Part 8

60 feet, the depth 150 feet. The character of the building was of the domestic style of the reign of Henry VII., and the accommodation it afforded is given in the several plans. The ground plan shows two large rooms _D_ and _E_, the drawing and dining rooms, which can easily be opened into each other by sliding back the inner doors into the partition; _C_ is the library, with a book-room leading out of it. _B_ is the staircase, of a size rather larger than that generally allowed in London houses. Very often, sufficient attention is not paid to this highly important part of our dwellings by builders, nor full space allowed for it. A

good staircase should have, at every six or seven steps, a landing of at least 2 feet 6 inches in depth. Where winding stairs are used they should have a good sweep; the tread, in the centre, should be 1 foot in width, the riser never more than 6 inches in height--less even would be better. It is also of considerable importance in a staircase that the height of the steps in the various flights should be the same. Some of the most costly and important of the builders’ houses in London, erected on highly rented land, have the staircases so confined that these, an architect’s well-known rules, are wholly put aside. Staircases with risers of 6 inches in height from the ground to the one-pair floor, increased to near 7 inches to the two-pair, the latter flight containing probably 30 steps in a straight line without a landing, render a house almost uninhabitable.

A servants’ staircase is a most desirable addition to a large house. The present building was not considered of sufficient importance to have one. It was proposed to be placed between the tower and the dining-room, but it was rightly considered that the two staircases should be put together so that the

landings of each, on every half space, should be on the same level, separated only by a door, and giving the servant immediate access to every floor of the house. A position between the library and staircase would have been most proper, but there was not sufficient width; it would have interfered with the kitchen, and would have made too intricate a plan, which, for houses to be erected on leasehold land, is objected to by builders unless directed by the party purchasing.

With a servants’ staircase follow a large housemaid’s closet, sink, &c., which must always be provided where possible. The plan of the one-pair shows three large bedrooms and one dressing-room, with the tower room, which was intended either for a morning room, a

school room, or a boudoir. There is a large conservatory on the principal landing of staircase, and a closet leading out of it. A good-sized aquarium with a regular supply of water could be easily arranged in the centre of the conservatory. The attic plan contains three large rooms for servants, and the tower room was to be used as a smoking room, or as a play room for the children.

The basement contains a private breakfast or dining room, _T_, with a large store closet, having an opening one foot in height filled with perforated zinc opposite

the window of the passage; _N_ is the housekeeper’s or servants’ hall; _B_ the kitchen 23 feet by 18 feet, with _G_ the scullery behind, _H_, _H_, the larders, _S_ position for a lift, and _L_ a place for coals. The basement stairs should have been on the side adjoining kitchen.

It is a difficult thing in this class of house to confine the smell of the cooking to the kitchen. An endeavour was made here to effect it. The kitchen had no direct entrance to the body of the house, the servants going through the passage, by the side of the area, from which it was well ventilated, to get to the common staircase. This had a window at the top, not shown in the plan. The small section on page 197 shows

the mode of ventilating the larder; _a_ is a slab of slate let into the wall, _b_ a pane of perforated zinc, _c_ iron bars glazed with thick glass, so that whatever the weather, there would be full ventilation, the fresh air always entering and the confined air leaving the room. This is the usual mode, in large houses, of covering the external passage leading from the kitchen to the house.

The general view shows the front and side of the two houses. The elevation of the side front is given on page 198.

The three small illustrations on page 199 are various details of the exterior. One is a part section of the roof of turret, showing the timbers and the vane at top, an elevation of one half the upper gable window, and half of one of the small front windows; these portions of the exterior, together with the arcade at the entrance and balustrade over it, were to be executed in stone.

The Gothic window by the side of the arcade is an example from Berstead Church, in Kent. The gentleman for whom the design was made caught a sight of it in the “Architect Sketch Book,” and required it might be introduced as a small window in his library. An elevation of one half of it is given on page 200.

The general section (page 201) is of one of the houses taken through the drawing room, the staircase, and the library. The staircase is well lighted, having a conservatory and closet on the first half-space landing. The ceiling of the staircase is finished with groining and pendant flowers; the stairs have a plain Gothic iron-railing, painted and lightly gilt; the section shows the party-wall between the two houses.

The entrance is divided into an inner and outer hall, divided by a Gothic screen in carved oak, the various openings of which, together with the upper panels of the folding doors, are filled with embossed glass. This keeps the house warm, and prevents cold draughts from entering; a second glazed screen separates the inner hall from the staircase; the effect of the screens when there is plenty of light behind is extremely pleasing. It was for such a screen that the door-handle illustrated at an earlier page, as a vignette, was made.

Of the first of these screens, that in the hall, only the larger lower and upper panels were to have white embossed glass; the smaller openings were to be filled with richly coloured embossed glass; a small elevation of the hall screen, and portions of its details to a larger scale, are given on pp. 202, 203.

The chimney pieces were proposed to be of cast iron, and to be painted and slightly gilt.

The expense of construction of the pair of villas would be nearly about 7800_l._

Cut-wood canopy to a door at West Brompton, a short distance beyond the Metropolitan District Railway. It has been constructed about twenty years, and stands well.

_DESIGN No. 18._

DESIGN FOR VILLAGE SCHOOLS, AND READING ROOM.

This building is about to be erected in the county of Norfolk. It will contain a boys’ and girls’ school, with two rooms each, forming a parlour and bedroom, for the master and mistress; _a_ is the entrance porch, _d_ and _d_ are the two school rooms, and _e_ and _e_ the living rooms. The centre of the building forms the reading, lecture, and meeting-room for the village. The small room _c_, leading out of it, is a book room for the secretary or attendant; _b_, _b_, are open yards; each master and mistress have private entrances, and yards to themselves. The construction is of the cheapest kind; on a brick foundation, quarter framing is placed, filled in with brick, and plastered inside and out. The columns in the centre are trunks of trees, standing on stone slabs, and each has a flat stone capping. This building complete should not cost more than 850_l._ It is much to be desired that every village should have a room set apart, distinct from any public-house or tavern, where newspapers and books can be provided, lectures given, and various entertainments supplied the villagers.

_DESIGN No. 19._

A ROMAN CATHOLIC CHAPEL AND SCHOOLS.

This design was made for a building intended to occupy a site leading from the High street in a

very fashionable district, immediately out of London. The ground was rather confined in area, and from its position, being behind the houses in the street, it could only be approached by a narrow avenue between two of the houses.

The plan was an endeavour to make the most of the space afforded; the entrance to the church, a small tower with an open decorated spire, was placed at the end of the avenue of approach; _a_ _a_, are the schools, which have immediate access to the space before the altar; _b_ _b_, the rooms for the teachers or priests, had staircases on each side leading to rooms above. These buildings were kept low, so that as much light as possible should enter from the window above the altar. An elevation of the front of the chapel is given in our first illustration. The section looks towards the chancel, showing the chancel arch and pulpit in front, the altar, and the decorated window over it; the latter contains a large cross formed of white embossed glass, on a richly coloured glass ground. Above is the elevation of the porch, proposed to have been placed at the entrance of the avenue of approach.

_DESIGN No. 20._

DESIGN FOR A BATH HOUSE, AND SUMMER ROOM.

This design was made for a building intended to occupy a prominent position in a park in Kent; it would have commanded an extensive view over the Weald and surrounding country. The lower ragstone foundation already existed, being portions of an ancient building which had formerly stood there, and this held a fine spring of pure cold water, which runs down into a lake at a lower level in the park. Occupying a position in which it could be well seen, it was desirable that the building should form a picturesque object, and to effect this the Old English style of wooden architecture was chosen.

The view shows the back and side of the building, with the entrances, these being here less exposed to the weather than if they had been in front facing the open country. The ground-floor plan shows the cold bath with a small dressing-room; the bath was octangular in form, and fifteen feet in diameter. A small iron circular staircase led to the upper room; this was eighteen feet in diameter, with a domed ceiling, the sides of the room having iron

casemented windows, and over them a bold ornamented plaster frieze; the fire-place was adorned with oak carving. The fine prospect from the windows of the Weald, and the lake and park scenery in front, would have made this an extremely pleasant room.

The lower story of the building above the ancient ragstone foundation was of brick, nine inches in thickness, with quarters on the outside, brick-nogged; carved oak inch plank was then to be screwed to this quartering, and the inner spaces filled with cement; this it was proposed to dust with small bits of coloured

glass. The building was intended to be strongly constructed, as it was to stand on an elevated site in the most exposed situation in the park. The entrance, of which an elevation is given above, had two carved oak columns, having iron rings fixed to them. A small shield of arms was above the entrance; the whole of the oak was to be stained and varnished. A portion of the exterior is given on a larger scale. The upper story was in quartering, brick-nogged, faced externally with carved oak planks and plaster, and plastered inside as below. The small plan, _a_, in the illustration, shows this; _b_ is an elevation of one of the carved oak trusses, and these were carried right round the structure.

An elevation of one of the small gables is shown in the next cut with its richly carved barge-board, and turned pendants and finials.

The plan of the iron casements is given, p. 220; _a_ is the frame fixed to the wood quartering, _b_ the loose frame fixed to receive the loose frame, _c d_ is the glass, and _e_ the hinge and staple; a representation of the small turn-buckle is shown, and lastly the plan of the flooring over the bath; the joists, each 9 inches by 4 inches, and 9 inches by 2½ inches, were strapped down

eight or nine inches into the wall, where necessary.

_DESIGN No. 21._

DESIGN FOR A SMALL COUNTRY VILLA.

This mansion was erected in Devonshire, for a gentleman having a numerous family. It consisted of three floors:--a basement story, ground

floor, first floor, and attic. The picturesque style of the time of Henry VII. was adopted, and the construction

was of brick with stone ashlar facings for the walls. The decorated portions were of stone; but red

brick and stone, or red brick alone, would have been equally appropriate. The red brick with compo-dressing

and enrichments would have been the cheapest. Considerable attention was given to obtain a picturesque character for the building, and the chimneys were so placed as to obtain one. The height to the top of gable was 38 feet 6 inches. The ground floor, given on page 223, contained two rooms, _A_ and _B_, each 28 feet by 16 feet, without the bay. The porch was enclosed from the hall.

The upper floor had five rooms, intended merely as sleeping apartments. All had fireplaces except the centre front one, and that is shown supplied with a flue pedestal, a contrivance by which an upper room

can be warmed by one of the fireplaces in a lower room, which prevents waste of heat. The attic floor had two good-sized rooms without fireplaces, for the servants.

The basement floor had good accommodation. One large room, that marked _n_, was for the housekeeper, with space for a bed. It could be used as a private breakfast or dining-room; _b_ is the kitchen, 20 feet by 15 feet 6 inches, with a large space in the bay. The scullery _g_ adjoined the kitchen; _h_ is the larder, _q_ the wine cellar, _i_ the beer, and _l_ the coal cellars.

Another design for the porch is given on page 225; this is of a more decorative character than that seen in the view. It had on it the shield of arms of the proprietor. It was to be constructed entirely of stone, the portion above the archway being richly carved. The front and side elevations of the exterior of the building, of which representations are given, show the extreme simplicity of the design.

The transverse section (page 228) shows the interior; this is taken through the kitchen and scullery in the basement, looking towards the fireplace and through the living rooms and attic above.

This design has, with various alterations, been adopted in several places for different parties, stripped entirely of its ornamental character, and merely having four walls and an overhanging roof, in plain cottage style. It forms the cheapest model that can be given for a villa. One was erected a few years back that cost considerably less than eight hundred pounds. It had the basement floor but no attic, the upper rooms being heightened by having an open collar-beam roof. One addition made to it when it had no basement was in extensive external offices, as

seen in plan on page 229: _f_, the kitchen, is 18 feet square, with its scullery _g_, 18 feet by 10 feet; _h_ is the larder, 9 feet 9 inches square, and _k_ the dairy, of the same size, with a northern aspect. The two small rooms by the side, one marked _n_, were intended for a study or school-room, and a footman’s or butler’s pantry, with a separate entrance and an outlet from the house into the garden; the servants’ closet, and boot and knife cleaning place, were at a little distance away, together with the place for coals and wood. Some details of the exterior on a larger scale are given above.

* * * * *

The vignette shows the best proportion that can be given to stairs intended for a public building; the rise of each step being 6 inches, the tread 13 inches. In private dwellings the tread is made smaller by half an inch. When the rise can be made 5¾ inches only, much greater ease can be obtained in the ascent.

_DESIGN No. 22._

A VILLA IN THE OLD ENGLISH WOODEN STYLE.

This structure was intended to bear the resemblance, as near as possible, of a first-class old English half-timbered house, the post-and-pan dwelling of our forefathers, which seems to have been an especial favourite throughout the country. It was easily constructed at a time when timber, chiefly chestnut, was far more plentiful than at the present day. Such were the most picturesque of all our domestic buildings; the timber cottage, with its projecting windows, and highly ornamented barge-boards, is found in every village. The large houses in Cheshire and Shropshire, which still remain, prove that such constructions are as lasting as brick and stone, provided the timber is felled at the proper time, and thoroughly seasoned before it is made use of. Houses of this kind have been seen to rock and bend in severe storms, while adjoining buildings, comparatively strong erections, have been blown down, this was known to have been the case with Park Hall, near Oswestry in Shropshire. Such buildings were called by different names, as will be shortly described in detail, according to the materials of which they were composed.

The design afforded on page 234 was taken from an elevation given in “John Thorpe’s Sketch Book,” one of the richest illustrations of wooden architecture. It was to have been erected in a Kentish village, with

its front towards the road, on high ground, the road looking down to a wide extent of open country. The garden side of the house commanded a fine prospect. Advantage was taken of the steep descent of the ground to build the kitchen and scullery, with a day room for the children, apart from the main building.

The plan of the basement is given on p. 236; _a_ is the kitchen, 18 feet square, the scullery _b_, was at the side, and the larder, _c_, at its side; _d_ is the place for coals, a passage _e_, leads to the day room, _f_, for the children; _g_ is either the cook’s room, or a sleeping room for a man servant; _h_ is the passage up to the house, _i_ is the dry larder, _j_ is the butler’s pantry, with a strong room for holding plate; this was intended to be a sleeping room. _k_ is the wine cellar, _l_ the back staircase which went from the lower floor to the attic, _m_ is the principal staircase, and _n_ a place for stores. The roof of this lower building was to be formed with flat-girders, and brick and tile in cement, making a terrace-walk above; the chimneys were taken up from the lower building to the higher one, as shown in the side elevation by the dotted lines. The kitchen, and the whole of the basement, was to be paved with the best Seyssel asphalte. It is laid on a solid foundation, on a thickness of ground lime. The objection to the black and British asphalte for the interior of rooms, is that a fine dust rises from it, which in sweeping, affects the eyes of the occupants of the apartments.

The plan of the building was not intended to be in the old style, but to be arranged, as far as possible, according to modern notions, without any great hall, or stone screen within it. A noble stone porch was

placed in front, resembling slightly an ancient archway. The hall is 20 feet in length by 12 feet in breadth. The breakfast and eating rooms, _b_ and _c_, 20 feet square, are on each side; both have bay

windows, with an exterior colonnade and terrace. The drawing-room, _d_, and the library _e_, are each 18 feet square; both have bay windows, and the angular window peculiar to the Elizabethan architecture. These windows open on to the terrace. _f_ is the

gentleman’s dressing-room, _g_ is the principal staircase containing the servants’ staircase, _h_, within it; _o_ is the lift. At the back of the building is a colonnade commanding a view of the country, and beneath is the terrace, with its balustrading and steps to the garden.

The one pair floor contains only four large bed-rooms _a_, _a_, and two dressing-rooms _b_, _b_. One dressing-room, that in front, could have been converted into a pleasant morning room; each of the two principal bedrooms in the front could easily have been formed into two; a small dressing-room taken out of each. Terraces were in front of these two rooms, the small circular bow-window opening on to them; the principal staircase only led to this floor. The servants’ staircase led to the attics.

This floor contained three large servants’ rooms, with two small octagon rooms. It was proposed to form the front rooms into one, with a circular roof, covered with scroll work and flowers, in the form of a garden-bower, similar to the gallery ceiling at Burton Agnes in Yorkshire. In this ceiling there are about a dozen varieties of flowers and bunches of leaves, which were placed in a scroll-stem in various positions so as to vary the pattern. The flowers and leaves could have been painted in their natural colours. These rooms, however, could not be spared, so it was proposed to turn the two octagon rooms into what may be termed garden-bower rooms, and to attempt growing dwarf fruit-trees in them, as practised in Germany. The roofs of these rooms were to be constructed in iron and glass, and covered internally with wire trellis-work, the warming to be effected with flue pedestals, two in each room, one taking the kitchen flue and the other house flues, the corresponding pedestal in the other room to have the remaining flues in that side of the building. The illustration on page 242 shows a plan and section of one of these rooms.

The tower in the centre of the back front contained a cistern for the supply of the house; the closets beneath could have Moule’s earth system applied to them, the earth to be brought up by the lift _o_, dried in the bower rooms, and deposited in an enclosure in the tower room from which it could descend to the closets.

It may be here remarked that the closets throughout the whole of these designs are in such a position that the dry-earth system could be easily applied to each. In cottages that have the flues in an external wall, and where this system is introduced, the earth deposit should be placed against the flue, and the closet adjoining.