CHAPTER XV.

_MISCELLANEOUS WORKS._

THE GREAT EXHIBITION OF 1851--THE CRYSTAL PALACE WATER TOWERS, 1853--POLYGONAL RIFLE, 1852--GUNNERY EXPERIMENTS, 1854--FLOATING GUN-CARRIAGE, 1854--RENKIOI HOSPITAL BUILDINGS, 1855.

There are several matters of importance in which Mr. Brunel was engaged, which could not under any system of classification be introduced into the preceding chapters; these are therefore collected under one head of ‘miscellaneous works.’

The first of these is his connection with the Great Exhibition of 1851. He was from the beginning one of the most zealous supporters of this undertaking, and was appointed a member of the Committee of the Section of Machinery, whose duty it was to classify the objects to be exhibited in that department.

Upon the question of awarding prizes to exhibitors, Mr. Brunel held a very decided opinion adverse to the plan ultimately adopted. In a letter to the Chairman of the Committee, dated March 11, 1850, he writes:--

I am sorry to say that I am obliged to leave town to-night.

We are summoned to-morrow, it appears, on the subject of prizes. Not being a member of the Commission, I have perhaps no right to express an opinion upon a principle which seems to have been adopted--that of giving prizes--but as applied to machinery I suppose I may. I strongly disapprove of any prizes being offered in our section.

1. I believe it is quite unnecessary.

2. I believe it will be impossible to define beforehand the subjects for which any limited number and amount of prizes are to be promised, the subjects are so indefinitely numerous; and like the building, however large it may be made, will not be large enough to hold all that is sent, so as regards the prizes, however numerous the subjects, they may very likely not embrace the very things which turn out to be most deserving.

3. I believe it will be impossible to distribute any limited number of prizes with justice, and quite impossible to satisfy the public.

Two machines for the same purpose may be remarkable--one for its ingenuity and beauty of workmanship, but of doubtful practical economy in application; the other clumsy, and not well made, but apparently likely to have the germs of much good--there are thousands, or rather an infinity, of shades of degrees and qualities of merit.

And lastly, I believe the prizes will be mischievous, as conferring undue advantages in many cases upon a thing well displayed, and well got up, and will be sought for and obtained for puffing purposes. The opportunity of exhibition I believe will be quite sufficient to induce all the competition we can desire.

I think money prizes quite a mistake, and medals or distinctions pretty nearly as bad. I hope you hold the same views, but I send you mine.

Mr. Brunel’s views found no favour at the time; but subsequent experience has convinced those best able to form a sound judgment in the matter, that ‘no prizes of any kind should be awarded’ in International Exhibitions.[182]

Mr. Brunel was also a Member of the Building Committee; and he accepted the office of Chairman and Reporter of the Jury for Class VII., on Civil Engineering, Architecture, and Building Contrivances.

He took a very active part in the proceedings of the Building Committee. Designs were invited, and two hundred and forty-five were sent in. None of these were considered satisfactory by the Committee, and they submitted to the Royal Commission a design of their own, the principal feature of which was a dome 200 feet in diameter.

Mr. Brunel was responsible as a member of the Committee for the plans prepared by them, and as regards the dome may be said to have designed it himself, but he expressed strong objections to the substantial and expensive buildings which it was proposed to erect in brickwork. His idea was that the building should be in what he called the ‘railway shed style;’ and he wished to produce effect rather by the construction of the roofs, &c., than by any architectural elevation.

When, therefore, the plans of the Building Committee failed to meet with public approval, and the late Sir Joseph Paxton submitted his well-known design, Mr. Brunel gave it his cordial support, and defended it against its detractors. He thus spoke of it in the report of the Jury of Class VII.

As regards Mr. Paxton’s claim, amid the competition of the whole of Europe, he proposed that mode and form of construction of building which appeared on first sight, and has since proved to be, the best adapted in every respect for the purpose for which it was intended. The design possessed this merit of fitness for its object in a singular manner. There was no startling novelty in any one point which could lead astray the judgment of those who had to determine upon the choice of plan, or which could in the first instance obtain, still less permanently secure, the good opinion of the public. As regards the form of outline, which is most simple, several designs nearly resembling it had been submitted in the general competition. As to the material, several proposals had been previously made to cover the whole area to be enclosed with glass, and iron would of necessity be employed for the framing; but in the combination of form and materials, in the particular mode of applying those materials, and in the adaptation of the forms to be selected to their convenient use, as well as in the various details by which the whole was rendered perfect, the design was entirely distinct in character from all that had been proposed, and appeared at once to have the one single merit of being exactly that which was required for the purposes in view. The design as realised has completely fulfilled every condition of utility.

The award of Council Medals (the highest prize given) was recommended to Sir Joseph Paxton, and to the contractors, Messrs. Fox, Henderson and Co.

In a later part of the report, in announcing the recommendation of a Council Medal to His Royal Highness Prince Albert, for the model dwelling houses which were erected near the Exhibition building, and exhibited by the Prince, Mr. Brunel spoke in emphatic language of the magnitude and importance of the results which would follow from the introduction of improved dwellings for the working classes.[183]

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When the Crystal Palace Company was formed in order to purchase the Exhibition building and erect it, with additions, at Sydenham, Mr. Brunel took a great interest in the project, and frequently went down to examine the progress of the building and gardens, and the beautiful architectural courts which were to be the chief attraction in the interior of the Palace. The water towers, which are so conspicuous a feature in the building, were designed by him.

The towers are 284 feet high, and carry near the top tanks 47 feet in diameter and 38 feet high, holding 1,200 tons of water.

The foundations required great care in their construction. The tanks had to be placed at a height of more than 200 feet, and the towers, which, with their load, weighed fully 3,000 tons each, had to rest on the sloping side of a clay hill. There was also the possibility that by the bursting of a pipe a large quantity of water might be suddenly discharged, and so cause a slip in the surrounding ground. Mr. Brunel carried the foundations down to a considerable depth, forming a large base of Portland cement concrete, and placing on it a cone of brickwork in cement, rising up to the ground level. The towers are twelve-sided, with two hollow cast-iron columns at each angle. The height of the building below the tanks is divided into ten stories, and at each floor there is a strong wrought-iron diaphragm, or shelf, 5 feet wide. The columns are also connected by strong diagonal bracing in the sides of the tower.

The tanks are made of wrought iron, and the water pipes are placed in the interior of the tower. Mr. Brunel did not think it would be prudent to form any of the columns of the towers into pipes, lest the expansion due to the temperature of the water should cause unequal support to be given to the tanks.

In July 1855, the pipes were proved, and the towers were completed shortly afterwards.

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The remainder of this chapter will relate to matters which have but little in common with the subjects of the earlier part of it; but the change is hardly less marked than that which took place in the nature of the questions which occupied public attention within a few years of the close of the Great Exhibition.

_Polygonal Rifle._

In October 1852, Mr. Brunel consulted Mr. Westley Richards, of Birmingham, as to the manufacture of a rifle ‘for the purpose of determining whether there was anything in a crotchet he had upon the subject.’ The rifle was made by Mr. Westley Richards according to Mr. Brunel’s directions, and finished in May 1854. Many experiments were tried with it, at Birmingham and at Manchester, in the spring of 1855, and afterwards at Woolwich; and its performances obtained great notoriety.

The history of this rifle, and the objects Mr. Brunel had in view in its design, will be understood from the following letters to Mr. Westley Richards:--

I.

October 25, 1852.

I have long wanted to try an experiment with a rifle, for the purpose of determining whether there is anything in a crotchet I have upon the subject, but I have been deterred from attempting it from the feeling that in these abominable patenting days (I hate patents) the chances were, that if, in the progress of my experiments, any new result, good or bad, were observed, or a workman should think he _saw_ something, a patent would be taken over my head, and, to say the least, I should be stopped in pursuing my own investigation, as has happened to me more than once.

I have also been deterred by my not knowing whether the existing machinery for rifling barrels would enable me to obtain an increasing or varying twist from one end of the barrel to the other, as this would be necessary to make the experiment, and I should not care to incur the expense of a machine on purpose. My introduction to you, through our mutual friend Whateley, induces me to make the enquiry whether your apparatus or mode of rifling enables you to give such a twist, and if so, whether you could and would make me a barrel. If so, I will trouble you with an explanation of my scheme, as I should have no secrets with you.

II.

February 7, 1853.

I take this opportunity of mentioning again the subject I once wrote or spoke to you about. I want a rifle barrel made octagon shaped inside, the octagon having a twist rather more than usual, and an increasing twist, say twice as much at the mouth of the piece as at the breech. Can you make me such a barrel for an experiment? I will explain to you the object when we meet, as it can only be done _viva voce_.

III.

[The following letter was written to Mr. Westley Richards in answer to a request that Mr. Brunel would permit him to obtain a license from Mr. (now Sir Joseph) Whitworth to make rifles of a polygonal shape. Mr. Whitworth had obtained a patent for improvements in cannons, guns, and fire-arms, in February 1855, and in his complete specification, dated May 30, 1855, he had for the first time claimed--

Firstly, the several combinations of parts forming, when put together, the barrels of ordnance, or fire-arms, having a polygonal spiral shape. Secondly, the use of the spirally-shaped segments. Thirdly, the adoption of the polygonal spiral for rifled ordnance and fire-arms. Fourthly, the combination of parts forming the breech-loading apparatus.]

November 26, 1858.

I am obliged to you for your communication on the subject of the octagon gun, and in acknowledging your courtesy and gentlemanly feeling I would add that it is only what I always felt I could rely upon from you.

I beg you will not hesitate to take out a license from Mr. Whitworth for octagon guns (if, as a matter of business, you think it convenient to do so) on account of any prior claim which you may know I could set up, and if you get a license for a nominal consideration, as I understand you can, of course as a man of business you should do so. I have no intention of interfering with Mr. Whitworth’s patent, even to indulge the feeling I have against all patents and protective laws, which I consider have become the curse of the day, and the sources of the greatest injury to inventors and manufacturers, and still more to the public; and I should also be very sorry even to annoy my friend Mr. Whitworth merely for the sake of showing that I had previously made the gun (at least you made it for me), and I believe others have preceded me, which he has patented; and I assure you that I shall not consider your taking out a license as in any way a denial of this fact, of which you are cognisant.

I have never seen Whitworth’s patent; what is it exactly that he does patent? It cannot be merely the polygon, because, even if nobody had preceded me, that would have been already a copy of mine, which not only was made before he began his investigation, but was lent by me, at your request, to him, I think before his patent. My rifle is, I am told, doing quite wonders at Woolwich, and I begin to think there must be something in the principle which I intended to introduce into it, and which is totally different from what I understood to be Whitworth’s. I sought to use a comparatively loose ball, but which I thought would centre itself, both in position and direction, to the axis of the barrel by the peculiar action of a polygon within a polygon acted upon by an increasing pitch, and it really seems from the results as if my theory was correct.[184]

_Gunnery Experiments._

In 1854 Mr. Brunel took up warmly the question of improvement in large guns, which was then attracting the attention of several scientific men.

The friendship which had for some years previously existed between him and Mr. (now Sir William) Armstrong, of Newcastle-on-Tyne, gave Mr. Brunel opportunities for discussing these matters, with a view to their being carried into practical effect.

The following extracts from a letter written by Mr. Brunel, in April 1855, to Mr. James Nasmyth, explain generally his opinions at that time upon the construction of large guns:--

From what I have observed of the operation of fractures under _sudden_, quick-acting forces--such as bursting of guns, and fractures under blows, as in our railway smashes--I have arrived deliberately by observation at the conclusion, which every mechanical-minded man arrives at more or less by intuition, that homogeneity and equality of tension and of elasticity in the parts are necessary for strength to resist a violent strain applied suddenly in its full force, which I will call a blow. My impression, from the result of observation, is, that this operates much more than is generally assumed.

If you suppose a bar, say an axle of uniform section and uniform quality in every respect, it will bear bending into extraordinary forms even by a blow; and if you assume that portions of it become more tenacious and stronger, but remain equally elastic, the ultimate strength of this bar will not, I think, be materially increased or diminished; but if you suppose the elasticity of these portions either increased or diminished, I believe the ultimate strength of the bar under a blow is diminished. In like manner, I imagine that in the section of a gun barrel, if portions are more or less elastic than others, or at all different in their character, not only many points of fracture may be determined on, but that the whole may be rendered much less able to resist the violent explosion. The strain produced by the explosion and the plane of fracture is almost certain to be in a plane passing through the longitudinal axis, and therefore I had assumed that one would avoid as much as possible having any variation of quality which fagotting must produce to some extent in planes in this direction. To attain this end, I had endeavoured to scheme some way of welding up ‘cheeses’ or discs, which might be hammered up splendidly homogeneous of the full diameter and of a considerable thickness, and I wish that you would scheme the best way of welding them together. I should suppose that the centre surface might be welded, and wedges welded in all round, or some other mode devised, bearing in mind that the strain in any plane transverse to the axis is small, only that arising from the recoil of the breech and the friction of the shot.

I have also an impression that something harder than ordinary wrought iron is wanted for the inner surface to resist the explosion. This you might give probably in fagotting up. I am trying the effect--as much for the amusement of the thing as with any great expectation--of a cylinder of hardish material wrapped round with iron wire, laid on with a certain amount of tension proportioned to the diameter. Such a barrel ought to be strong--whether practically successful is another thing.

The scheme of making a gun with the barrel wrapped round with wire, which is referred to in this letter, was one which Mr. Brunel and Mr. Armstrong were very desirous of making the subject of actual experiment. Whether or not it would under their hands have become practically successful, could not be ascertained, as they were obliged to abandon the project, in consequence of the wire covering being patented, in May 1855, by Mr. Longridge.

The following letter to Mr. Armstrong relates to the same subject, and is interesting not only as showing Mr. Brunel’s correct appreciation of a principle which is the essence of the coil system of constructing guns, but as further illustrating his objections to the patent laws:--

June 8, 1855.

Have you ever done anything towards my experiment of the wire gun? I have been anxious for some time past to learn about it, but have waited to see you; to-day I learn that Longridge is taking out a patent for it. I daresay it is his own idea, and I only regret it, as I suppose it will now prevent my pursuing it; and I think it likely that with your assistance we should have succeeded in making at least as good a gun as he will. The principle I am disposed to think good; the success would depend upon the practical application, and but for these patents, the more competitors the better for the public. As it is, competition is destroyed. Let me know if you had done anything. Pray let me know also what you are doing about your own, in which I feel equally interested.

Mr. Brunel had also considered the advantages of making the bore of the gun polygonal, with a projectile shaped to fit it. He had a portion of cannon tube and a projectile made by Mr. Armstrong in the beginning of 1855, but he did not himself pursue the question further.

Indeed, after the middle of the year 1856, when the works of the ‘Great Eastern’ steam-ship began to occupy a large portion of his time, Mr. Brunel was unable any longer to take part in gunnery investigations; but he watched with unabated interest the proceedings of those friends who have continued their experiments, with the great practical success of which he lived to see only the beginning.

_Floating Gun-Carriage._

The plan of a gun-boat, or, as it would be more correctly called, a floating gun-carriage, which Mr. Brunel designed for an attack on Cronstadt and other Baltic forts during the Russian war, is clearly described in the following memorandum, which he drew up for the information of the Admiralty:--

December 20, 1855.

The principle is simply the fixing a very heavy gun in a floating shot-proof chamber or casemate, exposing the smallest possible surface; that surface to be of such a form as to be struck by shot only at a very oblique angle; and the gun being a fixture, with the means only of elevating and depressing to an extent of 10 or 12 degrees, but with no lateral motion, the port or embrasure need be only of the size of the muzzle of the gun, so that the gun, the men working the gun, and everything on board will be perfectly protected.

The gun will be directed by elevating the breech, and by slewing the vessel slightly and slowly backwards and forwards across the line of aim, by means afterwards explained.

The men loading the gun will simply load as quickly as they can, and when the gun is loaded push out a trigger.

The governor or person directing the gun will stand behind the hood or chamber, looking direct at the object through a telescope of low power, fixed horizontally in the axis of the vessel, and made to move vertically parallel with the axis of the gun, and mounted with reflectors; so that both telescope and man are completely under cover, and he, keeping the vessel truly in range and the elevation correct, will only touch the trigger whenever his line of sight crosses the object.

The vessel will carry a small engine, of power sufficient to drive it for a short time at a good speed, say eight or nine knots, and at other times to keep up a small forward motion to counteract the recoil, and to keep the vessel’s head moving a few degrees right and left across the line of range.

A sufficient portion of the vessel to contain and to float the gun, ammunition, and engine, will be shot-proof.

A fore-body and after-body, the top of which will be _à fleur-d’eau_, or a few inches under water, will be added, to give such a form of entrance and run as will admit of the vessel attaining the speed mentioned; but these parts will be mere shells, and may be full of water, and if damaged by shot will not affect the buoyancy of the float, besides which, not being above the surface of the water, they cannot be much exposed to injury.

The mode of propelling may be by a screw, but I prefer the ‘jet,’ which, whether an economical mode of propelling or not, is a sufficiently good one for this purpose, and exposes _nothing_ whatever to be injured by shot.[185]

Whether propelled by jet or not, I should have two small lateral jets for directing the vessel, such jets being governed by two cocks handled by the gunner.

Such a mode of directing the aim by a man under cover looking through a telescope, with one hand directing the gun and the other on the trigger, will admit of an almost unlimited degree of accuracy.

The gun being in a perfectly shot-proof casemate, machinery may be adapted to expedite the loading of the gun; and it is not difficult to make a mechanical arrangement by which the shot and cartridge shall be lifted up to the gun, inserted, and rammed home, at a rate far exceeding anything that can now be done by hand; and as the weight and clumsiness of the gun, the carriage, and machinery are of no object, I think I can make a breech-loading gun capable of carrying 12-inch solid shot with a full charge, which may be loaded and discharged at the rate of two or three per minute; but the principle of mounting a gun in such a float is equally applicable to a common gun, which might still be loaded mechanically.

A few loopholes may be provided through which a fire could be kept up from a couple of heavy swivel rifles, carrying, say 6-oz. shot, which would pierce any mantelets or other cover likely next year to be provided against ordinary rifles.

A battery, say of twelve such guns, should probably have also two, or perhaps three, shot-proof vessels of about the same size without guns, but pierced with a longitudinal fin or ridge, like a wall, standing, say 10 feet above the water, and 50 or 60 feet long, strong enough to stand the direct blow of heavy shot at long range, or the oblique blow of the same shot at short range, and which could be placed as screens or traverses to cover the flanks of the battery against distant shot. Against vertical fire I cannot suggest any defence: the point of attack must be selected to avoid it.

The covering vessels may be provided also with loop-holes for heavy swivels.

There should also be two or three small and comparatively light, but shot-proof vessels, to run in and bring out a disabled gun-boat.

These last-named auxiliary unarmed boats form an essential part of the system.

In all probability the enemy have by this time thrown stones and other obstacles, and placed infernal machines round the detached fort, to impede a close approach. They cannot, however, have covered a very large surface, so that, with some previous sounding, an approach may be found and a position taken up.

The auxiliary boats should therefore have strong bottoms under the engine-room, and the rest of the body be so subdivided into compartments that they would be proof against serious damage from rocks and infernal machines, and be able to run in under fire and ascertain if obstructions exist, and find the channel if they do.

A battery of such guns could be placed at various points out of range, say at 3,000 yards, at which distance they would hardly attract attention by daylight, and would not be visible in the twilight of night, and could then be concentrated in a few minutes at the point selected for attack within safe breeching distance, say 250 yards; and, if twenty-four shot per minute, of 200 lbs. to 250 lbs. each, thrown with a full charge at 250 yards, can be directed against a small surface of any stone wall yet built (which is pierced with embrasures), the effect ought to be great and rapid. I believe, moreover, that the means of directing the aim will be so effective that if the embrasures can be seen a shell or shot may always be sent in with certainty at 250 yards, and the enemy’s guns dismounted.

Such vessels can rapidly change their position, retreat or advance, be replaced by fresh ones, or withdrawn altogether.

The means of transport of such vessels to the seat of war, although a secondary consideration, has been considered.

They might easily be placed in an outer shell of iron of a good form, which could be rigged complete, and so constructed as to give up its burden when arrived in the seas where it is to act--in fact, a ship of the class of small screw colliers, made to open at the bows and its contents floated out ready for action; but the gun-boat itself, when lightened of ammunition, and the gun lowered to the bottom as ballast, and fitted up with bulwarks, and a light movable iron chamber, forming a water-tight forecastle-deck reaching back, say 30 feet, and schooner-rigged, will, I undertake to say, make a very fair sea boat. Probably no compasses could be ‘corrected’ to be trusted to in such a mass of iron, but a compass fixed to the mizenmast, say at 30 feet from the deck, would be all that could be required.

Immediately abaft the hood or gun-chamber there would be a space under cover from shot where a companion and skylight could be fitted up when at sea, and through which light and air could be obtained at all times when fitted for service.

The funnel, if ever used when the vessel is not in action, would be removed for fighting, and the steam and smoke ejected through an oblique aperture right aft.

The only point to be determined by experiment is whether a moderate thickness of iron of the best quality will stand heavy shot at short range striking very obliquely, say at the worst at an angle of 30 degrees.

By the form of the proposed vessel, however, when placed in position at 250 yards of any of the Cronstadt forts, it could not be struck at 30 degrees, and probably 99 out of 100 shots that hit would graze at an angle of 10 to 20 degrees.

A small part only round the port, or what may be more correctly termed the muzzle-hole, could be struck with a direct blow.

There is every reason to believe that slabs of iron of good quality of 4 inches thick would stand against such grazing, provided they are put together without being weakened by holes and with some other precautions, and that sound forgings of 10 or 12 inches thick, if of sufficient weight in a single piece, would stand the direct blow. I do not believe that less than this would be safe against 68-lb., or, as we must expect to meet with, 120-lb. shot at short range, even when struck obliquely, and this thickness can be applied without requiring, with the gun ammunition, &c., more than 6 feet 9 inches, say 7 feet draught of water.

Another inch of thickness would require another foot of draught; but if it has been ascertained that the charts are correct, there would appear to be 10 to 15 feet of water close up to the principal detached forts, and it would be an immense advantage to take 9 feet draught of water, and have an unquestionably invulnerable skin.

If it were considered desirable to construct such a battery, it is now barely possible to do it in time for the coming season; but if possible, it could only be rendered so by ascertaining exactly the dimension and form of iron that each of the large makers could turn out with their present tools, and according to their present experience and habits, and to design the details to suit their existing means, sacrificing probably much that would render the result more perfect for the sake of rendering it possible to obtain anything in time. No doubt promises and even contracts could easily be obtained for making anything in any given time, and zealous and honest efforts afterwards made to effect what had been undertaken; but if the slightest attempt is made that involves new tools or new practices, promises and contracts will not effect impossibilities, and the probability is that the short time still available will be lost.

While all the preparations shall be made on the assumption that the result is attainable and will be successful, trials must be made, without loss of time, on the several points to be determined--as to the resistance of the iron, &c. If they fail, the expense incurred up to that time in preparing for the whole work will not have been great. If they succeed, it is just possible that by great exertions but, above all, by judicious and methodical plans of proceeding, a complete battery might be launched ready for service in five months.

Lastly, I should observe that although the main feature of the plan is the resisting the effects of the enemy’s shot by always exposing an oblique surface, yet the chances of fatal damage would be small if such vessels were to run the gauntlet, at night, through the deep channel, and get into the waters east of Cronstadt. Or if this is very desirable, as I should think it must be, nothing is easier than to lift the whole flotilla over the shoal water and launch them into the deep water beyond.

Mr. Brunel had matured these plans in September 1854, and they were then brought under the notice of the Admiralty; but no steps were taken to test the practicability of the scheme.

He was, however, induced to make a further representation to the Admiralty in the following July. He wrote,--

Having endeavoured ineffectually several times at the commencement of the war to impress upon members of the Government the great advantages that might be derived from the use of iron floating batteries or gun-boats, if properly constructed, I made another effort at the close of the last year’s campaign, but early enough to have allowed of the construction of what I proposed before the opening of the Baltic in the present year, and caused my plans to be submitted to the Admiralty through a friend. They were not approved, and I should judge from the answer I received that they were not understood, and I was never applied to for an explanation. I had no object in view but the public good, and I therefore kept the idea, such as it was, unpublished, believing the principle to be sound and good, and that the day would come when it might be usefully applied, and the more usefully to this country if not previously publicly discussed.

I have no other object to serve now; but after the clear proof that I was correct in the opinion I shared with so many other persons of the entire inability of any of the present floating ships, boats, or war engines to cope with any moderately constructed and well-armed land battery, I think it right once more, and this time more formally, to urge upon Government the consideration of the construction of armaments mechanically constructed and properly fitted for the special object. I beg to say that I do not mean a consideration in the ordinary mode, by the able and practical, but still executive officers of departments, whether engineers or ship-builders, because I believe that I must be myself, from my practical experience in this particular branch, at least as competent, if not more so, to judge in questions of mechanical construction, whether it be the forging or casting of a gun of large dimensions, or the construction of a vessel fit for navigation and capable of resisting shot, or the best mode of propelling such a vessel--on all which branches I have had much and tolerably successful practice; but I ask on public grounds for the deliberate consideration by men of judgment and experience in the military branch of the subject, such as the attack upon a fortified place, of which I cannot pretend to be a competent judge, and by men in a position to be able to express freely their independent opinions of the advantages that might be attained by the principle I propose, if capable of being successfully carried out.

Although the want of efficient gun-boats was then severely felt, this letter appears to have produced no effect upon the Board of Admiralty. But the friend who had originally brought the matter under the notice of the Board took the bold step of writing to Lord Palmerston, and acquainting him with what had passed.

Lord Palmerston at once saw the importance of investigating the subject, and sent for Mr. Brunel, who explained the plans to him. Lord Palmerston then asked him to see the officials at the Admiralty. Mr. Brunel did so; but great delay followed. It was, however, unimportant, as hostilities soon afterwards terminated, and there was no further need of gun-boats, good or bad.

This project did not exist only in the outline in which it is described in the memorandum given above. Mr. Brunel had worked out all the calculations of displacement, &c., and had made designs and models for the boat and its various appliances, and had been for some months in constant communication with Mr. W. G. Armstrong upon the form and construction of the gun.

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This will be a fitting place to mention that in 1855 Captain Cowper Coles, C.B., showed Mr. Brunel the designs for his shot-proof raft, the principle of which was afterwards developed in the turret ship. Mr. Brunel gave Captain Coles the benefit of his advice on the various questions involved, and allowed him to use the services of his principal draughtsman, and to have the drawings got out in his office without expense.

Captain Coles, in a lecture which he delivered at the United Service Institution on June 29, 1860, warmly acknowledged the obligations he was under to Mr. Brunel for this act of kindness and generosity, and said that it had greatly encouraged him to persevere in bringing his plans into public notice.

_Renkioi Hospital._

In February 1855, after the first winter of the allied armies in the Crimea, Mr. Brunel was asked by the War Department to undertake the design and construction of hospital buildings for the East.

He replied (on the same day that he received this application, February 16) that his ‘time and best exertions would be, without any limitations, entirely at the service of Government.’

He was accordingly appointed as engineer, and proceeded to design and superintend the manufacture of the required buildings and all their internal arrangements. They were sent out under his supervision, and erected at Renkioi, on the Dardanelles. All use for the buildings was ended with the conclusion of peace; but, for the seven months during which they were occupied, they added much to the comfort of more than thirteen hundred sick and wounded soldiers.

Many of the special arrangements adopted at Mr. Brunel’s suggestion have been since brought into general use; and the success of these buildings was, to a considerable extent, influential in leading the Americans to construct similar hospitals during their civil war. These are now (1870) being copied in the German armies.

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The history of the Renkioi hospital buildings is a striking instance of the zeal with which Mr. Brunel entered into any undertaking which had a claim upon his assistance, of the varied experience and fertility of invention which he could bring to bear upon any subject, however remote it might seem to be from his ordinary occupations, and of the minute personal attention he was accustomed to give to every detail, as the only certain means of ensuring success.

Mr. Brunel entered upon his duties on February 16, and reported to the War Office on March 5 that he had not lost any time nor spared any exertion or any means in his power to forward the important business he had undertaken. He stated that he availed himself freely of the advice and assistance of all persons to whom he could apply with any prospect of advantage; and he added, ‘It is most gratifying to be able to state that from everybody I have received the most zealous and cordial assistance, and found it sufficient to mention the object of my enquiries to obtain immediately every assistance I could possibly require.’

An experimental ward was erected a few days afterwards on the premises of the Great Western Railway at Paddington, and was carefully criticised by competent persons; and, the plans having been approved of, specifications were made, with drawings of the various parts, and tenders were invited for the construction of the buildings.

The following paper gives a description of the buildings, and was written by Mr. Brunel in order to satisfy the curiosity of his friends:[l]--

March 1855.

The conditions that it was considered necessary to lay down in designing these buildings were,--

First. That they should be capable of adapting themselves to any plot of ground that might be selected, whatever its form, level, or inclination, within reasonable limits.

Secondly. That each set of buildings should be capable of being easily extended from one holding 500 patients to one for 1,000 or 1,500, or whatever might be the limit which sanitary or other conditions might prescribe.

Thirdly. That when erected they might be sure to contain every comfort which it would be possible under the circumstances to afford. And--

Fourthly. That they should be very portable, and of the cheapest construction.

The mode in which it has been sought to comply with these conditions is as follows:--[186]

The whole hospital will consist of a number of separate buildings, each sufficiently large to admit of the most economical construction, but otherwise small and compact enough to be easily placed on ground with a considerable slope, without the necessity of placing the floor of any part below the level of the ground, or of having any considerable height of foundation to carry up under any other part.

These separate buildings have been made all of the same size and shape; so that, with an indefinite length of open corridor to connect the various parts, they may be arranged in any form, to suit the levels and shape of the ground.

Each building, except those designed for stores and general purposes, is made to contain in itself all that is absolutely essential for an independent hospital ward-room; so that, by the lengthening of the corridors, and the addition of any number of these buildings, the hospital may be extended to any degree.

To ensure the necessary comforts, and particularly to provide against the contingency of any cargo of materials not arriving on the spot in time, each building contains within itself two ward-rooms, one nurse’s room, a small store-room, bath-room, and surgery, water-closets, lavatories, and ventilating apparatus.

The ward-room is made wide enough and high enough to ensure a good space of air to each bed, even if these should be unduly crowded. Each building contains two ward-rooms, intended for twenty-six beds each, which is found in practice to be a size of room admitting of proper control and supervision.

With respect to closets and lavatories, after examining and considering everything that has been done, both in hospitals of the best description and poor-houses of the cheapest construction, it was found that the requisite security for cleanliness and the greatest amount of economy of labour, and of consumption of water, could be obtained by a cheap description of water-closet designed for the purpose; and with the same object of diminishing the amount of labour and the waste of water, and securing cleanliness without depending upon the constant attention of assistants, fixed basins for lavatories and mechanical appliances for supplying and drawing off water were adopted.

As a protection against heat, experience in hot climates and experiments made expressly for the purpose satisfactorily proved that a covering of extremely thin and highly polished tin, which reflects all direct rays of heat, was the cheapest, lightest, and most effective protection, and every piece of woodwork not covered with tin is to be whitewashed externally. Internally the lime-wash has a slight tint of colour, to take off the glare.[187]

To secure ventilation in a hot climate with low buildings extending over a large area, and therefore incapable of being connected with any general system of ventilation, it was considered that _forcing in_ fresh air by a small mechanical apparatus attached to each building would be the only effective means. Each ward-room is therefore furnished with a small fan, or rotatory air-pump, which, easily worked by one man, is found capable of supplying 1,000 to 1,500 cubic feet of air per minute, or 20 to 30 feet for each patient. This air is conveyed along the centre of the floors of each ward-room, and rising up under foot-boards placed under the tables, is found to flow over the floor to every part of the room.

Besides this mechanical supply of air, opening windows are provided along the whole length of the eaves, and spaces left immediately beneath the roof at the two gables, amply sufficient together to ventilate the rooms thoroughly if any breezes are stirring, without the help of the fan.

The light is admitted by a long range of narrow windows, immediately under the eaves, which protect them from the direct rays of the sun. These windows open, and are provided with shutters inside, which exclude the light, but admit the air.

By forcing the air into the room, instead of drawing it out, the entrance of bad air from the closets, drains, or any surrounding nuisances is prevented. The fan is placed at the opposite end to the closets and drains; and all the fans being in the open corridor, the workmen can be seen by a single sentry, and kept to their work.

The buildings, as now constructed, are adapted to protect the interior from external heat. Should winter come while they are still in use, the framework is adapted to receive an internal lining of boarding, and the interstices can be filled with a non-conductor.

Two buildings, of the same form and dimensions, are fitted up with every convenience as store-rooms and apothecaries’ dispensaries.

An iron kitchen, slightly detached from the wooden buildings, fitted up with every contrivance capable of cooking for from 500 to 1,000 patients, is attached.

A similar building of iron is fitted up with all the machinery lately introduced in the baths and washhouses of London for washing and drying in the minimum space, and with the least amount of labour.

If an aggregate of buildings should be placed in one spot for more than 1,000 patients, a second kitchen would be added, but the single washhouse would be sufficient.

With each set of buildings is sent a pumping apparatus, a small general reservoir, and a sufficient length of main, with all its branches, to supply water to every detached building; and all the pipes and branches are of such construction as to admit of being put together without any soldering or cement. A system of drains is provided, formed of wooden trunks properly prepared, and of sufficient extent to form a complete and perfect system of drainage from every building to a safe distance from the general hospital.[188]

A number of small buildings, intended to be detached from the main body, are provided for residences for the officers and servants of the establishment, and for a small detachment of soldiers. A slaughter-house and store-yard and some other appurtenances are also provided, the extent of which depends on the circumstances of each case.

The construction of each building has been studied with very great care, so as to secure the minimum amount of material, the least possible amount of work in construction or erection, and the means of arranging all the parts in separate packages capable each of being carried by two men; and the result is that each building is the cheapest and lightest that has yet been constructed in proportion to the area covered.

For the transport of the materials to the spot selected, two sailing-vessels and three steamboats, capable of carrying one hospital for 1,000 men, which is the first about to be sent out, have been secured. In each vessel is sent a certain number of complete buildings, with every detail, including their proportion of water-pipes and drains, closets, lavatories, baths, &c., and a small amount of surplus material and tools; and in each of two separate vessels are sent a set of pumps and mains, and a kitchen and washhouse. So that by no accident, mistake, or confusion, short of the loss of several of the ships, can there fail to be a certain amount of hospital accommodation, provided with every comfort and essential.

The peculiar circumstances under which these establishments are likely to be placed have required not only peculiarities of construction, but these, in turn, have required numerous provisions and details specially designed for the case.

As all the buildings, except the kitchen and washhouse, are entirely constructed of wood, it is considered essential that no stove or fire-place of any description should be allowed in any part, except in the iron buildings; in these there is provision for an ample supply of hot water, but each ward-building is provided with a small boiler, heated by candles, which by experiment have been found amply sufficient for all that can be required. Candles are to be used exclusively for lighting, and lamps and lanterns have been constructed for the purpose.

A proper supply of fire-engines is provided, and other precautionary measures are adopted against fire.

The condition of portability requiring that the walls and roofs should be of the thinnest and slightest possible construction, protection against heat has been provided for in the manner before referred to, and good ventilation secured by mechanical means. But, in addition to this, there is a very simple provision made for passing the air over a considerable extent of water surface; which would not only cool it, but diminish the effect of excessive dryness, which is said to be occasionally in this climate more oppressive than even the temperature.

As the space in the wards is very liable to be encroached upon, and the beds crowded, portable baths have been designed, into which the more helpless patients can be lifted, and lowered, on a frame or sack, without requiring space for assistants to stand around, or with the bath placed only at the foot of the bed.

The kitchen and laundry have each required many special contrivances.

The instructions given to Mr. Brunton, the engineer, who has been sent out for the purpose of erecting these buildings, are, to commence by determining on his plan of arrangement to suit the peculiarities of the ground, and then to construct the complete system of drainage and to lay on the water supply before the buildings are rendered capable of receiving patients; and all the arrangements of the details are designed with the view of obtaining, as the first conditions, a perfect system of drainage, a good supply of water, free ventilation, and the most perfect cleanliness, quite independent of labour and of the continued attention of assistants; these conditions being assumed as essentials, preceding even the mere covering in of space and providing shelter for patients.

The cost of these buildings, delivered ready for shipment, will be from 18_l._ to 22_l._ per bed, allowing 1,000 cubic feet of space in each ward-room to each bed. If pressing emergency should lead to the beds being placed closer, and fifty per cent. more patients should be introduced, it is believed that the perfect system of ventilation which is secured would render these hospitals very superior to any now in use for the army.

Of the cost above named, about 12_l._ per bed is that due to the ward-rooms themselves, with all their conveniences attached, and the rest arises from the cost of the store-rooms, kitchen, machinery, residences, and appurtenances.

The cargo space required for their conveyance is about a ton and a half to a ton and three-quarters measurement per bed.

As the buildings were completed the work of transport was commenced; and twenty-three steamers and sailing-vessels were despatched, containing altogether about 11,500 tons measurement of materials and stores. The first vessel arrived out on May 7, 1855, and the last on December 5, in the same year.

Meanwhile the important question of the site for the hospital buildings was being determined by Dr. Parkes, the Medical Superintendent, with the assistance of Mr. Brunton, who was in constant communication with Mr. Brunel on the subject.

After visiting various places, Dr. Parkes finally selected a spot near the village of Renkioi, on the Dardanelles. In a report which he addressed to the Secretary of State for War upon the formation and general management of the hospital, he thus describes ‘the nature of the site, and the means which were used in the formation of the hospital:’--

The piece of land on which the hospital was placed was a shelving bank of a light, porous, sandy soil, resting on marl; it contained about 270 acres, stretched tongue-like into the waters of the Dardanelles, and was bounded inland by a low range of sandstone hills, which were themselves backed by rather lofty ranges of oolitic limestone, intersected by deep ravines. The tongue of land formed two bays, north and south, in both of which was good anchorage for ships, and as the wind blew almost always up or down the Dardanelles, i.e. from the north-east or south-west, one or other of these bays was comparatively calm in all winds except those which came infrequently from the west.

The position of the spot was on the Asiatic coast, nine miles from the mouth of the Dardanelles, in lat. 40° 2′, long. 26° 21′. It was the site of the port of an old Greek city, the ancient Ophrynium.

The extreme point of this tongue of land was about 10 feet above the sea, but from this point it rose regularly and gradually to about 100 feet above the sea. An admirable fall was thus given for drainage, and so gradual was the rise that the wooden houses were placed on the ground without terracing or excavation, whereby very great expense was saved. The extreme length from the point to a spot too steep for the erection of houses was about half a mile, and we were enabled thus to place down the centre of the tongue of land no less than thirty-four houses, capable of holding 1,500 sick, in one long line on either side of the central corridor, an arrangement which facilitated very greatly the laying of both water-pipes and drain-tubes. In fact, we were able to carry out the plan which Mr. Brunel had suggested as the best.

There was enough space on the tongue of land, on either side of this long central line, for two shorter parallel lines of seventeen houses each. These two lines were placed one to the north, and the other to the south of the large central hospital. Each was capable of containing 750 men, and one of them to the north was nearly completed when the declaration of peace put a stop to the works.

On the sides of the hills in rear were numerous small springs of excellent water, which were collected together and conveyed in earthenware pipes to a large reservoir, placed by Mr. Brunton 70 feet above the highest house, which was itself about 60 feet above the sea. From this reservoir the water was carried in iron pipes down the centre of the long corridor, and at every ward (which was placed at intervals at either side of the corridor) a leaden service-pipe came off, and led an abundant and never-ceasing supply into the ward cisterns, which supplied the baths, lavatories, and closets. By this arrangement all necessity for pumping water was avoided, and the sewers were able to be flushed very perfectly.

The lavatories and closets were placed at the ends of the wards most remote from the corridor, and immediately outside them ran the two main sewers, which at their sea terminations were carried some distance into the Dardanelles.

The plan of the hospital may be at once understood by imagining a covered way, open at the sides, and 22 feet wide, running nearly east and west, and reaching for a length of more than a third of a mile, on either side of which stood, at intervals of 27 feet on the south side, and in most cases 94 feet on the north, the thirty-four houses, each of which, as already said, was 100 feet long, 40 feet wide, 12 feet high at the eaves, and 25 in the centre, and was capable of containing fifty patients, with an allowance of nearly 1,300 cubic feet of air for each man. Some portion of this space was occupied by the closets and some small rooms used as orderlies’ and bath-rooms. Thirty of these houses were used as wards; four were used as dispensaries and purveyor’s stores. A drawing by Mr. Brunton, showing the arrangements of one of the wards, is attached.[189]

To the south of each division of ten houses was placed an iron kitchen, which afforded the necessary accommodation for preparing 500 diets.

At the inland extremity of the corridor were placed two iron laundries, the water from which (some 4,000 gallons daily) was passed into the sewers. Beyond the laundries were placed on either side the wooden houses of the medical and other officers, who were thus able to see down either side of this long line, and to preserve to a certain extent surveillance over the patients.

The two smaller hospitals were constructed on a similar plan, each range having, however, only one iron laundry inland, and one iron kitchen in the centre of the range.

About half a mile from the hospital, close to the sea in the south bay, three store-houses were erected, and a railway led from an adjacent jetty or pier by the side of these store-houses to the centre of the main hospital. Had the war continued, it would have been carried to the north pier and bay, and would also have had a branch running along the corridor of each hospital, so as to deposit the sick at the very doors of the wards into which they were to go.

Nothing could exceed the simplicity of the whole arrangement; it was a repetition of similar parts throughout; and experience enables me to say, that nothing could be better adapted for a hospital than this system of isolated buildings, between every one of which was a large body of moving air, rendering ventilation easy, and communication of disease from ward to ward impossible.

The introduction of the covered way connecting the various houses was a happy idea. In the summer this corridor was left quite open at the sides, and formed a cool walk for the convalescents; while in winter we boarded up its north side, so that in the coldest blasts of the northern wind the men were protected, and were able to leave their wards and to take exercise. I need only further observe that, in order to secure perfect ventilation, not only were openings left under the eaves and in the gables of the buildings (which could be closed in cold weather), but air-shafts were placed under the floors through which 1,000 cubic feet of air per minute could be forced into the wards by fans placed in the corridor and worked by hand [see fig. 22]. As the amount of wind at Renkioi was always considerable, we never had occasion to use these machines; but had the hospital been placed in a less airy situation, they would have been of the greatest use.

For the construction of this hospital every necessary part was sent out by Mr. Brunel. The houses were erected with great care by Mr. Brunton, assisted by Mr. Eassie, jun., and by eighteen English workmen (thirteen carpenters, one pipelayer, three plumbers, and one smith) sent out for this purpose. On account of the size and height of the houses (which were many times the size of the largest Crimean huts), the framework was obliged to be put together very carefully, and Mr. Brunton felt it necessary to employ none but the English workmen on this duty; consequently the erection of the houses took much longer time than we originally anticipated; but during the winter we had reason to be satisfied that Mr. Brunton had done wisely, for, in spite of the heavy winds we often had, no finished house was ever damaged, except in one or two instances to a very slight amount.

The erection of the houses was commenced on May 21, 1855. On July 12, I reported the hospital ready for 300 sick; on August 11, it was ready for 500, and on December 4, for 1,000 sick. By January 1856, viz. seven months after its commencement, it was ready for 1,500 sick; and when the works were discontinued, at the end of March 1856, we could, with a little pressure, have admitted 2,200 patients. In about three months more this immense establishment for 3,000 sick could have been finished and in full activity.

On the working of the system, Dr. Parkes says in his report:--

Although the hospital was ready for 300 patients on July 12, 1855, we were not called on to receive sick till October 2. From that time till February 11, eleven ships arrived from Balaclava and Smyrna.... After February 11, 1856, we received no more sick. The total number of military patients who were received from these ships was 1,244, and, in addition, 87 soldiers were admitted, either from the guard at Renkioi or Abydos, from transport ships which touched at Renkioi, or from the English soldiers attached to the Osmanli Horse stationed at the town of Dardanelles during the summer and autumn.

The total number of admissions was 1,331--

Cured 961 Invalided 320 Deaths 50

Besides the military patients, we admitted 77 civilians.... The total number of patients actually treated was 1,408, the largest number at any one time 642....

The anticipations we had formed of the health of the spot and of its adaptability for a hospital were quite confirmed by the experience of more than a year. The winter was mild, and the climate seemed especially adapted for pulmonary complaints, of which we had a large number. The changes of temperature, it is true, were very sudden and great; but as the men had warm wards, these changes were not felt, and there were few days in which the most delicate consumptive patient could not get out into the sheltered corridor for a short time during the day. The construction of the hospital was admirably adapted for men recovering from illness. As all the wards were on the ground, as soon as a man could crawl he could get into the air either in the cool and sheltered corridor or in the spaces round the hospital.

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In April and May 1856 the greater number of the patients had been either discharged or invalided home, and ... the medical and nursing staff was reduced more than one-half, and ... in the middle of July the remaining staff was sent home.

All the stores which were likely to be used or to sell well in England were sent home, and everything else was sold on the ground. Major Chads, with twenty soldiers, and Mr. Brunton remained behind, to superintend the sale of the buildings, which took place on September 20.