" In the 9th year of the reign of Queen Anne, 1708, an act of Parliament passed to erect 50 new additional parish churches in the cities of London and Westmin ster. The surveyor, being appointed one of the com missioners for carrying on the works, attended that ser vice with all the application his other offices would per mit ; and preparatory thereunto, took occasion to impart his thoughts to this effect, in a letter to a friend in that commission." Parentalia, pp. 309-318.
The capacity and dimensions of the new churches may be determined by a calculation. It is, as I take it, pretty certain, that the number of inhabitants, for whom the churches are provided, are five times as many as those in the city who were burnt out, and probably more than 460,000 grown persons that should come to church, for whom these 50 churches are to be provided, (besides sonic chapels already built, though too small to be made parochial.) Now, if the churches could hold each 2000, it would yet be very short of the necessary supply. The churches therefore must be large ; but still, in our re formed religion, it should seem vain to make a parish church larger than that all who are present can both hear and see. The Romanists, indeed, may build larger churches ; it is enough if they hear the murmur of the mass, and see the elevation of the host ; but ours are to be fitted for auditorics. I can hardly think it practicable to make a single room so capacious, with pews and gal leries, as to hold above 2000 persons, and all to hear the service, and both to hear distinctly and see the preacher. I endeavoured to effect this in building the parish church of St James's, 'Westminster, which, I presume, is the most capacious with these qualifications that bath yet been built ; and yet at a solemn time, when the church was much crowded, I could not discern from a gallery that 2000 were present. In this church I mention, though very broad, and the middle nave arched up, yet as there are no walls of a second order, nor lanterns, nor but tresses, but the whole roof rests upon the pillars, as do also the galleries, I think it may be found beautiful and convenient, and, as such, the cheapest of any form I could invent.
" Concerning the placing of the pulpit, I shall ob serve,—a moderate voice may be heard 50 feet distant before the preacher, 30 feet on each side, and 20 behind the pulpit, and not this unless the pronunciation be dis tinct and equal, without losing the voice at the last word of the sentence, which is commonly emphatical, and, if obscured, spoils the whole sense. A Frenchman is heard further than an English preacher, because he raises his voice, and not sinks his last words. I mention this as au
insufferable fault in the pronunciation of sonic of our otherwise excellent preachers, which schoolmasters might correct in the young as a vicious pronunciation, and not as the Roman orators spoke ; for the principal verb is in Latin usually the last word, and, if that be lost, what becomes of the sentence ? gc By what I have said, it may be thought reasonable, that the new church be at least GO feet broad, and 90 feet long, besides a chancel at one end, and the belfry and portico at the other. These proportions may be varied; but to build more room than that every person may con veniently hear and see, is to create noise and confusion. A church should not be so filled with pews, but that the poor may have room to sit and stand in the alleys, for to them equally is the gospel preached. It were to be wish ed there were to be no pews, but benches ; but there is no stemming the tide of profit, and the advantage of pew-keepers." Pp. 320, 321.
having given an account of sundry churches in the metropolis, we shall now describe one lately erected in a small provincial town, and another in a country' village, both from designs made by Mr Telford. The former stands within the precincts of the old castle of Bridge north in Shropshire. It was completed in 1796. The extreme length over the walls is 121 feet, the breadth 67 ; the height of the side walls, including the plinth upon which the order stands, and exclusive of the para pet, is 36 feet 6 inches. The height of the tower is 114 feet. The plan and elevation will be seen in Plate CLXXVI. From these it will appear, that externally a Tuscan order is continued round the fabric, and that, ex cepting two columns at the entrance, it is composed of pilasters. There is a pediment at each end, and a para pet in every other place. In the body of the church there are no breaks ; those near the extremities are made to distinguish the several parts of the edifice ; also by di viding the length, the elevation acquires some appearance of loftiness, and some resemblance of the ancient porti cos is thereby obtained. The Tuscan order, besides be ing the most economical, has, when constructed of this magnitude, an air of majestic gravity ; it is also in due subordination to the decorations of the outside of the su perior part of the tower, and the interior of the church. There is only one row of windows 21 feet 3 inches high. In the tower, the belfry story has the Doric order in strong relief, and its entablature is carried along each face without any break. Over this is the apartment for the clock, and the whole is covered with a dome.