If ever the counties of England recover their bygone loyalty to their
own materials and their old traditions, then cob-building will return to
Devon and the West. Cheap bricks, cheap transport, and the ignoble rage
for fashions from the town went far to oust provincial cob from the
affections of those whom, with their forbears, it had housed so well for
several centuries.
Whether the new loyalty be from within, or be imposed from without by
force of circumstances, matters little. What does matter is the fact of
its revival.
For with it will come again the building of cottages that are knit
intimately to their sites and surroundings as of old, cottages
consanguineous with the ground they stand on, be it brick-earth, rock,
or common soil.
The soil of Devonshire and of many parts of Wessex and of Wales serves
excellently well for building in cob or "clom."[3]
[Footnote 3: Probably, indeed, there is no county in the kingdom
that has not considerable areas where the soil would, if tried,
prove well adapted for cob-building.]
The soil itself suggested the construction, and the men of Wessex were
quick to take the hint and to act on it.
The yeomen and small-holders of earlier days were commonly builders too,
and often built their own homes in their own way, yet by the guiding
light of local tradition.
Thus the old Devonian countryman in need of a house would set to and
build it himself--of stone if that were handy and easily worked, of cob
if it were not.
No doubt the doors and windows would be made and fitted by the village
wheelwright; but the cottager himself would thatch or slate the roof as
naturally and successfully as he built.
The skill and care with which these versatile amateurs built their
houses was not always of the highest, and careless construction, like
other sins, is visited on the children--the worse the sooner.
Thus it is that there are to-day plenty of old cob cottages that are
both damp and insecure, but to condemn cob building in general because
certain old builders were careless, ignorant, or incompetent is to
condemn all materials from wattle and daub to ferro-concrete in the same
breath.
Cob, being a humble, amenable, and thoroughly accommodating substance,
has reaped the inevitable reward of good nature in being "put upon" and
in being asked to stand what is quite beyond its powers of endurance,
and yet Devon cob houses of Elizabethan date are not uncommon.
It is very reasonable in its demands, but two things it does
require--dry foundations and a good protecting roof.
To quote an old Devonshire saw on cob--"Giv'un a gude hat and pair of
butes an' 'er'l last for ever."
In many instances the Devonshire leaseholder, usually only a
"life-lease" holder, built badly and on indifferent foundations. He
neglected to repair his thatch, with the consequence that ruin followed
sooner or later. He did not always use rough-cast, so that it often
happened that by the time the lease expired the unfortunate landowner
found that the cottage fell in--in the literal as well as in the legal
sense. The lower portions of the walls were honey-combed with rat-holes,
the walls bulged out or fissures resulted from subsidence, and the
dwelling presented that appearance of squalor and meanness that has led
so many to decry the mud buildings of Devon as relics of bygone
barbarism. But if adequate care is bestowed on the construction, there
is no reason why cob cottages should not prove at one and the same time
comfortable to the inmates and pleasant to the eye, and endure for many
generations.
[Illustration:
+Another view of the Cob House built by Mr. Ernest Gimson,
near Budleigh Salterton, Devon.+
_See Frontispiece_]
[Illustration:
+A fine Specimen of a Devonshire Cob House.+]
[Headnote: The Beauty of Cob]
As to their comeliness and longevity, a day's walk in Devon, or, failing
that, a glance at the printed pictures will tell all that need be told.
That the beauty of cob buildings is not due merely to the irregularities
and weathering produced by the passage of time is sufficiently proved by
the photographs of Mr. Gimson's charming cob cottage, taken soon after
he had finished it.
The work was done a year or two before the war; this is Mr. Gimson's own
description of the manner of its building:
* * *
"The cob was made of the stiff sand found on the site; this was mixed
with water and a great quantity of long wheat straw trodden into it. The
walls were built 3 ft. thick, pared down to 2 ft. 6 in., and were placed
on a plinth standing 18 in. above the ground floor, and built of cobble
stones found among the sand. The walls were given a coat of plaster and
a coat of rough-cast, which was gently trowelled over to smooth the
surface slightly. I believe eight men were engaged on the cobwork, some
preparing the material, and others treading in on to the top of the
walls. It took them about three months to reach the wall plate; the cost
was 6s. a cubic yard, exclusive of the plastering. No centring was used.
The joists rested on plates, and above them the walls were reduced to 2
ft. 2 in. in thickness to leave the ends of the joists free. The beams
also rested on wide plates and the ends were built round with stone,
leaving space for ventilation. Tile or slate lintels were used over all
openings. The cost of the whole house was 6-1/2d. a cubic foot. Building
with cob is soon learnt--of the eight men, only one of them had had any
previous experience, and, I believe, he had not built with it for thirty
years. This is the only house I have built of cob."
* * *
What is most interesting in this narrative is the workmen's lack of
experience, which seems to have been no hindrance. Anyone who proposes
to revive the use of cob may take courage from Mr. Gimson's evidence.
The time spent in building the walls was reasonable and the cost low. It
may be guessed that the post-war rise in cost will be no greater in
proportion, if as great, when compared with brickwork. The natural charm
of the wall surface is enhanced by the crown of thatched roof, modelled
with a skill which few can bring so certainly to their task as Mr.
Gimson.
[Headnote: Method of Building]