Internally, the body of the church is a parallelogram 77x 60 feet ; the middle aisle is 29 feet 9 inches in height from the pavement to the ceiling. The side aisles 27 feet. Six Ionic columns are placed along each side of the mid dle aisle, and two of larger dimensions stand at the en trance into the chancel, so that the full Ionic entablature is continued quite round the middle aisle. The chancel is square, and, to render it more solemn, is lighted from the top. This also makes room for paintings or statuary over the altar, and on each side of it. On one side of the chancel is a vestry room for the clergyman, on the other side is one for the parish officers. The church is suffi ciently lighted by the three large windows on 'each side. Originally, there was only a narrow gallery at the en trance end for the singers ; but some years after the church was completed, in order to obtain more pews, a gallery was erected along each side. On each side of the circular entrance lobby, are stairs which communicate with the galleries. The space contained in the body of the church corresponds to that recommended by Sir C. Wren, as the maximum for an audience hearing dis tinctly, viz. 50 feet in front, 30 on each side, and 20 be hind the speaker.
Plate CLXXV I. is the plan of a church for the village of Mutely, near Coalbrookdale, in the county of Salop. It was with some slight changes erected there, and a si milar one at the adjacent parish of Dawley. Galleries being here considered absolutely necessary, the design was made with the view of forming- and lighting the body of the church independent of them. For this purpose it was made 70 feet by 50, from which a space at each end of the four angles is cut off, to admit of large win dows. From each of the longest sides there is a recess of 38 feet by 12, to contain galleries, &c. At the en trance end is a projection, to receive the bell tower, and, at the opposite end, is one for the chancel and two vestries. Externally, this arrangement affords great regularity of front in each direction. The dimensions being marked in the plan, every part will be evident by inspection. This church contains 1000 commodious sittings, besides what may be placed in the passages. The pulpit may be placed nearly in the middle of the chord line of a semi circle, which shall extend to the opposite sides, and be ing perhaps the most suitable of all positions.
flaying seen the progress that the revived Roman ar chitecture made in sacred edifices, we shall next endea vour to trace it in the private dwellings of different pe riods.
From a very well written account of the town of Shrews bury, we have the following particulars respecting old English habitations.
The town houses of our forefathers, as far as they re late to the present subject, may be divided into the ker nelled or embattled mansion, the hall or unembattled gentleman's house, and the tradesman's habitation. The embattled mansion partook both of the castellated and collegiate forms. Like the former, it was crowned with embrasures, and surrounded always in the country, and sometimes even in towns, with a moat, but had seldom more than one tower placed at the point of most strength, which consisted of three or four stories, containing on each floor a single room. These were doubtless built on the principles of the keeps of castles. Like colleges, the embattled houses were uniformly constructed round a quadrangle, with a turretted gate-house of entrance, though not fortified with the massive round towers and portcullis of the castle gate. The principal apartments were the hall, the great chamber, kitchen, and chapel. The hall was a copy of those in colleges, which in their turn were of conventual origin. Here the master, with his family and superior guests, dined every day at a long oak table, elevated on two or three steps called thc high dees at the upper end, whilst the tenants, and those of inferior rank, were seated at a table below, at right an gles with thc former. The hall was lighted with one or more Gothic windows, and a long bow window, forming a recess near the high table. It had no fire-place, but was warmed by a brazier of live coals in the middle, the smoke escaping from a hole in the top. This apartment being anciently always open to the roof, the timbers were formed into a pointed arch, carved and adorned with arms, rebusses, and quaterfoils. At the tower end was a wooden screen of latticed work, which supported a gallery for the minstrelsy on great days. Under it ran a narrow lobby, with a passage through, which communicated with the buttery hatch, where the butler attended, to admi nister ale to the numerous applicants at all times of the day, and beyond these were the offices. The great cham ber adjoined the hall at the upper end. In this apartment was the luxury of a fire place, if the wide open chimney. pieces of our ancestors deserve to be called luxuries, and it was the usual resort of the family when not at their meals. It is conceived also, that, as in the combination room of colleges, and the locutorium, or parlour of mo nasteries, the master with his chief guests often retired soon after dinner from the cold atmosphere of the hall, to the social comfort of its hearth, while the inferior tors were left to carouse by the dying embers of the bra zier they had left.