Part 11

examples, by Mr. Robert Adam, was the rout-house or pavilion erected for a _fête champêtre_ in the gardens of the Earl of Derby, at the Oaks, in Surrey, in 1774. The building was internally of the most ornamental character; there was an octangular vestibule, a hall 30 feet in diameter; this opened into a grand ball-room, 72 feet by 35 feet within the columns, and 86 feet by 56 feet within the walls. The supper-room, surrounding the ball-room, measured 200 feet from one end to the other, and 20 feet in width. It was exposed in its full splendour on the curtains being drawn; and at the end of the ball-room there were

two tea-rooms, each 20 feet square, on each side of the entrance saloon. The author gives these details in order that he may not be considered too venturesome in submitting to public notice, in these economical times, such an ornamental design as the

present. Similar structures of a more expensive character were once very common; but the small

retired casine has now gone out of fashion. The ladies consider such secluded buildings as only fit for laundries, and not preferring themselves lives of perfect retirement and quiet, have brought in the small

villa where a whole family can dwell, and no selfish thoughts or gloomy contemplations find place.

In referring to the plan of the villa at page 304, of which the plate page 302 shows the elevation, _e_ is the

small hall 8 feet square, _g_ the gun room or waiting room is on the right, the serving room with a lift from the basement on the left. The saloon is a highly decorated apartment, 20 feet in diameter. This is seen in the section through the centre of the building given at page 310; _h_ is the sleeping room, 13 feet square, with an ornamental ceiling. The saloon serves as a dining-room and place for meals. The drawing-room, _d_, or music room, 22 feet by 14 feet, is on

the left, _b_ is the principal staircase leading to the upper rooms; this serves also for servants. The small iron staircase _j_, is for passage to the cold bath below, _i_ is a room for a warm bath. The cold bath, as shown in the section, is ventilated through a domed ceiling, but the scale is too small to show this perfectly.

A portion of the saloon is shown at page 311, with a few of its details in the six cuts following it.

The bedroom ceiling (page 316) supposes the covering of a tent, upheld by spears and ropes. The colour of the drapery is of a light fawn, the ground a deep ultramarine blue. In the centre of the ceiling is a small Cupid on a red or gilt ground, a light blue circle surrounding it. The spears, roses, ropes, and tassels are gilt and coloured.

The drawing-room ceiling is decorated plaster work in white and gold. Its plan is shown at page 317, and three of its details on page 318. Among other decorations of these rooms may be considered the chimney-pieces. The cuts (page 319) give an elevation of the drawing-room chimney-piece, the plan of its shelf above, and a portion of its details to a larger scale beneath. This chimney-piece in the finest statuary marble would cost 80_l._ to execute. Several have been done for the author at that price. They look very well in execution. Two fire-places of less pretensions are shown in the illustrations at pp. 320 and 321; the first was in rouge royal, costing 25_l._; the last are of marble with slate panels covered with imitation of Brocatelli marbles, these costing 19_l._ 10_s._ each. The illustration of the whole of the details of internal decoration of such a structure would fill a much larger volume than the present; but it is the sole object of the author to give such illustrations of the several designs, that a portion of each part of the building only shall be shown; _k_, in the ground plan (page 304), is an open portico with steps to the garden or park in front of it.

The next plan (page 322) is that of the mezzanine. This shows two of the female servants’ sleeping rooms, _a_, _a_, with a closet; the decorated ceilings of the saloon, drawing-room, and bed-room, are also shown; the bath-room should have some slight decoration, but this has been omitted. The female servants’ sleeping rooms are each 17 feet in length by 8 in width.

The plan of the upper story (page 323) gives a smoking room _a_, with an open terrace _c c_, front and back, a closet _d_, and a cistern room _b_.

The basement plan (page 324) shows the cold bath in the centre, with its staircase; the kitchen _b_, the scullery _g_, _h_ _h_ the larders, _c_ is the lift, and _d_ _d_ are men’s sleeping rooms; the servants’ hall _t_, and housekeeper’s room _j_, are on the left, _q_ is the wine cellar, and _s_ the beer cellar.

The elevation of the back front is at page 325; it has a circular portico and steps down to the garden. An attempt has been made to introduce an original termination for the pedestals on the attics, instead of using the almost universal Soanic bulbous ornament so repeatedly seen in nearly every public building in

London and the country, and of which the author’s late master, Sir John Soane, was so fond. These attempts are given in the figures pp. 326-328; and an attempt is made to give an ornamental chimney-pot on page 330. It will be seen in the figure that the ornamental cement pot or vase contains an iron, or it might be a zinc, lining; this would be kept warm, and a security for the smoke passing out.

The exterior of the building is ornamented with statues and vases, and the windows have iron balconets.

The last remaining illustration to be given is the arcade on each side of the villa, dividing the front and back gardens. The chief portion of this in stone, with statues between the columns and vases over them; at the back of the columns is another front of ornamental trellis work in wood, with scroll stands for flowers--this is supported or upheld by the stone screen; an elevation of each, with a section, is given at page 334.

* * * * *

The vignette gives French and English patterns for cover to external sunblinds.

_DESIGN No. 27._

A DECORATED WINDOW.

This design was sketched with the intention of making Italian forms rival the tracery of the Decorated Gothic window, and to obtain a rich and variegated mass of painted and coloured glass, without any stiff mannerism or formality. The window was 11 ft. in height with a width of 7 ft.; it served as a screen in one of the principal staircases in a house at Queen’s Gate, Kensington; immediately behind it is the servants’ staircase, having a large window and skylight. The lower portion of this window is divided into three lights by two pilasters acting as mullions. The circle above the transome is filled with a richly painted subject, representing a basket of flowers and scrollwork on a ruby ground. The basket is formed of emerald glass, the ground of the surrounding portions is richly embossed glass, the chief portions white, the small portions ruby, yellow and blue, the latter with white ornaments upon it. The three lights between the pilasters are filled with embossed glass, and the whole is surrounded by borders of scrollwork richly embossed, stained and painted; the ruby ground is shown in the drawing by vertical lines, the yellow by oblique lines, and the blue by horizontal lines. The expense, including the zinc-work for fixing the glass to the upper portion or fan-light, was 22_l._ 6_s._; the lower portion cost 8_l._ 10_s._ It was the work of Messrs. Baillie and Co. of Wardour Street.

_DESIGN No. 28._

A SCULPTOR’S VILLA.

During the year 1850 the author, in conjunction with the late Mr. John Britton, F.S.A., was engaged in making some topographical sketches in one of the western counties of England. He became for a short time the guest of one of its principal residents--a gentleman who had succeeded to the possession of more than a million of money, the result of a relative’s gains as a merchant in the City. He had filled the small house he was then inhabiting with a very fine collection of antique bronzes: also with ancient and modern statuary. The house was occupied in every corner with these valuable and beautiful works of art. He was then having another house of larger dimensions erected to receive them. Considerable discussion took place at his table between himself and his visitors, among whom were two or three distinguished men of taste, as to the best method of introducing sculpture into a dwelling of moderate capacity. It was the general opinion that to properly exhibit classic sculpture, a villa the size of those of the ancients, such as are described by Pliny in the account of his villas at Laurentinum and Tusculum, would be required, and that no other would suffice. On his return home, the author, as a matter of amusement, without any thought that his ideas would ever be carried out, made the present design; it was a subject that pleased him, as he had only a few years previously

superintended the construction of a small sculpture gallery for the late Sir Francis Chantrey at Pimlico.

The ground plan of this design shows a gallery of sculpture in the centre of the building, a small

“Museo Chiaramonti.” The principal group at the end, representing the capture of the Queen of the Amazons, is so placed that the staircase winding round it forms its base; the group can be seen from the staircase, and from the galleries at the side, in every point of view. This being a large building, the scale upon which the plans, elevation, and sections are drawn is smaller than the scale previously used in this volume. The gallery, including that portion which forms the ante-room to the conservatory, is 80 ft. in length by 20 ft. in width, which is a poor

imitation of the gallery at the Vatican--the Museo Chiaramonti. This is 280 ft. in length, with a breadth of 20 ft.

But the possession of only a million of money gives a moderate income compared with that of the sovereign popes at the time the Vatican was erected. The

sculpture is arranged on each side of the gallery, the bas-reliefs inserted in the walls, the bronzes on small pedestals, a reclining group is placed in a niche in front of the staircase. A marble group is placed in the fountain in the ante-room to the conservatory, and another in the conservatory itself. A gallery of this description permits the admission of a large quantity of sculpture, allowing it to be seen with advantage. The entrance of the building, partly taken from the front of one of the Italian palaces,[C] permits a large quantity of sculpture to be placed in advantageous positions. The plan, page 340, shows an entrance loggia _a_, the hall _b_, 17 ft. by 16 ft., with the waiting-room _c_, to the right, the breakfast parlour _d_, and the butler’s pantry _g_, to the left; _f_ is the library, 28 ft. by 16 ft., entered either from the gallery or the waiting-room. It has a large window looking into the ante-room to the conservatory, and permits a good view of the group of sculpture and the fountain in the centre; _e_ is the gallery, with the principal staircase, _i_ is the dining-room opening into the picture gallery and drawing-room _h_, _k_.

The section, page 343, shows the general arrangement, and an idea can be formed of its grand scenic effect in summer, when the doors were opened. The walk round the conservatory and through the whole of the gallery would have a length of 170 ft., and round the galleries 150 ft. more, giving ample space to place a very large collection of sculpture. Underneath the gallery were supposed to be large cellars for wine. These had a private entrance through the pedestal of the Amazonian group, as shown in the plan and section to a larger scale at page 342; the collection below was supposed to be as valuable as the one above, and calculated to yield as much enjoyment, and one certainly that would be more highly appreciated by a greater number of persons. The villa, however, is on a small scale compared with some of the noble residences in the county, and the accommodation throughout very scanty. The servants’ offices are shown annexed to the plan; _l_ is the kitchen, 24 ft. by 22 ft., _m_ the scullery, _n_ the housekeeper’s room, _o_ a small servants’ hall, _p_ is a serving room, and _q_ the external entrance to the cellarage.

By the side of the principal staircase is a descent into the cellars and basement, for the servants, _b_, plan page 342. The conservatory has a diameter of 40 ft. and a height of 44 ft.; it is of light construction, in decorated ironwork.

The one-pair plan shows the sleeping department, the principal bed-rooms, _b_ _b_, each with a dressing-room,

_d_ _d_. These are entered direct from the gallery; in the front of the building are five smaller sleeping

rooms. At the conservatory end the gallery opens on to the roof of the ante-room beneath, and from this there is an entrance to a circular gallery inside the conservatory. On the servants’ side are seen two large sleeping rooms, and a housemaid’s closet; as this portion of the building is kept lower than the other, it could have two or three rooms constructed over the kitchen, or it could be carried up another story. The plan of the principal bedchambers is taken up another floor; the small staircase for this purpose is seen at the end of the gallery.

The cross section (page 347) shows the height of the building, and its general construction. The whole of the principal living rooms in the three floors are of the same height, 16 ft. 6 in. each; 37 steps were required in the principal staircase to ascend to the first floor on one side, and 31 on the other; the roof of the saloon was to be constructed similar to the roof of the Riding-house shown in plate, page 389. Large roofs can be constructed on this principle at a very cheap rate, and it is a very strong and efficient one; the roof of the Pantheon in Oxford-street, constructed by Mr. Sydney Smirke, is of a similar kind; the roofs of the annexes to the Exhibition building of 1862 by Captain Fowkes were on the same principle, but as these were only intended to stand for a year, were very slight. The cross section shows the ventilating flue, proposed and illustrated in a following chapter; the small stack in the low building shows the incline necessary to meet the back eddy of wind from the high building. It would have been better, could it have been effected, to have placed the stack in a position parallel to the high building, and not at right angles to it. The stack on the latter shows two ventilating flues, each with an upward shaft; the whole of the smoke from the fireplaces would be delivered from these two shafts.

It only remains to illustrate the system of warming proposed to have been introduced. This was by a combination of two entirely different systems of warm water circulation through iron pipes.

The various apparatus of warming buildings by the circulation of hot water, may be roughly stated to be of two kinds, each acting on the opposite principle to the other. The first, or more modern one, is the _closed system_. This has always been preferred by the author, it being more conveniently introduced into a building, less expensive, and giving less trouble than any other, and more certain in its action. In it the water circulates with great rapidity, completely under pressure, the pipes being closed, and the whole of the air expelled from them. The older system is that in which the tubes are not closed, but are connected with a cistern, into which the water is allowed to flow and re-flow; the two may very properly be called the high and low temperature systems, and by these terms they are here designated. With the first, the tubes can be made to reach a higher degree of heat if necessary, by placing a larger proportion of them than is usual in the furnace; but with the second, a temperature of 180 degrees can alone be reached. With the latter, its greater or less efficiency depends upon the position of its open cistern, which regulates the amount of pressure in the tubes, according as its situation is high or low. It was introduced into this country about 1818; the open cistern was placed in the upper part of the house, the boiler being below in the kitchen, thus allowing a considerable pressure in the tubes, and securing a quick circulation of the water. The high temperature system was introduced by A. M. Perkins, Esq., about the year 1832; in its simplest form it consisted of a continuous or endless tube of wrought iron of one inch external diameter, filled with water, and closed in all parts; a portion of the tubing was formed into a coil and placed in a furnace of wrought iron, the fire being enclosed in fire-brick. When it was first introduced a larger amount of tubing was placed in the furnace than is now usually done; with the proper amount, one-tenth or one-eleventh only of the full quantity is necessary, and then it must be obvious that no overheating of the tubes can take place. In practice it is more usual to find objections made to the apparatus not giving sufficient heat, than to its giving too much. The quantity of feet in pipes necessary to raise rooms of a certain size to a given temperature, must be proportioned to their cubical contents, and this depends equally on the situation and aspect of the building, the number of doors, and windows or skylights; no rule can consequently be given which would be applicable to all places with any degree of certainty.

The pipes being only five-eighths of an inch internal diameter, a very small quantity of water is required to fill the apparatus. A tube called the expansion tube is placed above the highest level of the circulating pipes, and is generally of larger diameter. The object of this tube is to allow for the expansion of the water as it becomes heated; a tube is also placed at the highest level, in order to fill the apparatus, so as to leave the expansion tube empty.

The tubes are provided with screw plugs, so as to be conveniently opened when it is required to fill the pipes with water, and closed again after being filled. This can be done with facility by a servant. The circulation of the water is produced by the application of heat to the coil in the furnace; and as the small size of the pipes admits of presenting the largest possible amount of surface to the action of the fire, it is clear that a greater economy of fuel is effected by it than by the ordinary system of boilers. As the water becomes heated it rises immediately to the highest level of the circulating pipes, and thus forms a column of heated water, specifically lighter than the colder water, which descends to the lower part of the coil. Thus a circulation is effected throughout the whole course of the pipes,[D] which eventually become heated, and the whole may be regulated exactly to that degree of temperature which is most conducive to a beneficial effect.

To regulate the degree of heat to be given to the tubes, without requiring the necessity of an attendant, advantage has been taken of the expansive property of the iron pipe when heated. There are three multiplying levers fixed in a box, and so placed that the short arm of one of the levers rests upon a regulating screw attached to the flow pipe. On the other end of the series of levers a rod so rests that upon the slightest movement of the levers, the damper in the flue, which is attached to the rod, is opened or closed, as the case may be. The box of levers is suspended from the hot pipe, so as to leave about two feet in length between the point of suspension and the point of contact with the short arm of the lever.

The operation of this arrangement is obvious, for the instant the pipe becomes heated, it expands and presses the short arm of the lever; and as the fulcrum within the box cannot move, by reason of the rod which suspends it being cold, it follows that the lever must be depressed, by which action a sufficient motion is given to the damper, to close it at any given temperature at which it may be originally fixed.

The great advantage in the use of this apparatus is the saving of time in obtaining the requisite degree of heat. It often happens that the time occupied in heating the water of an ordinary hot-water apparatus completely defeats the object of getting warmth in any reasonable time, particularly in greenhouses, where it is frequently desirable to get up the heat quickly, to prevent the effect of frost. It has been said that this property of generating the heat rapidly has the disadvantage of not being able to retain it: this, however, is not the case, for, on the contrary, an equal temperature may be maintained for any length of time that may be desired. It is only necessary to make the fireplace sufficiently large to contain fuel enough to last the time the heat is required to be continued, and the damper will regulate the combustion of the fuel and the heat of the pipes, so that there will be no variation for twelve hours together.

There being no boiler to the apparatus, it is free from the ordinary danger of explosion; if a pipe by possibility should burst, no harm ensues, for the water escapes from so small an aperture that it becomes absolutely cool by its expansion and mixture with atmospheric air.

So little fear of fire exists with the apparatus, that the directors of the principal fire offices readily accept, at the lowest rate of premium, all proposals for the insurance of buildings in which the system is adopted, not requiring even the customary inspection.

The author made drawings of one of these apparatus put up in an ornamental greenhouse in Kew Gardens in 1844; and fourteen years after, the director of the garden, Sir W. J. Hooker, publicly allowed it to be stated in print that no hot-water apparatus in any of their houses had given so much satisfaction; that the heat was given out after lighting the fires more rapidly than in any other of their houses, and steadily maintained at any degree of temperature required. The two systems of the high and low temperature can readily be combined, and the temperature of both large and small tubes nearly equalized. This may be done by using one furnace. A diagram given by Dr. Arnott in a lecture delivered by him at the Royal Institution in March, 1836, with his explanation, will show the principle upon which the combination is effected. Suppose A, fig. 1, is a cistern full of cold water, and B a cistern full of hot water: if the two cocks _c_ _c_ are unturned, it is a fact that the water at _d_ will be one degree of warmth only above the water at

A, and the water at e will be of one degree less temperature than the water in B. If, therefore, on this principle, some of the pipes of the high-temperature system are passed through the large tubing of the low temperature one, the desired effect is obtained: the large pipes or tablets of one apparatus remain at their full heat, while an additional quantity of inch pipe of sufficiently warm temperature is obtained, that can be carried into rooms and placed in situations into which the warming surfaces of the low-temperature system could not be made to approach.