Hampton Wick is a cheerful little village in Middlesex, at the foot of Kingston Bridge.  This Chapel occupies a prominent position on a road lately formed through the village, having its western front towards Bushy Park and the road leading to Hampton Court.  The character of the building is the modern Gothic, forming an agreeable elevation, without any display of ornament.  The building is faced with Suffolk brick and Bath stone.  The interior dimensions are sixty-five feet by forty-three feet, with galleries on three sides, and a handsome recessed window over the altar-piece at the east end.  The principal timbers of the roof are formed into Gothic perforated compartments, which give an addition of height to the Chapel, and an airy, decorative ceiling, at a small expense.  The Chapel is calculated to contain eight hundred sittings, of which four hundred are free and unappropriated; and great benefit is anticipated from its erection in this populous neighbourhood, the parish church being at the distance of two miles and a half from the hamlet.  The architect was Mr. Lapidge, who built Kingston Bridge, in the immediate vicinity.  Mr. Lapidge generously gave the site, and inclosed one side of the ground at his own expense.  The building was defrayed by a parliamentary grant from His Majesty’s Church Commissioners, on an understanding with the parishioners, that the Church at Hampton should, at the same time, be enlarged by the parish.  The cost of the Chapel and the inclosure of the site was about L4,500.

The first stone was laid on the 7th of October, 1829, and the building was finished previous to the 8th of November, 1830.  The Hamlet of Hampton Wick has been since made a District for Ecclesiastical purposes, whereby the Chapel has become the Church of that District.

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THE TOPOGRAPHER.

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TUNBRIDGE WELLS.

In our last volume we noticed the announcement of a volume of Descriptive Sketches of Tunbridge Wells, by Mr. Britton:  and here it is, with prints and plans, and a deep roseate binding—­one of the most elegant volumes of the season, and yet purchasable for a crown.  We did not expect a dull, unsatisfactory guidebook—­a mere finger-post folio—­nor has the author produced such a commonplace volume.  Hence these “Sketches” have much of the neatness and polish, the patient investigation and research of an author who has delighted in attachment to his subject.  The work contains a few of the scenes and objects of the road from London to the Wells in outline; a panoramic sketch of the Wells; the olden characteristics; and the modern improvements, including the Calverley Park estate; the natural history of the district, including the air, water, and diseases for which the water is recommended by Dr. Yeats; and the geological features of the country, from the able pen of Mr. Gideon Mantell, of Lewes; lastly, brief notice of seats, scenes, and antiquities in the environs of the Wells.