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87-470: The Marble Arch is a 19th-century white marble -faced triumphal arch in London , England . The structure was designed by John Nash in 1827 as the state entrance to the cour d'honneur of Buckingham Palace ; it stood near the site of what is today the three-bayed, central projection of the palace containing the well-known balcony. In 1851, on the initiative of architect and urban planner Decimus Burton ,

174-407: A bronze equestrian statue of George IV was commissioned from Sir Francis Chantrey , with the intention of placing it on top of the arch. Construction began in 1827, but was cut short in 1830, following the death of the spendthrift King George IV – the rising costs were unacceptable to the new king, William IV , who later tried to offload the uncompleted palace onto Parliament as a substitute for

261-476: A recommended exposure limit (REL) of 10 mg/m total exposure and 5 mg/m respiratory exposure over an 8-hour workday. Dust, debris and temperature fluctuations from working marble can endanger the eye health of employees. For the staff involved in marble processing, it is necessary to provide eye protection equipment, and it is recommended to improve the education of all workers on occupational health risks and strengthen preventive measures. As

348-649: A " Pre-Greek origin is probable". This stem is also the ancestor of the English word "marmoreal", meaning "marble-like." While the English term "marble" resembles the French marbre , most other European languages (with words like "marmoreal") more closely resemble the original Ancient Greek. Marble is a rock resulting from metamorphism of sedimentary carbonate rocks , most commonly limestone or dolomite . Metamorphism causes variable re-crystallization of

435-430: A 1962 radio interview he told teenage questioners that he could not write about 'abstract things', preferring places, and faces. Philip Larkin wrote of his work, "how much more interesting & worth writing about Betjeman's subjects are than most other modern poets, I mean, whether so-and-so achieves some metaphysical inner unity is not really so interesting to us as the overbuilding of rural Middlesex ". Prompted by

522-441: A BBC film made in 1968, but not broadcast at that time, Betjeman described the sound of Leeds to be of "Victorian buildings crashing to the ground". He went on to lambast John Poulson 's British Railways House (now City House ), saying how it blocked all the light out to City Square and was only a testament to money with no architectural merit. He also praised the architecture of Leeds Town Hall . In 1969, Betjeman contributed

609-423: A bitter detestation. This situation was perhaps complicated by his enduring love of Oxford, from which he accepted an honorary doctorate of letters in 1974. Betjeman left Oxford without a degree. Whilst there, however, he had made the acquaintance of people who would later influence his work, including Louis MacNeice and W. H. Auden . He worked briefly as a private secretary, school teacher and film critic for

696-761: A candidate to be the new Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom , following the death of John Masefield . He was rejected after the Prime Minister's Appointments Secretary John Hewitt consulted with Dame Helen Gardner , the Merton Professor of English at the University of Oxford (who stated that Betjeman was "a lightweight, amusing but rather trivial" with "critical views about the establishment ") and Geoffrey Handley-Taylor, chair of The Poetry Society (who stated that Betjeman "called himself

783-626: A dozen books. Five of these were verse collections, including one in the USA. Sales of his Collected Poems in 1958 reached 100,000. The popularity of the book prompted Ken Russell to make a film about him, John Betjeman: A Poet in London (1959). Filmed in 35 mm and running 11 minutes and 35 seconds, it was first shown on the BBC 's Monitor programme. From 1945 till 1951 he lived at The Old Rectory, Farnborough , Wantage, Berkshire. In 1951 he moved to

870-544: A fairer analysis of his sexuality may be that he was "the hatcher of a lifetime of schoolboy crushes – both gay and straight", most of which progressed no further. Nevertheless, he has been considered "temperamentally gay", and even became a penpal of Lord Alfred 'Bosie' Douglas , the friend of Oscar Wilde . For the last decade of his life, Betjeman suffered increasingly from Parkinson's disease . He died at his home in Trebetherick , Cornwall, on 19 May 1984, aged 77, and

957-554: A friend who was publicity manager with Shell-Mex & BP , to guide Britain's growing number of motorists around the counties of Britain and their historical sites. They were published by the Architectural Press and financed by Shell . By the start of World War II 13 had been published, of which Cornwall (1934) and Devon (1936) were written by Betjeman. A third, Shropshire , was written with and designed by his good friend John Piper in 1951. In 1939, Betjeman

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1044-570: A growth of 12% annually for the 2000–2006 period, compared to 10.5% annually for the 2000–2005 period. The largest dimension marble application is tile. The stone and marble industry is one of the largest industries in Palestine, contributing 20-25% of its total industrial revenues, generating USD $ 400–$ 450 million in revenue annually. The industry employs 15,000–20,000 workers across the West Bank across 1200–1700 facilities, and amounts to 4.5% of

1131-526: A large amount of waste not being land-filled, reducing environmental pollution, thereby realizing the sustainability of marble. Converting waste to generate economic income and restore degraded soil can improve the environment. The nature of marble is soft and porous, so it is easily stained by colored liquids and scratches easily. Maintenance and cleaning is particularly important. John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman , CBE ( / ˈ b ɛ tʃ ə m ən / ; 28 August 1906 – 19 May 1984)

1218-703: A large circle-and-stalls auditorium. It closed in 2016 and was demolished later that same year. The arch also stands close to the former site of the Tyburn gallows (sometimes called "Tyburn Tree"), a place of public execution from 1388 until 1793. In 2021 the Marble Arch Mound , a temporary viewing platform, was opened at the site. Citations Sources [REDACTED] Media related to Marble Arch at Wikimedia Commons 51°30′47″N 0°09′32″W  /  51.51317°N 0.15888°W  / 51.51317; -0.15888 Marble In geology ,

1305-492: A one-time pupil of John Nash, the arch was relocated to its current site, near the northeast corner of Hyde Park , so that expansion of Buckingham Palace could proceed. The arch gives its name to the area surrounding it, particularly the southern portion of Edgware Road and also to the underground station . The arch is not part of the Royal Parks and is maintained by Westminster City Council . Nash's three-arch design

1392-454: A poetic hack and there was some truth to this"). Prime Minister Harold Wilson ultimately selected Cecil Day-Lewis after Hewitt recommended him over Betjeman, whom Hewitt described to Wilson as a "backward-looking choice" and "the songster of tennis lawns and cathedral cloisters". Betjeman would become Poet Laureate in 1972 following the death of Day-Lewis, the first Knight Bachelor to be appointed (the only other, Sir William Davenant ,

1479-646: A potential hazard. Mitigations such as dust filters, or dust suppression are suggested, but more research needs to be carried out on the efficacy of safety measures. In the United States, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has set the legal limit ( permissible exposure limit ) for marble exposure in the workplace as 15 mg/m total exposure and 5 mg/m respiratory exposure over an 8-hour workday. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has set

1566-451: A satirical magazine that lampooned Marlborough's obsession with sport. While at school, his exposure to the works of Arthur Machen won him over to High Church Anglicanism , a conversion of importance to his later writing and conception of the arts. Betjeman left Marlborough in July 1925. Betjeman entered the University of Oxford with difficulty, having failed the mathematics portion of

1653-470: A teacher. Betjeman particularly disliked the coursework's emphasis on linguistics, and dedicated most of his time to cultivating his social life, his interest in English ecclesiastical architecture , and private literary pursuits. At Oxford, he was a friend of Maurice Bowra , later to be Warden of Wadham (1938 to 1970). Betjeman had a poem published in Isis , the university magazine, and served as editor of

1740-459: A television film in 1976. It is a common misapprehension, cultivated by Betjeman himself, that he did not complete his degree because he failed to pass the compulsory holy scripture examination, known colloquially as "Divvers" , short for "Divinity". In Hilary term 1928, Betjeman failed Divinity for the second time. He had to leave the university for the Trinity term to prepare for a retake of

1827-469: A time when it was unfashionable, and he was a founding member of The Victorian Society . He wrote on this subject in First and Last Loves (1952) and more extensively in London's Historic Railway Stations in 1972, defending the beauty of 12 stations. He led the campaign to save Holy Trinity, Sloane Street , in London when it was threatened with demolition in the early 1970s. He was also a founding member of

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1914-488: A tube station means that the arch gives rise to a colloquial, entirely modern London "area", with no parishes or established institutions bearing its name. This generally equates to parts in view of the arch of Mayfair , Marylebone and often all of St George's Fields, Marylebone (west of Edgware Road) all in the City of Westminster, London, W1H. The area around the arch forms a major road junction connecting Oxford Street to

2001-425: A typical process using magnesium fluorosilicate (MgSiF 6 ) and hydrochloric acid (HCl) taking place. The resulting calcium hexafluorosilicate (CaSiF 6 ) is bonded to the surface of the marble. This is harder, more glossy and stain resistant compared to the original surface. The other often used method of finishing marble is to polish with oxalic acid (H 2 C 2 O 4 ), an organic acid. The resulting reaction

2088-639: A well-regarded television documentary for the BBC called Metro-Land , directed by Edward Mirzoeff . In 1974, Betjeman and Mirzoeff followed up Metro-Land with A Passion for Churches , a celebration of Betjeman's beloved Church of England , filmed entirely in the Diocese of Norwich . In 1975, he proposed that the Fine Rooms of Somerset House should house the Turner Bequest , so helping to scupper

2175-399: Is a rock composed of calcium and magnesium carbonate , mostly white and pink. Common marble varieties are granular limestone or dolomite . The hardness of marble is very high, because the internal structure of the rock is very uniform after long-term natural aging, and the internal stress disappears, so the marble will not be deformed due to temperature, and has strong wear resistance. It

2262-439: Is a very popular building material. The following table is a summary of the features of Marble. White marble has been prized for its use in sculptures since classical times . This preference has to do with its softness, which made it easier to carve, relative isotropy and homogeneity, and a relative resistance to shattering. Also, the low index of refraction of calcite allows light to penetrate 12.7 to 38 millimeters into

2349-538: Is as follows: In this case the calcium oxalate (CaC 2 O 4 ) formed in the reaction is washed away with the slurry, leaving a surface that has not been chemically changed. The haloalkaliphilic methylotrophic bacterium Methylophaga murata was isolated from deteriorating marble in the Kremlin . Bacterial and fungal degradation was detected in four samples of marble from Milan Cathedral ; black Cladosporium attacked dried acrylic resin using melanin. Marble

2436-696: Is based on that of the Arch of Constantine in Rome and the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel in Paris. The triumphal arch is faced with Carrara marble with embellishments of marble extracted from quarries near Seravezza in Tuscany . John Flaxman was chosen to make the commemorative sculpture. After his death in 1826, the commission was divided between Sir Richard Westmacott , Edward Hodges Baily and J. C. F. Rossi . In 1829,

2523-427: Is buried nearby at St Enodoc's Church . Betjeman was an Anglican and his religious beliefs come through in some of his poems. In a letter written on Christmas Day 1947, he said: "Also my view of the world is that man is born to fulfil the purposes of his Creator i.e. to Praise his Creator, to stand in awe of Him and to dread Him. In this way I differ from most modern poets, who are agnostics and have an idea that Man

2610-476: Is similarly redolent of time and place, continually seeking out intimations of the eternal in the manifestly ordinary. There are constant evocations of the physical chaff and clutter that accumulates in everyday life, the miscellanea of an England now gone but not beyond the reach of living memory. He talks of Ovaltine and Sturmey-Archer bicycle gears. "Oh! Fuller's angel cake, Robertson's marmalade," he writes, " Liberty lampshades, come shine on us all." In

2697-539: Is that cluster of towers and pinnacles seen from Pentonville Hill and outlined against a foggy sunset and the great arc of Barlow 's train shed gaping to devour incoming engines and the sudden burst of exuberant Gothic of the hotel seen from gloomy Judd Street". On the reopening of St Pancras station in 2007, the Statue of John Betjeman was commissioned from curators Futurecity. A proposal by artist Martin Jennings

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2784-519: Is the centre of the Universe or is a helpless bubble blown about by uncontrolled forces." He combined piety with a nagging uncertainty about the truth of Christianity. Unlike Thomas Hardy , who disbelieved in the truth of the Christmas story while hoping it might be so, Betjeman affirms his belief even while fearing it might be false. In the poem "Christmas", one of his most openly religious pieces,

2871-620: The Cherwell student newspaper during 1927. His first book of poems was privately printed with the help of fellow student Edward James . He brought his teddy bear Archibald Ormsby-Gore up to Magdalen with him, the memory of which inspired his Oxford contemporary Evelyn Waugh to include Sebastian Flyte 's teddy Aloysius in Brideshead Revisited . Much of this period of his life is recorded in his blank verse autobiography, Summoned by Bells , published in 1960 and made into

2958-635: The Evening Standard , where he also wrote for their high-society gossip column, the " Londoner's Diary ". He was employed by the Architectural Review between 1930 and 1935, as a full-time assistant editor, following their publishing of some of his freelance work. Timothy Mowl (2000) says, "His years at the Architectural Review were to be his true university". At this time, while his prose style matured, he joined

3045-756: The Friends of Friendless Churches in 1957. He fought a spirited but unsuccessful campaign to save the Propylaeum, known commonly as the Euston Arch , London. He is considered instrumental in helping to save St Pancras railway station , London, and was commemorated when it became an international terminus for Eurostar in November 2007. He called the plan to demolish St Pancras a "criminal folly". About it he wrote, "What [the Londoner] sees in his mind's eye

3132-654: The Gold State Coach passed under it during Elizabeth II 's coronation in 1953. Three small rooms inside the rebuilt arch were used as a police station from 1851 until at least 1968 ( John Betjeman made a television programme inside it in 1968 and referred to it as a fully functional police station). It firstly housed officers of the Royal Parks Constabulary and later the Metropolitan Police . One policeman stationed there during

3219-708: The Lissenden Gardens private estate in Gospel Oak in north London. In 1909, the Betjemanns moved half a mile north to more opulent Highgate . From West Hill they lived in the reflected glory of the Burdett-Coutts estate : Here from my eyrie, as the sun went down, I heard the old North London puff and shunt, Glad that I did not live in Gospel Oak. Betjeman's early schooling was at

3306-713: The MARS Group , an organisation of young modernist architects and architectural critics in Britain. In 1937, Betjeman was a churchwarden at Uffington , the Berkshire village (in Oxfordshire since boundary changes of 1974) where he lived from 1934 to 1945. That year, he paid for the cleaning of the church's royal arms and later presided over the conversion of the church's oil lamps to electricity. The Shell Guides were developed by Betjeman and Jack Beddington ,

3393-675: The National Gallery . In 1843 the equestrian statue of George IV was installed on one of the pedestals in Trafalgar Square . The white marble soon lost its light colouring in the polluted London atmosphere. In 1847, Sharpe's London Magazine described it as "discoloured by smoke and damp, and in appearance resembling a huge sugar erection in a confectioner's shop window." The arch is 45 feet (14 m) high, and measures 60 by 30 feet (18.3 by 9.1 m) east-west by north–south. Buckingham Palace remained unoccupied, and for

3480-493: The dimension stone trade, the term marble is used for any crystalline calcitic rock (and some non-calcitic rocks) useful as building stone. For example, Tennessee marble is really a dense granular fossiliferous gray to pink to maroon Ordovician limestone, that geologists call the Holston Formation . Ashgabat , the capital city of Turkmenistan , was recorded in the 2013 Guinness Book of Records as having

3567-419: The "Emergency" (the war) including "The Irish Unionist's Farewell to Greta Hellstrom in 1922" (written during the war) which contained the refrain "Dungarvan in the rain". The object of his affections, "Greta", remained a mystery until revealed to have been a member of a well-known Anglo-Irish family of Western county Waterford . His official brief included establishing friendly contacts with leading figures in

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3654-587: The Dublin literary scene: he befriended Patrick Kavanagh , then at the very start of his career. Kavanagh celebrated the birth of Betjeman's daughter with a poem "Candida"; another well-known poem contains the line Let John Betjeman call for me in a car . From March to November 1944 Betjeman was assigned to another wartime job, working on publicity for the Admiralty in Bath . By 1948, Betjeman had published more than

3741-630: The Mead in Wantage, until 1971. His daughter Candida was married in the church there in May 1963. Betjeman continued writing guidebooks and works on architecture during the 1960s and 1970s and began to broadcast. Betjeman was closely associated with the culture and spirit of Metro-land , as outer reaches of the Metropolitan Railway were known before the war. In 1967, Betjeman was considered as

3828-575: The Supernatural . He was susceptible to the supernatural; Diana Mitford recalled Betjeman staying at her country home, Biddesden House in Wiltshire, in the 1920s. She said: "he had a terrifying dream, that he was handed a card with wide black edges, and on it his name was engraved, and a date. He knew this was the date of his death". On 29 July 1933, Betjeman married the Hon. Penelope Chetwode ,

3915-504: The daughter of Field Marshal Lord Chetwode . The couple lived in Berkshire and had a son, Paul, in 1937, and a daughter, Candida , in 1942. She became a Roman Catholic in 1948. The couple drifted apart and in 1951 he met Lady Elizabeth Cavendish , with whom he developed an immediate and lifelong friendship. Betjeman's sexuality can best be described as bisexual . His longest and best documented relationships were with women, and

4002-945: The early 1860s was Samuel Parkes , who won the Victoria Cross in the Charge of the Light Brigade in 1854, during the Crimean War . Park Lane was widened as part of the Park Lane Improvement Scheme of the London County Council, and the Marble Arch became stranded on a traffic island. The scheme required an act of Parliament – the Park Lane Improvement Act 1958 ( 6 & 7 Eliz. 2 . c. 63) – and during

4089-506: The early 1970s, he began a recording career of four albums on Charisma Records - Banana Blush , Late Flowering Love (both 1974), Sir John Betjeman's Britain (1977) and Varsity Rag (1981) where his poetry reading is set to music composed by Jim Parker with overdubbing by leading musicians of the time. Madeleine Dring set five of Betjeman's poems to music in 1976, just before her death. His recording catalogue extends to nine albums, four singles and two compilations. In 1973, he made

4176-449: The east, Park Lane ( A4202 ) to the south, Bayswater Road ( A402 ) to the west, and Edgware Road ( A5 ) to the north-west. The short road directly to the north of the arch is also known as Marble Arch. The former cinema Odeon Marble Arch was located directly adjacent to the junction. Before 1997 this had the largest cinema screen in London. The screen was originally over 75 feet (23 m) wide. The Odeon showcased 70 mm films in

4263-536: The end of the Michaelmas term , 1928. Betjeman did pass his Divinity examination on his third try but was expelled after failing the Pass School. He had achieved a satisfactory result in only one of the three required papers (on Shakespeare and other English authors). Betjeman's academic failure at Oxford rankled him for the rest of his life and he was never reconciled with C. S. Lewis, towards whom he nursed

4350-604: The exam; he was then allowed to return in October. Betjeman then wrote to the Secretary of the Tutorial Board at Magdalen , G. C. Lee, asking to be entered for the Pass School, a set of examinations taken on rare occasions by undergraduates who are deemed unlikely to achieve an honours degree . In Summoned by Bells Betjeman claims that his tutor, C. S. Lewis, said "You'd have only got a third" – but he had informed

4437-487: The excavated material will be waste, this is often then used as chips for flooring or wall finish, and uses for which high-calcium limestone is suitable. Marble sludge waste can be used as a mineral filler in water-based paints. Using ground calcium carbonate as a filler in paint production can improve the brightness, hiding power and application performance of paint, and can also replace expensive pigments such as titanium dioxide . Recycling of marble waste leads to

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4524-454: The favorite medium for Greek and Roman sculptors and architects (see classical sculpture ), marble has become a cultural symbol of tradition and refined taste. Its extremely varied and colorful patterns make it a favorite decorative material. Places named after the stone include Marblehead, Massachusetts ; Marblehead, Ohio ; Marble Arch , London; the Sea of Marmara ; India's Marble Rocks ; and

4611-595: The foreword to Derek Linstrum's Historic Architecture of Leeds . Betjeman was for over 20 years a trustee of the Bath Preservation Trust and was vice-president from 1965 to 1971, at a time when Bath —a city rich in Georgian architecture —was coming under increasing pressure from modern developers and a road had been proposed to cut across it. He also created a short television documentary, Architecture of Bath , in which he voiced his concerns about

4698-437: The formation of "black-crust" (accumulation of calcium sulphate, nitrates and carbon particles). Vinegar and other acidic solutions should be avoided in the cleaning of marble products. Crystallization refers to a method of imparting a glossy, more durable finish on to a marble floor (CaCO 3 ). It involves polishing the surface with an acidic solution and a steel wool pad on a flooring machine. The chemical reaction below shows

4785-648: The house permanently, with his potential liability for £10,000 of renovations upon the expiry of the lease. After damage from vandals, restoration began in 1966. Betjeman's lease included furniture from the house by Burges and Betjeman gave three pieces, the Zodiac settle , the Narcissus washstand and the Philosophy cabinet, to Evelyn Waugh . He edited, and wrote large sections of, The Collins Guide to English Parish Churches (1958); his substantial editorial preface

4872-552: The inner façades containing friezes and marbles matching and complementing those of the arch. When building work began in 1847, the arch was dismantled and rebuilt by Thomas Cubitt as a ceremonial entrance to the northeast corner of Hyde Park at Cumberland Gate. The reconstruction was completed in March 1851. A popular story says that the arch was moved because it was too narrow for the Queen's state coach to pass through, but, in fact,

4959-438: The last three stanzas that proclaim the wonder of Christ's birth do so in the form of a question "And is it true...?" His views on Christianity were expressed in his poem "The Conversion of St. Paul", a response to a radio broadcast by humanist Margaret Knight : But most of us turn slow to see The figure hanging on a tree And stumble on and blindly grope Upheld by intermittent hope, God grant before we die we all May see

5046-415: The light as did St. Paul. Betjeman's poems are often humorous, and in broadcasting he exploited his bumbling and fogeyish image. His wryly comic verse is accessible and has attracted a great following for its satirical and observant grace. Auden said in his introduction to Slick But Not Streamlined , "so at home with the provincial gaslit towns, the seaside lodgings, the bicycle, the harmonium ." His poetry

5133-566: The limestone. Green coloration is often due to serpentine resulting from originally magnesium-rich limestone or dolomite with silica impurities. These various impurities have been mobilized and recrystallized by the intense pressure and heat of the metamorphism. Acids react with the calcium carbonate in marble, producing carbonic acid (which decomposes quickly to CO 2 and H 2 O) and other soluble salts : Outdoor marble statues, gravestones , or other marble structures are damaged by acid rain whether by carbonation , sulfation or

5220-525: The local Byron House and Highgate School , where he was taught by poet T. S. Eliot . After this, he boarded at the Dragon School preparatory school in North Oxford and Marlborough College , a public school in Wiltshire. In his penultimate year, he joined the secret Society of Amici in which he was a contemporary of both Louis MacNeice and Graham Shepard . He founded The Heretick ,

5307-412: The most part unfinished, until it was hurriedly completed upon the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837. Within a few years, it was deemed that the palace was too small to accommodate the large court and the Queen's expanding family. The solution was to enlarge the palace by enclosing the cour d'honneur with a new east range. This façade is today the principal front and public face of the palace and shields

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5394-546: The nation's GDP. The vast majority of the industry's exports are to Israel. Marble in the geologic sense does not naturally outcrop in Palestine, and that the vast majority of commercially labeled marble produced in Palestine produced would be geologically considered limestone. Particulate air pollution exposure has been found to be elevated in the marble production industry. Exposure to the dust produced by cutting marble could impair lung function or cause lung disease in workers, such as silicosis . Skin and eye problems are also

5481-645: The original carbonate mineral grains. The resulting marble rock is typically composed of an interlocking mosaic of carbonate crystals . Primary sedimentary textures and structures of the original carbonate rock ( protolith ) have typically been modified or destroyed. Pure white marble is the result of metamorphism of a very pure ( silicate -poor) limestone or dolomite protolith. The characteristic swirls and veins of many colored marble varieties, sometimes called striations , are usually due to various mineral impurities such as clay , silt , sand , iron oxides , or chert which were originally present as grains or layers in

5568-407: The passage of this act the possibility of providing an underpass instead of a roundabout was dismissed due to excessive cost and the need to demolish buildings on Edgware Road. As part of the scheme, gardens were laid out around the arch on the traffic island. The works took place between 1960 and 1964. Still Water , a large bronze sculpture of a horse's head by Nic Fiddian-Green , was unveiled on

5655-613: The plan of the Minister for the Arts for a Theatre Museum to be housed there. In 1977, the BBC broadcast The Queen's Realm: A Prospect of England , an aerial anthology of English landscape, music and poetry, selected by Betjeman and produced by Edward Mirzoeff, in celebration of the Queen's Silver Jubilee . Betjeman was fond of the ghost stories of M. R. James and supplied an introduction to Peter Haining 's book M. R. James – Book of

5742-415: The preface of his collection of architectural essays First and Last Loves he wrote We accept the collapse of the fabrics of our old churches, the thieving of lead and objects from them, the commandeering and butchery of our scenery by the services, the despoiling of landscaped parks and the abandonment to a fate worse than the workhouse of our country houses, because we are convinced we must save money. In

5829-420: The present day Netherlands more than a century earlier, setting up their home and business in Islington , London, and during the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War had, ironically, added the extra "-n" to avoid the anti-Dutch sentiment existing at the time. Betjeman was baptised at St Anne's Church, Highgate Rise, a 19th-century church at the foot of Highgate West Hill . The family lived at Parliament Hill Mansions in

5916-431: The rapid development of the Buckinghamshire town before World War II , Betjeman wrote the ten-stanza poem " Slough " to express his dismay at the industrialisation of Britain. He later came to regret having written it. The poem was first included in his 1937 collection Continual Dew . Come, friendly bombs, and fall on Slough! It isn't fit for humans now, ... Betjeman had a fondness for Victorian architecture at

6003-474: The recently destroyed Palace of Westminster . Work restarted in 1832, this time under the supervision of Edward Blore , who greatly reduced Nash's planned attic stage and omitted its sculpture, including the statue of George IV. The arch was completed in 1833. Some of the unused sculpture, including parts of Westmacott's frieze of Waterloo and the Nelson panels, were used at Buckingham Palace. His victory statues and Rossi's relief of Europe and Asia were used at

6090-426: The same traffic island a short distance from the arch in 2011. In 2005 it was speculated that the arch might be moved across the street to Hyde Park, or to a more accessible location than its position on what was then a large traffic island. In 1900, the Central London Railway opened Marble Arch tube station across the road from the arch. The station is now on the Central line of the London Underground. Having

6177-409: The stone before being scattered out, resulting in the characteristic waxy look which brings a lifelike luster to marble sculptures of any kind, which is why many sculptors preferred and still prefer marble for sculpting the human form. Construction marble is a stone which is composed of calcite, dolomite or serpentine that is capable of taking a polish. More generally in construction , specifically

6264-540: The term marble refers to metamorphosed limestone , but its use in stonemasonry more broadly encompasses unmetamorphosed limestone. Marble is commonly used for sculpture and as a building material . The word "marble" derives from the Ancient Greek μάρμαρον ( mármaron ), from μάρμαρος ( mármaros ), "crystalline rock, shining stone", perhaps from the verb μαρμαίρω ( marmaírō ), "to flash, sparkle, gleam"; R. S. P. Beekes has suggested that

6351-679: The towns of Marble, Minnesota ; Marble, Colorado ; Marble Falls, Texas , and Marble Hill, Manhattan, New York . The Elgin Marbles are marble sculptures from the Parthenon in Athens that are on display in the British Museum . Total world quarrying production in 2019 was approximately 316 million tonnes; however, quarrying waste accounted for 53% of this total production. In the process of marble mining and processing, around half or

6438-494: The tutorial board that he thought Betjeman would not achieve an honours degree of any class. Permission to sit the Pass School was granted. Betjeman decided to offer a paper in Welsh. Osbert Lancaster tells the story that a tutor came by train twice a week (first class) from Aberystwyth to teach Betjeman. However, Jesus College had a number of Welsh tutors who more probably would have taught him. Betjeman finally had to leave at

6525-434: The university's matriculation exam, Responsions . He was, however, admitted as a commoner (i.e., a non-scholarship student) at Magdalen College and entered the newly created School of English Language and Literature. At Oxford, Betjeman made little use of the academic opportunities. His tutor, a young C. S. Lewis , regarded him as an "idle prig" and Betjeman in turn considered Lewis unfriendly, demanding, and uninspiring as

6612-782: The way the city's architectural heritage was being mistreated. From 1946 to 1948, he had served as Secretary to the Oxford Preservation Trust . Betjeman was also instrumental in saving the Duke of Cornwall Hotel in Plymouth . The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings annually presents a John Betjeman award to recognise the repair and conservation of places of worship in England and Wales. The John Betjeman Poetry Competition for Young People began in 2006 and

6699-655: The widespread exchange of marble objects, including building elements, sculptures, and sarcophagi . There was a significant increase in the distribution of white marble from the late 1st century BC to the end of the 2nd century AD. A gradual decline in distribution started in the third century AD. According to the United States Geological Survey , U.S. domestic marble production in 2006 was 46,400 tons valued at about $ 18.1 million, compared to 72,300 tons valued at $ 18.9 million in 2005. Crushed marble production (for aggregate and industrial uses) in 2006

6786-415: The world's highest concentration of white marble buildings. The extraction of marble is performed by quarrying . Blocks are favoured for most purposes, and can be created through various techniques, including drilling and blasting, water jet and wedge methods. Limestones are often commercially and historically referred to as marble, which differs from the geological definition. In 1998, marble production

6873-753: Was China with a 64% market share, followed by India with 11% and Italy with 5%. White marbles throughout the Mediterranean basin were widely utilized during the Roman period. Extraction centers were unevenly distributed across the Italian Peninsula , mainland Greece , the Aegean Islands , Asia Minor , and smaller hubs like those in the Iberian Peninsula . The need for extensive trade arose due to this imbalance, leading to

6960-465: Was 11.8 million tons valued at $ 116 million, of which 6.5 million tons was finely ground calcium carbonate and the rest was construction aggregate . For comparison, 2005 crushed marble production was 7.76 million tons valued at $ 58.7 million, of which 4.8 million tons was finely ground calcium carbonate and the rest was construction aggregate. U.S. dimension marble demand is about 1.3 million tons. The DSAN World Demand for (finished) Marble Index has shown

7047-421: Was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture , helping to save St Pancras railway station from demolition. He began his career as a journalist and ended it as one of the most popular British Poets Laureate and a much-loved figure on British television. Betjeman

7134-487: Was born in London to a prosperous silverware maker of Dutch descent. His parents, Mabel ( née  Dawson ) and Ernest Betjemann, had a family firm at 34–42 Pentonville Road which manufactured the kind of ornamental household furniture and gadgets distinctive to Victorians . During the First World War the family name was changed to the less German-looking Betjeman. His father's forebears had actually come from

7221-550: Was described by The Times Literary Supplement as "pure gold". The classic status of this book is acknowledged by Simon Jenkins in his England's Thousand Best Churches : "Three ghosts inhabit all English churches ... They are those of John Betjeman, Alec Clifton-Taylor and Nikolaus Pevsner ." Betjeman responded to architecture as the visible manifestation of society's spiritual life as well as its political and economic structure. He attacked speculators and bureaucrats for what he saw as their rapacity and lack of imagination. In

7308-447: Was dominated by 4 countries that accounted for almost half of world production of marble and decorative stone. Italy and China were the world leaders, each representing 16% of world production, while Spain and India produced 9% and 8%, respectively. In 2018 Turkey was the world leader in marble export, with 42% share in global marble trade, followed by Italy with 18% and Greece with 10%. The largest importer of marble in 2018

7395-412: Was knighted after his appointment). This role, combined with his profile from television appearances, ensured that his poetry reached a wider audience. Similarly to Tennyson , he managed to voice the thoughts and aspirations of many ordinary people while retaining the respect of many of his fellow poets. This is partly because of the apparently simple traditional metrical structures and rhymes he uses. In

7482-678: Was rejected for military service in World War II but found war work with the films division of the Ministry of Information . In 1941, he became British press attaché in neutral Dublin , Ireland, working with Sir John Maffey . He is reported to have been selected for murder by the IRA . The order was rescinded after a meeting with an unnamed Old IRA man who was impressed by his works. Betjeman wrote poems based on his experiences in Ireland during

7569-499: Was selected from a shortlist. The finished work was erected in the station at platform level, including a series of slate roundels depicting selections of Betjeman's writings. Betjeman was given the remaining two-year lease on Victorian Gothic architect William Burges 's Tower House in Holland Park after leaseholder Mrs E. R. B. Graham died in 1962. Betjeman felt he could not afford the financial implications of taking over

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