Cones, Not Domes: John Nash and Regency Structural Innovation Author(S): Jonathan Clarke Source: Construction History, Vol
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The Construction History Society Cones, not Domes: John Nash and Regency structural innovation Author(s): Jonathan Clarke Source: Construction History, Vol. 21 (2005-6), pp. 43-63 Published by: The Construction History Society Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41613894 . Accessed: 06/04/2013 16:45 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. The Construction History Society is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Construction History. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 132.206.27.25 on Sat, 6 Apr 2013 16:45:28 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions ConstructionHistory Vol . 21. 2005-6 Cones, not Domes: John Nash and Regency structural innovation JonathanClarke TheMuseum of Artillery inthe Rotunda is a littleknown building within John Nash's considerable oeuvre,but it is perhapshis most structurally ambitious. Situated on the edge of Woolwich Common in southeastLondon, where it has stood since 1 820, its distinctive tented roof is immediatelyrecognisable, evokingboth battlefield and festival (Fig. 1). Inside,the tent-like feel of thebuilding is evenmore pronounced,with canvas lining seemingly draped from a hugeDoric column. This post, analogous to thecentral pole of a militarybell tent, helps support an elegant,yet fully concealed timber-framed roof structurewhose outer ends rest on a circularcolonnade enclosed by polygonal brick walls (Fig. 2). The roofstructure, 116ft in diameter and described in 1830as having'no equalbut the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral',is all themore remarkable for the fact that both the brick walls and the central post are secondaryfeatures.1 Originally clad in boardsand oilcloth, not lead, and encircled by timber-framed walls,the Rotunda roof and colonnade were, for the first few years, an entirelyself-supporting spatial enclosure.The Rotundawas designedlyunlike St Paul'sand other domical roof structures, and its catenoidalform demanded innovation instructural technique. It wasan extraordinary building born of unusualcircumstance. It is theaim of thispaper to examinethe Rotunda's structural design and influences,as well as tolook at how, in turn, its structural form influenced one of Nash's better known works,the Brighton Pavilion. Fig.l and2. TheWoolwich Rotunda (Jonathan Clarke; PSA Rotunda G (CN) 211561). Festivebeginnings: Carlton House, 1814 Nash'sRotunda began life as a hugepolygonal ballroom erected in thegrounds of Carlton House, London,in June 1814. It wasoriginally the centrepiece ofa suiteof temporary buildings erected for a grandfête held in honourof the Duke of Wellington, and is thesole surviving structure ofthe whole CarltonHouse complex.2 The Prince Regent delighted in stagingcelebratory events in the gardens of hishouse, and over the previous 30 yearstents and marquees had become familiar sights in the summer months.The scale of thesecelebrations increased, and to maintainsome control over the costs of 43 This content downloaded from 132.206.27.25 on Sat, 6 Apr 2013 16:45:28 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Cones, not Domes: JohnNash and Regencystructural innovation annuallyacquiring tents, the Prince had begun commissioning temporary, demountable buildings that had greaterlongevity and morescope for architectural character. Such buildings were abundant, 'immense,and admirably contrived'3 in 1811when they were designed under the direction of James Wyatt,following whose death in 1813,responsibility forCarlton House and its stock of semi-permanent marqueestransferred toNash. The fêtes of 1813 were relatively low-key, but the abdication ofNapoleon inApril 1814 gave the Prince enormous cause for celebration, and Nash, then his favoured architect, scopeto impress. He expeditedthe design and erection of as manyas 15 to20 newtemporary rooms intendedfor three celebrations inJune, July and August (Fig. 3). 4 Onlytwo were erected in time for the receptionofthe Allied Sovereigns inJune, and it was not until the following month that the full panoply wasready. This was the occasion of the Duke of Wellington's fête on 21 July,the most extravagant ever stagedby the Prince at Carlton House.5 Fig.3. Woodcutshowing Nash 's Chinesepagoda and bridge erected over the canal at StJames 's Park inhonour of the Grand National Jubilee of 1 August1814. Thepagoda proved more temporary than anticipated,catching fire before midnight and toppling into the water. Published by J Pitts on 16 September1814 ( ScienceMuseum/Science & Society Picture Library, Picture Reference: 10411213). ThePolygon Room described The 'PolygonRoom', or 'TentRoom', as theRotunda was originally called, was the showpiece of theensemble of interconnecting temporary structures which were designed collectively toaccommodate 2, 500 guests,including royalty, nobility, foreign ambassadors, ministers and officers of state. The temporarybuildings were laid outin an H-formationto the south of CarltonHouse, and included refreshmentrooms, promenades, giant supper rooms, a botanicalarbour and a Corinthiantemple to Wellington.Atthe centre of the whole arrangement was the Polygon Room, with three apartments tothe east,west and north.6 The recent discovery of the original designs for the Polygon Room testify to the skilland ingenuity that went into their design and rapid construction (Fig. 4); no drawingssurvive detailingthe form or construction ofthe other temporary buildings at CarltonHouse. The drawings are 44 This content downloaded from 132.206.27.25 on Sat, 6 Apr 2013 16:45:28 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions JonathanClarke datedMay 1814,suggesting that the Polygon Room was assembledand erected in tenweeks or less. Nashwas responsiblefor the overall design, but on structuralmatters it seemscertain that William Nixon,his chief carpenter, aided him considerably, as will be shown. Fig.4. Drawingsof the 'Tent Room, Carlton House': Section (top), elevation (inset), roof plan (left) andground plan (right). All are unsigned, but dated May 1814. (TheNational Archives (TN A): PRO WORK43/575, 43/574, 43/573). Thedrawings show a twenty-foursided structure inthe form of a hugebell-tent, 120 feet across and 80fthigh with a distinctiveconcave roof and match-boarded walls pierced by doors and large windows onalternate faces. The timber roof structure, carrying outer and inner sheets of canvas, is formedfrom an arrayof 24 taperinghalf-ribs that fan downwards and outwards from the apex. Eachhalf-rib is a trussedassembly of memberswith curvilinear laminated timber upper and lowerchords shaped as catenarycurves. They are strapped together atthe crown, their bevelled upright members - analogous to kingposts - combiningtoform a cylinderrather like the staves of a barrel.This hollow timber cylinder carrieda louvered turret, which helped ventilate the building, and may have improved the acoustics. The lowerends of the ribs rested on two concentric circular wall plates joined together inthe horizontal plane bydouble-diagonal timber braces. The outer wall plate was carried on andbraced to 24 timberposts, whichalso framedthe panel walls. The innerwall plate was carriedon reededtimber columns set slightlyinside the outer posts. The ground plan denotes these as havingcast-iron cores, and photographs takenin the1970s when the Woolwich Rotunda was restoredsubstantiate this (Fig. 5).7 Cast-iron archedbraces with open-work spandrels link these posts circumferentially, andsimilar but shorter braces spanbetween inner and outer posts. The plan of the ground floor clearly indicates members connecting thebases of the inner posts, as wellas radialand diagonal members linking them to the outer wall or foundations.Corresponding to those above, these elements were presumably sited beneath the floorboards.However, unlike those braces at higher level, it is unclearwhether they were made of timber 45 This content downloaded from 132.206.27.25 on Sat, 6 Apr 2013 16:45:28 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Cones, not Domes : JohnNash and Regencystructural innovation oriron, or meant to be actingin tension or compression. This drawing also shows an innermost ring of twelveposts set at the centre of the building, each of lesser diameter than those already described, but stillwith an iron core. According to a descriptionofthe fête in The Times , this circular array 'supported a garlandof artificial flowers in the shape of a temple... usedas anorchestra for two bands'.8 The Times alsogives us someidea of how impressive this structure must have looked on the day of the ball, with decorativegroins formed between the inner and outer posts 'from which arose an elegant umbrella roof ... decoratedwith large gilt cords ... paintedto imitate white muslin, which produced a very light effect'.9 ThePolygon Room was a hugesuccess. Nash had succeeded in creating an illusionisticset-piece, onethat from the outside looked familiar, like a hugetent, but whose sumptuously decorated interior, withoutthe expected central pole, must have occasioned feelings of surprise and awe. Thatmere cloth couldseemingly sustain itself overhead in a funnel-likecontour must