ELIZABETHAN AND JACOBEAN HOUSES--INTERIORS.
The same impulse which brought about so great a change in external
treatment, led also to corresponding developments in the internal
decorations: magnificence and comfort went hand in hand. The great
chimneys which have been referred to as forming such conspicuous
features outside, implied a considerable increase of fireplaces
within. Harrison, in his contribution to “Hollinshed’s Chronicles”
(1577), mentions “the multitude of chimneys lately erected.” Every
room of importance by this time had at least one, and the large rooms
frequently had two. It was this multiplication of flues which led to
their striking external treatment. The increase was only one of the
effects of the continual pursuit of comfort which underlay all the
changes in domestic arrangement. In other directions the pursuit was
successful owing to the changed condition of the times, which no longer
demanded security against attack. Elizabethan houses were built for
comfort, and many of them for magnificence. Being no longer hampered
by the need for precautions against forcible entry, designers laid
themselves out to obtain a convenient disposition of rooms so far as
that was compatible with a dignified, and often splendid, treatment,
and the demands of a symmetry which grew more and more insistent.
The accommodation of the larger houses of that time suffices for the
present day, although its disposition is often at variance with our
wants. The actual decoration of the rooms is still frequently taken as
a model for imitation and even reproduction.
[Illustration: 131. A Linen Panel.]
[Illustration: 132. Wood Panelling at the Bishop’s Palace, Norwich
(_temp._ Henry VIII.).]
[Illustration: 133. Panel at Layer Marney, Essex.]
[Illustration: 134. Wood Panel in the Victoria and Albert Museum.]
The bare walls of mediæval houses had already been plastered in the
better rooms, and the plaster had been ornamented in various simple
ways by painted patterns. This custom was still retained to a certain
extent in Elizabeth’s time. But the old fashion of wainscoting rooms,
that is, panelling with oak, was considerably extended, and all the
principal rooms were thus treated. The development of panelling is
of much interest, but is of rather too intricate a nature to be
traced here in any detail: suffice it to say that the earliest form
of ornamental panels appears to be what is called the linen pattern,
in which the surface of the panel itself was so carved as to bear
a resemblance to a piece of stiffly and symmetrically folded linen
(Fig. 131). This fashion was in vogue from the latter part of the
fifteenth century, throughout the reign of Henry VII. and well into
that of Henry VIII. With the advent of the Italian manner, the panels
became carved with large and somewhat coarse arabesque work, fantastic
animals were introduced, and, notably, human heads set in circular
frames (Fig. 132). Another pattern peculiar to this period, and one
which can neither trace a certain origin from anything before it, nor
be traced through any direct descendant, is partly shown in the same
illustration. It is formed of two curved ribs set back to back, but
in this particular instance the circular panel is interposed between
the upper and lower halves of the pattern. A panel from Layer Marney
(Fig. 133) shows it more clearly, and it is just possible that in
the panel at South Kensington (Fig. 134) we have the origin of this
curious and fleeting form. Elizabethan panelling is less fanciful in
treatment, its effect being obtained, when anything more elaborate
than oblong moulded panels was introduced, not by carving, but an
increased intricacy of framing, and occasionally by an inlay of
coloured wood. This intricacy became more pronounced in Jacobean work,
which on the whole is more complicated than Elizabethan. A fine example
of early seventeenth-century panelling is to be seen at Calgarth Old
Hall in Westmorland (Fig. 135), where the main panels are subdivided
by an insertion of diamond shape, and the topmost tier is in every
case arched. An invariable characteristic of panelling down to about
1630 is the comparatively small size of the panels, which seldom
exceeded 2 ft. in their longest dimension. They offer in this respect
a complete contrast to those which came into vogue about the middle
of the seventeenth century. But, although the great amount of panelling
which still survives in all parts of the country shows that it was
universally adopted, yet the old-fashioned tapestry played an important
part in the clothing of the walls, from the splendid pieces, brought
from all parts of Europe, with which Cardinal Wolsey adorned his great
palace of Hampton Court, down to the “smirched worm-eaten tapestry” of
Borachio’s illustration, or the arras of the inn where Falstaff soaked
himself in such an intolerable deal of sack.
[Illustration: 135. Calgarth Old Hall, Westmorland.
(Early 17th cent.)]
The plasterer’s art blossomed out into wonderful results. Founding his
designs at first on the wood-ribbed ceilings of his youth, he gradually
elaborated them into the amazing richness which characterises the end
of the sixteenth century. The variety of his patterns is wonderful,
and, considering the number of ceilings which are left, it is
surprising how seldom two instances of the same design are found. As a
rule great judgment was shown in the choice of patterns: simple designs
of slight projection being used in low rooms, and more elaborate
ones of heavier section in lofty rooms. Frequently in the latter the
principal points in the design were emphasised by pendants, which broke
the monotony and added greatly to the richness of the effect.
[Illustration: 136. Parham, Sussex. The Great Hall (1593).]
At Parham in Sussex (Fig. 136) is an example of this treatment, which,
indeed, would be almost meagre, were it not for the pendants. This
room is the great hall, and, it will be observed, is covered with
a flat ceiling instead of an open timber roof. The latter form of
covering, which had been customary from the earliest times, was giving
place, in the early part of the seventeenth century, to the ceiling,
inasmuch as the height of houses was increasing, and an upper storey
was formed over the hall. In some cases, where vacant space permitted,
plaster ceilings, instead of being flat, were carried up and formed
into a large cove as is the case at Herringstone in Dorset (Fig. 137),
which is one of the most notable of its kind. The pattern is of the
simplest, but gains much character from being on the curve; the main
ribs are bent down at intervals, where they intersect, to form the
root of pendants which vary in their forms. The tympanum on the end
wall, resulting from the curves of the ceiling, is also ornamented
with a suitable pattern, and the cornice, making the circuit of the
room, binds the whole together with its strong horizontal lines. There
is another fine coved ceiling at Canons Ashby in Northamptonshire,
differing in treatment from this at Herringstone by reason of its being
curved all four ways, the point of intersection being furnished with a
large, open pendant. The work in these old ceilings is generally too
irregular to suit the correct taste of the modern workman, yet the
effect is softer and more pleasing than that of the mechanical accuracy
of the present day.
[Illustration: 137. Herringstone, Dorset.
Coved Plaster Ceiling.]
The variety of ornament in the ceilings of this period is
extraordinary; sometimes it was merely a geometrical pattern duly
repeated; sometimes a flowing pattern so varied that not a single
portion of it occurs twice, save that the two halves of the ceiling
are repeated in reverse fashion. Then, again, there is a strong simple
framework with all the interspaces decorated either with floral
ornament or subjects of natural history, or, still oftener, heraldic
devices. As Gray says, in those days they employed the power of fairy
hands
“To raise the ceiling’s fretted height,
Each panel with achievements clothing.”
This, it is true, is a poetic licence, for the panels seldom exhibited
more than the family cognizance or coat of arms. The achievement, that
is the shield, crest, mantling, and supporters, was reserved for very
special cases, such as is shown in the fine panel of the royal arms of
James I. from Apethorpe Hall in Northamptonshire (Fig. 138).
[Illustration: 138. Apethorpe Hall, Northamptonshire.
Plaster Panel, from Ceiling, with Arms of James I.]
[Illustration: 139. Wolveton House, Dorsetshire.
Interior, showing Doorway, Chimney-piece, and Ceiling.]
In spite of the elaboration of the detail, the general effect of
these ceilings was quiet; and the same may be said of the wall
panelling. To prevent monotony or tameness of appearance, a handsome
treatment was often bestowed on special features, such as doorways
and chimney-pieces, more particularly the latter. The doorways were
frequently emphasised by pilasters and cornice; in the great hall
the screen was elaborately decorated with panels, pilasters, and
cornice. Heraldry was again brought in to aid the effect, thus at once
gratifying the foible of family pride, and imparting an air of dignity
and splendour to the room. The chimney-piece was nearly always finely
treated, whether it was of wood or of stone. Columns, pilasters, or
grotesques supported a lofty shelf above the vast fireplace; over the
shelf the design extended itself upwards with large panels, fantastic
pilasters, and elaborate ornament till it was crowned with a cornice
supporting, or seeming to support, the ceiling itself (Fig. 139).
Heraldry, mythology, pedantry, sententiousness, all went to adorn the
chimney-piece. The family arms, or incidents from a classic tale,
or virtues personified, supplied the chief interest, while pithy
inscriptions, generally in Latin, added a touch of that learning which
was supposed to be the possession of all the well-to-do.
Shakespeare draws a picture of an Elizabethan room when he makes
Iachimo describe Imogen’s chamber:--
“It was hanged
With tapestry of silk and silver; the story
Proud Cleopatra when she met her Roman,
And Cydnus swell’d above the banks, or for
The press of boats or pride: a piece of work
So bravely done, so rich, that it did strive
In workmanship and value.
“Her chimney
Is south the chamber; and the chimney-piece
Chaste Dian, bathing; never saw I figures
So likely to report themselves.
“The roof o’ the chamber
With golden cherubims is fretted; her andirons
(I had forgot them) were two winking Cupids
Of silver, each on one foot standing, nicely
Depending on their brands.”
The drawing is true, with its tapestry, its chimney-piece, and its
ceiling, all taking their inspiration from Italian sources. The
“golden cherubims” are but a poetical version of the winged amorini of
Italy.
[Illustration: 140. Stone Chimney-piece from Deene Park,
Northamptonshire (1571).]
The chimney-pieces of that time are as numerous as the fretted
ceilings, and as varied in design. Many of them are of stone, still
more of wood, and a few are of coloured marbles. In a large number the
portion above the fireplace contains two panels, filled more often
than not with shields of arms. One of these would bear the family coat
simply; the other the quarterings of the owner at the time, or his own
arms impaling those of his wife; these arms are frequently useful in
identifying the builder of the house and in fixing its date. Sometimes
the date itself was carved in a subsidiary panel, as is the case in the
example from Deene Park (Fig. 140), which not only presents a fine
display of heraldry, but bears the sententious inscription, “Amicus
fidelis protexio fortis,” and the date 1571. This chimney-piece is in
stone; a smaller one from a house in King’s Lynn is in wood, and is
dated 1623 (Fig. 141). The work, both in the panelling and carving, is
excellent. Another example in wood, of great elaboration, is from the
hall of the butchers’ guild in Hereford (Fig. 142).
[Illustration: 141. Wood Chimney-piece from a House at King’s Lynn
(1623).]
[Illustration: 142. Wood Chimney-piece from the Hall of the Butchers’
Guild, Hereford.]
[Illustration: 143. Staircase, Crewe Hall, Cheshire.]
[Illustration: 144. Staircase, with Dog-gate, Cold Overton,
Leicestershire.]
Another of the special characteristics of houses of this period is
the staircase. It has already been said that no examples are found
previous to Elizabeth’s time of anything but extremely simple stairs,
generally of the corkscrew type, but sometimes consisting of straight
flights in the thickness of a wall. These forms were still in use in
the latter part of the sixteenth century: Rothwell Market House in
Northamptonshire (1577) was to have had a circular stair; and Hardwick
Hall in Derbyshire (1576) has nothing but plain flights of steps,
nothing which can be considered an ornamental staircase. But these
were the exceptions; the rule was to have a broad staircase, generally
of wood, with short runs of steps leading from landing to landing:
the newel posts were stout and tall, and carried up well above the
handrail, their tops being either wrought into striking shapes, or
crowned with heraldic animals. When the staircase extended to many
flights, the effect was very fine, as may be seen in the example from
Crewe Hall (Fig. 143). The handrail was massive, and the space between
it and the stout string was filled with thick turned balusters, or
occasionally with wood pierced in patterns. In a few instances a gate
is to be found across the stairs, placed there to prevent dogs from
roaming over the whole house. There is a good example at Hatfield
House, and another at Cold Overton in Leicestershire (Fig. 144). At
Rawdon House near Hoddesdon, there is a good staircase with heraldic
newels and a pierced balustrade. It leads up to a landing on which
is an elaborate doorway of one of the principal chambers (Fig. 145).
Innumerable other fine staircases might be mentioned, but these
examples will suffice to indicate the style prevalent in the time of
Elizabeth and James.
[Illustration: 145. Staircase and Doorway, Rawdon House, Hoddesdon,
Hertfordshire.]
[Illustration: 146. Astley Hall, Lancashire.
The Long Gallery.]
These staircases led up to important rooms: to the great chamber and
the long gallery, as well as to the bedrooms. The great chamber was a
room of state, and answered somewhat to the drawing-room of the present
day. It was, of course, decorated in the usual way with panelled
walls, fretted ceiling, and a large chimney-piece. So, too, was the
long gallery, perhaps the most characteristic room of an Elizabethan
house. The earliest instance of a long gallery seems to have been at
Hampton Court, of a date about 1540. It continued in fashion, designers
vying in their endeavours to give it extraordinary length, until the
time of Charles I., when, under the changed ideas as to household
arrangement which then prevailed, it disappeared. Its precise object
is not quite clear. At Apethorpe it was intended as a music-room, as
testified by the inscription on the chimney-piece:--
“Rare and ever to be wisht maye sownde heere
Instruments w^{ch} fainte sprites and muses cheere,
Composing for the Body, Sowle, and Eare,
Which Sickness, Sadness, and Fowle Spirits feare.”
Sir Henry Wotton, in his “Elements of Architecture,” implies that it
was a place for indoor exercise, for he says, in advising as to the
aspect of the principal rooms of a house, that on the north side should
be placed “all that are appointed for gentle motion, as galleries.” It
can hardly have been meant for pictures, as the fashion of collecting
them and _articles de vertu_ had not yet arisen. Galleries were
generally lighted all down one side and at one or both ends; indeed,
continuous lighting was necessary, for their immense length would have
rendered lighting from the ends only utterly futile. The illustration
from Astley Hall, Lancashire (Fig. 146), gives a good idea of one of
these rooms: it is probable, however, that its interest was originally
enhanced by an elaborate plaster ceiling.
Most of the bedrooms, at any rate those of any importance, were
decorated in the same way as the living rooms; panelled walls, heraldic
ceilings, and good chimney-pieces are still to be found in many
bedrooms even of moderate size.