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  • The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine
  • April 25, 1863
  • Page 7
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The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine, April 25, 1863: Page 7

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    Article THE CORONATION CHAIR, WESTMINSTER ABBEY. ← Page 3 of 3
    Article PROPOSED MEMORIAL OF THE LATE PRINCE CONSORT. Page 1 of 2 →
Page 7

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The Coronation Chair, Westminster Abbey.

ration stone , says , "The people of Scotland have along placed in that stone a kind of fatality ; they fancied that while it remained in their country the state would remain unshaken ; but the moment it should be elsewhere removed , great revolutions would ensue , and for this reason Edward carried it away—to create in the Scots a belief that the dissolution of their monarchy had come , and to

lessen their hopes of obtaining their liberty . " Of such import was this stone , that . it was not only made a separate article in a treaty of peace , but also of political conference between Edward III . and David IL , King of Scotland . A writ of Privy Council , of July 1 st , 1328 , is in existence , signed by the king and directed jio the Abbot and Convent of Westminster , wherein Edward

III ., after reciting that the stone whereon the kings of Scotland used to sit , at the time of their coronation , and which was then in the keeping of that abbot , & c ., should be sent to Scotland ; and that he had ordered the Sheriffs of London to receive the same from them by indenture , and cause it to be delivered to the queen mother , notwithstanding this command , it is clear that the coronationstone was never given up , although many ancient records , jewels , and monuments , were actually delivered to the Scotch .

the ancient prophetic distich relating to this stone is said to have been cut in or engraven on it by command of King Kenneth ; but this is in all probability erroneous , for so far as we are able to discover , there are no traces of any inscription , and , with the exception of a small cross , there is no mark upon this stone ; there is , however , a rectangular groove or indent , i ' n which an

inscription might at one time have , been fixed . The coronation stone is placed within the framework of the chair , which is now in the Confessor ' s Chapel ; at eachend is a circular iron handle , affixed to a staple within the stone itself , so that it might be lifted up . On referring to the notes above given , it will be seen that in some respects the ancient accounts of the stone

do not agree with its present appearance . We have it described as a " white marble stone , " aud in some instances as being richly carved by a cunning artist ; notwithstanding , it is in reality a dun-coloured , commonlooking stone , like some of those which are brought for various purposes from Dundee , in Scotland . It is a sandy granular stone , chiefly quartz , with light and

reddish-coloured felspar , and also light and dark mica , with some other matters intermixed ; and on the upper side there is a dark , brownish-coloured flint pebble , which , from its hardness , has not been cut through , though immediately crossed by the indent above mentioned . The stone is of oblong but irregular form , measuring 26 inches in length , 16 f inches in breadth , and 10 inches in thickness .

Iu the wardrobe accounts of Edward I . ' s time there is a charge by Master Walter , the painter , for the costs and expenses incurred by him for making one step at the foot of the new chair ( in which is the stone from Scotland ) , set up near the altar in St . Edward ' s shrine in the Abbatial Church at AVestminster , in pursuance with the order of the king , and for the wages of the caz-penter and painter for painting the said , together with making a case for covez-ing the chair . The cost of this was £ 1 19 s . 7 d . — Builder .

Proposed Memorial Of The Late Prince Consort.

PROPOSED MEMORIAL OF THE LATE PRINCE CONSORT .

In order that the views with which Mr . Scott prepared his desi gn for the Memorial proper may he fairly set forth , we print the statement with which lie accompanied the drawings : — " I would take the liberty of remarking- at the outset that I have felt a great perplexity as to the scale of outlay to which I should proportion my conceptions . Prom the time of the very first proposal of the Memorial , my thoughts were almost constantl y directed to the subject . The claims of that great and

good Prince who was to be commemorated—the magnificence of the scale on which the public had from the first , and most justly , framed their ideas as to what the memorial to such a , personage should be—and her Majesty's choice , in the first instance , of a monolith , greater than any that the world had seen , surrounded by magnificent groups of sculpture , in due proportion to its colossal magnitude , —all these rendered it impossible for me deliberately to strike out a thought on an unworthy scalewhile

, the converse seemed equally impossible . It might , indeed , be almost said of an artist , who is strongly impressed with the worthiness of a subject such as this , that "' Such is the impulse and the spur he feels To give it praise proportioned to its worth , That not to attempt it , arduous as he deems The labour , were a task more arduous still . ''

" AVith such feelings I could not bring myself to treat the subject on the principle of ' nicely calculated less or more . ' I had , indeed , already struck out my design before I was honoured with your invitation to do so ; and having worked ib out , so far as thoughts and sketches went , under a strong impulse to do what I could to render it in some degree worthy of its object , I could not bring myself coldly to sit down and deprive it of any decoration I had already designed

for it , but have gone on upon the principle that the second idea of erecting a Hall of Science in proximity to the Memorial would not be allowed to rob the Memorial itself of its honours or its beauties ; but that the funds which have been , and may yet be , subscribed for it will be devoted to the Memorial itself , and the Hall be erected from other sources ; I have , in fact , made each as good as I was able , so that either would , if need

be , singly form a fitting Memorial , though I have supposed that if one of a monumental form be erected , it will not be stinted of the fair proportions which the public have , beyond a doubt , ideally prescribed for it , with a view to saving a fund to go towards the second object . There can , indeed , be no doubt that the public expect a monument of great and conspicuous magnificence—not a mere

group of sculpture which , however fine as a work of art , produces little effect excepting from a near point of view , but an object which will strike boldly and forcibly upon the eye , and attract attention even from a distance . The monument of Frederick the Great , for instance , has been mentioned , and justly , as a noble work of art , but its beauty arises from the high qv \ ality of the art bestowed upon it , not from any inherent magnificence

in its design or form . In scale it is considerably less than the statue ( with its pedestal ) of King George IV . in Trafalgar-square , and no one would , I fancy , deem that even any approach to a worthy scale for the memorial to the Prince Consort . I will now take the liberty of offering a few remarks on the subject of the style I have adopted / or the architectural portions ofthe monument . I have heard it asserted that the tastes

of the Prince Consort were wholly for Classic Art , and that it would , therefore , he inconsistent to erect a memorial to him in another style . It would be presumptuous in me to discuss such a question as what were his Eoyal Highness ' s preferences in matters of art ; I trust , however , that I may venture to record what has eome , in three different instances , under my own

observation . I . AVhen I had , in the spring of 1858 , the honour of laying before his Eoyal Highness my first designs for the new Government offices , he distinctly told me that he did not sympathise with the objections which had been made against them on the ground of their style being niediaival , not even in those points where , they came in the closest proximity with a classic building , but thaton the contraryhe preferred variety of styleand

, , , thought the constant adoption of a single style fatiguing , from its monotony . II . In the case of the Wellington College , I was called in , with the approval of His Eoyal Highness , to erect a Gothic chapel to a College which is in another style . III . AVhen I made , some few years back , a Gothic design for the Guards' Crimean Memorial , I am informed on the best

authority , that my design was honoured by the approval of the Prince Consort to such an extent , that , though he had previously objected to the Memorial being erected in Hyde Park , on seeing this design he at once , withdrew the objection , and offered every facility for its erection in the park—facilities which were withdrawn when another design was adopted . I would lay the more stress upon this circumstance , as being an emphatic approval by the Prince Consort himself of the erection of a Memorial in the

“The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine: 1863-04-25, Page 7” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 31 March 2023, www.masonicperiodicals.org/periodicals/mmr/issues/mmr_25041863/page/7/.
  • List
  • Grid
Title Category Page
THE BUDGET. Article 1
FREEMASONRY AS A TEACHER. Article 1
FREEMASONRY IN FRANCE. Article 2
BRITISH SCULPTORS. Article 2
KNIGHTHOOD. Article 3
THE CORONATION CHAIR, WESTMINSTER ABBEY. Article 5
PROPOSED MEMORIAL OF THE LATE PRINCE CONSORT. Article 7
MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES. Article 8
CORRESPONDENCE. Article 11
THE ROYAL ARCH DISPUTE IN SCOTLAND Article 11
MASONIC MEMS. Article 12
THE BOYS' SCHOOL. Article 12
METROPOLITAN. Article 13
PROVINCIAL. Article 14
ROYAL ARCH. Article 15
KNIGHTS TEMPLAR. Article 15
MARK MASONRY. Article 16
Poetry. Article 16
PUBLIC AMUSEMENTS. Article 17
THE WEEK. Article 17
TO CORRESPONDENTS. Article 20
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

The Coronation Chair, Westminster Abbey.

ration stone , says , "The people of Scotland have along placed in that stone a kind of fatality ; they fancied that while it remained in their country the state would remain unshaken ; but the moment it should be elsewhere removed , great revolutions would ensue , and for this reason Edward carried it away—to create in the Scots a belief that the dissolution of their monarchy had come , and to

lessen their hopes of obtaining their liberty . " Of such import was this stone , that . it was not only made a separate article in a treaty of peace , but also of political conference between Edward III . and David IL , King of Scotland . A writ of Privy Council , of July 1 st , 1328 , is in existence , signed by the king and directed jio the Abbot and Convent of Westminster , wherein Edward

III ., after reciting that the stone whereon the kings of Scotland used to sit , at the time of their coronation , and which was then in the keeping of that abbot , & c ., should be sent to Scotland ; and that he had ordered the Sheriffs of London to receive the same from them by indenture , and cause it to be delivered to the queen mother , notwithstanding this command , it is clear that the coronationstone was never given up , although many ancient records , jewels , and monuments , were actually delivered to the Scotch .

the ancient prophetic distich relating to this stone is said to have been cut in or engraven on it by command of King Kenneth ; but this is in all probability erroneous , for so far as we are able to discover , there are no traces of any inscription , and , with the exception of a small cross , there is no mark upon this stone ; there is , however , a rectangular groove or indent , i ' n which an

inscription might at one time have , been fixed . The coronation stone is placed within the framework of the chair , which is now in the Confessor ' s Chapel ; at eachend is a circular iron handle , affixed to a staple within the stone itself , so that it might be lifted up . On referring to the notes above given , it will be seen that in some respects the ancient accounts of the stone

do not agree with its present appearance . We have it described as a " white marble stone , " aud in some instances as being richly carved by a cunning artist ; notwithstanding , it is in reality a dun-coloured , commonlooking stone , like some of those which are brought for various purposes from Dundee , in Scotland . It is a sandy granular stone , chiefly quartz , with light and

reddish-coloured felspar , and also light and dark mica , with some other matters intermixed ; and on the upper side there is a dark , brownish-coloured flint pebble , which , from its hardness , has not been cut through , though immediately crossed by the indent above mentioned . The stone is of oblong but irregular form , measuring 26 inches in length , 16 f inches in breadth , and 10 inches in thickness .

Iu the wardrobe accounts of Edward I . ' s time there is a charge by Master Walter , the painter , for the costs and expenses incurred by him for making one step at the foot of the new chair ( in which is the stone from Scotland ) , set up near the altar in St . Edward ' s shrine in the Abbatial Church at AVestminster , in pursuance with the order of the king , and for the wages of the caz-penter and painter for painting the said , together with making a case for covez-ing the chair . The cost of this was £ 1 19 s . 7 d . — Builder .

Proposed Memorial Of The Late Prince Consort.

PROPOSED MEMORIAL OF THE LATE PRINCE CONSORT .

In order that the views with which Mr . Scott prepared his desi gn for the Memorial proper may he fairly set forth , we print the statement with which lie accompanied the drawings : — " I would take the liberty of remarking- at the outset that I have felt a great perplexity as to the scale of outlay to which I should proportion my conceptions . Prom the time of the very first proposal of the Memorial , my thoughts were almost constantl y directed to the subject . The claims of that great and

good Prince who was to be commemorated—the magnificence of the scale on which the public had from the first , and most justly , framed their ideas as to what the memorial to such a , personage should be—and her Majesty's choice , in the first instance , of a monolith , greater than any that the world had seen , surrounded by magnificent groups of sculpture , in due proportion to its colossal magnitude , —all these rendered it impossible for me deliberately to strike out a thought on an unworthy scalewhile

, the converse seemed equally impossible . It might , indeed , be almost said of an artist , who is strongly impressed with the worthiness of a subject such as this , that "' Such is the impulse and the spur he feels To give it praise proportioned to its worth , That not to attempt it , arduous as he deems The labour , were a task more arduous still . ''

" AVith such feelings I could not bring myself to treat the subject on the principle of ' nicely calculated less or more . ' I had , indeed , already struck out my design before I was honoured with your invitation to do so ; and having worked ib out , so far as thoughts and sketches went , under a strong impulse to do what I could to render it in some degree worthy of its object , I could not bring myself coldly to sit down and deprive it of any decoration I had already designed

for it , but have gone on upon the principle that the second idea of erecting a Hall of Science in proximity to the Memorial would not be allowed to rob the Memorial itself of its honours or its beauties ; but that the funds which have been , and may yet be , subscribed for it will be devoted to the Memorial itself , and the Hall be erected from other sources ; I have , in fact , made each as good as I was able , so that either would , if need

be , singly form a fitting Memorial , though I have supposed that if one of a monumental form be erected , it will not be stinted of the fair proportions which the public have , beyond a doubt , ideally prescribed for it , with a view to saving a fund to go towards the second object . There can , indeed , be no doubt that the public expect a monument of great and conspicuous magnificence—not a mere

group of sculpture which , however fine as a work of art , produces little effect excepting from a near point of view , but an object which will strike boldly and forcibly upon the eye , and attract attention even from a distance . The monument of Frederick the Great , for instance , has been mentioned , and justly , as a noble work of art , but its beauty arises from the high qv \ ality of the art bestowed upon it , not from any inherent magnificence

in its design or form . In scale it is considerably less than the statue ( with its pedestal ) of King George IV . in Trafalgar-square , and no one would , I fancy , deem that even any approach to a worthy scale for the memorial to the Prince Consort . I will now take the liberty of offering a few remarks on the subject of the style I have adopted / or the architectural portions ofthe monument . I have heard it asserted that the tastes

of the Prince Consort were wholly for Classic Art , and that it would , therefore , he inconsistent to erect a memorial to him in another style . It would be presumptuous in me to discuss such a question as what were his Eoyal Highness ' s preferences in matters of art ; I trust , however , that I may venture to record what has eome , in three different instances , under my own

observation . I . AVhen I had , in the spring of 1858 , the honour of laying before his Eoyal Highness my first designs for the new Government offices , he distinctly told me that he did not sympathise with the objections which had been made against them on the ground of their style being niediaival , not even in those points where , they came in the closest proximity with a classic building , but thaton the contraryhe preferred variety of styleand

, , , thought the constant adoption of a single style fatiguing , from its monotony . II . In the case of the Wellington College , I was called in , with the approval of His Eoyal Highness , to erect a Gothic chapel to a College which is in another style . III . AVhen I made , some few years back , a Gothic design for the Guards' Crimean Memorial , I am informed on the best

authority , that my design was honoured by the approval of the Prince Consort to such an extent , that , though he had previously objected to the Memorial being erected in Hyde Park , on seeing this design he at once , withdrew the objection , and offered every facility for its erection in the park—facilities which were withdrawn when another design was adopted . I would lay the more stress upon this circumstance , as being an emphatic approval by the Prince Consort himself of the erection of a Memorial in the

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