Environmental pressures on building design and Manchester's John Rylands Library

Journal of Design History

Volumn 13, Issue 3, 2000, Pages 175-191

  Bowler, Catherine ^a   Brimblecombe, Peter ^b  

^a Norfolk County Council

^b UNIVERSITY OF EAST ANGLIA   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

Air pollution; Architecture; Environmental design; Interior design; Library; Urbanism

Indexed keywords

EID: 21344460588     PISSN: 09524649     EISSN: 17417279     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1093/jdh/13.3.175     Document Type: Review

References (88)

1. For detailed discussion of Manchester's Victorian development, see A. Kidd, Manchester, Keele University Press, 1996, pp. 21-32, 103-5;
2. W. H. Shercliff, Manchester: A Short History of its Development, Manchester Town Hall, 1983, pp. 21-39;
3. W. Farrar & J. Brownbill, A History of Lancashire, vol. 2, The Victoria County History of the Counties of England: Lancashire, Archibald Constable, 1908, pp. 360-408;
4. N. J. Frangupolo, Rich Inheritance: A Guide to the History of Manchester, Manchester Education Committee, 1962, pp. 39-45;
5. J. Allen, 'What chemistry has meant to industry in Manchester', in W. H. Brindley (ed.), The Soul of Manchester, Manchester University Press, 1929, pp. 193-200.
6. Richard Holden, a visitor from Rotherham on 14 May 1808 quoted in W. H. Thomson, History of Manchester to 1852, John Sherratt & Son, 1967, p. 271;
7. the Panorama of Manchester and Railway Companion, 1834, quoted in S. D. Simon, A Century of Government in Manchester 1838-1938, George Allen & Unwin, 1938, p. 36;
8. G. M. Trevelyan, Illustrated English Social History, vol. 4, Longman, 1952, p. 118.
9. See, for example, A. J. Kidd & K. W. Roberts (eds.), City, Class and Culture: Studies of Social Policy and Cultural Production in Victorian Manchester, Manchester University Press, 1985;
10. J. Seed, 'Commerce and the liberal arts: the political economy of art in Manchester, 1775-1860', in J. Wolff & J. Seed (eds.), The Culture of Capital: Art, Power and the Nineteenth Century Middle Class, Manchester University Press, 1988, pp. 45-81.
11. Specifically its 'office chambers' and commercial warehouses; S. Muthesius, The High Victorian Movement in Architecture 1850-1870, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1972, pp. 188-96;
12. R. Dixon & S Muthesius, Victorian Architecture, Thames & Hudson, 1978, pp. 10, 15, 120-40, 142-81.
13. 'The architecture of our large provincial towns. II: Manchester', The Builder, vol. lxxi, no. 2805, November 1896, pp. 369-79;
14. P. de Figueiredo & I. Beesley, Victorian Manchester and Salford, Ryburn Publishing, 1988, p. 2.
15. Thomas Worthington, 'Address of the President', Manchester Society of Architects, 1865-1875 Reports, 1875, MLSL, 720.6.M1;
16. see also A. Pass, 'Thomas Worthington: practical idealist', Architectural Review, no. 155, 1974, pp. 268-74;
17. J. Medland Taylor, 'Address of the President', Manchester Society of Architects 1875-82 Annual Report, 1881, MLSL, 720.6.M.1. The concerns of the Manchester group (reformed in 1865 as the Manchester Society of Architects) echoed those expressed nationally by the RIBA (founded 1834) and the Architectural Association (founded 1847), Muthesius, op. cit., p. 160;
18. A. Waterhouse, 'Description of the new Town Hall at Manchester', Transactions of the R.I.B.A., 1876-7, 19 February 1877, pp. 117-36;
19. For which many later architectural historians expressed their preference. See, for example, D. Sharp's comment that at the Watts Warehouse, 'the rear elevation blushing unseen into a satanic alley is a fine piece of functional brickwork much to be preferred to the front', D. Sharp (ed.), Manchester, Studio Vista, 1969, p. 23.
20. A. J. Pass, 'Thomas Worthington', in J. H. G. Archer (ed.). Art and Architecture in Victorian Manchester, Manchester University Press, pp. 81-101;
21. A. Waterhouse, 'The Manchester Assize Courts: description of design under motto "Pro Rege, Lege et Grege"', The Building News, 6 May 1859, pp. 425-7;
22. towers formed an integral part of Ruskin's vision of Venetian Gothic expressed in The Stones of Venice, vol. 1, 1851, Muthesius, op. cit., pp. 33-6;
23. for a discussion of the importance of towers in civic building design, see C. Cunningham, Victorian and Edwardian Town Halls, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1981, pp. 166-74.
24. Such devices were not unique to Manchester. In London, the Central Tower of Charles Barry's Houses of Parliament functioned as both a ventilation shaft, chimney and ornamental addition to the original design, M. H. Port (ed.), The Houses of Parliament, Yale University Press, 1976, p. 103.
25. H. Guppy, The John Rylands Library Manchester: 1899-1924: A Record of its History etc., Manchester University Press, 1924, p. 11;
26. S. Fearnley, 'Trio', Lancashire Life, February 1976, p. 33;
27. H. Guppy, 'How commerce has assisted culture through the John Rylands Library', in Brindley, op. cit., pp. 113-25.
28. As defined by the Prescription Act (1832); M. Grant, Urban Planning Law, Sweet &Maxwell, 1982, pp. 325-7;
29. B. Nicholas, An Introduction to Roman Law, Clarendon Press, 1962, p. 143.
30. A. W. Mills, 'Presidential address', Manchester Society of Architects, 1865-75 Reports, 1870, MLSL, 720.6.M1.
31. Modern Society, 1892, 'Guppy correspondence', JRLA, shelf 78, box 5.
32. 'The John Rylands Memorial Library Manchester', The Builder, 27 January 1900, pp. 78-81.
33. Mr Beaumont, a local land agent and surveyor in the employ of Mrs Rylands, put forward the suggestion, 'Deeds and papers relating to the John Rylands Library, 1889-1901', JRLA, Rylands Family Papers, ORF/3/3/1-16.
34. B. Champneys, 'The John Rylands Library, Manchester', Journal of the R.I.B.A., 3rd series, 22 January 1900, pp. 101-14;
35. see also J. Maddison, 'Basil Champneys and the John Rylands Library', in Archer (ed.), op. cit., pp. 230-49.
36. Bristol Observer, 20 November 1909, 'Newspaper cuttings 1899-1909', JRLA, shelf 69, vol. 1.
37. J. Sherwood & N. Pevsner, The Buildings of England: Oxfordshire, Penguin, 1974, pp. 234-5;
38. for illustrations of Mansfield College and library interior see A. F. Kersting & J. Ashdown, The Buildings of Oxford, Batsford, 1980, pp. 174-5;
39. A. F. Kersting, Portrait of Oxford, Batsford, 1956, p. 77.
40. W. A. Royle, 'Presidential address', Manchester Society of Architects 1882-89 Annual Report, 1888, MLSL, 720.6.M1.
41. Basil Champneys writing to Mrs Rylands, 6 November 1893, 'Mrs Rylands and the John Rylands Library from library sources', JRLA, shelf 78, box 1.
42. T. L. Worthington, Historical Account of the Cathedral Church at Manchester, Manchester, 1884, p. 46.
43. J. H. G. Archer, 'A classic of its age', in Archer (ed.), op. cit., pp. 127-61.
44. S. Wilkinson, Manchester's Warehouses: Their History and Architecture, Neil Richardson, 1981, p. 11.
45. H. R. Hitchcock, 'Victorian monuments of commerce', Architectural Review, vol. 105, 1949, pp. 61-74;
46. Basil Champneys writing to Mrs Rylands, post-November 1889, 'Building correspondence', JRLA, shelf 72, box 2.
47. 'Bookish Theoric', The John Rylands Library, Manchester: A Critical Study, 1905, 'Newspaper cuttings 1899-1909', JRLA, shelf 69, vol. 1.
48. 'Sir Christopher Wren's Report on the Abbey in 1713, to Dean Atterbury', 'Westminster Abbey: fabrick orders 1699-1716', in The Wren Society, vol. 11, Oxford University Press, 1934, pp. 15-20, 27-34.
49. J. V. Elsden & J. A. Howe, The Stones of London, Chichester Press, 1923, pp. 35-6.
50. Report of the Commissioners appointed to visit the Quarries and to inquire into the Qualities of the Stone to be used in Building the New Houses of Parliament, Parliamentary Paper, (574), xxx, 1839;
51. Report of the Committee on the Decay of the Stone of the New Palace of Westminster, Parliamentary Paper (537), xxxv, 1861.
52. C. Stewart, The Architecture of Manchester: An Index of the Principal Buildings and their Architects 1800-1900, Manchester Libraries Committee, 1956, p. 22. Refacing of buildings can also indicate changes in architectural taste.
53. N. Pevsner, Lancashire. 1: The Industrial and Commercial South, Penguin, 1969, pp. 57-9;
54. H. B. Rodgers, 'The face of central Manchester', Manchester Geographer, vol. 9, 1988, p. 38.
55. W. E. A. Axon, An Architectural and General Description of the Town Hall, Manchester, Abel Heywood & Son, 1878, p. 6.
56. Basil Champneys writing to Mrs Rylands, November 1889, 'Building correspondence', JRLA, shelf 72, box 2;
57. meeting between Champneys and Mrs Rylands, July 1890, 'Guppy correspondence', JRLA, shelf 78, box 5;
58. Champneys writing to Mrs Rylands, 15 September 1890, 'Mrs. Rylands and the John Rylands Library from library sources', JRLA, shelf 78, box 1.
59. See, for example, the report of the special Council sub-committee formed to investigate injury to vegetation in Phillips Park by nearby industrial works, Borough of Manchester. [copy] Proceedings of the Council November 1872 to November 1873, Henry Blacklock & Co., 1874, 29 August 1873, p. 374;
60. also G. H. Bailey, 'The atmosphere of Manchester', Studies from the Physical Chemical Laboratories of Owens College, Physics and Physical Chemistry, vol. 1, 1893, pp. 236-7.
61. T. Perkins, The Cathedral Church of Manchester: A Short History and Description etc., George Bell & Sons, 1901, pp. 5, 13;
62. For illustrations of Worthington's buildings, see C. Stewart, 'The battlefield: a pictorial review of Victorian Manchester', Journal of the R.I.B.A., May 1960, pp. 236-41;
63. See, for example, K. Clarke, The Gothic Revival: An Essay in the History of Taste, Constable & Co., 1928, pp. 141-51;
64. the antiquary William R. Hamilton wrote a series of letters to Lord Elgin throughout early 1836 in which he attacked the Gothic style, 'W. E. H.', 'Mr. Barry's design for the new Houses of Parliament', London and Westminster Review, 1836, vols. 3 and 25, pp. 409-428.
65. see S. Macdonald, 'The Royal Manchester Institution', in Archer (ed.), op. cit., pp. 28-45;
66. P. Atkins, Guide Across Mancheste: A Tour of the City Centre etc., The Civic Trust for the North West, 1976, pp. 46, 81-2;
67. C. Stewart, The Stones of Manchester, Edward Arnold, 1956, pp. 16-19, 28-9, 32-3, 44-5;
68. C. H. Reilly, Some Manchester Streets and their Buildings, Liverpool University Press, 1924, p. 13.
69. Archer, 'A classic in its age', in Archer (ed.), op. cit., pp. 150-1.
70. T. C. Horsfall, 'The government of Manchester', Trans. Manchester Statistical Society 1896/7, 1895, pp. 1-28.
71. see Building News, vol. 58, part 7, 1890, p. 221;
72. D. Ware, A Short Dictionary of British Architects, George Allen & Unwin, 1967, p. 62;
73. N. Ray, Cambridge Architecture: A Concise Guide, Cambridge University Press, 1994, pp. 90-2;
74. L. Stokes, 'The Royal Gold Medal 1912: presentation to Mr. Basil Champneys etc.', Journal of the R.I.B.A., 3rd series, vol. 19, pp. 585-92.
75. A. Waterhouse, 'Restoration', The British Architect and Northern Engineer, vol. 10, 1878, pp. 97-8.
76. Halsey Ricardo perceived that 'self-denial, co-operation and public spirit' were the necessary components for the successful implementation of smoke abatement, Halsey Ricardo, 'Of colour in the architecture of cities', in Art and Life and the Building and Decoration of Cities, etc., Rivington Percival & Co, 1897, p. 247.
77. J. Aston, A Picture of Manchester, Manchester, 1816, p. 43;
78. J. Trueherz, 'Ford Madox Brown and the Manchester Murals', in Archer (ed.), op. cit., pp. 162-201;
79. Archer, 'A classic in its age', in Archer (ed.), op. cit., pp. 143-5.
80. Basil Champneys writing to Mrs Rylands, 30 September 1892, 'Mrs Rylands and the John Rylands Library from library sources', JRLA, shelf 78, box 1.
81. Basil Champneys, 'Notes on the scheme for ventilation and purifying air', 13 March 1895, JRLA, shelf 84, box 4.
82. The filtration of air through coke screens had also been adopted at the contemporary Midlands Hotel (1898), 'The Midland Hotel, Manchester', The British Builder, 1924, pp. 144-8.
83. William Linnell writing to Basil Champneys, 6 January 1895, 'Mrs. Rylands and the John Rylands Library from library sources', JRLA, shelf 78, box 1;
84. see also the discussion of Champneys' ventilation scheme in J. M. Brydon & F. J. Burgoyne, 'Public libraries', The Builder, 25 February 1899, pp. 190-2.
85. H. Guppy the Librarian to Mrs Rylands on 11 December 1900, 'Guppy correspondence', JRLA, shelf 78, box 5;
86. 'The first annual report to the Governors', Annual Reports to the Governors 1900-19, JRLA, shelf 80.
87. It was noted, for example, that clergymen often had headaches on Mondays following Sundays spent in badly ventilated, gas-illuminated churches, Ernest Jacob, Notes on the Ventilation and Wanning etc., 1894 quoted in J. S. Curl, Victorian Architecture: Its Practical Aspects, David & Charles, 1973, pp. 66, 92.
88. William Linnell to Basil Champneys, 25 July 1890, 'Building correspondence 1890s', JRLA, shelf 72, box 2.