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Nutritional and Health
Aspects of Food in South
Asian Countries
Nutritional and Health Aspects of Traditional
and Ethnic Foods

Nutritional and Health

Aspects of Food in South
Asian Countries
Volume editors:

JAMUNA PRAKASH
Visiting Professor, Zheziang Gongshang University, P.R. China;
Ambassador for India, Global Harmonisation Initiative, Vienna, Austria

VIDURANGA WAISUNDARA
Australian College of Business & Technology - Kandy Campus,
Sri Lanka

VISHWESHWARAIAH PRAKASH
Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences, Bangalore, India
IFRIFANS, Mysore, India

Series editors:

HUUB LELIEVELD

VESLEMØY ANDERSEN

VISHWESHWARAIAH PRAKASH

JAMUNA PRAKASH

BERND VAN DER MEULEN

Academic Press is an imprint of Elsevier
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Contents

List of Contributors xv
About the editors xvii
Preface xix

Part 1 History of Traditional Foods in South Asia 1

1 Eating habits, food cultures, and traditions in South Asia Region 3
V. Prakash

Part 2 Food, Nutrition, and Health in India 5

1. Introduction 7
Jamuna Prakash

2. Diet-related nutrition and health issues in Indian population 11

A. Jyothi Lakshmi and Jamuna Prakash
2.1 Introduction 11
2.2 Historical overview 12
2.3 Dietary intake and nutritional and health status of pregnant women 14
2.4 Dietary adequacy of under five children and adults 15
2.5 Undernutrition 16
2.6 Micronutrient deficiencies 18
2.7 Undernutrition and cognition 19
2.8 Overnutrition and allied health ailments 19
2.9 Influence of diet and nutrition on the increasing occurrence of disease 20
2.9.1 Diabetes mellitus 20
2.9.2 Cardiovascular disease 22
2.9.3 Diet and hypertension 24
2.9.4 Diet and cancer 24
2.10 Future outlook 25
References 26

v
vi Contents

3. Nutritional sufficiency of traditional meal patterns 31

Pushpa Bharati and Uma N. Kulkarni

3.1 Introduction 31
3.1.1 Definition and importance 31
3.1.2 Regional variations in Indian traditional meal pattern 32
3.2 Historical overview 33
3.2.1 Old consumption pattern 33
3.2.2 The changing Indian diet with the progression of age 34
3.3 Geography and natural agricultural landscape of India 35
3.3.1 Cropping system and food grain production 35
3.3.2 Shift in food consumption patterns 38
3.4 Cultural depiction of food consumption 40
3.5 Traditional foods and their composition 41
3.5.1 Food groups under Indian traditional meal pattern 41
3.5.2 Traditional foods and their composition 42
3.5.3 Sufficiency of traditional foods in terms of nutrients 44
3.5.4 Benefits of traditional foods for health, social, and economic aspects 45
3.6 Future for traditional foods 47
References 48
Further reading 50

4. Forest foods for tribals in selected regions of India and their sustainability 51
Purabi Bose
4.1 Introduction 51
4.2 Study population and methodology 52
4.3 Findings 53
4.3.1 Baigas from Chhattisgarh, Central India 53
4.3.2 Kurumbas from Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, South India 53
4.3.3 Paudi Bhuyan from Odisha, East India 54
4.3.4 Katkaris, dry deciduous forests of Maharashtra, West India 54
4.4 Discussion 56
4.4.1 Traditional food and nutrition of particularly vulnerable tribal groups 56
4.4.2 Modern transition in food and culture 57
4.4.3 Future of traditional food for tribal communities 58
4.5 Conclusion 58
References 58

5. Traditional preserved and fermented foods and their nutritional aspects 61

Palanisamy Bruntha Devi and Prathapkumar Halady Shetty
5.1 Introduction 61
 Contents vii

5.2 Historical overview 62

5.3 Culture and traditions 63
5.4 Traditional food preservation methods in India 63
5.5 Typical foods and food products 65
5.6 Future outlook 70
References 70

6. The dietary practices and food-related rituals in Indian tradition

and their role in health and nutrition 75
Jamuna Prakash
6.1 Introduction 75
6.2 Dietary practices 76
6.2.1 Vegetarianism 76
6.2.2 Recognizing food for their health-promoting properties 77
6.2.3 Dietary diversification 78
6.2.4 Foods in natural form 79
6.3 Food consumption patterns 80
6.3.1 Dietary patterns 80
6.3.2 Food preparation protocols and etiquettes of eating 80
6.4 Cultural influences 81
6.4.1 Religion 81
6.4.2 Philosophy of life 82
6.4.3 Harmony with nature 82
6.4.4 Concept of sharing and giving 82
6.5 Processed foods and tradition—preserving tradition in a modern context 83
References 83

7. Functional foods in Indian tradition and their significance for health 87

Kalpana Platel
7.1 Introduction 87
7.2 Traditional Indian food patterns 88
7.3 Cereals and millets 89
7.4 Pulses and legumes 91
7.5 Milk and milk products 91
7.6 Other foods of animal origin 92
7.7 Vegetables and fruits 93
7.8 Oilseeds, oils, and fats 94
7.9 Spices and condiments 96
References 97
viii Contents

8. Traditional foods, Ayurveda, and diet 99

Ketki Wagh and Supriya Bhalerao

8.1 Introduction about Indian traditional foods and Ayurveda 99

8.2 Ayurveda and traditional foods interlink 99
8.3 Ayurvedic dietetics 100
8.4 Regional diversity and its interlaced traditional roots 105
8.5 Historical overview 107
8.5.1 Nutritional and dietary intake scenario in ancient India 107
8.5.2 Current nutritional and intake scenario 108
8.6 Future outlook 109
References 110

9. Foods from the ocean for nutrition, health, and wellness 113
T.K. Srinivasa Gopal
9.1 Introduction 113
9.2 Indian fish market—production and consumption 114
9.3 Fish as healthy food 115
9.4 Dietary lipids and disease management 116
9.5 Other dietary components and their health significance 118
9.6 Nutritional superiority of fish in Indian scenario 119
References 120

Part 3 Food, Nutrition, and Health in Sri Lanka 123

1. Introduction 125
Viduranga Y. Waisundara

2. Traditional and ethnic foods of Sri Lanka—safety aspects 127

Chathudina J. Liyanage
2.1 Introduction 127
2.2 Historical overview, culture, and traditions associated with traditional and ethnic
food in Sri Lanka 128
2.3 Major traditional and ethnic food categories consumed in Sri Lanka 128
2.4 Safety of traditional and ethnic food in Sri Lanka 129
2.4.1 Safety of raw materials 129
2.4.2 Safety during processing, handling/serving, and storage 133
2.4.3 Regulations governing food safety in Sri Lanka 136
2.4.4 Strategies to address the food safety issues of traditional and ethnic food 137
2.5 Future outlook 139
References 139
 Contents ix

3. Traditional functional food of Sri Lanka and their health significance 143
Viduranga Y. Waisundara

3.1 Background of Sri Lanka and its diversity of food 143

3.2 Rice 145
3.3 Leafy greens 146
3.4 Spices 149
3.5 Fruits and vegetables 150
3.6 Roots and tuber crops 151
3.7 Other traditional functional food of Sri Lanka 152
3.8 Conclusions 154
References 155

Part 4 Food, Nutrition, and Health in Nepal 159

1. Introduction 161
Jiwan Prava Lama
1.1 Introduction 161
1.2 Food habits 162
1.3 Categorization of traditional foods 162
1.4 Challenges and opportunities 162
1.5 Conclusion 163

2. Traditional fermented food of Nepal and their nutritional and nutraceutical

potential 165
Dambar Bahadur Khadka and Jiwan Prava Lama
2.1 Background 166
2.2 Geography and the natural landscape 167
2.3 History of fermentation and fermented food 167
2.4 Ethnicity, origin, and distribution of ethnic groups 168
2.5 Food culture and traditions 169
2.6 Traditional fermented food and types 170
2.7 Cereal, legume-based fermented food products 172
2.7.1 Selroti 172
2.7.2 Kinema 172
2.7.3 Masyaura 173
2.8 Nutritive value of cereal and legume-based nonalcoholic fermented products 173
2.9 Cereal-based alcoholic fermented beverages 175
2.9.1 Jand 175
x Contents

2.10 Nutritive value of cereal-based alcoholic beverages 175

2.11 Fruits and vegetable-based fermented food products 177
2.11.1 Gundruk 177
2.11.2 Sinki and Sinnamani 177
2.11.3 Khalpi 178
2.11.4 Taama/Mesu 178
2.12 Nutritive value of vegetable-based fermented product 178
2.13 Milk-based fermented food products 180
2.13.1 Dahi 180
2.13.2 Mohi, Nauni-gheu, and Gheu 181
2.13.3 Chhurpi and Somar 181
2.14 Nutritive value of milk-based fermented food 182
2.15 Fermented fish products 182
2.15.1 Sidra 182
2.15.2 Sukako Maachha 182
2.15.3 Sukuti 182
2.15.4 Masular 185
2.16 Nutritive value of fermented fish products 185
2.17 Nutraceutical potential and health benefit of traditional fermented food 185
2.17.1 Probiotics properties 185
2.17.2 Antimicrobial properties 188
2.17.3 Antioxidant properties 188
2.17.4 Bioactive peptides 189
2.17.5 Conjugated linoleic acid 189
2.18 Conclusion 190
References 190
Further reading 194

3. Health and nutritional aspect of underutilized high-value food grain of

high hills and mountains of Nepal 195
Uma Koirala

3.1 Introduction 195

3.2 Historical overview 197
3.3 Cultural value 197
3.4 Value addition on nutrition security 198
3.5 Millet (Pennisetum glaucum) 199
3.6 Finger millet (Eleusine coracana) 200
3.7 Chino (Panicum miliaceum) 201
3.8 Kaguno (Panicum italicum) 202
3.9 Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) 203
3.10 Barley (Hordeum vulgare) 205
 Contents xi

3.11 Future prospects 206

3.12 Conclusion 207
References 207
Further reading 209

Part 5 Food, Nutrition, and Health in Bangladesh 211

1. Introduction 213
S. M. Nazmul Alam

2. Role of traditional foods of Bangladesh in reaching-out of nutrition 217

S. M. Nazmul Alam and M. Niamul Naser
2.1 Introduction 217
2.2 Historical overview 219
2.3 The agricultural landscape 219
2.4 Cultures and tradition 220
2.4.1 Biju the tribal traditions of essence and harmony 221
2.4.2 Pohela Baishakh a national celebration for the Bengali New Year 222
2.4.3 Roja (fasting) the Ramadan 222
2.4.4 Food customs at religious festivals 223
2.4.5 Wedding ceremony 224
2.5 Regional dishes 225
2.6 Seasonal foods 227
2.6.1 Summer season 227
2.6.2 Rainy season 227
2.6.3 Winter season 228
2.7 Nutrients and benefits of typical foods and food products 229
2.8 Future outlooks 232
2.9 Conclusion 233
References 234

3. Nutritional and health issues in Bangladesh and solutions through traditional

foods 237
S. M. Nazmul Alam and M. Niamul Naser
3.1 Introduction 237
3.2 Nutritional and health status in Bangladesh 238
3.3 Malnutrition 240
3.4 Traditional beliefs and practices: food and health 242
3.4.1 Food taboos versus food allergy 242
xii Contents

3.4.2 Traditional wisdom: Khanar Bachan 243

3.4.3 Common food items of traditional beliefs 244
3.5 National guidelines for food intake 244
3.5.1 Proportion of food in a healthy diet 245
3.5.2 Food guide pyramid 245
3.5.3 Physical exercise 245
3.6 Solutions through traditional foods 247
3.7 Future outlooks 250
3.8 Conclusion 251
References 252

Part 6 Food, Nutrition, and Health in Pakistan 255

1. Introduction 257
Anwaar Ahmed, Rai Muhammad Amir and Muhammad Nadeem
1.1 Introduction 257

2. Food, nutrition, and health issues in Pakistan 259

2.1 Introduction 259
2.2 Maternal nutrient status in Pakistan 262
2.3 Nutritional programs in Pakistan 263
References 265

Part 7 Food, Nutrition, and Health in Iran 269

1. Introduction 271
Hamid Ezzatpanah

2. Traditional food and practices for health: Iranian dairy foods 275
Hamid Ezzatpanah

2.1 Introduction 275

2.2 The importance of lactic acid bacteria in Iranian traditional dairy foods 276
2.2.1 Lactic acid bacteria in raw milk 276
2.3 Sour buttermilk 276
2.4 Kashk 278
2.5 Kashk-e Zard and Tarkhineh 280
2.6 Iranian traditional cheese types 281
2.6.1 Pot cheese 281
 Contents xiii

2.6.2 Siahmazgi cheese 281

2.6.3 Lighvan cheese 283
2.7 Conclusion and future perspectives 285
References 286

Part 8 Common Regulatory and Safety Issue and Future

Outlook for South Asia Region 289
1. Lifecycle stages for food safety of traditional foods 291
R.B. Smarta
1.1 Introduction 291
1.2 Food safety concerns 292
1.2.1 Food safety frameworks 292
1.3 Why food safety 292
1.3.1 Regulatory mechanisms 293
1.3.2 Nonregulatory mechanism 293
1.4 Lifecycle of food safety 293
1.5 Building stakeholder capacities 294
1.5.1 Institutional capacity 294
1.5.2 Producer capacity 295
1.5.3 Consumer capacity 295
1.6 Robust approach to food safety 295
References 295

2. Regulations for manufacturing traditional foods—global and regional

challenges 297
D.B. Anantha Narayana and Sudhakar T. Johnson
2.1 Descriptors and the definition of traditional foods and ethnic foods 297
2.2 Categorization and classification of traditional food 298
2.2.1 Based on primary food 298
2.2.2 Based on process technology 298
2.2.3 Based on prepared food forms 299
2.2.4 Emerging forms 299
2.3 Trends in the last few decades 300
2.4 Basic regulations that apply to traditional food during manufacture, packing, and
distribution 301
2.5 Proprietary foods 302
2.6 International standards: Codex 303
2.7 Labeling 303
xiv Contents

2.8 Good manufacturing practice aspects during manufacture 304

2.9 Traditional food for infants, children, and geriatrics 305
2.10 Developing scenario 305
Acknowledgments 306
References 306

3. Marketing of traditional and functional foods for reach-out of nutrition 309

R.B. Smarta and Dilip Ghosh
3.1 Introduction 309
3.2 South Asian overview 310
3.3 Traditional food and nutrients 311
3.4 Status of nutrition of South Asian countries and health issues 312
3.5 Marketing issues 314
3.5.1 Demographic, health, and food variables 314
3.5.2 Regulatory and other food policies for marketing and promotions 314
3.5.3 Proposal promise and credibility of marketing 315
3.6 Marketing challenges in traditional foods 315
3.6.1 Knowledge and use of traditional foods in modern society 315
3.6.2 Trust and evidence of the perceived quality of traditional and functional foods 315
3.6.3 The challenge of food safety 316
3.6.4 The research and development with the adaptation of technology 316
3.6.5 The challenge of communicating the holistic nature of traditional food 316
3.6.6 Personalized nutrition 316
3.6.7 Regulatory in terms of products, labels, claims, and promotions 317
3.7 The marketing platform for traditional foods 317
3.8 Commercial marketing models 318
References 319

Index 321
List of Contributors

Anwaar Ahmed
Institute of Food and Nutritional Sciences, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi,
Punjab, Pakistan
S. M. Nazmul Alam
Department of Social Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, Curtin University, Perth, WA,
Australia
Rai Muhammad Amir
Institute of Food and Nutritional Sciences, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi,
Punjab, Pakistan
Supriya Bhalerao
Interactive Research School for Health Affairs, Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed (to be) University,
Pune, India
Pushpa Bharati
Dept. of Food Science & Nutrition, College of Community Science, University of
Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, India
Purabi Bose
Researcher and Filmmaker, IUFRO Deputy Coordinator Social Aspects of Forest &
Coordinator Gender in Forest Research; IASC Council Member; IUCN CEESP’s
Deputy Chair for Theme on Governance, Equity and Rights
Palanisamy Bruntha Devi
Department of Food Science and Technology, Pondicherry University, Puducherry, India
Hamid Ezzatpanah
Department of Food Science and Technology, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad
University, Tehran, Iran
Dilip Ghosh
Nutriconnect, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Food Nutrition Partner, Auckland, New Zealand,
New Zealand; NICM, Western Sydney University, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Health Foods
and Dietary Supplements Association (HADSA), Mumbai, India; Ambassador-Global
Harmonization Initiatives, Vienna, Austria
T.K. Srinivasa Gopal
Centre of Excellence in Food Processing Technology, Kerala University of Fisheries and
Ocean Studies, Cochin, India
Sudhakar T. Johnson
Professor of Biotechnology and Center for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship,
currently resides at 2-B2, Second Floor, Swarna Residency, Currency Nagar, Vijayawada -
520008, India

xv
xvi List of Contributors

Dambar Bahadur Khadka

Central Campus of Technology, Tribhuvan University, Dharan, Nepal
Uma Koirala
Gender Studies Program, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal
Uma N. Kulkarni
Dept. of Food Science & Nutrition, College of Community Science, University of
Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, India
A. Jyothi Lakshmi
Protein Chemistry and Technology Department, CSIR-Central Food Technological Research
Institute, Mysuru, India
Jiwan Prava Lama
Nepal Agribusiness Innovation Centre, Kathmandu, Nepal
Chathudina J. Liyanage
Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Sabaragamuwa
University of Sri Lanka, Belihuloya, Sri Lanka
Muhammad Nadeem
Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Vehari Campus,
Vehari, Punjab, Pakistan
D.B. Anantha Narayana
Ayurvidye Trust, and, Member, Expert Committee (Nonspecified Foods and Food
Ingredients), Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), Ministry of Health and Family
Welfare, Govt. of India, Bengaluru, India
M. Niamul Naser
Department of Zoology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Dhaka, Dhaka,
Bangladesh
Kalpana Platel
CSIR-Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysuru, India
Jamuna Prakash
Ambassador for India, Global Harmonisation Initiative, Vienna, Austria
V. Prakash
Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences, Bangalore, India; IFRIFANS, Mysore, India
Prathapkumar Halady Shetty
Department of Food Science and Technology, Pondicherry University, Puducherry, India
R.B. Smarta
Interlink Marketing Consultancy Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, India; Hon. Secretary, Health Foods And
Dietary Supplements Association (HADSA), Mumbai, India
Ketki Wagh
Ayurveda Preventive Medicine & Yoga Consultant, RK University, Rajkot, Gujarat, India
Viduranga Y. Waisundara
Australian College of Business & Technology - Kandy Campus, Sri Lanka
CHAPTER 2

Diet-related nutrition and health issues

in Indian population
A.
1
Jyothi Lakshmi1 and Jamuna Prakash2
Protein Chemistry and Technology Department, CSIR-Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysuru, India
2
Ambassador for India, Global Harmonisation Initiative, Vienna, Austria

Contents
2.1
Introduction 11
2.2
Historical overview 12
2.3
Dietary intake and nutritional and health status of pregnant women 14
2.4
Dietary adequacy of under five children and adults 15
2.5
Undernutrition 16
2.6
Micronutrient deficiencies 18
2.7
Undernutrition and cognition 19
2.8
Overnutrition and allied health ailments 19
2.9
Influence of diet and nutrition on the increasing occurrence of disease 20
2.9.1 Diabetes mellitus 20
2.9.2 Cardiovascular disease 22
2.9.3 Diet and hypertension 24
2.9.4 Diet and cancer 24
2.10 Future outlook 25
References 26

2.1 Introduction
Food is the “basic right of every human being,” at the same time, “we are what we
eat,” that is, the food we eat reflects our nutritional status and in turn our health and
well-being. Innovation, being the key to research and development, has conquered
every field of life for which food and nutrition are not an exception. Economic
inequalities, technological intervention and selective outreach, and globalization associ-
ated with diminishing health and nutritional awareness have impelled toward the
adoption of faulty or imbalanced dietary practices. Lifestyle changes associated with
reduced physical activity due to less labor-intensive activities, mechanization, and stress
to cope with the changing work cultures in all strata have impacted on compromised
nutrition. These uninterrupted changes in lifestyle accompanied by faulty feeding prac-
tices are increasing the occurrence of overnutrition and obesity leading to the increas-
ing prevalence of noncommunicable diseases at one end and persisting occurrence of

Nutritional and Health Aspects of Food in South Asian Countries r 2020 Elsevier Inc.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-820011-7.00003-4 All rights reserved. 11
12 Nutritional and Health Aspects of Food in South Asian Countries

undernutrition (though with a notable reduction in severe forms) due to inadequate

food intake at the other end. This dual burden of malnutrition faced by our country
poses the challenges to the health and nutrition professionals as “food and nutrition” is
the root cause for it, although it is backed by various other factors. The extent of die-
tary influences on the magnitude of various health and nutrition issues prevalent in
India will be discussed in the subsequent sections.

2.2 Historical overview

The dietary surveys conducted by National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau (NNMB)
periodically, that is, from 1975 onwards have shown a decade wise gradual decrease in
consumption of energy-based foods, that is, cereals, sugar, and jaggery have slid down,
whereas protein and micronutrient-based foods (iron and vitamin A, and some
B-complex vitamins) such as pulses, vegetable, and fruits that were below adequacy
levels, have remained the same over the four decades. Energy and protein consump-
tion patterns of households declined by 20% with a shift from the adequacy to inade-
quacy zone (NNMB, 2012). These observations also confirm that the diets were
cereal-based and lacked protective nutrients from the past four decades (Table 2.1).
The partial improvement in nutritional status could be attributed to various factors
such as attaining self-sufficiency in food production through the green revolution, pro-
viding food grains to poor families at subsidized rates through the public distribution
system and through the inception of direct national nutrition programs to children,
pregnant women, and school children. The major national nutrition intervention pro-
grams that were incepted from 1960 onwards are compiled in Table 2.2.

Table 2.1 An overview of nutritional status of preschool children from 1970s to 2012 (NNMB,
2012).
Nutritional indicator Prevalence from 1975 to 2012
Children • Severe protein-energy Kwashiorkor and marasmus have become
malnutrition rare
• Underweight Reduced from 75.5% to 41%
• Stunting Reduced from 82% to 45.7%
• Wasting Reduced from 27% to 16.0%
Adults • Chronic energy deficiency Reduced by 26% in female and 20% in
• Obesity/overweight male
Increased by fivefold in adults
Vitamin A deficiency Bitot’s spots have become negligible
Vitamin B-complex deficiency Angular stomatitis is significantly declined
Prevalence of diabetes, hypertension, and Has increased and still increasing
cancer
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beautiful street architecture, and suburban villas, you will create a
love for reading and study amongst a most important class, that will
force The Builder on, till it has attained the ‘Corinthian order’ as a
magazine, and the companion of every artizan.
“A magazine has always occurred to me as the best mode to bring
the architecture of this country in its best form before the public,
always acknowledging the name of the professional gentlemen
employed in the erection illustrated; so much so, that I have often
been tempted to suggest the idea to some of the London publishers,
as there the erections are as a source inexhaustible.
“Though The Builder may be an instrument of much good, if
correctness of plans and details are guaranteed, its fall will be as
certain, if it should be a medium of ‘book-making,’ so often seen
thrown before the public.
“It will likewise add to the value of The Builder, by continuing the
portraitures of men so eminent in architectural skill as the noble-
minded William of Wykeham, already illustrated in the Precursor
number.
“I would respectfully suggest the propriety of detaching the
advertisements from The Builder, so far as to allow a separate
binding of the work.
“Reviews of architectural works are also highly commendable in
The Builder, as they increase in quantity of late years; and a
guidance to purchasers therefore is valuable.
“With best wishes for the prosperity of the undertaking, in a
continual increasing circulation, I must beg the forwarding to your
correspondent here, such of the numbers as have been issued.
 “I remain, most respectfully,
“Joseph J. Roebuck, Joiner.”
“Manchester-Road, Huddersfield, Feb. 13, 1843.”

[1] Chambers’s.

“Sir,
“Judging from a perusal of The Builder that it is your intention to
give to the building world the first information upon all matters
connected with its interests, I beg therefore to apprize you that at this
moment, a bill is preparing very secretly (at least the ground-work for
one) for Parliament, upon which it is presumed, as secretly will be
obtained, a New Building Act.
“Whatever objections there may be (and I readily admit there are
many) to our present Building Act, yet I do not think it requires
altogether to be superseded.
“From private information I learn, that the majority of clauses in the
intended new bill, are exceedingly arbitrary, and calculated only to
oppress the Builders without the least additional benefit to the public,
and indeed, I am of opinion that if adopted, it will prove a source of
great inconvenience and expense to all parties in any way connected
with building. I should, therefore, recommend a Meeting of
speculative Builders immediately, to take into consideration the best
means to oppose the bill in Parliament.
“I shall be most happy to give my best assistance in this matter, as
also to forward the views of the proprietor of The Builder.
“I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
“John Reid, Surveyor.”
“90, Canterbury-buildings, Lambeth,
“February 14th, 1843.”
 The foregoing letter came to hand as we were going to press. We
have only time to assure our correspondent that we will pay
immediate attention to the subject it refers to, and we invite further
information from all those who may be in the way of procuring it. At
the same time we would urge a calm and steady purpose in the
pursuit of this or any similar object of our vigilance.
Legislation on matters affecting building interests, above all things,
should be deliberate and not capricious. Much mischief may be done
by over anxious meddlings, indeed, we may say in this respect with
Shakspeare in Hamlet,
“Better bear the ills we have than fly to others that we know not
of,”
or run the risk of so doing.
 ON METAL WORKS.
(From Pugin’s principles of Pointed Architecture.)
We now come to the consideration of works in metal; and I shall
be able to shew that the same principles of suiting the design to the
material and decorating construction, were strictly adhered to by the
artists of the middle ages, in all their productions in metal, whether
precious or common.
In the first place, hinges, locks, bolts, nails, &c., which are always
concealed in modern designs, were rendered in Pointed
Architecture, rich and beautiful decorations; and this, not only in the
doors and fittings of buildings, but in cabinet and small articles of
furniture. The early hinges covered the whole face of the door with
varied and flowing scroll-work. Of this description are those of Notre
Dame at Paris, St. Elizabeth’s church at Marburg, the western doors
of Litchfield cathedral, the Chapter House at York, and hundreds of
other churches, both in England and on the Continent.
Hinges of this kind are not only beautiful in design, but they are
practically good. We all know that on the principle of a lever, a door
may be easily torn off its modern hinges, by a strain applied at its
outward edge. This could not be the case with the ancient hinges,
which extended the whole width of the door, and were bolted through
in various places. In barn doors and gates these hinges are still
used, although devoid of any elegance of form; but they have been
most religiously banished from all public edifices as unsightly, merely
on account of our present race of artists not exercising the same
ingenuity as those of ancient times, in rendering the useful a vehicle
for the beautiful. The same remarks will apply to locks which are now
concealed, and let into the styles of doors, which are often more than
half cut away to receive them.
A lock was a subject on which the ancient smiths delighted to
exercise the utmost resources of their art. The locks of chests were
generally of a most elaborate and beautiful description. A splendid
example of an old lock still remains at Beddington Manor House,
Surrey, and is engraved in my father’s work of examples. In
churches we not unfrequently find locks with sacred subjects chased
upon them, with the most ingenious mechanical contrivances to
conceal the keyhole. Keys were also highly ornamented with
appropriate decorations referring to the locks to which they
belonged; and even the wards turned into beautiful devices and
initial letters. Railings were not casts of meagre stone tracery, but
elegant combinations of metal bars, adjusted with a due regard to
strength and resistance.
There were many fine specimens of this style of railing round
tombs, and Westminster Abbey was rich in such examples, but they
were actually pulled down and sold for old iron by the order of the
then dean, and even the exquisite scroll-work belonging to the tomb
of Queen Eleanor was not respected. The iron screen of King
Edward the Fourth’s tomb, at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, is a
splendid example of ancient iron-work. The fire-dogs or Andirons, as
they were called, which supported either the fuel-logs where wood
was burnt, or grates for coal, were frequently of splendid design. The
ornaments were generally heraldic, and it was not unusual to work
the finer parts in brass, for relief of colour and richness of effect.
These form a striking contrast with the inconsistencies of modern
grates, which are not unfrequently made to represent diminutive
fronts of castellated or ecclesiastical buildings with turrets, loopholes,
windows, and doorways, all in the space of forty inches. The fender
is a sort of embattled parapet, with a lodge-gate at each end; the end
of the poker is a sharp pointed finial; and at the summit of the tongs
is a saint. It is impossible to enumerate half the absurdities of
modern metal-workers; but all these proceed from the false notion of
disguising instead of beautifying articles of utility. How many objects
of ordinary use are rendered monstrous and ridiculous because the
artist, instead of seeking the most convenient form and then
decorating it, has embodied some extravagancies to conceal the real
purpose for which the article was made! If a clock is required it is not
unusual to cast a Roman warrior in a flying chariot, round one of the
wheels of which, on close inspection, the hours may be descried; or
the whole of a cathedral church reduced to a few inches in height,
with the clock-face occupying the position of a magnificent rose
window. Surely the inventor of this patent clock-case could never
have reflected that according to the scale on which the edifice was
reduced, his clock would be about 200 feet in circumference, and
that such a monster of a dial would crush the proportions of any
building that could be raised. But this is nothing when compared to
what we see continually produced from those inexhaustible mines of
bad taste, Birmingham and Sheffield; staircase turrets for inkstands,
monumental crosses for light shades, gable ends hung on handles
for door porters, and four doorways and a cluster of pillars to support
a French lamp; while a pair of pinnacles supporting an arch is called
a Gothic-pattern scraper, and a wiry compound of quatrefoils and fan
tracery an abbey garden seat. Neither relative scale, form, purpose,
nor unity of style, is ever considered by those who design these
abominations; if they only introduce a quatrefoil or an acute arch, be
the outline and style of the article ever so modern and debased, it is
at once denominated and sold as Gothic.
 SUSPENSION ROOF.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE BUILDER.
Sir—I have introduced the suspension principle in two or three
instances with great success, where nothing else could have
answered the purpose; and as it was through you that the first
impression was made upon my mind of its practicability for building
purposes, I at once send you a rude sketch of the last one I have
used. It is to carry a roof, lead-flat, and ceiling; it is in connection with
the old mansion, an enlargement of the cooking kitchen, taking out
the whole of the end wall, 16 feet wide, and making or adding to the
same a large bow, which is covered with lead. I have marked the
different parts as follows:
A. Suspension-rods secured to walls, 1 inch round, iron, flat in the
walls.
B. Screw bolts, 1 inch round, iron.
C. Nuts at bottom of bolts, and brace.
D. Brace, ½ inch round, iron.
E. Head to brace.
F. Iron plate under wood plate, 3 inches by ½ inch, flat.
G. Wood plate, 3 inches thick.
H. Lead-flat.
I. Joists to ditto.
J. Ceiling-joists.
K. Principal beam of roof.
I must give you to understand the bow, lead-flats, &c., were done
before I came here, and supported in a manner that gave offence to
every one; you will now perceive there is a straight ceiling and no
obstruction to light or any thing else.
The suspension-rods are fixed to the bolts as the link of a chain,
the brace screws them tight together, and the bottom nuts screw up
and camber the plate, which renders the whole complete and very
strong. I had it put together and fixed in about two hours, so that you
will perceive it can be applied in any situation without doing any
damage, by merely boring the holes and making good the joint round
the bolts on either a floor, roof, or flat.
I have applied others in different places, and have made them as
circumstances required, to carry scores of tons weight. They have
given the greatest satisfaction possible to all concerned.
I am happy to inform you that our architect and the master-builder
will both be subscribers to your valuable work. I think from this
neighbourhood you will have a dozen names.
Yours most obediently,
T. P. Hope,
Clerk of Works, Richmond.
 THE ENTHUSIAST.
We beg to introduce the Enthusiast to our readers, for such the
world is pleased now and then to call him; his real character,
however, shall be judged of by the reflecting and considerate; the
name may stick to him as a matter of small account, for a wiser man
than ourselves has said “there’s nothing in a name.”
When we speak of the reflecting and considerate, it is not to be
implied that all persons do not at times and in their way reflect and
consider; but it is hard to do so while we are involved in the business
of ordinary life; like players at cards, we are absorbed in the
calculations that affect them, and in the consideration of the “hand”
we hold. We find even the most skilful, straining to recollect himself
of the past progress, and speculating on the future chances of the
game—so it is with the mass of human beings. Could we look but on
as cool spectators of the games, and shifts, and moves of general
life, we should pity, smile, expostulate, reprove, where now at best
we give a vacant look, an unmeaning sigh, rage and burn, as in turns
we feel the instinct of weakness or passion, and are driven to act
under their impulses—but we are drawing the portrait of the
multitude, and losing sight of the Enthusiast.
How shall we catch his likeness and how present it to our readers?
It must be drawn with many lines and a patient hand. We are not
limners, or choose not to be, who cut out profiles in black, with a pair
of scissors; nor can we daguerrotype him at a glance. No! The
Enthusiast must be the subject of many sittings, though we may give
a complete feature or, sketch at each of his aspect for the day; and
in doing so, we promise ourselves what we hope will be largely
shared in by our readers, a fair amount of interest and gratification.
Enthusiast has some eccentricities, or to speak more plainly, has
his oddities. Tell him so however, tell him as a friend, and he is
enthusiastic to rid himself of his oddities. He has friends who now
and then tell him so; he has enemies who also take the same liberty;
but it is ten to one, if you examine it, that both friends and enemies,
in specifying some particular oddity, confront and contradict each
other, and leave the poor Enthusiast not wiser, but more perplexed,
between them. Indeed, so much do they themselves blunder, and so
much of guess-work is there in their opinions, that to give things their
right names, judging from effects, we should call the friend an
enemy, and the enemy a friend. The only conclusion we can come to
is by canvassing the motives of each, to decide that the well-
meaning and evil-doing are ranged on the one side, and the evil-
meaning and well-doing on the other. So odd are many things and
many persons besides Enthusiast; but we are again sketching from
the crowd, and Enthusiast sits impatient, or rather his friends are
impatient, which with them is much the same thing.
Enthusiast is an architect! Upon my word, some one will exclaim,
what is coming to us now-a-days?—architects and architecture are
obtruded upon us at every turn; and a certain lady of a certain age
(which means, as everybody knows, no very large portion of a
century) indignantly expostulates against this attempt to engross the
public mind and attention with these “new fanglements” of a
profession and an art which her father and grandfather’s days could
very well do without. “Formerly,” she says (which means about the
ancient period of her youth), “we hardly heard the mention of such
things. Architects, indeed! formerly the word even was scarcely so
much as known among us. I recollect,” says she, “having my
attention forced upon it somewhere in my school readings, in some
out of the way chapter or exercise, which poor Mrs. Cross-stitch
imposed on me at the ‘finishing’ of my education. I recollect reading
something about architecture, and how I mispronounced the word,
and how Mrs. Letterhead, our class mistress, told me to pronounce
the ch like k; and how she gave us a spelling task with that and
several other hard words to learn at home in the evening, and how
my poor father, when he heard me my task at my bed-time, had a
dispute with our neighbour, Percy Fullpurse, as to which was the
greater personage, the archdeacon or the architect; for they both
insisted that Miss Letterhead was wrong in her pronounciation, as
Percy had it; and how Percy, who was a great authority with us, for
we thought riches and wisdom went very much together, decided
that the archdeacon and the architect had nothing to do with each
other, but that the architect was something he could not exactly tell
what or how, but he believed had something to do with the quarter of
the Archipelago, with which also he had nothing to do. All this I
recollect, and certainly, though I may now smile at the ignorance of
my poor father and neighbour Percy, yet I am not bound to hold with
all that we are hearing and having dinned into our ears every day.
Almost every third person I meet with has some friend or friend’s
friend who is an architect, or is acquainted with an architect—and I
meet with them at parties; and there is Cousin Symmetry has placed
his son by his first wife as pupil to an architect; but what call can
there be, or what to do for so many architects? Architects, like
Proctors, should keep their places, and some two or three of them
inhabit a cathedral town, to take care of those fine old buildings and
the churches, for the churchwardens, they say, do not look to those
things properly; but, Lord bless us, do not let us be bored with
architecture at every turn. Let them have a bookseller specially to
themselves, if they will—and now I think of it, I recollect something of
an old established shop in that way somewhere in Holborn; but here
I see Messrs. Longman are publishing works on architecture, and
Mr. Tilt pushing them before one’s noses, and Bell & Wood, and
others, as the advertisements tell us. Nay, to crown all! there is that
very Boz, in his new work, Martin Chuzzlewit, beginning with an
architect, which, by the way, proves what I have always said, that he
is wearing out his subjects—and mind what I say again, it will break
down! He should take popular characters and popular subjects; but
an architect! Why, not one in a thousand knows or cares any thing
about architects. Trash! and now just do look at this—a weekly
paper, called The Builder! and another character to be drawn out—
an Enthusiast, who is also an architect! Well, upon my word, that is
good! We have heard of castles in the air; I suppose we are going to
have a builder of them, and that this Enthusiast is to be the architect.
Well, that is as it should be—the clouds for the architects, and the
architects for the clouds.”
But when shall we sit down to our business?—Miss Fatima Five-
and-forty has had the turn of our pencil, and Enthusiast still awaits its
return.
Enthusiast is an architect; that is, he is so for this limning; for
Enthusiast enters into most things, and is the life and soul of them.
We cannot go into his parentage, to shew how he is allied to, or of
the family of, the Geniuses; but really it is a difficult task this
sketching that we have undertaken, and reminds us of one of
George Cruikshank’s humours, under the head of “Ugly Customers;”
not that we are so much out of love with our subject as with the task
we have undertaken.
Do excuse us, good readers, for a while longer, and we will tell you
a story about this same Enthusiast. It is a trick of some of our
contemporary painters, to beguile the sitter by a conversation on
some topic which throws him from the restraint of posture-making;
perhaps if we try it, Enthusiast may be caught in a more favourable
attitude, and we may close the day with some success for our
hitherto failing and disappointed pencil.
Enthusiast was one day engaged in a discussion with a lady
friend, and had, in the usual warmth of his manner, been descanting
on the beauties and properties of Church Architecture in connection
with the proposed erection of a suitable structure of this class in a
wealthy manufacturing town. “It should be a cathedral,” said he, “at
least in dimension, in aspect, in decorations and appointments.” He
had dwelt on the peculiar features it should possess, on the facilities
that could be commanded, on the energies that ought to be exerted,
and so on, when he was cut short in his rhapsody by the cruel
observation of the lady,—and a common one it is,—“There is no
money for such things now-a-days.”
Casting his eyes around, as if in a reverie of thought, he scanned
the character of the various luxuries of the well-appointed drawing-
room in which they sat. Glancing from the broad mirror boldly
superposed on the massive carved chimney-piece of Carrara
marble, which in its turn enclosed the highly-polished steel and
burnishings of a costly Sheffield grate and its furniture, to the rich silk
hangings of the windows—their gilded cornices and single sheets of
plate-glass—thence to the chairs of rosewood and ivory inlaid, the
seats of silken suit—the companion couch and ottoman of most
ample dress—the curious and costly cabinet, the screens, the gold-
mounted harp, the “grand piano.”—Pacing once the length of the
room on the gay velvet of the carpet, he turned again and rested his
view on the table, choicely decked with books, most expensive in all
the appliances of paper, type, illustration, and binding—having done
all this, with breath suppressed and stiflings of emotion, which fain
had broken out with a scornful repetition of the lady’s words, “there is
no money for such things now-a-days,” he quietly disengaged
himself of his passion, and by an apparently easy transition ran on
thus:
“I have been calling to mind some of my early readings, and most
prominent just now is the recollection of the observations of Hope
when treating the subject of Egyptian Architecture and commenting
on the vastness of the Pyramids; he enters into a speculation as to
the means by which the people of that country under the Pharaohs
were enabled to find the leisure, or the time necessary for the
construction of such stupendous works, and he ventures to ascribe it
to the natural fertility of the soil caused by the annual over-flowings
of the Nile, thus demanding less from the Egyptians of the labour
and care of agriculture; and hence the drift of their exertions in the
direction of architecture. True, the bounty of nature would go a long
way in supplying to the cravings of art the leisure and opportunity for
gratification. True, those pyramids are evidence of the direction of
great means and great powers to an end which astounds more than
it edifies us, but what were the bounties of Egypt’s irrigating water,
what the greatness of their pyramids compared with that bounty
which Providence has given us in the mineral and the out-growing
mechanical characteristics of this favoured country, and the
pyramids which we erect as if in emulation of Egyptian vanity and
inutility?” “Pyramids!” interrupted the lady, “Ah, it is always so with
you, to propound to us first some extravagant project, and when
driven from your ground by a common sense and practical answer,
to take shelter in some ambiguity or paradox. Pyramids, Sir,—what is
your meaning?” “Here,” said the Enthusiast, “here, madam, are
stones from some of the English pyramids, of which your Scotts, and
Byrons, and Bulwers, and Marryatts have been the architects.
Compare the labours, and the end of the labours of these ingenious
minds with those of the architects of the Egyptian pyramids, and tell
me then the difference in amount. See the glories and untiring
industry of him of Abbotsford, devoted to an incessant wearing out of
the energies of his mind in designing pyramids of fiction—look on the
ant-like bustle and activity of the thousands whom he brought into
requisition to be engaged in the building—look at the millions of
devotees who have prostrated and continue to prostrate themselves
at these great entombments of his genius.—The paper-makers—the
printers—the artists employed in illustration—the binders—the
booksellers—the advertizing—the correspondence—the carrying—
volumes, pyramids of volumes to advertize alone—an endless train
of carriages and lines of road for the conveyance—the Builders and
makers employed on all these—and on the establishments of
printers, booksellers, &c.—and then the excited million of
expectants, the absorbed and half-entranced readers—the hours,
days, weeks, months, and years of reading—the impatience of
interruption till the whole delusion is swallowed—the readings again
and again—the contagion from the elders to the younger—children
even bewildered with the passion to peep into, to pore over, and last,
to read as rote-books these little better than idle fables—bootless in
their aim and object, and pointless in all but their rival obtuseness of
the mountain-mocking pyramids. The fertility, the leisure, and the
vanities of Egypt!—oh, madam, their country was sterility—their
leisure, incessant bustle compared with what we enjoy; and their
vain direction of labour and thought not to be named after this
enumeration of vanities. Pyramids!—where they had one we have
ten. Where ages were required by the Egyptians, we in as many
years outvie them, and yet your answer to my aspirations is, “We
have no money for such things as these!”
Reader, we have beguiled ourselves and you, and not the
Enthusiast, into a sitting; and one feature is sketched of his likeness
and his character.
 STREET SWEEPING MACHINE.
We give the following notice in connexion with the subject of Wood
Pavements, believing, as we do, that the efficiency of that mode of
paving greatly depends upon its being kept clean; an object which
this invention will materially facilitate.
Patent Self-Loading Cart, or Street-Sweeping Machine.
The Self-loading Cart has been lately brought into operation in the
town of Manchester, where it has excited a considerable degree of
public attention. It is the invention of Mr. Whitworth, of the firm of
Messrs. Joseph Whitworth & Co., engineers, by whom it has been
patented, and is now in process of manufacture. The principle of the
invention consists in employing the rotatory motion of locomotive
wheels, moved by horse or other power, to raise the loose soil from
the surface of the ground, and deposit it in a vehicle attached.
It will be evident that the self-loading principle is applicable to a
variety of purposes. Its most important application, however, is to the
cleaning of streets and roads. The apparatus for this purpose
consists of a series of brooms suspended from a light frame of
wrought iron, hung behind a common cart, the body of which is
placed as near the ground as possible, for the greater facility of
loading. As the cart-wheels revolve, the brooms successively sweep
the surface of the ground, and carry the soil up an inclined plane, at
the top of which it falls into the body of the cart.
The apparatus is extremely simple in construction, and will have
no tendency to get out of order, nor will it be liable to material injury
from accident. The draught is not severe on the horse. Throughout
the process of filling, a larger amount of force is not required that
would be necessary to draw the full cart an equal distance.
The success of the operation is no less remarkable than its
novelty. Proceeding at a moderate speed through the public streets,
the cart leaves behind it a well-swept track, which forms a striking
contrast with the adjacent ground. Though of the full size of a
common cart, it has repeatedly filled itself in the space of six minutes
from the principal thoroughfares of the town before mentioned.
The state of the streets in our large towns, and particularly in the
metropolis, it must be admitted, is far from satisfactory. It is
productive of serious hindrance to traffic, and a vast amount of public
inconvenience. The evil does not arise from the want of a liberal
expenditure on the part of the local authorities. In the township of
Manchester, the annual outlay for scavenging is upwards of 5,000l.
This amount is expended in the township alone. In the remaining
districts of the town, the expense is considerable. Other towns are
burdened in an equal or still greater proportion. Yet, notwithstanding
the amount of outlay, the effective work done is barely one-sixth part
of what would be necessary to keep the public streets in proper
order. In the district before referred to, they were a short time ago
distributed into the following classes, according to the frequency of
cleaning them:—Class A,—once a week; B,—once a fortnight; C,—
once a month. It may be safely asserted, that all these streets should
be swept, at least, six times oftener. The main thoroughfares, as well
as the back streets and confined courts, crowded with the poorer
part of the population, absolutely require cleaning out daily. But the
expense already incurred effectually prevents a more frequent
repetition of the process. The expensiveness of the present system,
in fact, renders it altogether inefficient; nor is there any chance of
material improvement in this important department of public police,
unaccompanied by a corresponding reduction in the rate of
expenditure.

According to the Kunctsblatt, a German painter, Edward Hansen,

of Basle, has been commissioned to prepare cartoons for the oil
paintings intended to decorate the church at Oscott, which Mr. Pugin
is about to build at the Earl of Shrewsbury’s expense. One of the
designs, “The Last Judgment,” is spoken of as exceedingly beautiful.
On the same authority, we learn that Thorwalsden has sustained a
loss by the wreck of a ship, bound from Leghorn to Hamburg. On
board were several of his works, most of which were saved, but were
completely spoiled by the sea-water; from which we infer that they
were plaster casts.
Gothic Architecture.

Westminster Hall Roof.

 CHAPTER I.
We now beg to draw attention to what we consider will be found
the most important feature in this number, inasmuch as it is the
commencement of the task with which we have charged ourselves to
enter upon the investigation and elucidation of the character and
principles of Gothic Architecture.
We use this unhappy term, Gothic, for no other reason than that
as we address ourselves mainly to the workmen, and as the style of
architecture so designated (originally in opprobrium) has now and for
long obtained the appellation in a popular sense, we feel unwilling to
depart from it until a thoroughly correct epithet shall have been
devised and accepted amongst us; that we are justified in this
decision, or rather indecision, we think may be shewn by the various
opinions of parties who may be said to rank as the authorities on
such points. Mr. Pugin is anxious that it should be called “Pointed, or
Christian Architecture.” Mr. Whewell and others have lately been
pleading for a title which the prevalence of vertical lines and
principles of construction, as in contradistinction to the horizontal
character of Greek architecture, appear to them to justify; others
again have contended for the term “English Architecture.” Now,
without committing ourselves to an opinion of our own, we think
there is sufficient ground for hesitating as to the adoption of this or
that novelty, notwithstanding our strong objection to the inapt and
absurd term “Gothic.”
Our task will be formidable, as to the length of time it will occupy,
the pains-taking it will require, the expense it will entail upon us, and,
above all, the system with which it must be conducted. But what
good thing is to be accomplished without some one or more of all
these? We only hope to be cheered on by the approving smiles and
the patient co-operation of those for whom we undertake it.
And how do we commence this task, so as to give promise that a
system may be observed, without which the best efforts in other
respects are likely to fail? It will not do to enter upon it at random, or
without due preparation, both on our own part and that of our
readers. We shall, therefore, proceed to state our object in selecting
the illustration we have done as the heading of this paper.
Let the carpenters look to it, and let them look on it with pride—
nay, let them look on it as we have done, with reverence. Let them
remember that this was the work of great spirits of their department.
It is a master-piece, and we have chosen it on this account, as we
shall continue, for some weeks to come, to make choice of similar
master-pieces, in the masons’ department. Oh! we have such
glorious examples at our hands. And then, again, as to ornamental
brickwork, and brass and latten work, and that gorgeous coloured
glazing, and such mastery in the carvers’ and sculptors’ art; these
we choose, to fire the breasts of our readers. We would excite them
by such glowing description of the land of promise into which we
propose to lead them, that the future steps, however irksome or
laborious, may be trodden with a light and gladsome foot. For the
present, then, and as we have said, for weeks to come, we shall
select the instances of varied excellence in roofs, vaults, arching, in
traceried windows, doorways, screens, in elaborate specimens of
“bench carpentry,” such as stalls, pulpits, railings, tabernacle and
screen work, in monumental brasses and other memorials of
sepulture, in moulded and enriched brickwork; the encaustic and
coloured pavements, the staining in glass, and generally all such
matter in the province of the artificer as may be regarded with the
admiring eye of the discerning practitioner.
Borrowing a similitude from what we are otherwise bound to
deprecate, we would speak of these as the trophies of our
predecessors in campaigns of glory, bidding every good soldier in
this day of later, though of similar service, to burn with ardour until he
may have successfully emulated the doings of his ancestry.
Yes, every carpenter should feel proud of a calling which enrols
him in the ranks of a craft whose arms are emblazoned and charged
with insignia such as these; but we promise the same evidences of
distinction to every department of the building fraternity.
This Westminster-Hall roof, spanning over an area of 74 feet wide
and 270 feet in length, rearing its ridge to the height of 90 feet,