Untitled

Progress, Volume II, Issue 7, 1 May 1907, Page 265

Halsbury, and Dr. Adler, the chief Rabbi, can be clearly discerned. The motto beneath the picture is :—: — " Poise the cause in Justice equal scales." These paintings were executed in oils, on canvas, in the artists studio, and affixed to the wall in sections. They have a lead backing, which will, it is believed, render them quite permanent. The front looks as if it had been designed to face a wide open space, and one feels that the building would have presented a stately appearance if it could have been placed, for example, where the National Gallery stands, facing Trafalgar Square. As it is, one is inclined to think that this treatment of a frontage which must face a mean and narrow street is a mistake, unless, we are to credit the architect with a seer's vision of the day when a broad place shall have been constructed in front of his building. Above a granite base is a first story of rusticated stonework, in which are a series of arched windows, and the main entrance also arched and surmounted by a boldly sculptured group. The sculpture is by Mr. F. W. Pomeroy, A.R.A., and consists of three symbolical figures of large scale representing I,aw, Justice, and Truth. Above the main entrance, marking the first and second storeys, are two pairs of lonic columns flanked by triangular pediments resting on pilasters. The tympana are filled with relief sculptures — I,aw and Justice respectively — and on the centre portion of the frieze is carved the motto " Defend the children of the poor and punish the wrongdoer." Above the parapet rises the copper-covered dome, completing a fine central feature, albeit it is not literal ly in the centre of the facade, being nearer the Newgate-street end than the lower end. The dome is the boldest thing about the design. It argues no little courage to build a dome so near to the great dome of St. Paul's, probably the finest architectural feature in all I/melon. Comparison is inevitable. The comparatively small and light cupola of the justice hall altogether lacks the extraordinary dignity and impressiveness of Wren's mighty dome, yet it is not an ineffective feature of the

design, and the great gilt figure of Justice which surmounts it has furnished London with a new and striking landmark. This great figure is also the work of Mr. Pomeroy. It stands 22ft. high, and represents Justice, with arms extended, holding in one hand a drawn sword, and in the other the traditional scales. The exterior of the building, it may be here stated, is entirely of Portland stone, the most suitable of all stones to withstand the weather and the smoke of London, and is a good example of sound masonry. Indeed, the structural work throughout the building is of the most solid and lasting character. The courts are mostly panelled in unpolished oak ; the furniture is of the same material, the seats of the judges being upholstered in green leather. The accommodation is ampler and the aspect brighter than is usual in most law courts, but little attempt is made at architectural or decorative display. The architectural interest of the interior is. in fact, concentrated on the entrance hall, the main staircase, and the central hall on the first floor. Through the main entrance in the Old Bailey, where the gate is a fine example of wrought iron and copper work, one passes to a great marble hall or vestibule with its great staircase flanked by massive columns of green marble — the shafts of richly veined cippolino, the bases of the darker verde antico. The balustrade is of alabaster and verde antico, the walls at the side of the staircase are lined with various coloured marbles, and under the arches, which support the ceiling of the staircase, are two stained glass windows by Professor Gerald Moira.