms a stylobate to the second story, which has eight semicolumns, of the early Corinthian order, attached to it, with windows having arched heads in the spaces between; the cornice is finished with a parapet set round with Grecian tiles, and upon this story is a pedestal, still continuing the same form, having four circular apertures for the clock dials, and finish trance, with a window above it in the wall of the Church on each of the tower. The west front is in like manner made into two stories, and also vertically into three divisions, the lateral ones containing windows, and finishing with cornices and parapets as before; the central division has three doorways, with lintelled heads in its basement, and three arched windows above. This division is surmounted roof. The north side of the Church with a pediment to conceal the ridged only differs from the south in having three more windows in each story in the space which is occupied by the described. The east front is in three tower and portico on the side already. divisions, the side ones similar to the western; the centrál division retires behind the line of the front, and has a square window divided into three compartments by ante, and finished with a pediment. The Church is built of brick, except the tower, cornices, and other particulars before enumerated. THE INTERIOR "" is made into a nave and side aisles. On each side the former are square piers, supporting galleries, the fronts of which are composed of a cornice and attic, which being continued round the whole Church, divide the elevation into two stories. Upon the upper member of the attic are placed at intervals flat square plinths, from which rise six fluted columns, intended for Grecian Doric, on each side of the Church, sustaining an anomalous entablature, on which rests the ceiling. The nave is arched in a small segment is VER CEry staring a circular of a circle; the ceiling of the n temple pierced with eight arched openings, the piers between which are ornamented with autæ, supporting an entablature, cornice, and parapet, the latter set round with Grecian tiles, and crowned with a conical dome, on the vertex of which is a gilt cross. The remaining part of this side of the Church is formed into two stories by a string course, and finished by a cornice and parapet continued from the portico; the lower story contains, on each side the portico, three square windows with stone architraves, and upper story ory the same number of lofty arched windows with architraves of stone round the heads, resting, by way of impost, on on a string course. Within the portico there is also an enGENT. MAG. July, 1827. di horizontal; the surface of both vided into square panels. A gallery extends across the Church to the depth of two of the intercolumniations. The altar has a handsome screen of scagliola in imitation of various marbles; it is composed of an ornamented wall, finished by a cornice and attic, and flanked by piers. The central portion, imitating Sienna marble, is enriched with a square panel of porphyry, surrounded by gold mouldings above the altar, between two long perpendicular panels of the same materials; the piers have Ionic ante, of porphyry, with gold capitals architrave and cornice, and the attic above the piers, are statuary marble with gold mouldings, the latter portions A the 10 NEW CHURCHES.-St. Mary's, Bryanstone-square. a charged with crosses in irradiations Although the Church upon the [July, liarly "attic," condescends to such absurdities, the spectator cannot fail of attributing to carelessness what in the mechanic he could impute to ignorance. The shop front, or the summer-house may be destroyed as the fashion alter, or the whim of the occupant directs, but a Church exists for ages, to hand down to posterity the taste, or the want of it, in its architect, It will not be difficult to anticipate. the judgment which posterity will form of Mr. Smirke's taste when it witnesses a building in which the Doric is made the upper interior order, to an exterior in which a professedly Grecian Doric column is set upon a plinth, and made to support an entablature belonging to no one of the Greek or Roman orders, and in which both triglyths and mutules are omitted. Of what style this novel order is to be taken as an example it would be difficult to say, unless, according to the well-known professional dictum, it is "Gothic," since it is anything but Grecian. The public have a right to expect better things from eminent architects, and the public taste demands a protection from the insult which such absurdities offer to it. This Church was erected prior to 1824. The estimate was 20,000l. and the number accommodated, according to the reports of the Commissioners, is 1828 persons, which, however, must be considerably less than the actual number. It was consecrated on the 7th of Jan. 1824. The building represented in the view near the east end of the Church, is the Western National School, a spacious and handsome edifice, the principal front of which is in a corresponding style with the Church. ST. MARY-LE-BONE CHURCH. Architect, Thos. Hardwicke. THE second subject in the engraving represents the north or principal front of the parish Church of St. Mary-lebone, as seen from York Gate, Regent's Park. It is a handsome façade, and consists of a winged portico of the Roman Corinthian order, surmounted by a tower. The portico is composed of eight columns, six in the front and two in flank, raised on a flight of steps, and sustaining an entablature and pediment, the architecture after the Pantheon; within the portico are three Above this is a long panel designed for sculpture, which has never been set up; the ceiling of the portico is panelled, each panel containing an expanded flower. The wings have no win dows on their northern front, the angles are guarded by pilasters, and the flanks are enriched with two columns. The entablature continued from the portico, and surmounted by an attic and ballustrade, are applied as a finish to the entire building. The tower is in three stories; the first is rusticated, and forms a plinth to the elevation, it is finished with a cornice, and has a dial in each face; it supports a circular story, which has a peristyle of twelve Corinthian columns, sustaining an entablature, upon which rises the third story, a circular temple, raised on a stylobate of three steps, and pierced with arched openings; to the piers between the arches are attached eight caryatidal statues of angels, supporting an entablature and cornice which is broken in the intervals between the statues. The elevation is crowned with a spherical dome, and finished with a small pedestal, sustaining a vane. The east and west sides of the Church are uniform; they are made into two stories by a plain course; each story has five windows, the lower are slightly arched, the upper lofty, with arched heads, besides one window in the returns of the wings. The south front consists of a centre, flanked by two wings, which project diagonally from the building, being formed at the angles, which are cut off. The wings contain windows corresponding with the Church, in their sides and the eastern niche a doorway, and has in its front wings; they are guarded at the angles by pilasters, and the central division has a Venetian window. lobbies at the sides of it, which contain stairs to the galleries, and by an entrance in the south-eastern wing, The sides and north end are occupied by two spacious tier of galleries, with panelled fronts, supported by slender iron columns, having reeded shafts, and leaved capitals; to those of the lower tier are also attached modillions, the shafts are bronzed, and the capitals gilt. The altar, which is at the south end of the Church, has a mahogany screen, enriched with four Ionic pilas ters, between which are the usual inscriptions, and a picture of the Holy Family by West, presented by the artist to the parish; a gallery above contains seats for the charity children, and the organ. As originally constructed, there was an arched opening in the centre of the instrument, occupied by a transparency on canvas, a copy of one of the painted windows in St. George's Chapel, Windsor, from the design of Mr. West; the subject "the Angel appearing to the Shepherds;" the principal figure in the angelic group had the face of a child, with the thigh of a porter. The greatest absurdity, however, consisted in the erection of private galleries at the sides of the organ, which were fitted with chairs, and fire-places, and in their openings to the Church so exactly resembled the private boxes which look upon the proscenium of our theatres, that the spectator might almost suppose he was in a building which originally had that destination, but had been converted into a conventicle by the Countess of Huntingdon's followers. In the course of the last summer some judicious alterations took place; the organ was reduced to the customary form and size, the transparency being removed; the galleries were made to sweep round to the instrument, thus causing the destruction of the private boxes, the space formerly occupied by which being filled with seats for the children of the National School the theatrical appearance is in consequence removed, and the building has more the appearance of a place of worship. The ceiling is curved at the sides, the horizontal portion made into panels by bundles of rods bound together with ribbons; in the centre, is a large expanded flower. The pulpit and desks are constructed of maho gany, and are situated on opposite sides of the area of the building. The former is elegantly carved; it rests on a single pillar, which spreads at the capital, and is finished with a group of cherubim heads. The font, situated beneath the northern gallery, is an exact copy of that at the last described Church. The effect of the Church appears to have been injured by the alterations which were made, when the vestry determined on altering it to a parish Church. It would have been far better to have left it as a Chapel, and built a Church somewhere else. The northern façade is grand and imposing, but the tower is but a poor design; the basement does not appear large enough for the superstructure, and the angels too far from the ground to be seen with ease and comfort to the spectator; the transition of the circular part of the elevation from the square is too abruptly managed. In other respects the exterior, taken as a whole, appears a handsome building. The portico and tower, together with the cornices, attic, and some other particulars, are stone; the walls are brick, covered with stucco. The first stone was laid on the 5th July, 1813, and the expence of the building was about 60,000l.; the congregation accommodated, including the charity children, is upwards of 3,000 persons. Mr. URBAN, THE E. I. C. Lisbon, June 15. HE following account of the grand Catholic Festival of Corpus Christi, which was celebrated at Lisbon, on Thursday, the 14th June, will be interesting to your readers, as it is allowed to be the most gorgeously absurd spectacle of the kind in Europe, and is by far the best annual show of Lisbon. It is, therefore, always ushered in with great pomp and circumstance," and attended by immeuse crowds of spectators from the country and neighbourhood. The square of the Rocio, where the Inquisition formerly held its sittings and perpetrated its autos-da-fe, is at present the scene of the exhibition. On Wednesday afternoon the inhabitants of this square had the lintels of their windows, from the top to the groundfloor, hung with crimson damask silk. The houses then appeared to a spectator as if they had their window-cur [July, tains turned inside out. This operation is performed by persons who un dertake the job at eight testoons a window. A procession thus imposes a considerable window-tax on those who have numerous rooms or large apartments in the Rocio. At the same time that the fronts of the houses were thus adorned, cart-loads of sand were brought into the square to spread on the line of the procession. That every part of the ceremony might wear the appearance of festivity, these carts, and the yokes of the oxen which drew them, entered the square crowned with branches of laurel, orange, or cedar. The market-gardeners within a certain range of Lisbon are bound to supply loads of flowers to strew the streets on the occasion. They come from the country in festive trains, crowned with flowers, and accompanied by a band of music. An immense awning was spread over the Largo, or open space before the church of the Dominican Friars, at the corner of the Rocio, next the Palace of the Inquisition, where the procession is marshalled. This space is so large as to admit several thousand people. The Church of the Dominicans, whence the conse crated host starts, after the performance of mass, was fitted up with benches covered with damask silk, and with a tribune for receiving the municipal authorities. The cap, or hat, and the other paraphernalia of St. George, was prepared in the Castle; and the horses from the Royal stud at Belem, which were to accompany or carry the Saint and his page, were brought to the neighbourhood of his chapel. In the morning of yesterday, all the Portuguese troops of the line in Lisbon, together with the militia and volunteers, assembled in the public gardens near the Rocio, at the early hour of six o'clock. Even at that hour the gardens were nearly filled with persons of all ranks, so eager are the people to see a religious show, almost the only exhibition which excites any great degree of public interest. The different regiments formed there preparatory to their marching to take up their position on the line of procession. Their bands continued to play, and the people to promenade in the shade, till about nine o'clock, when, the preparations for the show in the Rocio being further advanced, the troops proceeded to the square, |