Royal Albert Hall

1869. Roof of The Royal Albert Hall.

1869.

1871 The Royal Albert Hall of Arts and Sciences, at South Kensington, was opened by Queen Victoria in person.

Main contractors: Lucas Brothers.

In 1869 Engineering provided a short article describing the building, which included the drawing right. The closing statement: 'We are indebted to Colonel Scott, R.E. , who has perfected the design of the of Royal Albert Hall and carried it into execution, for the drawings with which we have illustrated this notice.'

Colonel Scott was Major General Henry Young Darracott Scott, and he was described as the architect. However, John Liddell sought to differ. See below.

The drawing shows a longitudinal section through the longer axis of the roof, where the clear span is 219 ft. 4". The minor diameter of the roof was 185 ft 4". In the drawing, the girders can, for simplicity, be envisaged as crescent-shaped trussed girders spanning the full diameter of the roof. In fact each girder is in two halves which do not directly connect with each other.Instead, the inboard ends of the top and bottom chords are fixed to central elliptical curbs. The height at this end of the girders is 17 ft 6.5" deep. The outboard ends of the girders have a 10" radius which bears in a correspondingly-radiused cast iron shoe, in order to allow for the arches rising and falling with expansion and contraction. The tension struts of the trussed girders are round bars, with turnbuckles, while each strut is assembled from four lengths of angle iron, bowed at the centre and kept separated by cast iron distance pieces.

The decorative terra-cotta was manufactured by Gibbs and Canning of Tamworth, modelled by Townroe and Gamble.

The building was to be cooled by ducted air, and warmed by steam pipes heating the ducted air.

1868 'METROPOLITAN IMPROVEMENTS
ALBERT HALL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES. .... The Albert Hall of Arts and Sciences is constructed somewhat upon the plan of the old Roman Amphitheatres. It is in form an almost perfect ellipse, the greater diameter being 320 foet, and the smaller 280 feet. In this respect it differs from the Roman Coliseum, which is a good deal flattened at the two ends; otherwise — and excepting also that the Albert Hall is covered by a permanent roof — that famous old building will give a very fair idea of its general plan. Its proportions are considerably smaller, the Roman building having a greater diameter of 615 feet, and a lesser of 510 feet. Nevertheless, the present hall is estimated to hold, in all, nearly 10,000 persons, a number which, as the entertainments to be provided differ happily in some respects from those in vogue in old Rome, will no doubt be found amply sufficient. Some allowance must, of course, be made from this estimate of accommodation for such portion of the hall as may be required for stage, platform, orchestra, and the like, as also for the great organ ..... [Extensive description of accommodation, galleries, etc] ......

Great portion of the upper part of this orchestra will be occupied by a magnificent organ, now in course of construction by Messrs. Willis, the builders of the huge instrument in the St. George's Hall, Liverpool, hitherto considered the finest in the world, but now to be altogether eclipsed by its mighty rival at South Kensington. This splendid instrument is being built under the advice of a committee consisting of .... and will be blown by two steam-engines, the boilers of which are provided for outside the building. From the orchestra to the ceiling is a very natural transition, and here we come again upon a peculiar feature of construction. The roof of the Albert Hall may be described roughly as a huge elliptical mushroom of glass and iron, with a hole where the stalk would be. The ribs are, of course, iron girders, very much the shape of those used at the new station at St. Pancras, of which we gave an account some few weeks since. In the present instance, however, these girders stand not on their larger, but on their smaller extremity, the larger ends all meeting in the centre, where they rest against a sort of hollow core or drum formed of a series of short upright girders, bound together above and below by a ring of iron. The roof girders are thirty in number, of the construction known as "lattice" girders, and tapering from 17 feet 6 inches at the larger to 2 feet in depth at the smaller end. The drum, or core, against which they rest, consists of a similar number oi uprights, 17ft. 6 inches in length, to receive the larger ends of the roof girders, which range in length from 185 feet 4 inches at the sides, to 225 feet 4 inches at the ends of the building; the core itself forming an elliptical funnel with a greater diameter of 24 and a lesser diameter of 18 feet, through which passes out the foul air from the building. This being the framework of the roof, it is completed by two "skins" of glass one outside the other inside the girders, and below this inner ceiling again it is also as at present advised, to hang a "velarium" or awning, similar to those used in the ancient amphitheatres, an expedient which it is hoped will at once lessen the glare from the glass roof and improve the the properties of the building. The most remarkable feature, however, in the roof, is the provision made for what is termed the "thrust," that is to say the lateral or outward pressure of the weight. This is usually taken partly by the outer walls, which are strengthened and buttressed to support it, partly by a complicated system of ties and cross-beams, which add considerably more to the strength than to the beauty of the edifice. In the present construction both these supports are dispensed with, the entire thrust being taken by a solid ring of cast iron, in section like an immensely wide and very stumpy letter H, which runs round the top of the outer wall, and on which the smaller ends of the roof girders rest in solid iron sockets or shoes, in shape not unlike a horse's hoof. The exterior flange of this ring thus takes the whole thrust of the roof, and the walls have only to sustain the direct downward pressure of the weight, which is about 300 tons This ingenious roof has been constructed by the Fairbairn Engineering Company (Limited), of Manchester, in whose yard it is now standing ready for immediate transmission to London.
This completes the description of the building with the exception of the decorations, internal and external, — which, especially the latter, are of a character demanding a separate notice — and the parts comprised between the inner and outer "skins," at which we must now take a brief glance. They consist on the basement floor of refreshment-room for the male chorus, private room for principals, blowing chambers for the organ, an outer ring of store-rooms 20 feet in width, a corridor 9 feet, an inner ring of store-rooms 16 feet, numerous heating-chambers, a cloak-room 9 feet in width extending round the arena, and a corridor opening into the arena, also 9 feet wide. The ground floor contains the entrance-hall from the Horticultural Gardens behind the organ, the other entrances and staircases (as already detailed), and the refreshment-room for the female chorus. The remaining floors are devoted to staircases, refreshment-rooms, &c, with the exception of the top floor, wbich, as we have already said, is entirely occupied by the picture gallery. Finally it is intended to connect the hall with the Underground Railroad, and whatever fears may be entertained as to the commercial prospects of the undertaking there can be no doubt but that it has been carried out with much spirit and no small display of architectural and engineering skill.'

1871 '.... The height of the hall is 135 ft., and it is crowned by a vast domed skylight of painted glass, having a central opening or lantern through which a star of gas-burners projects. Outside the painted skylight is another of plain glass ; and the interval between the two is fitted with galleries, from which the upper surface of the painted glass may be cleaned. During the progress of the works there has been a prodigious accumulation of dust on this upper surface, showing that the arrangements for cleaning will be in no way superfluous. The space between the skylights is also used for the electric battery and coil by which the gas will be lighted. Besides the central oval of stars there are 30 clusters, of 105 jets each, suspended from the roof, and forming a large external oval; and the number of roof jets to be lighted amounts to 4,210. The clusters are so arranged that one jet on each cluster will light the rest; and the one jet will be kindled by the spark of an induction coil, on a plan devised by Mr. Ladd, the well-known philosophical instrument maker of Beak Street. The spark will be made to pass between two platinum points in front of each jet to be kindled ; and the induction coil is connected with the insulated wires from all the jets by means of a switch working on a central pivot and coming into successive contact with each of the binding screws to which the wires are brought. A single turn of the switch will, therefore, make all the necessary contacts; and it is estimated that the 4,210 jets will be lighted in ten seconds. The induction coil will be set in action by a Smee's battery of six cells, furnished with an additional trough containing water and an apparatus for keeping the zinc constantly amalgamated. When not required, the elements will be lifted out of the acid into the adjoining water trough, where they will be always ready to be replaced at a moment's notice.

In one most important respect the Albert Hall is a model for all buildings intended to contain great numbers of people. Spacious corridors (9 feet wide) surround it on every floor, and are connected by 22 staircases also of ample width. Besides the three main porches, there are 19 doors for entrance or departure, and the largest audience that the hall would contain might also be contained in the corridors, or could find easy exit in the space of three or four minutes. It will assist in forming some idea of the floor space available, if we say that Mr. Treloar has supplied 9,000 yards of cocoa-nut matting for the corridors, balcony, amphitheatre, and arena. It seems impossible, with such space, that any accident can ever be produced by a sudden impulse to leave the building on account of some real or imaginary danger.
Hydraulic lifts are also provided by which persons who dislike the labour of ascending staircases may be conveyed at once to any floor that they desire to reach. ..... The exterior of the hall is too well known to need description. Its long diameter extends from the Kensington Road to the conservatory of the Horticultural Gardens, with which it is connected in lieu of having a south porch. The length outside is 272 ft., the breadth 238 ft., the circumference 804 ft. The decorations in terra cotta have been made by Messrs. Gibbs and Canning, of Tamworth ; and the richly-coloured bricks are from Fareham, in Hampshire. The frieze above the balcony has been executed by Messrs. Minton, Hollins, and Co., and it is divided into seven compartments, containing allegorical designs, commemorative of the Great Exhibition, by Messrs. Marks, Yeames, Pickersgill, Poynter, Horsley, Armitage, and Armstead. The iron roof has been supplied by the Fairbairn Engineering Company, and, as is well known, Lieut. Colonel Scott, R.E., is the architect. ....'

1874 'THE "ARCHITECT" OF THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL.

SIR, - It is my duty to address you upon this subject, upon which I have hitherto remained silent, although I have felt that I can certainly speak more authoritatively than either of the contestants. I would fain have left the reputation of the late Captain Fowke to the very touching and manly defence of his son ; but the glaring defects, both in facts and inferences, contained in Mr. G. R. Redgrave's letters impel me to address you — especially as my name has been, more than once, without any communication with me or consent of mine, involved materially in the discussion. Permit me, therefore, under these circumstances, to give my tardy version as to whom either the credit or the discredit of the Royal Albert Hall building ought in truth and justice,to be more or less attributed: with that object I must enter into a short narrative.
I joined the staff of the South Kensington Museum in the latter part of 1851, and was attached to Captain Fowke; and after various degrees of advancement, ultimately became his confidential assistant and adviser. In that capacity, my part in the designs for the Natural History Museum, for which I shared the premium, has been pretty accurately, and for the first time, publicly stated by "Justice." In other works connected with Captain Fowke's official duties I also bore a prominent part.

I know that the inception of the idea of the Royal Albert Hall is honestly due to Mr. Henry Cole, and that he made a rough sketch of it about 1860 or '6l. After the demolition of the Exhibition building of 1862, the subject was revived, and it ultimately became a matter of frequent discussion between Captain Fowke and myself; and before his death I had prepared — at first under his direction, but mostly at my own residence — numerous sketches, diagrams, drawings, and the model referred to by his son. And even after the death of Captain Fowke, at the request of General Scott, I prepared modifications of the same scheme in furtherance of a pledge deliberately entered into by General Scott, with praiseworthy primary self-abnegation, and by Mr. Cole, that the scheme would be carried out in its general integrity; that Captain Fowke's name should be paramount; and that I, as the repository of all his latest ideas and intentions, should be engaged upon the work. Upon the exhibition of those drawings and model, and upon that pledge, public money was raised, and the enterprise was floated. This brings me to the previous question — to whom, &c.

I do not for an instant deny that General Scott is a gentleman of great ability and research in his own province; but he confesses to being no architect, in the professional sense of that term. Neither indeed was Captain Fowke strictly one ; but I say, unhesitatingly, that Captain Fowke was much more the architect of the present hall than General Scott can justly claim to be ; because it is clear, as I myself can identify, that the present building contains all the essentials of the first scheme I have already mentioned. Take, for example, the ground-plan: Captain Fowke's first idea certainly was a figure having flattened sides and semi-circular ends; but the final plan, which I myself worked out after repeated experiments, and of which I possess a diagram, was an irregular ellipse.

"Justice," in his letter of Feb. 6th, truly hits the mark when he describes the system of architectural designing at South Kensington as being "based on the principle of putting an engineer in the position of an architect, and supplying him with first-rate draughtsmen to do his architectural work for him," &c. I venture to say that the Royal Albert Hall has been created on these principles, and I can point out in the present building, as it stands, the outcome of the independent skill and energy of numerous experts thus adroitly made use of. I recognise the handiwork of gentlemen who were, and some of whom still are, connected with the South Kensington Museum; and especially Mr. Townroe in the terra-cotta details, of Mr. Verity in the interior, and I know that Mr. Ordish, C.E. ; Mr. Grover, C.E. ; Mr. Phipson, C.E. ; and others also, independently produced the most important structural and other details. That "General Scott was the architect of the building, in every sense that we use the term 'architect' nowadays," is a fallacy that can be scattered at a breath ; and far from elevating that gentleman, it simply relegates him to the company of such pretenders as a certain firm of undertakers, out of London, who publicly claimed to be their own architects.

I at present abstain from further commenting upon the system pursued (as referred to by "Justice") towards the real workers, under the nominal control of a military supervisor, and also from claiming for myself personally any ideas originated by me in the building. I feel that Captain Fowke was my superior officer, and we so frequently considered details together that I am willing — nay, anxious — that his memory and family should have the benefit of any merit that our joint efforts may have fairly earned. Why, may I ask, does General Scott remain silent upon a matter of such professional importance, and leave his claims to be championed by Mr. G. R. Redgrave, who has never had the advantage of the regular professional education of an architect, and whose position of illegitimate pupilage, at Captain Fowke's death, what was not strictly an architect's office at all, as well as his subsequent position, in no sense entitle him to venture so glibly to supplant the right of those who are older and better acquainted with the present matter? Would it not be well for that gentleman to leave to them its discussion and decision? — I am, Sir, &c.,
JOHN LIDDELL '

The wrought iron roof would have posed a tremendous challenge to design and construct due its size and complexity, but the difficulties were magnified by the elliptical shape of the building. The roof structure was constructed by the Fairbairn Engineering Co of Ancoats, Manchester. The names of those who struggled to shape, assemble and rivet the great structure are ...... unrecorded as usual.

The Royal Albert Hall roof webpage includes interesting photographs of the roof structure, and adds the information that 338 tonne iron metal frame could support the weight of 279 tonnes of glazing. On 11 May 1869, when the temporary dome supports were removed, the dome dropped just 8mm.

A photograph here shows the roof half-constructed in the yard in Manchester. Scaffolding and craneage provision was somewhat limited.

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