_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
[Illustration: Plan (page 291).]
[Illustration: Attic plan (see page 291).]
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.
[Illustration: Basement plan (see page 291).]
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
[Illustration: Front elevation.]
[Illustration: Back elevation.]
[Illustration: Elevation of side.]
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
[Illustration: Ironwork on terrace.]
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
[Illustration: Ironwork on bay-window.]
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
[Illustration: Small finial.]
[Illustration: Portion of front.]
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
[Illustration: Balustrades for first floor.]
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
[Illustration: Lower balustrade.]
considerable portion of it, when it came to be estimated and the
specification and working drawings were made
[Illustration: Ornament in side gable.]
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.
[Illustration]
_DESIGN No. 26._
A SUMMER OR GARDEN VILLA.
[Illustration: Perspective view.]
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
[Illustration: Ground plan of villa.]
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,
[Illustration: Ground plan of garden and villa.]
the cascades, grottos, basins, statues, and the antique fragments which
adorn them are arranged with the
[Illustration: Small group in centre of side left-hand basin.]
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
[Illustration: Small group in centre of right-hand basin.]
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
[Illustration: Fountain ornaments.]
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
[Illustration: Elevation of front.]
[Illustration: Section through centre of building.]
house, and connect it with other buildings, which may be conservatories,
ferneries, aquaria, rustic seats, temples, and arbours; and it will
provide a
[Illustration: Portion of saloon.]
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.
[Illustration: Cap in saloon.]
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.
[Illustration: Section of part of saloon ceiling.]
An architectural garden, as illustrated in the design at page 302,
should have a picturesque outline, a
[Illustration: Plan of the same.]
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
[Illustration: Portion of centre panel.]
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
[Illustration: Panel of ceiling.]
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
[Illustration: Section and plan of one of centre pendants.]
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
[Illustration: Bedroom ceiling.]
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_.
[Illustration: Drawing-room ceiling.]
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
[Illustration: Sections of moulding of ceiling.]
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
[Illustration: Drawing-room chimney-piece.]
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,
[Illustration]
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.
[Illustration]
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
[Illustration: Plan of mezzanine floor.]
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
[Illustration: Plan of upper story.]
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
[Illustration: Basement plan.]
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
[Illustration: Elevation of back front.]
present. Similar structures of a more expensive character were once very
common; but the small
[Illustration: Elevation of top of pedestal.]
[Illustration: Plan.]
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
[Illustration: Ornament terminating pedestal on attic.]
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
[Illustration: Section.]
[Illustration: Plan.]
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
[Illustration: Termination of attic pedestal.]
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.
[Illustration: Chimney-pot elevation and section.]
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.
[Illustration: Iron balconet to window.]
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_.
[Illustration: Section of window sill and iron balconet.]
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
[Illustration]
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.
[Illustration]
_DESIGN No. 27._
A DECORATED WINDOW.
[Illustration]
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.
[Illustration]
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
[Illustration: Plan of ground floor.]
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
[Illustration: Section of staircase.]
“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
[Illustration: Plan of principal staircase.]
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
[Illustration: Section through gallery and conservatory.]