Part 10

omitted in execution. The section shows the building as constructed; it is taken through the porch. The interior room and the enclosed seat behind the illustration gives the detail of a portion of the construction.

The building had no fireplace, being merely intended for summer use; it was placed on an elevated site, and commanded a fine view.

No small structure can be made too expensive in construction if it is to be placed in a beautiful flower-garden. However pretty its ornaments may be, they are sure to pale by the side of the natural objects surrounding it. The small gateway shown in view on page 265 was constructed entirely in oak with a slab-slated roof. It stood at some distance from the dwelling, to which it formed a conspicuous object, and it was the entrance to an enclosed flower-garden. An elevation, section, and plan of it are given on page 266.

* * * * *

The vignette represents an open ironwork console or holder for a meat-jack for the kitchen fireplace: it is of French design.

_DESIGN No. 24._

A SMALL COUNTRY RETREAT, OR FRENCH MAISONETTE.

This is a study for a small villa in the modern French style, one which has lately been introduced into several buildings of domestic character in England, the woodwork being sent from France. The

chief feature of the style is the machine-cut ornamental wood; it is of common deal, about an inch or a little more in thickness. When placed up, and coloured a light fawn colour or plain yellow, it is extremely pleasing, and has the merit of being very cheap.

The design has an ornamental iron verandah completely round two sides of the building, with small upright standards taken through its roof, which are

connected together with zinc wire-work; the intention being to permit flowering plants to grow over it, so that the front should be crowned with flowers. The villa is only intended for summer use, being confined in its accommodation. The ground plan, given on page 269, shows _d_ and _e_, the drawing and dining

rooms, divided one from the other by curtains hanging on a glazed screen; the length of the two rooms is 42 feet, their breadth 15 feet. They are decorated gaily in French style; the room _c_ can be used as a study, but it is intended for a sleeping room; the kitchen _f_ has a large larder _h_, but it would be desirable if the kitchen was formed a short distance away from the building, and connected with it by a passage; the rooms _f_ and _g_ could then be made into a bed and dressing-room. The wine cellar is at g, and a conservatory _i_, is placed at the end of the building.

The elevation of the front of the building and the two sections show the general construction of the upper part of the house. This was in timber, the flues alone being of brick.

The plan of the upper floor shows four rooms; each of the flues is supplied with its pedestal, so that should the house be occupied in winter, these upper apartments could be kept well aired by the fires in the lower apartments, without any attention from the servants. The framing of the upper portion is correctly shown in the section copied from the working drawing.

All elevation of a small portion of the verandah, showing its iron work, is given; and an illustration to a large scale shows its ornamental zinc guttering, and the carved wood French ornament, a section showing how they are fastened on; and the zinc gutter placed in front is likewise given.

The following is a design in purely French taste for the circular top over the entrance porch on the upper floor.

The roofs of buildings in this style should be covered with zinc. The French are as much before us in their use of this metal as they are with their cut woodwork.

Roofs covered with zinc could be made flatter, and have a covering or floor of boards, each board ½ an inch apart. An illustration is given of such a construction; it has a light iron railing with a scroll

against the brick parapet; and supports a stand for flowers. With the absence of offensive smoke, and with the use of the flue pedestal to supply warmth, the upper parts of our houses could easily be formed into conservatories.

The interior of the building was intended to be as profusely decorated with the cut woodwork as the exterior. The staircase balusters were of a rich pattern, the whole being stained after some ornamental wood, and varnished.

The expense of constructing such a building would be 2450_l._

In this style cut-wood decoration the French certainly excel us. Some English examples, very common in our railway stations, are shown below. The most ornamental is a pattern used by the author some few years ago; a rose is introduced to cover the fastening of the cut pattern to the fascia behind.

We have in England a carving-machine, known as Irving’s patent, that was a few years since much worked at a manufactory in Pimlico by Mr. Pratt of Bond Street. At one time it bid fair to exert a most important influence upon the production of this kind of cut-wood decoration. It could make such carvings with the greatest ease and rapidity, whether in stone or wood. The machine was a simple drill in a moveable arm, worked either by steam or a hand-wheel, on a moveable table; the combined motion rendered it capable of carving any form, however intricate, from the largest Gothic window-head, to the smallest screen. At Pimlico it was under the architectural superintendence of R. W. Billings. It is still used, together with Jordan’s patent for carving, at Lambeth.

* * * * *

The vignette gives a pattern for cut-wood balustrading.

_DESIGN No. 25._

AN ELIZABETHAN VILLA.

This design was made a few years ago for a gentleman who was a great admirer of our old English architecture, and who desired to have a

dwelling with its chief characteristics, both internally as well as externally, but with all modern arrangements. He intended to purchase a piece of land in the neighbourhood of London for the purpose of erecting the structure upon it. Producing the design was a labour of love to us both, and many a pleasant evening we

spent together in studying the details as to what we should like to have in each room, without troubling ourselves about what the expense would be; unhappily he did not live to carry out his intention, and the drawings were laid aside.

The exterior is a study from the celebrated building, Rushton Hall in Northamptonshire, erected in the

reign of Elizabeth, by Sir Thomas Tresham. On the estate in the forest, about a mile from the house, is that curious and unique building, the Triangular Lodge,[B] which served as a secret place of meeting for the conspirators of the Gunpowder Plot.

The ground plan shows only a small and single staircase _b_; considerable discussion took place upon this; the great staircase was first planned in the hall _a_, but a billiard-table was imperative, and the hall alone

could receive it. The smaller staircase was made ornamental, with carved oak balustrades having a

small brass ornament between, for the children to lay hold of in getting upstairs.

The hall was to be wainscoted all round; the illustration on page 283 shows one side, with the entrance into the dining-room; a section of the moulding of the panels is given on page 283 of full size. A gilt decoration was to have been put in each panel, as shown. An ornamental plaster frieze, containing shields of arms

which were to be emblazoned, came over the panelling. An elevation of the fireplace, to have been made in Caen stone, with its details on a large scale, is given in cuts on pp. 284, 285.

The fireplace is shown with fire-dogs to burn wood, with its iron fire-back; but this was objected to, and

the stove was selected; my friend having great interest in coal, preferred it to wood.

The illustration on page 286 is a portion of the hall ceiling, copied from a celebrated example of the time of Henry VIII. To illustrate every room or give only one-third of the drawings made for this design would far exceed the limits the present volume allows. Each of the three rooms on the ground floor had

decorated chimney-pieces, and carved architraves and panels to the doors. The section shows the height of the rooms. The dining-room _e_ (see ground-plan) was

22 ft. by 20 ft.; the library _c_, 17 ft. by 15 ft., and the drawing-room _d_, 24 ft. by 17 ft., with a large bay window opening on to a terrace--their height 12 ft. 9 in.; _f_ is the lift and _g_ the closet. Each of these rooms was to have ornamental flat plaster ceilings with

pendant ornaments. These are shown in illustrations on page 289.

The staircase led to a gallery in the middle of the building on the first floor, dimly lighted at each end by the staircase and passage windows. The first floor (page 292) contained a morning room, _a_, in the centre, 15 ft. by 12 ft., with a bow window; and three bedrooms _b_, _b_, _b_, with two dressing-rooms _c_, _c_, one with a bath and a closet.

The attic plan (page 292) contained three large rooms for the servants, _b_, _b_, _b_; a housemaid’s closet _e_, and in the recessed space by the side a large slate cistern for water. The basement (page 293) contained considerable accommodation: _d_ was intended for a private room for the family, _a_ the kitchen, _c_ larder, _b_ the scullery, _i_ beer-cellar, _g_ butler’s sleeping-room, _e_ butler’s pantry, _h_ wine-cellar, _l_ place for cleaning

knives. The housekeeper’s room _f_, and servants’ hall are in the front, and _j_ is the lift for dishes to ground floor, _k_ the coal-cellar. An open area was made on two sides of the building.

It was intended to construct the basement fireproof, and to have the flooring chiefly of asphalte, laid on brick and concrete, solid with the earth; having a width of stone at the fireplaces. Small openings into the areas were to be made for water to run off, so that the floors could be at any time flooded from a

hose. The skirtings for eighteen inches above the floor were to be in asphalte, so that no beetles or other vermin should find their way in. It was a

subject of discussion whether all the other floors and skirting should not be of a similar description. The three elevations of the building are given: they were

to have been in red brick with compo dressings, and the balustrades in artificial stone. One peculiar portion of the exterior decoration was the ironwork in lieu of stone balustrading. The bay window and the terrace were surmounted with this ironwork; that on the terrace was to be formed so as to sustain heavy

earthenware pots of flowering shrubs:--an elevation of the two examples is given on page 297.

The mouldings on the exterior of the building were small and simple; this is shown in illustrations on page 298. Various designs were made for the

balustrading; three of these, with the ornament containing a shield of arms in the centre of the side gables, are likewise given.

The expense of constructing this design with all the ornamentation shown, would have been great. A

considerable portion of it, when it came to be estimated and the specification and working drawings were made

for the builder, would have been left out, and the whole made more simple. The design would not have materially suffered for such deductions; all the general forms or the simple outline of the exterior would have been preserved. The chief deduction would have been made in the ornaments of the interior, or these might have been only partly done. Such a design, with a moderate amount of decoration only, would cost about 4700_l._

* * * * *

The vignette shows French and English cut-wood patterns for blind ornaments.

_DESIGN No. 26._

A SUMMER OR GARDEN VILLA.

One of our most eminent writers on gardens, Repton, remarked that “gardening and architecture, like all the fine arts, have much in common; and the department of architecture which belongs more exclusively to gardens has especially a great affinity to gardening in its broadest principles.” In fact, there is much more relation between the two than is usually admitted--a matter already alluded to in the Introductory Essay. Architectural forms and decorations, temples and rustic bowers, seats, &c., are not, as many have observed, unfit for our climate. In western counties they certainly can be indulged in to a large extent; and the fine evergreens and the beautiful grass of this country will, in association with ornamental terraces and sculpture, impart sufficient warmth of tone to render them agreeable. The garden of _Mon-plaisir_ at Elvaston, in Derbyshire, and the Alhambra Gardens there; those at Castle Coombe, Trentham, Alton Towers, and Bowood, sufficiently prove how attractive gardens can be architecturally made. In former years gardens were almost universal through every part of England, as is proved by the bird’s-eye view, engraved by Kipp, from drawings by Knyff in the book, “Britannia Illustrata,” and those of the gardens given in Loggan’s “Oxonia Restituta,” and the similar work on Cambridge. But gardens, like all other mundane matters, have their periods of change or retrogression; the natural style having almost obliterated the architectural garden of William and Mary. This might have been too precise, as

copied from the Dutch model: they were satirized by Pope, thus--

“Grove nods at grove, each alley has a brother, And half the platform just reflects the other.”

They were called King William’s style of fortifications, surrounded with yew hedges, cut in variety of forms; those which have been suffered to outlive their original shape are really beautiful. Queen Anne’s Garden, now part of Kensington Gardens, is an example. But these gardens were very inferior to those of Italy and France, or even those in England of the Elizabethan age. It is to Italy, the garden of Europe, that we must look for the finest specimens of garden architecture. The Villa Pamphilia or de Belrespiro, situated half a mile out of Rome beyond the Gate of San Pancrazio, is celebrated for its gardens; from them could be observed the whole city of Rome, and surrounding suburbs. The gardens are nearly five miles in circumference, and occupy the site of those of the Emperor Galba. Their arrangement is varied and agreeable; being picturesque without disorder, symmetrical without monotony; and we here observe the art with which the arrangement of a regular garden is made to agree with the rural nature of which it forms a part, and the noble structure it surrounds. It is doubtless the work of the architect of the villa L’Algardi, about the year 1646. They have been ascribed to the French artist, Le Notre, but there is very little of the French style about them; they are wholly Italian, following the lines of the villa, and in the same style or spirit. These are, or were admirable; while the fountains,

the cascades, grottos, basins, statues, and the antique fragments which adorn them are arranged with the

skill and intelligence of genius. Illustrations are preserved to us only in a fine Italian work, by Jacobi de Rubeis, published at Rome, about the middle of

the seventeenth century. The villa was destroyed by the French when they crushed the liberty of the Roman people at their onslaught on Rome against Garibaldi.

In designs of this description the house and garden should unite, and be lost in each other. Those parts of the garden most contiguous to the house should follow its outline, its walks and terraces, and be so

placed that the windows and doors of the mansion could command a perfect view of them. The province of garden architecture is, primarily, to supply fitting appendages and accompaniments to the house, so that the latter may not appear alone and unsupported. If judiciously adopted it will be effective in helping to produce a good outline, carry down the lines of the

house, and connect it with other buildings, which may be conservatories, ferneries, aquaria, rustic seats, temples, and arbours; and it will provide a

proper basement to the house. Such arrangements afford shelter or privacy to a flower garden, extend the façade or frontage of the house, shut out back yards, stabling or offices, enrich, vary, and enliven the garden, supply conveniences, receptacles for birds, plants, sculpture, or works of art, specimens of natural history, and support for climbing plants. These points indicate refinement, wealth, and love of art, and otherwise blend the various constituents of a garden with the house, and harmonize the two by communicating an artistic tone to the garden. So says Repton, and most of the principal writers on gardening.

Some of the ancient gardens of Asia and Italy were considered among the wonders of the world. They were termed paradises, and were filled with such plants, both beautiful and useful, that the soil could produce; they were enriched with many kinds of works of art, banqueting-houses, aviaries, wells, and streams of running water, indispensable in those warm climates.

An architectural garden, as illustrated in the design at page 302, should have a picturesque outline, a

marked boldness and prominence of parts, rather than a mere ornamental detail; a picturesque effect by changes of level in the ground, by diversity of height

of the different terraces, and by an arrangement in plan that would produce depth of shade. Every object admitted should fit into its proper place. This

villa was designed to cover a fine spring of cold water, and thus insure a deep cold plunging bath. It was to be merely a place for temporary occupation and retirement, to renovate the health of the owner. The gardens and fountains externally were only ornamental accessories; the plan at page 306 illustrates these. The villa was approached by two roads _d_ _d_; there was a circle of open lawn between the house and the terraced gardens in front. The latter were approached

by descending flights of steps. A basin of water and a large fountain, rising from a group of sculpture in the centre, are there shown. By the side are two smaller basins with smaller groups of sculpture, representing sea-horses, cupids, and dolphins. This terrace is paved with ornamental encaustic tiles. At the head of the two side gardens _b_ _b_, are grottos _g_ _g_, with seats on a raised terrace on each side of their entrances. The steps descend to a lower level, and have sea-horses and cupids on their pedestals, with five falls of water from griffins’ heads, filling a basin below. A

wide walk, and a running stream by its side, were thus gained.

The author at the time he made the design was effecting some additions to a country house, which admitted such a garden to be formed in front of it: he published his design for it at the time (1850) in the _Builder_.

This villa may be considered a casine, or a retired dwelling on a rather larger scale, similar to the picturesque house at Wothorp, in Northamptonshire, which was erected by one of the Earls of Burleigh, as a place to retire to, while his “great house at Burghley was sweeping.” Wothorp was a large building: it was fully illustrated in one of the

author’s works, from original drawings lent him by the late Marquis of Exeter. The casine, only one size larger than a cottage, was the fashion of the preceding age. Whenever the proprietor of an estate wished to turn hermit, he retired to the casine, a small temple erected in a portion of his grounds, where the finest views could be obtained, and the most perfect repose secured. In earlier times such buildings

afforded secret meeting-places wherein to hatch political plots; such a one was the triangular lodge in a secluded part of the wood at Rushton in Northamptonshire,

the seat of Sir Thomas Tresham, where the gunpowder conspirators assembled. The casine of more modern times was not so small, but it contained all the requirements of good living. One example, is the casine of Marino, near Dublin, built by Sir William Chambers for the Earl of Charlemont.

It was square in plan, surrounded by twelve columns, two projecting flat porticoes in front and back, and pedimented porticoes at the sides. The entrance was approached by a noble flight of steps, the pedestals of which were decorated with carvings, and supported crouching lions. Statues and vases adorned the roof. A print of it, from a drawing of Wheatly, was published in 1783. The building contained a small hall or vestibule, a saloon or living-room, 20 feet in length by 15 feet in width. Leading out of this were

two small rooms; one a study, the other a bedroom and closet. The basement contained a large and well-fitted kitchen, a scullery and larder, a butler’s pantry, and servants’ hall, and cellars for ale and wine. Retired buildings of this kind, of larger character and of more importance, were often erected in private grounds of noblemen and gentry. One, very similar to the present design, was constructed by the late Robert Adam, for a salt-water bath, at Mistley, the seat of the Right Hon. Richard Rigby. Mr. Adam and Sir William Chambers erected a large number of such ornamental structures. One of the most elegant