houses; and to ensure this the position of the site of the house must be
considered. It is evident that a room having a south-western aspect must
of all others be the warmest, whether in winter or summer, simply
because that aspect is most exposed to the influence of the sun’s rays.
On the other hand, rooms having a north-easterly aspect must necessarily
be the coolest, because, except during the earliest part of midsummer
mornings, say from 2 to 4 A.M., the sun’s rays cannot reach them. It
is, therefore, in the power of those who have the requisite resources,
to construct a house in such a manner that warm rooms can be provided
for winter use, and cool for alleviating the heat of summer. It is by no
means an uncommon occurrence to find a large dinner-party assembled in
the heat of summer in a room that has been exposed to the sun’s rays
during the afternoon. Frequently in such cases, owing to the number of
persons present, the heat of the viands, lights, &c., the temperature
rises above 80°, a circumstance prejudicial to health, enjoyment, and
the vivacity of social intercourse, that might have been entirely
avoided had the dining-room been placed in a northern aspect. These are
points well worthy of attention in constructing a newly-designed
dwelling. It unfortunately happens, in many cases, that the supposed
exigencies of architectural arrangement must have priority of all other
considerations. Yet the architect who wilfully opposes such
modifications of his plan for the purpose of conducing to general
comfort is shortsighted. His object ought to be to build a house _to be
lived in_, and not _to be looked at_ alone.
A few remarks on some of the general principles that should lead to a
choice of site, situation, and other matters, may not be without
advantage. Whatever inducement a plot of ground for building purposes
may possess, the great question which has first to be solved is that of
_health_. A clayey soil, bog, marsh, or stagnant water; a low level; an
undrained or badly drained surface; a moist atmosphere, or exposure to
the chill north and east winds, are all objections that a question of
price should never be pitted against. Popular knowledge on sanitary
subjects is now so extensively diffused that healthy localities are
always of ready sale, while those of an opposite character are
frequently unsold in the market, and consequently may be had at a low
price, but are really never cheap. Nothing can counterbalance the value
of a healthy locality, for in the end one of an opposite character
becomes far more costly. The timbers of the building fall rapidly into
decay, and require renewal; the decorative portion, internally and
externally, becomes faded; doors and windows cease to fit and work
accurately; the iron work becomes rusted and requires frequent renewal
of paint or other protecting coat; and the same may be remarked in
regard to the fences of the estate.
The position of the residence in regard to the sun at different periods
of the year is also an important matter. If it stands with each front
north and south, the north front will have comparatively little sun,
except during summer time; and if the position be north-east and
south-west respectively, the cold bitter winds of winter will be
severely felt, whilst from the fact that the greater portion of the year
the rainy quarter of the wind is south-west, that front or back of the
house will be continually exposed to its influence. Consequently,
frontages to the south-east and north-west are to be preferred in all
cases, when possible, as such position ensures to both sides the
greatest average of sun, heat, and light, and protection from the
north-east wind of winter or the south-west of the rainy season.
Comparatively little attention has been paid to the influence of light
on health and its effects on the mind, in the construction of modern
dwelling-houses. An excess is easily avoided by blinds and other
contrivances; but if the architectural features of the building be such
as to exclude the light, an opposite remedy is impossible. Abundant
access of light tends to set off all the internal decorations of the
house, and spreads a cheerfulness of appearance that is always highly
prized. It gives brilliancy of outline and detail to coloured
decorations, and, to use a common phrase, is the best possible “set-off”
that the architect or decorator can desire. As already pointed out, the
effect of light and shade, in regard to architecture, is a condition of
success in respect to the picturesque.
It is always desirable that a house should be placed on an eminence; it
becomes thus a prominent object, and its qualities are the more readily
perceived. A gradual ascent to the house by the walks or drive adds
much to the general effect. The walks are thus constantly drained, and
preserve longer a neat appearance, a matter which is of much importance
in setting off the advantages of situation, site, &c. In respect to
questions of health also, this is of great advantage, as the waste
matter of the household more readily falls away by its own gravity, and
is thus quickly removed; which if left stagnant would be productive of
harm to the inmates.
Abundant access of fresh air is of great importance to health in a
residence; unnecessary exposure to wind being at the same time to be
avoided. Hence to place a residence in the centre of a close array of
trees is not desirable; not only is the access of air, light, and heat
prevented, but there is always a tendency induced to dampness in the
house. In an open, airy, and well drained situation, the effects of even
long-continued wet are soon dispelled, but when all sides of a house are
surrounded closely by trees, an opposite result is induced, and, in
comparatively dry situations, many evils of a damp one ultimately ensue.
One of our earliest English writers on building, Thomas Fuller (1633),
speaking of the choice of situation for a new structure, says: “_Chiefly
choose a wholesome air_, for air is a dish one feeds on every minute,
and therefore it need be good. Wherefore, great men (who may build
where they please, as poor men where they can) if herein they prefer
their profit above their health, I refer them to their physicians to
make them pay for it accordingly.” And as to light, he continues:
“_Light (God’s eldest daughter!) is a principal beauty in a building_,
yet it shines not alike from all parts of heaven. An east window
welcomes the infant beams of the sun before they are of strength to do
any harm, and is offensive to none but a sluggard. A south window, in
summer, is a chimney with a fire in it, and needs the screen of a
curtain. In a west window, in summer time, towards night, the sun grows
low and ever familiar, with more light than delight. A north window is
best for butteries and cellars, where the beer will not be sour for the
sun’s smiling on it. Thorough lights are best for rooms of
entertainment, and windows on one side for dormitories.” And he tells
us, “_a pleasant prospect is to be respected_. A medley view, such as of
water and land at Greenwich, best entertains the eyes, refreshing the
wearied beholder with exchange of objects. Yet,” he adds, “I know a more
profitable prospect--where the owner can only see his own land round
about.”
Having thus disposed of some of the most important points that should be
kept in mind when choosing the site of a house, and of such other
conditions as affect its picturesque and sanitary character, a small
space may be devoted to the consideration of its internal decorations.
On this point there is no disputing about tastes, but to this may be
added that the absence of taste is by no means uncommon. Having fixed on
the style of house, the next question for decision, in respect to its
general effect, should be that of its internal decoration. Congruity of
design should exist between the two, for if an opposite course be
adopted, a vulgarity will be introduced that will be highly displeasing
to good taste. On the other hand, a slavish adherence to uniformity of
internal with external character might produce so severe an adherence to
system as to exclude the benefits that arise from judiciously chosen
contrast. What has before been remarked in regard to the exterior,
applies equally to the interior of a house--each should have in its
general effect an agreement in appearance to its objects. In an antique
apartment the light character of modern furniture would be evidently out
of place, and _vice versâ_.
It is evidently impossible to direct attention to more than a few
elements of success that may be arrived at in internal decoration.
Independently of this, each person has his own views on the matter, that
would be sure in the end to overrule any exact principles, or at least
greatly modify them. The following observations however, are offered
suggestively.
The facility with which the most beautiful designs in painting, &c., are
transferred to paper for paper hangings, has brought these into very
extensive use for decorative purposes. Formerly the best patterns were
produced in France alone, but of late years the British manufactures
have rivalled the Continental. The pattern in respect to size, colour,
design, &c., should be so chosen as to be in accordance with the amount
of light, the size, and other conditions of the room. A large pattern in
a small room is equally out of place with the reverse condition. A light
pattern again in a dark room, although advantageous in alleviating
sombreness, is also incongruous. The general effect of a room on a
spectator is thus largely influenced by these points, and consequently
they should be carefully attended to. Frequently paint is preferred for
covering walls of apartments, and where many pictures are introduced
this may be advantageously employed, because the paintings alleviate the
monotonous effect that would otherwise ensue. Painted walls are liable
to injury by peeling off in places, especially where likely to meet with
blows from furniture, &c. In damp weather, from the absorption of heat
they generally become not only wet, but frequently stream with water. If
the apartment is “smoky,” lines of sooty hue soon follow, and the room
acquires a dirty appearance. This is avoided by the use of paper, which
prevents the abstraction of heat and the consequent deposition of water;
Beautiful effects may be produced by graining and other devices which
are too well known to require enumeration. When flock paper on walls
becomes dirty and requires renewing, if painted it looks extremely well,
a diaper ornamental surface being produced by such means.
The mantel-piece of a room adds to or detracts from its general effect.
In a well lighted apartment, with light furniture, white marble is
decidedly preferable. Whereas serpentine, black, or coloured marbles,
grey and even red granite, may all agree in rooms but moderately
lighted.
The cornice and ceiling decorations equally require adaptation to the
character of the apartment. For these purposes beautiful designs have
been suggested and employed. The material of which they are usually made
is so plastic as to be capable of receiving and retaining the most
intricate forms conducive to elegance and beauty. In some rooms such add
greatly to the general effect, while in others, especially with painted
walls, plain mouldings seem most appropriate.
A profusion of gold or gilding displays want of taste. A glaring example
of this might be pointed out--a white marble mantel-piece supported by
gilt angels five feet high which “graces” the drawing-room of a mansion
in one part of this country. The outer room is a gorgeous display of
gold, silver, and vulgarity. It serves, however, index-like, to point
out at once the riches and “taste” of the owner. On the other hand,
paintings and engravings in gilt frames have an excellent effect in
setting off a room, provided that their size is in accordance with that
of the apartment.
Stained deals, varnished, afford a good material for panelling, and for
covering the walls of rooms. We have in our eye a dining-room thus
fitted which has an effect approaching to some of the oaken fittings of
olden times. The material is cheap and durable, whilst the surface can
always be renewed in its freshness by a new coat of varnish. It has been
largely adopted in churches for pews and other fittings, with the best
possible results.
The minor objects of decoration, such as handles, finger-plates,
bell-pulls, &c. &c., can only be here named. In many instances designs
are given in the following pages, suggesting the most suitable either
for indoor or outdoor use, according to the character of the room or
entrance for which they are intended.
So much for the picturesque exterior and tasteful interior of a house; a
few words however may be said in respect to its immediate surroundings,
such as the lawns, gardens, pleasure grounds, &c.
The most picturesque villa would be a nonentity in a wrong situation.
It would be opposed to what is usually called the “fitness of things;” a
phrase that expresses much meaning without an exact definition. Hence
“landscape gardening” has become an almost necessary adjunct to the art
of architecture. An unframed picture has possibly every merit that the
painter’s art can bestow on it, yet it lacks that finish which the
exterior confers on it. So the well laid-out garden, the vista at its
extremity, the carefully arranged parterre, the judicious management of
floral culture, especially with regard to colour; neatly arranged walks,
and many other exterior matters of detail, add to, enhance, and
occasionally become indispensable adjuncts to the picturesque.
We give two examples of picturesque accessories to garden architecture;
the first rather belongs to the secluded wood, to some sequestered spot
of sylvan shade, whence rises a spring which tradition may designate as
that of some beautiful nymph; where the limpid crystal flows in gentle,
yet ceaseless streams, conveying “health to the sick and solace to the
swain.” The last, a vignette at the end of this chapter, is the
representation of a ruined fountain, designed in 1820 by one of the best
teachers of drawing England ever possessed, the late C. J. M. Whichelo.
The architect may suggest the addition of a garden, but it is no part of
his business to supply the details; these rather belong to the
horticulturist. Yet these should not be forgotten; a complete whole is
always made up of minute parts, and by these littles an entirety of
effect is produced, just as their individual importance is not lost
sight of.
[Illustration: The Nymph’s Fountain.]
In conclusion, it has been attempted in this introductory essay to
enable the unprofessional reader to become acquainted with the general
principles, and some practical details that should guide him in the
selection of a site, and the erection of an elegant, convenient, and
pleasant house, both externally and internally. So far as architecture
and decorative art can aid such objects, the special details involved
have to be perused in the text of this work. Fundamental ideas of such
subjects have alone been here treated. A hope may be expressed that any
suggestion or advice hitherto offered may not, in all cases, be without
value. It is not given to all men to know all things. By the experience
of others we gain fresh views of old ideas, invest them with new
clothing, and in fact make out of that which is past, the material for
something new. We rest on the apparently obsolete for suggestive ideas
of improvement. Although the fashion of this world passeth away, yet as
a dissolving view it reproduces itself in other forms, which, by the
contrast of apparent novelty, and real or supposed merits, gain, either
temporarily or permanently, the applause of mankind.
[Illustration: Old English Garden Plots.]
[Illustration: Garden Fountain in Ruins.]
_DESIGN No. 1._
A GARDENER’S COTTAGE.
[Illustration: Front elevation.]
[Illustration: Back elevation.]
Some examples of designs for small cottages will be first given in this
volume. There are few domestic
[Illustration: Ground-floor plan.]
[Illustration: Plan of upper floor.]
[Illustration]
structures that have received within the last fifty years a greater
share of attention than the English Cottage, especially that designed
for the occupation of the labourer. Each detail has received much care;
thus, whether its walls should be solid or formed in two thicknesses, as
most conducive to warmth and comfort; whether they should be of thin
brick or of solid thick concrete; the best kind of roof covering, and
indeed all such questions, have been fully discussed.
[Illustration: Section through length of building.]
Besides this, the calculation of cost has been of importance; they are
required to return a rent that will pay 5 per cent. on the outlay, and
to gain their picturesque appearance has generally been sacrificed.
The cottage examples in this volume have been erected on estates where
the only aim was to render them substantial and lasting structures,
expense being a matter of minor importance. Their picturesque appearance
being in every case insisted on.
Before entering into any description of the designs, it must be pointed
out that the plans, with the exception only of a few at the end of the
volume, are all drawn to the same scale, that of 20 feet to the inch,
and that the elevations and sections are to a scale of 15 feet to the
inch.
[Illustration: Cross section.]
The details and the vignettes, one of which is mostly given between each
example, are of various scales suited to each separate subject.
[Illustration: Plan of wood casement.]
[Illustration: Section.]
The cottage design shown in the plate, and which forms the first example
in this series, was erected on a nobleman’s estate in the country, for
the use of a favourite gardener, a married man without children, and the
accommodation afforded was all that he required. It consisted of a lower
room fifteen feet by twelve, fitted with a small cottage oven; a
scullery ten feet by ten feet, and a larder; the upper floor contained
one room of the same size as the lower, and one fourteen feet by ten
feet. The building was constructed in a very superior way. It was
erected in red brick with compo dressings round the door and windows.
The illustrations represent the front and back elevations; and sections
through the length and breadth of the cottage, with details of the wood
casements, and a plan and section of the cottage oven.
[Illustration: Cottage oven.]
A view of a cottage slightly different in design but having rooms of the
same size with similar accommodation, is given. This was intended for
the same estate.
* * * * *
The vignette is an elevation of two lead pipes designed for an
Elizabethan building in the country.
[Illustration]
_DESIGN No. 2._
A SMALL COTTAGE OR LODGE.
[Illustration: Perspective view.]
[Illustration: Ground-floor plan.]
[Illustration: Upper plan.]
This small building forms the outer lodge to a country park. It is
finished in all its parts so as
[Illustration: Elevation of front.]
to correspond in style and details with the old family mansion, and
being a prominent object, standing in a cheerful position, each side was
made pleasing. It is
[Illustration: Side elevation.]
so placed that the sun during its daily course shines on all the
exterior walls. Cottages should have no
[Illustration: Section through length.]
dark corners, the sun should find entrance at all the windows whenever
it is bright; the interior is then warm and cheerful. If the plan of a
building is either
[Illustration: Cross section.]
a square or a parallelogram, and it is placed on the ground so that one
of its diagonal lines runs due north and south, the advantage of
sunlight at all the openings is obtained, and this has been pointed out
by several writers on the subject. The ground plan shows the general
arrangement of the interior. The parlour and kitchen are both of the
same size (14 feet by 11 feet); it has a small scullery, an open outside
porch, and a place for coals; the larder with its window
[Illustration: Section through front and back porches.]
[Illustration: Dry vault.]
is under the staircase. The latter is a cottage staircase, occupying
only half the usual space. The plan of the upper floor shows two rooms
of the same size as those on the lower floor, with the compact reduced
form of the staircase. The plate gives the front and side elevations of
the building; sections through its length and breadth, and through the
two porches back and front, and the dry vault of closet, are given.
The water from the scullery sink is discharged into the dry vault. The
staircase, of which a section is given, occupies exactly half the space
of a staircase on the ordinary plan. The width is three feet, each step
rising in two heights of 6 inches. It is necessary that such a
contrivance should have plenty of light. These staircases were first
used in France. Loudon, in his “Encyclopædia of Cottage, Farm, and Villa
Architecture,” gives a representation of one, and remarks that the
celebrated American, Jefferson, when
[Illustration: Section of staircase.]
[Illustration: A staircase.]
making a tour in that country, was so struck with the contrivance, that
he noted it in his journal, which was published with his
correspondence. A perspective view of one of these staircases is
annexed.
A staircase of this description, if made four feet in width, might take
up only one-third the usual space: it would be very applicable to
offices and warehouses where room cannot be spared, and where staircases
little better than ladders are used, but in such cases a baluster and
hand-rail should be placed between each second step, to prevent persons
falling.
The “Builder” of November, 1843, gave two views of an ingenious double
spiral staircase then exhibiting at a manufactory in Berners Street,
Commercial Road. It was described as extremely simple, the object being
to provide for ascent and descent without chance of meeting or
collision. It consisted of a deal or other board of suitable thickness 6
feet long and 12 inches wide, forming a double _tread_, and the _riser_
crossed, as it were from corner to corner, except as arranged to form a
_newel_ in the centre, of about five inches in diameter. The staircase
had twenty-two risers, and took one complete turn round.
[Illustration: Plaster ornament for a ceiling.]
_DESIGN No. 3._
A PICTURESQUE COTTAGE.
[Illustration: Perspective view.]
[Illustration: Ground-floor plan.]
[Illustration: Upper floor.]
This design for a peasant’s cottage possesses no architectural feature
beyond what could be given
[Illustration: Elevation of front.]
to it by any common country village carpenter. It was made from the
recollection of one at Blaise Hamlet,
[Illustration: Side front.]
near Blaise Castle, in Gloucestershire, the seat of John I. Harford,
Esq., to whom the hamlet belonged. This was celebrated for having about
a dozen of these small picturesque structures, apparently put up by the
owner of the estate. Nearly the whole of them were provided with rustic
seats under a projecting roof, as well as with a pigeon-house at the
gable. This was called Vine Cottage; there were besides Sweet Briar
Cottage, Rose Cottage, Diamond Cottage, Dial Cottage, Jessamine Cottage,
Circular Cottage, and Oak Cottage. Views of all of them were first
published at Bristol by Mr. Western.
[Illustration: Section.]