INTERIOR FEATURES (_continued_).
STAIRCASES, GALLERIES, GLAZING.
The staircases of the early part of the sixteenth century followed
the old fashion, and were of the "corkscrew" type, winding round a
central newel. They were built of stone or brick, and were hardly,
if at all, ornamented. Then, quite suddenly, the fashion changed,
and they were constructed of wood in straight, broad flights, with
frequent landings. Everyone who has been up a church tower knows how
tiring it is to climb the winding, never-ending steps, unrelieved by
anything in the shape of a landing. It is somewhat less fatiguing to
mount one of the grand circular staircases of the châteaux on the
Loire, the task being lightened by the greater width of the steps and
the introduction of more frequent landings. But the management of
the landings is one of the great difficulties in a spiral staircase,
because they break the regular sweep of the architectural lines.
Whether English craftsmen recognized this difficulty from what they
saw in France, or whether the idea of improving the circular type did
not occur to them, it is impossible to say; but no attempt in this
direction was made, unless it may have been at Rothwell Market-house
(1577), where a circular staircase of considerable width was intended,
although no remains of the actual stairs exist. There seems to be no
intermediate type between the stone spiral and the straight flight
in wood. In France, and especially in the district of the Loire, the
old narrow, difficult steps were wonderfully improved; from being
merely a means of ascending, they became elaborate pieces of work,
upon which much ingenuity of contrivance and ornament was bestowed.
From being two or three feet wide, they became ten or twelve. Instead
of curling up a narrow turret, they occupied a considerable tower,
and the tower, being one of the chief features of the house, had to
be treated with great care. Much fancy was expended upon the internal
treatment; a handrail was worked upon the newel, and wound round it
in a continuous line; another projection formed a plinth, a third
served as a cornice; another cornice followed the sweep of the steps
where they rested on the outside wall: everything was done to make the
constructional features serve as ornaments, and the results were some
of the most interesting and curious pieces of stonework that can be
seen. But nothing of the kind was attempted in England. The nearest
approach is the stone vaulted staircase at Burghley House (Plate
LXXII.), which resembles some of those in France, where the steps are
carried in straight flights instead of round a central newel. There is
such an instance at the Château de Chenonceau, where the two straight
flights are on either side of a dividing wall, the lower flight merging
into the upper by means of winding stairs. These winding stairs were
eschewed by English designers, who nearly always kept to straight runs,
and at Burghley the two main flights are connected by a shorter one
across the landing. The date of this staircase is not quite certain,
but it probably belongs to the work which was being done about the year
1556. The idea of stone vaulted stairs, however, did not obtain any
hold in England, and there are very few examples to be found. All the
finest staircases are of wood, and they seem to have sprung into being
without any gradual growth; the connecting links between them and the
old corkscrew type, if there were any, have disappeared.
[Illustration: 172.--STAIRCASE AT LYVEDEN OLD BUILDING,
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE.]
[Illustration: PLATE LXXII.
STAIRCASE FROM BURGHLEY HOUSE, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE.]
[Illustration: 173.--DETAILS OF STAIRCASE, HAMBLETON OLD HALL,
RUTLAND.]
[Illustration: 174.--STAIRCASE FROM EAST QUANTOCKSHEAD, SOMERSET.]
[Illustration: 175.--DETAILS OF STAIRCASE, LYVEDEN OLD BUILDING,
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE.]
[Illustration: PLATE LXXIII.
PLANS OF STAIRCASES FROM JOHN THORPE'S DRAWINGS IN THE SOANE MUSEUM.]
[Illustration: 176.--PIERCED BALUSTER.]
[Illustration: 177.--STAIRCASE AT OCKWELLS MANOR HOUSE, BERKSHIRE.]
The principle upon which these wood staircases were constructed may
be compared to that of the ladder, where the sides of the ladder
are replaced by deep and comparatively narrow pieces of wood called
"strings," and the rungs are replaced by the treads and risers. One
side of this amplified ladder was placed hard on to the wall, the
foot of the other was secured into a stout upright post, or "newel,"
as also was the top: into the same newel that received the top of the
first string the foot of the second was secured at right angles, and
so onwards and upwards as far as the staircase extended. At about two
feet above the top of the string, and parallel to it, was the handrail,
and between the handrail and the string were fixed the balusters. The
top of the first flight leant against a flat landing, on which also
the foot of the next flight rested. The construction, therefore, was
extremely simple in principle, far simpler than that of the continuous
winding flights of the eighteenth century; but the component parts
were often highly decorated. All the woodwork was of fairly large
dimensions; the newels were six, seven, or eight inches square, the
handrail was generally nearly as wide as the newel, the strings were
three inches thick or even more, the balusters were proportionately
massive. The flights were five or six feet wide, and comprised usually
about six steps, although they were longer when necessity demanded it.
The plans on Plate LXXIII. show various arrangements of staircases
taken from John Thorpe's collection of plans in the Soane Museum.
Nos. 1 and 2 are the most usual types, and of these No. 1 is the more
frequent. The space to be occupied by the stairs is divided into nine
equal squares, of which those in the corners represent the landings,
while the intermediate ones are occupied by the steps; the middle
square is the "well-hole." The staircase at Lyveden Old Building, in
Northamptonshire, is planned on this principle, and the effect can be
seen in the sketch in Fig. 172. The flights in this case consist of
seven steps each. This arrangement is very simple, but it necessitates
the access to the upper rooms being from one of the comparatively small
corner landings. Another plan, giving a larger landing at the top, is
shown in No. 2, and an amplification of the same idea is given in No.
3, where, a larger number of steps being required, the sides have two
flights with an intermediate landing. Sometimes the central square,
instead of being occupied by an open well-hole, was either a solid
block or a shell of masonry, round the four sides of which the steps
ascended. Such an arrangement is shown in No. 5, where also may be
seen some winding steps in one of the corners; but these winders are
not of frequent occurrence, short straight flights being the rule.
These four types are those most frequently adopted. Of the others, No.
4 is an instance of the employment of winders, and shows the somewhat
unusual arrangement of two lower flights combining into one upper
flight; No. 6, being in a turret, consists wholly of winders; and
Nos. 7 and 8 are instances of a rather grander style of planning, in
which it is evident that considerable effect was aimed at. The plans
varied, of course, according to the disposition of the rooms to be
reached; the chief characteristics were simplicity of construction
and massiveness of effect. In the less important houses the work was
fairly plain: the newels were unornamented, except for a shaped top;
the string was moulded at the top and bottom; the balusters were merely
stout turned bars. But there was much variety imparted to the turning,
and while many of the outlines are rather clumsy, many of them also
exhibit considerable subtlety and refinement. To increase the richness
of effect the newels were ornamented either with carving, or with a
pattern contrived by sinking the groundwork, thus leaving the pattern
itself raised and at the same level as the general face of the newel.
The tops of the newel were sometimes little more than round knobs,
as at Hambleton Old Hall (Fig. 173), and a house at Warwick (Fig.
180); but more often they projected far above the handrail and were
shaped in a variety of ways, of which four examples of varying degrees
of elaboration are given from East Quantockshead (Fig. 174), Lyveden
Old Building (Fig. 175), Ockwells Manor House (Figs. 177, 178), and
the Charterhouse (Fig. 181). They were sometimes made the pedestals
upon which figures were placed--such as boys playing instruments, as
at Hatfield; or warriors in various guises, as at Blickling; or the
animal sacred to the particular family concerned, and hallowed in
their sight by being borne in their coat of arms. The newels at the
Charterhouse carry a crest by way of finial (Fig. 181). Then the outer
surface of the outer string would be also carved (Figs. 179 and 181),
or decorated with a pattern; and the balusters would sometimes be flat
pieces of wood shaped and pierced in a variety of patterns (Fig. 176).
Sometimes, instead of balusters there was a series of arches springing
from small columns and following the upward rake of the stairs; as at
Ockwells Manor House (Figs. 177, 178), and the Charterhouse (Fig. 181).
Or, again, the balustrade would consist of woodwork cut and slightly
carved into a version of the favourite strap-work pattern, like that
at Benthall Hall, Shropshire (Fig. 179). Not infrequently the space at
command forbade the arranging of the flights at right angles to each
other; the second flight then returned side by side with the first. In
such cases either the newels were increased in width sufficiently to
take both the handrails, or the handrail and string intersected each
other in the way shown on Fig. 180. Occasionally, when a little space
divided the flights, the great newels were carried up and joined to
each other by wood arches, as in the instance of a staircase at Audley
End (Plate LXXIV.): this kind of treatment occasionally produced a most
intricate result, of which a careful study is required in order to make
out what are its component parts.
[Illustration: 178.--STAIRCASE AT OCKWELLS MANOR HOUSE, BERKSHIRE.
PLANS AND DETAILS.]
[Illustration: 179.--STAIRCASE AT BENTHALL HALL, SHROPSHIRE.]
[Illustration: 180.--STAIRCASE AT WARWICK.]
[Illustration: 181.--STAIRCASE AT THE CHARTERHOUSE.]
There was no end to the variety which the workmen imparted to the
simple constructional features which were the groundwork of the design.
The points which were always aimed at were breadth of way, ease of
ascent, massive appearance, and very frequently richness of effect.
The series of stout newels going up and up in a long procession, each
crowned with a handsome finial or heraldic animal, alone is enough to
lend stateliness to the staircase; and when these are supplemented
with quaint balusters, or a row of arches, or, as in later days, with
a carved foliated filling, beyond which is seen the highly ornamented
string of the upper flight, the whole effect is particularly striking.
As a rule the flights were short, from six to eight steps being
considered enough between the various landings, but the number varied
according to the height to be attained and the space at command.
These fine staircases were clearly made for show as well as use,
because it not infrequently happens that having reached the first
floor, which was their chief object, they sweep upwards with equal
grandeur to the next, where there are only insignificant attics. The
upper staircase, however, although it leads to no important room,
would be in full view of those who came to the first floor; and it
was on this floor that some rooms were placed which were the resort
of all who were staying in the house--namely, the Great Chamber and
the Long Gallery. The great chamber was, among princes and nobles, the
presence chamber, where they received guests. It was the "Great Chamber
of Estate." In smaller houses it answered much the same end as the
drawing-room of the present day. Even so inconsiderable a person as
Slender, who was a small squire, had a great chamber in his house,
which he took care to mention casually in the course of his controversy
with Falstaff as to the picking of his pocket.
[Illustration: PLATE LXXIV.
STAIRCASE AT AUDLEY END, ESSEX.]
THE LONG GALLERY.
The Long Gallery is a feature peculiarly characteristic of the times of
Elizabeth and James. Mention has already been made of this apartment,
and of the fact that not a few houses were specially planned so as to
obtain a gallery of great length. Some of them were extravagant in this
respect, the length being as much as eight and ten times the width.
At Buckhurst House the gallery was 254 feet long by 16 feet wide, at
Ampthill 245 feet by 22 feet, but it is not quite certain that these
were not divided into two lengths each. John Thorpe shows the gallery
at Slaugham Place to be 200 feet by 27 feet, Audley End probably 190
feet by 27 feet, Holdenby 140 feet by 22 feet, Aston Hall 140 feet by
18 feet, Copthall 136 feet by 22 feet, Burghley 128 feet by 18 feet,
and Wollaton 100 feet by 18 feet. Others, to which there are no names,
are 200 feet by 20 feet, 150 feet by 25 feet, and 150 feet by 17 feet,
besides many of 80 feet in length by widths varying from 10 feet to
21 feet. The purpose of such a long apartment has never been fully
explained: it may have been for exercise; it may have had its origin
from reasons of display or in imitation of royal palaces, where its
use as an ante-room to the royal closet is easily understood; or it
may have been merely a development in planning dictated by fashion,
each person vying with his neighbour to obtain a long room. But,
however this may be, no Elizabethan or Jacobean house of any size was
without its long gallery, which was ornamented in the same way as
the great chamber, the parlours, and the hall. The walls were either
hung with tapestry or panelled, the ceiling was richly moulded, the
fireplaces, of which there were two or three in the length, were large
and elaborate. The porch of the house was often carried up to form a
bay window in the middle of the length, and advantage was taken of
other opportunities to break up the extreme length by projections
at the side. It was almost always on the topmost floor, where space
was of less importance for other purposes; but as many of the houses
were only two storeys high, it was usually easy of access, and, of
course, it was approached by one, or oftener two, of the principal
staircases. The room at Haddon, now called the ballroom, is in reality
the long gallery (Plate LXXV.). It is 110 feet 6 inches long by 17
feet 4 inches wide, and its extreme length is broken along one side
by three large projecting bays, the middle one of which, measuring 15
feet by 11 feet 6 inches, is itself large enough for a fair-sized room.
The legend of the elopement of Dorothy Vernon from this "ballroom"
is a modern invention which confuses the public mind in regard to
the household arrangements of that period, for Dorothy's father, who
greatly embellished Haddon, lived during the prevalence of the Late
Tudor style, and had no such huge apartment: it was her husband who
fashioned this long gallery in Elizabeth's time, and adorned it in
the manner then prevalent. This may seem a small point to insist on,
and to the general public no doubt it is; but to the student, whose
imagination naturally clings to the picturesque legend, it is important
to realize that the work in the "ballroom" was not done by Dorothy's
father, who belonged to the Tudor era, but by her husband, who belonged
to the Elizabethan. But leaving this point, it may be remarked that
the gallery is panelled with unusual richness, and the ceiling is felt
to be in harmony with the rest of the work, although the moulded rib
is but small, and the pattern it makes is simple. It may also be noted
that there is but one fireplace in the whole length of 110 feet, which
must have been quite inadequate, according to modern ideas.
The gallery at Aston Hall (Plate LXXVI.) is a fine example of its kind.
The walls are panelled from the floor nearly up to the ceiling, only
sufficient space being left above the woodwork for a plaster frieze.
The panels have an arched enrichment in each of them, in accordance
with the fashion prevalent in King James's time, and they are divided
into bays by shallow pilasters, fluted above, and ornamented with
imitation rustic work below. The ceiling is of great richness, and
itself goes a long way towards "furnishing" the room. There is a row of
windows down one side, and a large one at the end. The Hall is now used
as a museum, and the rail, which occupies a conspicuous position in the
illustration, serves to protect the articles exhibited.
[Illustration: PLATE LXXV.
HADDON HALL, DERBYSHIRE.
THE LONG GALLERY.]
[Illustration: PLATE LXXVI.
ASTON HALL, WARWICKSHIRE.
THE LONG GALLERY (ABOUT 1635).]
Although it is tolerably certain that Sir George Vernon had no such
room as the long gallery, it is not quite clear that houses in
his time were all without them, for at Hampton Court, in the time of
Henry VIII. and Jane Seymour, there was the Queen's long gallery,
which was 180 feet long by 25 feet wide, lighted on both sides, and
having, like Haddon, three bay windows down one side, the middle one
of which was not square but circular.[27] But although the palace had
such an apartment, there is no evidence that the smaller houses in
general possessed them until the time of Elizabeth, when they became of
universal adoption.
[27] _Law_, Vol. I., p. 182.
GLAZING.
[Illustration: 182.--PORTION OF GLAZING FROM IGHTHAM CHURCH, KENT.]
The windows in the gallery at Hampton Court were glazed with heraldic
glass displaying the arms, badges, and mottoes of the King and Queen.
This was in accordance with the custom of the time, the principal
windows being generally more or less filled with heraldic devices
relating to the family who owned the house. Much of this splendid
decoration throughout the country has disappeared, but enough is left
to show that the treatment of the glass followed the same lines as
the carving of stone and wood. In the early part of the century it
consisted of dainty foliage, vases, candelabra, scrolls, and the quaint
animals with attenuated bodies, which are characteristic of Italian
ornament. Toward the end of the century these were replaced with the
strap-work and the great bunches of fruit and flowers which we owe to
Dutch designers. A small part of an early pattern from Ightham Church
is illustrated in Fig. 182; among the Italian vases and flowers is the
English portcullis, the badge of the Tudor family, more particularly
of Henry VII. A good example of the later treatment, when the Dutch
strap-work was in vogue, is given in a panel from Moreton Old Hall on
Plate LXXVII. The strap-work is merely an ornamental border to the
shield bearing the family device, and is treated in the same way as
that which surrounds most of the shields on the tombs of the period.
There is a fair amount of sixteenth century glass to be found up and
down the country, but it is mostly in small pieces, either saved from
the wreck of larger windows, or consisting of detached coats of arms.
The finest display of the later glass that has survived is that in the
dining-room of Gilling Castle, in Yorkshire, where there are several
large windows full of beautiful heraldic glazing. Much of it was the
work of a Dutchman, Bernard Dininckhoff, who signs one of the panels
with the date 1585 (Fig. 183). The hall of the Middle Temple also has
some good heraldic glass which is dated 1570. There were good English
glaziers both before and after Dininckhoff's time. At Hengrave the old
glass, dated 1567, was the work of Robert Wright, who was paid £4
for the "making of all the glasse wyndows of the Manour-place, with the
sodar, and for xiij. skutchens with armes."[28] In the year 1615 one
Walter Gedde published a book of pattern glazing called "A Booke of
Sundry Draughtes. Principally serving for Glasiers; And not Impertinent
for Plasterers and Gardiners: besides sundry other Professions.
Whereunto is annexed the manner how to anniel in Glas; And also the
true forme of the Furnace, and the secretes thereof," in which he gives
103 pages of designs for lead glazing of varying merit, out of which
four have been selected for illustration on Plate LXXVIII. Few, if any,
of these designs have survived in actual execution; such patterns as
are still to be found here and there are somewhat simpler in design.
It is interesting to observe how Walter Gedde considered that his
patterns would be useful to plasterers for the groundwork of their
ceiling-designs, and to gardeners for the ornamental beds and knot-work
with which they embellished their gardens.
[28] _History and Antiquities of Hengrave_, by John Gage.
[Illustration: 183.--GLASS PANEL FROM ONE OF THE WINDOWS AT GILLING
CASTLE, YORKSHIRE (1585).]
[Illustration: PLATE LXXVII.
GLASS PANEL FROM MORETON OLD HALL, CHESHIRE.]
[Illustration: PLATE LXXVIII.
PATTERNS FROM "A BOOKE OF SUNDRY DRAUGHTES."
BY WALTER GEDDE (1615).]
The finest examples of painted glass of the early part of the sixteenth
century are the splendid windows at King's College Chapel, which were
the work of Englishmen. There are also portions of the beautiful
glass from the ruined Chapel of the Holy Ghost at Basingstoke, still
preserved at the church of Basingstoke, and at the Vyne; and there are
three windows in the apse of the chapel of that house. In addition
to these examples, there are several windows at St. Neot's Church in
Cornwall, the character of which inclines more to the Perpendicular
than the Renaissance; there is the east window of St. Margaret's,
Westminster; and there are fragments at Balliol and Queen's Colleges,
Oxford, and at St. James's, Bury St. Edmund's.[29] The ornament forming
the background to the figures in these windows is all similar in
character to that which adorns other work of the same period.
[29] See _The History of Design in Painted Glass_, by N. H. J.
Westlake, 1894, in which are numerous drawings of portions of the glass
mentioned in the text.