[TO THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR. "] SIR,—Will you let rie
call attention to an act of vandalism
at the hands of an urban authority which all protest by local people and public bodies interested in saving beautiful and historic England for future generations has failed to arrest ? A few months ago a very interesting specimen of Robert Adams's work called Wordsworth House came into the hands of the Urban Council of Penrith. Tho city fathers decided to convert it into local Board offices, a museum, and free library. And this, though such conversion would by their architect's plans have sacrificed all the fine interior stair- cases, mouldings, fireplaces, &c., could have been done without any alteration of the façade or its elevation. But there were those on the Board who felt that Robert Adams's work could be improved by the bands of the local sanitary engineer, and they determined to have a brand-new front, granite-pillared portico, Jacobean pediment, and all the pretentiousness that we to-day associate with the new houses of banking and insurance companies in country towns. The ratepayers were to pay; but the ratepayers were, it seems, not informed of the work contemplated, and it was not till the contract was let that it came out that the beautiful front of Robert Adams was to be demolished to make way for a modern façade and elevation which was spoken of as " more in harmony with the immediate sur-
roundings." But as soon as the news got wind, Professor Baldwin Brown of Edinburgh, the National Trust, and the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Buildings wrote to the Penrith authority urging the claims of Robert Adams's work to preservation in the best interests of the town and county. The Urban Council did me the honour of inviting me to conference, and after stating the case for the public, and its desire to see the work of such a master-architect banded down to future residents in Penrith and future visitors to the town, they courteously stopped the work of demolition and allowed me to take the plans to London and lay them before Mr. Thackeray Turner and his Committee, who at once reported on them, strongly urging the retention of the whole building as far as possible in its entirety, as of the greatest interest, and showing how, if the interior must be modified, it could be so modified and adapted without the destruction of the façade. Meanwhile the residents petitioned the Board to stay its hands and save the house. But there were upon the Board two or three who were determined that the work of demolition should proceed. A rumour was put about the town that Mr. Thackeray Turner's Committee had spoken of the local architect's plans as very excellent (all that was meant was that they were very carefully drawn, and showed at a glance what the intention of the reconstruction was). The Urban Council met, and by a vote of eight to five determined that since the contract was let, their only course as practical men was to proceed with the destruction of the house-front. It would have been possible even at the eleventh hour to listen to reason and consult the ratepayers met in public assembly, and so have obtained a mandate; they did nothing of the sort. They gave instructions the same evening to the contractor to proceed post-haste with his work of demolition, and when the Penrith townsmen woke on the morning following, they woke to find the builders bard at work,—an irreparable breach already made in the beautiful front of Wordsworth House ; and the destruction of a work of art by a master-architect that, if left alone, would have been the pride of the town for generations, a fait accompli. Now it seems to me, Sir, that some legislation is really necessary in the national behalf that would make this sort of hasty destruction of national charm impossible. A Com- missioner might surely be appointed to take cognisance of just such cases of projected vandalism as might arise, and he, if appealed to, could in the King's name issue an interim injunction in the public interest, which would admit of public inquiry at the hands of the Local Government Board, or the public expression of the ratepayers' opinion in assembly lawfully convened..—I am, Sir, &c., H. D. RAWNSLEY.
SAVONAROLA.
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