The circle of the mechanical arts; containing practical treatises on the various manual arts, trades, and manufactures / By Thomas Martin.

  • Martin, Thomas (Civil engineer)
Date:
1813
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The circle of the mechanical arts; containing practical treatises on the various manual arts, trades, and manufactures / By Thomas Martin. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    tear some resemblance to the entablature. The origin of the pediment is more obvious, having nearly the same offices assigned to it as gave it birth, name- ly, the angular or rising roof. These observations on the origin of the column and entablature, are made with a view that all those who study architecture, may know the uses for which the different parts were originally intend- ed. Though many of these have ceased to be neces- sary from the various improvements in the art, and others are so ornamented as to conceal their original design—it must never be lost sight of, that each member had originally its uses, which will prevent errors by the indiscriminate misapplication of them. Most persons who have written on architecture, agree that the Greeks had their first ideas respect- ing it from the Egyptians. The latter, long before It was practised with anything like order in Greece, had made considerable progress towards its perfec- tion; but, though their works were grand, they were deficient in delicacy and taste. It was reserved for the Greeks to impart to this art elegance and symmetry, and to unite with these comfort and con- venience. What we have said respecting the origin of Grecian architecture, may account for the pecu- liar character of the Arabian, Chinese, and what is commonly called Gothic. The last is the com- mon appellation by which the architecture of the middle ages, is known. In the Arabian mosque, we cannot but see the strong resemblance it bears to a number of small bell tents, encircling a larger one. The caravansary is a court surrounded by small tents, each having its own dome, to which the Greek church of St. Sophia, at Constantinople bears a striking simi- litude. The Chinese architecture appears to be de- rived from the construction of wooden buildings; and Sir George Staunton informs us, that the roofs are of the same shape as the cover of a square tent. Thus we may trace the different stiles of architecture to the formation of primitive huts; which were con- structed so as best to afford the purposes of shelter or shade, as the climate in which they were erected demanded; and of the most abundant and best calcu- lated materials to answer these ends. We must therefore look to these sources, if we wish to obtain a just idea of the origin of stiles, differing so widely from each other. The architects who built most of the cathedrals in Europe, departed from the stile of Greece and Home, and introduced another, in which arcades made the principal feature. Not finding in every place quarries, from which blocks could be raised of sufficient size for forming the far projecting cornices of the Greek orders, they relinquished these propor- tions, and adopted a style of ornament which did not require such projections. By substituting arches for the horizontal architrave or lintel, they were able to erect buildings of a vast extent, and with spacious openings, using only small pieces of stone. The lurm adopted for a Christian temple occasioned many intersections of vaultings, and multiplied the arches exceedingly. Constant practice afforded opportu- nities of giving all possible variety to these intersec- tions, and taught the art of ballancing arch against arch in every situation. In process of time arches became principal ornaments, and a wall or a ceiling was not thought properly decorated, until it was filled with mock arches, crossing and cuttiug each other in every direction. We call the middle ages rude and barbarous, and give to their style of Architecture the appellation of Gothic; but there was surely much knowledge in architects, who could execute such magnificent and difficult works as they have left us. More appro- priate appellations for these species of Architecture, would be Saxon and Norman, so far as relates to buildings of this kind in Britain; the Saxon being dis- tinguished by the circular, and the Norman by the pointed arch; for, under the guidance of these re- spective nations, each kind displayed its grandeur and peculiarites in the greatest perfection. The ar- chitects of whom we now speak, do not appear to have studied the theory of equilibri ited arches. For a long period, they adopted an arch which was very stfong, and permitted considerable irregularities of pressure, namely, the pointed arch. The very deep mouldings with which this arch was ornamented, made the arch-stones very long in proportion to the span of the arch. They had, however, studied with great care the mutual thrust of arches on each other; and they contrived that every invention for this pur- pose should become an ornament, as well as a neces- sary part of the building. Thus we frequently see small buildings having buttresses on the sides. These buttresses are necessary in a large vaulted building, for withstanding the outward pressure of the vaulting; but they are useless when there is a flat ceiling. Pinnacles on the heads of buttresses are now con- sidered as ornaments; but, originally, they were put there to increase the weight of the buttresses. Even the great tower in the centre of a cathedral, which now constitutes its chief ornament, is a load almost indispensably necessary, for enabling the four principal columns to withstand the combined thrusts of the aisles, the naves, and the transepts. In short, the more closely we examine the ornaments of this style of Architecture, the more shall we per- ceive that they are essential parts; and the more we consider the whole style, the more clearly shall we see, that it is all deduced from the relish for arcades indulged to extremes, and pushed to the utmost limit of possibility in the execution. This pure Gothic j was followed by a middle stile, in which the Grecian j and Gothic were blended together. Although the Grecian did not become prevalent in England, until the time of Inigo Jones, yet there existed some speci- mens of it long prior to his day. Perhaps the earliest was Somerset-house, in the Strand, built in 1549. Towards the end of the 15th and beginning | of the 16th centuries, learning and the chaste architec- ture
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