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THE CRAFTSMANSHIP
Mr. Randal Phillips, writing in
Country Life, has said that Two Temple Place is a very remarkable
building in many ways, 'most notable because it was planned to
accord with a very unusual conception of what a modern office
might be, carried out irrespective of cost. Such an opportunity
rarely comes to any architect. Though there are many who will
challenge the conception and will not be prepared to see any merit
in work belonging to Late Victorian days, fair-minded critics
will admit that the thoroughness given to every detail of the
building, from the delightful little ship that forms its weather
vane to the finish of its basement, is worthy of unstinted praise.
No one can but be astonished at the extraordinarily fine workmanship
which is seen within and without'. The soundness of the craftsmanship
may be gathered from the fact that in twenty-five years the late
Sir John Coode Adams, then Lord Astor's Solicitor and Business
Manager, did not spend more than fifty pounds in structural repairs,
whilst not a joint had opened in the panelling and flooring, despite
a system of heating by pipes.
In making the building ready for
its future use, the Society retained the Architect's son, Mr.
F. L. Pearson, F.R.LB.A., and engaged the original Builders, John
Thompson & Sons, Limited, of Peterborough, and many of the
original Contractors and Craftsmen, including Mr. Nathaniel Hitch,
the Sculptor, and Mr. F. Oxley as Foreman. Instructions were given
that the same high standards were to be observed both as to workmanship
and materials, and inevitable structural alterations were almost
entirely confined to the Ground Floor. The building was adapted,
restored, redecorated and rewired throughout in such a manner
that it is difficult to distinguish old from new.
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