objects of art taken as spoils from the vanquished. On the other hand it may be argued that a lengthy peace, when man's energies lack the outlet which war provides, may tend to turn those energies in quite other directions and cause an outburst of ex- uberant originality too often mistaken for genius in all the arts that almost inevitably leads to such a decadence as is evidenced in " Dada " poetry, futurist and cubist painting and the bizarre extravagances of the late Baroque style of architecture.
But war as waged by the ancients or in fact down to the end of the i gth century was a very different thing from what it is now. In the early part of last century the opinion was growing that war was in course of being modified, softened and civilized, made as Leigh Hunt says- a thing of courtesy and consideration. Now, however, "frightfulness" is the predominating idea in war. The perfection of modern engineering skill, the enormously increased calibre and range of modern artillery, the conquest of the air as a medium for rapid transport and a fierce velocity of attack never before dreamed of have resulted in a completeness of material devastation that must be seen to be realized. In France alone during the World War 250,000 buildings, including 1,500 schools, 1,200 churches and 377 public buildings, were destroyed so completely that no restoration was possible; while the enormous cost of modern warfare impoverishes all the combatants to such an extent that the spoils which used to go to the victors and be employed in adorning their cities are non- existent.
These are the direct effects of war on the creative arts of man, and the indirect effects are no less harmful. The dragging away from their ordinary peaceful pursuits of all the workers, and the consequent necessity of restricting the output of everything but what is needed for carrying on the war, puts a stop to all con- structive effort of an artistic kind. This restriction continues afterwards partly through the scarcity of materials and partly through the demoralization of labour caused by war.
War Buildings. It seems clear therefore that modern war must have a crippling effect on the arts of peace, especially with regard to architecture. Statistics show that in the first nine months of the year 1914 building plans were submitted for ap- proval to local authorities in England involving an outlay of 12,200,000, whereas in the same period of 1916 the figures were only 5,870,000, out of which as much as 3,000,000 was for temporary workshops and factories for war materials. These buildings, and others of a temporary character for housing the largely increased staff of Government employees the cost of which in London alone in the year 1916 was 156,000 were practically the only structures which the British Government allowed to be proceeded with during the last three years of the war. In these temporary buildings celerity in construction was the great desideratum, the materials used being of a non- permanent character, such as wood treated with solignum, uralite and asbestos boarding, variety being obtained by breaking the line of frontage and varying the sky line by a judicious alternation of hipped and gabled roofs. In some cases, however, a more elaborate scheme was adopted, involving a carefully planned lay-out and variety in the treatment and grouping of the buildings, which resulted in a picturesque architectural effect. The most important of these special groups of buildings carried out by the Government was at Gretna, where was built the largest explosives factory in the world. Here the factory proper was in two portions separated by an area within which was located the accommodation for the operatives during construction and for the permanent workers. The site chosen for this town- shipfor such it was providing for about 20,000 inhabitants, was close to the old Gretna Green village, within easy distance of two railway stations, the new accommodation roads linking up with the main road from Carlisle to Glasgow. The buildings comprised no less than five churches, ten schools, three recreation halls, hospitals, cinemas, and fire stations in addition to the houses. The work was carried out under the general direction of Raymond Unwin, assisted by several other architects, and the whole scheme reflects great credit on all who were associated with it.
A similar but smaller building scheme was carried out during the war at Chepstow, where a site of 28 ac. was acquired for the employees of Finch & Co.'s engineering and shipbuilding works. This site offered considerable difficulties in that there was a fall of 88 ft. from one end to the other, but this irregularity has resulted in the creation of a very picturesque village. The houses, which number ten to the acre, are of various sizes planned to meet the requirements of individual families, the walls being constructed of two solid 4-in. blocks of concrete separated by an air cavity of three inches.
Among buildings specially connected with the modern develop- ments of war may be mentioned those for the construction and housing of non-rigid airships. At the commencement of the war Great Britain possessed only six of these buildings, but 61 have been constructed since. Although of no particular architectural interest the large size of these buildings renders them worth a passing notice. Mr. Learmouth states that one of these buildings covers about 8 ac. in area, is 750 ft. long, 130 ft. in height and each bay has a clear roof span of 150 feet.
Post-war Housing. One of the most interesting developments of post-war building on the part of the British Government was in connexion with land settlement for ex-service men provided for by the Land Settlement (Facilities) Act of 1919. Up to 1914 the various county councils had been empowered to raise local loans for the purpose of providing small holdings under the Small Holdings and Allotments Act of 1908. This work was suspended during the war, and after its termination the Ministry of Agri- culture purchased estates and conducted extensive building operations all over the country, the settlement at Sutton Bridge in Lines, being the most important. The work subsequently devolved on the county councils under the supervision of the Ministry. Between Jan. 1919 and the spring of 1921 upwards of 13,500 small holdings have been erected in England and Wales, consisting of a homestead and farm buildings, involving already an expenditure of over 2,000,000. It was hoped eventually to accommodate over 30,000 settlers. Local materials are used in the construction, and these naturally influence their style. There is naturally not much scope for architectural display, but the planning and aspect of the rooms always receive careful attention. The Ministry placed the supervision of this work in the hands of competent architects under Maj. H. P. Maule.
The cessation of building during the war caused a great short- age of houses, and a large number of housing schemes were started under the Housing Act of 1919 (see HOUSING). Garden cities, garden villages and garden suburbs sprang up in all directions. One of the most important features in these new schemes was the limitation of the number of houses to the acre, only twelve being allowed as a rule in urban and eight in rural districts. This is a great improvement on the earlier garden cities, where the close proximity of the houses practically destroys all privacy. It is impossible however to lay out a site on this lavish scale in urban districts where slum property has been demolished and the occupants have to be housed in tenements. In such cases, with three-storey blocks properly separated from one another, perfect hygienic conditions can be obtained, with ample fresh air and sunlight, if there are 60 separate tenements to the acre. Among the rural housing schemes started after the war may be mentioned that near Woolwich carried out by H.M. Office of Works, the Borough of Croydon housing schemes at Norbury, Woodside and Waddon, the Welwyn Garden City, and the interesting village at Burhill, near Walton on the Thames, for aged men and women workers. This was erected in accord- ance with the provisions of the will of the late William Whiteley, and comprises a village hall, a church and about 300 cottages. Sir Aston Webb, Sir Ernest George, Sir R. Blomfield and other eminent architects collaborated in the scheme.
The urban tenement schemes comprise those at St. Pancras, which were in course of being carried out in 1921, at Islington and St. Marylebone. The much increased cost of building made it very difficult to carry out these schemes on an economic basis.
Churches. The completion of the interior of Bentley's re- markable Roman Catholic cathedral at Westminster progressed
