A UNIQUE CHURCH IN DANGER,
[To run Burma or vas ••errorsroa."i Sra,—We venture to make an appeal which we feel sure will be responded to by those who care for the great buildings which enshrine the past life and achievements of their country. Thaxted Church, set in the uplands of Essex, is one of the few examples of the ultimate development of Gothic architecture, in which the massive walls of earlier time are replaced by a mere framework of glass and tracery, supporting, for all its frailness, largo expanses of carved roofings. Moreover, it is unique in that it is unspoiled by the hands of the restorer, and it is more and more needed to meet the requirements of an increasing popu- lation. A now railway, a new industry, a reviving agriculture, already promise that in a few years Thaxted will fully require the large proportions of this cathedral-like structure. We, there- fore, ask the nation to help preserve this church. The leaden the roof has almost completely perished, and the weather threatens to destroy the carved timbers of oak and Spanish chestnut. Even more serious, the tower threatens to give way and to bring about the fall of the exquisite steeple, thus possibly destroying the nave.
The Bishop of St. Albans, recommending the Fund, says that " there is real danger of irreparable injury if the work of preser- vation is not taken in band at once." On the recommendation of the architect, Mr. Randall Wells, whose report is endorsed by the " Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings," the Preserva- tion Fund Committee appeal for .gfi,000. When so much money is given to preserve, both for public and private collections, our national works of art, it should be easy to raise a few thousand pounds for a building whose beauties thrill the imagination of masses of people. The Committee include the Lord Bishop of Chelmsford, the Lord Bishop of St. Albans, His Grace the Duke of Newcastle, the Earl of Plymouth, the Earl and Countess of Warwick, Mr. George Clausen, R.A.,and others. Further particu- lars, with photographs, may be had from the Hon. Treasurer, Mr.}1. J. Cunnington, Braintree, who will gratefully receive subscriptions in either large or small amounts.—We are, Sir, &a, T. POWELL Burro's. WALTER Gn.asv. Ramsten.
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