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are several unroofed and half-finished Churches through the country, which could be now complete if this needless expenditure had been spared.
As there should be no feature about a Church that has not a purpose or a meaning, buttresses should be only used where they are necessary for the strengthening of the building, and then they should be sufficient for their purpose, and treated boldly. It is one of the faults of modern Gothic work, to introduce buttresses merely as ornamental features. The use of buttresses is to resist pressure; and if decoration can be afforded, they may be rendered very ornamental, thus uniting utility with beauty.
Before leaving the subject of masonry I must observe, that walls should never be covered with what is called “compo” plastering, Roman cement, or rough casting. All these are very perishable, and, after a few years, give a building a dreary and dilapidated appearance; and the cost of keeping them clean and in repair, after a short time, is fully equal to the expense of cut stone. Another thing to be observed in masonry, whether it be dressed ashlar or rubble work, is, that it should not be coursed. The formality of horizontal lines does not harmonize with the free character of Gothic work; moreover, coursing adds very considerably to the expense of masonry. Nor is there any necessity to square every stone; the true principle is, “always to lay every stone in its best bed, lifting up any part of it which may want thickening, by means of thinner pieces. Regular courses are not to be studiously attempted; but any stone that comes to hand is to be laid in, provided it has a good, plain bed.”[1] Quoins and jambs, too, deserve some consideration. The modern method of what is called “block and start,” is open to the
- ↑ Ecclesiologist, vol. vi., p. 44.
