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KATHLEEN MA (.jV
PHOTOGRAPHY BY
PRINCIPAL
MICHAEL DUNNE
li
THE GOTHIC REVIVAL in architecture and
design emerged in the early eighteenth cen-
tury as a release from the aesthetic restraints
of classicism. Lavishly illustrated, Gothic Style:
many open to the public in the United States
and Great Britain are explored inside and out
in beautiful full-color photographs and histor-
ic engravings. In addition, the author weaves
an intriguing social history that conveys the
romantic spirit with which tastemakers, archi-
tects, and designers have captured the medi-
eval past.
After decades of neglect, the Gothic style is
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J^rckiUcluu and Interiors
from th
Siaktanth Qmtury
to th
Present
KATHLEEN MAHONEY
PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY BY
MICHAEL DUNNE
ADDITIONAI PHOTOGRAPHS BY JOHN MAHONEY AND NIGEL HUDSON
]ac]<^JAacurdy
Frontispiece; Vhe round room at Strawhcrry Hill, with its stained' alass hay window
and decorative dado, can he seen heyond the doorway at the far end of the lona aallery.
A^t each corner of the doorframe are gilded quatrefoils with shields m their centers.
to he thefrst Qothic sham rum in 6>ngland as well as one of the hest. It was heaun in
NA966.5.G66M326 1995
724'.3~dc20 ,
94-32731
that restlessness of tke dreaming mind, that wanders hither and tkitker
amona the niches, and flic]<^rs feverishly around the pnnacles, and frets
and fades in lahwinthine knots and shadows alona wall and roof,
Introduction 9
l^mUmth-^ Qcntury
Part II
Qastlcs df a Qo\kic
Qjttagcs & Qardm
transformation 135
^wdlmas 47
Birr Castle 145
Houghton Lodge 55
Eastnor Castle 153
Clytha Castle 59
Cardiff Castle 157
Frampton Court Orangery 63
The Ring 69
Inwardleigh Cottage 73
Chandos Lodge 79
Contents
PartV Part VII
Andalusia 203
Roselanc 211 <
Kingscote 215
Staunton Hil 219
Bishop Gilbert Haven Cottage 223
Tom Fallon Cottage 231
Introduction
Unitt: J Kinadom . y\II that now a taste for Gothic, after a long^ hiatus, is re-
remains is a skeleton of arches
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, featuring decorative arts from the Gothic
Revival period, plus the addition of a Gothic Revival room at New York
petus. These days, as prices for antique Gothic treasures climb, sending
Gothic's rich design heritage for inspiration. Gothic designs are turning up
10
The reappearance of Gothic in the eighteenth
century was brought about in part by a fascination
with the legends and lore of medieval times. Ballads
written during the Middle Ages became extremely
popular and were a source of inspiration for creative
spirits of the dav, who were captivated bv notions
of knighthood and chivalrv. The dark side of the
Middle Ages was particularly exciting to poets and
writers, who delved into the mysterious and the su-
pernatural with great abandon. This fascination was
largely responsible for the building of castles during
Ju5t Oicross ^ Welsk \)orhr, on tli^ riaht banl^^of tlw ^it'r Wvt% s\\s
tialitttntli ttnturv.
11
liberal use of the jigsaw. Steeply pitched gables Ot^^osxU: Vhnc illustrations from Vhomas ^^c]<^ans 1819 hooh^,
gaily trimmed with lacy vergeboards and decorative An Attempt to Discriminate the Styles of Architecture
bay and oriel windows extending from fa9ades gave in England from the Conquest to the Reformation, show
f
regressive stages m tKe da)eloi^ment of the Gothic style. &arly Snalish
a storybook look to houses. Castle-like residences,
(1189-1280) 15 characterised hy narrow lancet windows frecmently
while less popular in the States than in England,
combined with clustered columns, decorated English
nevertheless made an appearance, especially along (1280-1^80) IS distinguished hy elaborate curvilinear window
the picturesque banks of the Hudson River. tracery. Vhe 'Perpendicular Style (1280-1^^^) features windows
spelling Gothick w^hen referring to the exuberant brought back fi^om the jCrusades of the twelfth century.
eighteenth- century influences, as writers at the time The original Gothic style actually evolved from
commonly did, and Gothic Revival to denote only the Romanesque and had its beginnings in France
the later, more serious nineteenth-century forms. 1 at the church of St. Denis just outside Paris, the
have chosen to use Gothick as the English do in or- construction of which was begun in 1140. It was
der to clearly distinguish between the two very dif- the parts of the church to be completed last the
ferent stylistic trends. choir, aisles, and chapels, distinguished by their
For citizens of the eighteenth century, putting a pointed arches and ribbed vaults that were dis-
name to this eccentric, budding style was something tinctly Gothic. Less than one hundred years later,
of a problem. The word Gothic conjured up visions with the building of Chartres in 1220, the Gothic
of the Visigoths, who overran Europe from the third style was to reach its zenith.
to the fifth centuries, bringing about an end to the What made this style unique was the way it han-
Roman Empire. Controversy about the nomen- dled architectural stress. With arches designed to
clature raged throughout the eighteenth century, as push against each other, stone walls, stabilized by
alternate names such as Pointed, Christian, and reinforcements in the form of exposed flying but-
English were suggested. The term Gothic seems to tresses, climbed to heights never before reached.
have actually originated in sixteenth-century Italy, Another outstanding quality of Gothic was its ex-
where design influences based on the precepts of traordinary use of light. As the style developed,
classical Roman architecture were faithfully adhered walls became mere shells to house vast expanses of
to. Italians looked disdainfully upon anything not clas- luminescent stained-glass windows, which flooded
sical, thinking of it as barbaric. A seventeenth- century church interiors with multifaceted rays of light.
dictionary defined Gothic as anything crude or rough. These masterpieces of architecture also employed
With the study of history still in a primitive state vaulted ceilings, pinnacles, tracery, and decorative
in the eighteenth century, Gothic's twelfth-century details such as crockets and gargoyles related to
origins were vague to most. Some, like writers nature or to the grotesque; all were united into a
12
Ittiip
symbiotic union of design and structure. leges and universities still look to those early halls of
While Roche Abbev (c. 1 160) is credited as the learning for architectural inspiration.
first Gothic building in England, a more fully devel- Gothic reigned supreme throughout the Middle
oped Gothic style appeared just fifteen years later, Ages. Like all design movements that endure over a
with the replacement of the choir destroyed by fire broad period of time, as it evolved it manifested
at the legendary Norman Canterbury Cathedral. elements that were generally characteristic of a par-
French influences continued in England, especially ticular stage. Historian Thomas Rickman, in his
at Canterbury and Westminster Abbey, but before 1819 handbook. An Attempt to Discriminate the Stjles
long the English developed a style entirely their of Architecture in England Jrom the Conquest to the Re-
own. Rejecting the soaring heights of the French formation, divided medieval architecture into tour
cathedrals and their lavish use of carved ornamenta- periods, establishing names for each still in use to-
tion, the English elected instead to elongate, replac- day. It was to bring Gothic a step closer to gaining
ing a grouping of chapels with a square east end and academic respectability at the time.
adding a transept positioned almost in the center, The first, which started with the rei^n of
with cin occasional smaller second transept. Interiors William I and the Norman Conquest in 1066, was
were frequently divided into compartments. appropriately called Norman. It was the second
Gothic architecture eventually made its way period, referred to by Rickman as Early English,
from ecclesiastical buildings to residences, civil that marked the beginnings of Gothic. Character-
buildings, and colleges, such as Oxford and Cam- ized by the use of narrow lancet windows and
bridge, established in the twelfth century, and the clustered columns, Early English beaan around
public schools Winchester and Eton, founded in 1 189, as Richard I assumed the throne, extending
1387 and 1440, respectively. This design tradition until 1280.
stretches into the twentieth century, as many col- The transition from one phase to another was a
13
gradual one. The use of bar tracery, consisting of pope for refusing to declare his marriage to his first
branching ribs or mulhons in windows, allowing wife invalid. The King was appointed head of the
them to be made considerably larger, was first in- Church of England by Parliament, establishing an
troduced in France at Reims Cathedral in 1211 and independent national Anglican Church and the start
was quickly adopted by the English during what of the English Reformation. Two years later, land
Rickman termed the Decorated period, which fol- owned by the Catholic church was confiscated by
lowed roughly one hundred years after the start of the Crown. While some of England's great country
Early English. An important step in the evolution of houses v^e-re subsequently built on the foundations
Gothic, the subdivision of windows, now an essen- of dispossessed old Catholic abbeys, a number of
tial part of the structure, ultimately progressed to Gothic churches were left to ruin, and by the eigh-
the point where walls diminished to mere skeletal teenth century all that remained of the once vastly
forms. It was during this period that ornament be- powerful structures were skeletal forms made up of
came more naturalistic and less restricted to struc- crumbling arches and walls.
tural use. To the romantic-minded eighteenth-century En-
By the fourteenth century, the Continent was glish tourists, these Gothic ruins were looked upon
moying toward the Renaissance. The Hundred as wonderfully picturesque and melancholic. One
Years' War betw^een England and France raged from of the most popular of the solitary sites to visit was
1337 to 1453 and resulted in England's loss of all its the Cistercian Tintern Abbey in Wales, which
French possessions save for Calais. Coupled with proved to be a source of inspiration for eighteenth-
Henry VIII's battles with the papacy sometime later, century artists and writers such as J.
M. W. Turner,
England was cut off from much of Catholic Europe, one of the most important painters of his time, and
prolonging the use of Gothic. The Perpendicular the then-popular travel writer the Reverend
Style, which evolved during this time, was uniquely William Gilpin, who wrote of Tintern, "Mosses of
English. Its emphasis was on verticality and the use various hues, with lychens, maiden hair, penny-leaf,
of light. Window tracery became rectangular, orna- and other humble plants, overspread the sur-
mented with simple cusping. The decorative fan face ... all together they give these full-blown tints
vault and elaborate paneled walls, which we will see which add the richest finishing to a ruin." Sem-
adapted in a number of beautiful manor houses of blances of ruins recalling the melancholy remains of
the eighteenth century, were introduced. Many older these early feats of architecture were soon to grace
cathedrals were the recipients of graceful new towers. lush English gardens. Decidedly whimsical, they
The Tudor style, characterized by flat centered were to become the first step in the revival of Gothic.
arches used over doors and windows and elaborate By the sixteenth century the Renaissance had
vaulting, was considered the last phase of the Per- brought neoclassicism into the mainstream of de-
pendicular period, r,unning from about 1485 to sign throughout much of Europe, but it was not until
1555. It, too, was restricted to England. While not the first quarter of the seventeenth century that
a period of great church building, a number of the Renaissance came to England, spearheaded by
beautiful chapels, such as the one at King's College, leading English architect Inigo Jones. It was the
Cambridge, were built during this time. rebellion against these forms a century later that ul-
In 1534 King Henry VIII retaliated against the timately motivated the return of Gothic. Once
14
.
cJinttTn ^bk'v, a
mcdiaal monastcrx
settled bv monk^ oj
tlxe Qisteraan
order, faces toward
the ^cshytcry.
which housed
of the 2 ^6'foot'
loncj church is on
ensconced, Gothic went on to dominate design when I first came across pictures of Horace Wal-
throughout much of the nineteenth century. pole's Straw berrv Hill. 1 was drawn to its fantasy
and its delight in the unexpected and in short order
Because of the vast scope of the movement, I found myself delving into books on the subject to
have elected to concentrate on Gothic's more hght- learn more about this remarkable period, which
hearted aspects, found in the earh' davs of its reap- was sadly neglected in mv art history classes. For
pearance in the British Isles and its subsequent entrv those of vou who have already been initiated into
into America, with a brief look at mid-nineteenth- this energetic, eccentric stvle, it is my wish that mv
century English adaptations for comparison, and, book will afford some undiscovered insights and a
finally, to trace its intriguing journey into the twen- greater appreciation of Gothic.
tieth century with a closing glance at recent inter- I have provided a glossary at the back of the book
pretations. for clarification of architectural terms and a bibliog-
For those of vou who are unfamiliar with the raphy that lists recent relevant books and early man-
Gothic Revival, it is mv hope that you will find as uscripts for those who have an interest in pursuing
much pleasure in the discovery of Gothic as I did the subject further.
15
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Previous A. Spsss^pmBBsaml HROUGHOUT the seventeenth century and
m
fiac^cs:
detail of a rcpvducUim
Uj^f^M well into the eighteenth, grandly formal En-
of an 8>ncj\isU loilc in
the "^run.stliu'i^ & Fib glish houses were looked upon as the height of
archives, oncjxnally done
a Gothicl<^ tjardcn
illustrated in ^Paul
M were governed by the same precepts,
symmetrical preci-
'^ec]<^r's
1759
sion, with arbors, parterres, and plantings clipped to within an inch of their
Gothic Architec-
ture, Decorated. lives. As the eighteenth century progressed, however, a totally new spirit
Opposite. A. Qothick^
swept the country, first surfacing in the verdant gardens of English estates.
Fueled by the works of literary and artistic talents of the dav, the voice
of reason was replaced by a force that delighted in the senses and the cmo-
19
tions. These new attitudes proved to be fertile soil Italian Salvator Rosa, which were brought back as
for a style as eccentric as Gothick. With its link to souvenirs by well-bred young gentlemen who un-
nature, its boldness, and its brooding melancholy, dertook the Grand Tour throughout Europe as an
Gothick was a natural expression of the country's essential part of their education.
budding romantic mood. Encouraging inventiveness, Contemporary writer KelH Pryor aptly describes
its exuberant form provided an escape from classical the works of artists Poussin and Lorrain. "Nicolas
tradition. The early high-spirited, decorative eigh- Poussin created memorials to human virtue in
teenth-century interpretations, referred to as Geor- which thfe land was every bit as heroic as the mytho-
gian Gothick, rococo, and Strawberry Hill Gothic, logical figures that inhabited it. At the same time,
were less concerned with historical accuracy than his fellow countr^Tnan Claude Lorrain explored the
they were with evoking a mood. countryside around Rome, painting expansive pas-
Manv credit the multitalented William Kent with toral idylls caught in the honeyed light of early morn-
formulating the concept of the landscape garden. ing or late afternoon. His gentle nostalgia for a golden
Gothick luminary Horace Walpole described Kent age, one in which human and natural forms coexist-
enough to taste the charms of landscape, ed harmoniously, holds ."^
as "painter a special appeal. . .
bold and opinionative enough to dare and to dictate, Kent's image of a garden was one unencumbered
and born with a genius to strike out a great system by boundaries; it was made possible with the intro-
from the twilight of imperfect essays."^ A major in- duction of ha-ha's, ditches surrounding country
fluence on Kent and other designers came from houses, reinforced bv stones and bricks that were
landscape paintings of seventeenth- century French constructed to confine animals to the adjoining
artists Claude Lorrain and Nicolas Poussin, and the fields, thus allowing fences, walls, and other visible
20
means of enclosure to be eliminated. Walpole be-
lieved that ha-ha's were a decisive element in the evo-
pentine paths and grottoes interspersed with patches wonderful views of the countr\side and functioned as an eye-catcher for
series of picturesque vistas, is the onlv garden de- scape 2;ardens. The deceptive buildings were not
sign of Kent's that has survived unaltered. Kent's only designed to look like remnants from an earlier
first garden commission was at Chiswick, a familv civilization, they were also built to give the appear-
estate of his mentor. Lord Burlin2;ton, where the ance of being constructed of stone when in fact they
two collaborated in the 1729 design of an immense were frequentlv made of wood and covered with
and irregular garden. Kensington, one of many gar- plaster or canvas.
den commissions that followed for Kent, "even had It was onlv natural for English gardeners to
dead trees planted in it to heighten the similaritv to include Gothic as well as classical ruins as eve-
Salvator's landscapes," as writer Christopher Hussey catchers in their romantic picturesque gardens.
noted in his book The Picturesque. "^
With the dissolution of the Catholic Church bv
The versatile Kent also occasionallv emploved Goth- Henrv VIII in the earlv sixteenth centurv, manv
ic motifs for garden structures, such as in his 1733 Gothic abbeys and priories were left to ruin.
design of Merlin's cave, a thatched Gothick follv built Coupled a centurv later with Cromwell's plunder-
in Richmond Park, now known as Kew Gardens. It ing of Tudor countrv houses during England's civil
was demolished in 1764, when landscape gardener war, authentic Gothic ruins abounded throughout
Capability BrowTi replaced the formal gardens. the countryside. When proximity permitted, real
The paintings of the seventeenth-century artists monastic ruins such as those at Rievaulx, Fountains,
frequentlv included a distant classical ruin to catch and Roche were actually incorporated into adjoin-
the eve, and before long similar structures punc- ing gardens, capitalizing on their evocative and dec-
tuated English estates. These seemingly decaying orative qualities. Lord Kames was amon^ those who
castles, referred to as sham ruins, lent an air of preferred the Gothick style for sham ruins. In his
mystery and melancholy to newly developed land- 1762 Elements of Criticism, he commented, "Gothic
21
Go^liick jf CArmA/r
4 4-
7..::.^,
^\\ra delyktjiil en^rann^s, Xivo oj Qotlnck^tt'mplt's ancl one of a Qotliu\pornco, jrom Gothic Architecture Improved by Rules and Pro-
portions, the 1742 pattern book^l?)' ^att)* and c/Komas Lan^le^/, u'kich u^as instrumental m encouraaina tite use 0/ Got}tK\jor aardcn huildinas.
exhibits the triumph of time over strength; a melan- Miller, a wealthy gentleman architect whose talents
choly, but not unpleasant thought; a Grecian ruin were frequently called upon in the adaptation of
suggests rather the triumph of barbarity over taste; Gothick. In 1745 he designed a sham ruin for himself
a gloomy discouraging thought."^ in the form of a Gothick tower, with heraldic shields,
One of the first of these intriguing ruined castles stained glass, and even a nonfunctioning drawbridge.
was Alfred's Hall, first built in 1721 and enlarged in Its hilltop spot near a picturesque thatched cottage he
1732 on the magnificent grounds of Cirencester had built the previous year in the village of Edge Hill
Park by the first Earl of Bathurst. Bathurst was a afforded a pleasant view of the surrounding country-
close friend of poet Alexander Pope, an early cru- side and functioned as a distant eye-catcher from his
sader for liberating orderly gardens, who, in a 1713 Radway Grange estate below. In short order it be-
essay in The Guardian, wrote, "There is certainly came a tourist attraction, establishing Miller's repu-
something in the amiable Simplicity of unadorned tation for the design of ruins. Not long after its
Nature, that spreads over the Mind a more noble completion Miller was commissioned by Sir George
sort of Tranquility, and a loftier Sensation of Plea- Lyttelton to build a ruined castle in his expansive
sure, than can be raised from the nicer Scenes of Hagley Park near Stourbridge (see page 25).
Art."^ In his own three-and-a-half-acre garden in Miller's more important Gothick contributions
Twickenham, Pope abandoned parterres and av- included the 1755 addition of a splendid Gothick
enues, replacing them with a broad vista enclosed entrance hall at Lacock Abbey and early restoration
by woodland that was interrupted by serpentine efforts at his friend Roger Newdigate's fantastic Ar-
walks and a hidden grotto. bury Hall, where he is believed to have executed
Another early Gothick luminary was Sanderson several two-story bay windows with cusped panel-
22
.
ing, an architectural embellishment for which Miller became known as the Battv Langley Manner. The
became known (see page 111). double-curved ogee arch prominently featured in
As the centurv progressed, garden building^s of his pattern book was one of its major characteristics.
great variety, referred to collectively as follies, be- A prolific writer with more than twenty publications
came increasingly popular as \\ himsical adornments to his name, Langley had been one of the first to ad-
scattered about the landscape. Some were posi- vocate the use of ruins to end garden walks, in a
tioned on hilltops with sweeping vistas of pic- 1728 publication, Principles of Gardening.
turesque gardens below or at the edge of man-made His many design books were extremely popular,
lakes, their decorative facades charmingly reflected and, like a number of design books of the day,
in the tranquil water; many were placed at the end Gothic Architecture Improved carried a list of support-
of g^arden paths, while others were tucked away in a ers; the illustrious group included bishops, judges,
secret grove waiting to delight the discoverer. It was and members of the nobility. Among them was
in the design of these fanciful garden structures that Horace Walpole. Walpole, however, engrossed in
the Gothic Revival had its beginnings. the world of antiquity, considered his vision of
Designs for these decorative garden structures Gothick far superior to Langley 's free interpreta-
were frequently copied from pattern books, which tion. He disdained Lang^lev's original approach
were influential in encouraging trends. Inexpensive because Langlev presumed to improve upon au-
and readily available, pattern books proliferated thentic forms in an attempt to update the style for
throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, eighteenth-century tastes. Walpole's villa, Straw-
specializing in such subjects as architecture, furni- berry Hill, brought his own personal interpretation
ture design, and garden planning. of Gothick to reality a decade later (see page 101 ).
The first to suggest and illustrate Gothick build- Interestingly, some of its early exterior renovations
ings for gardens in a pattern book was a sometime bear a great similarity to designs featured in Lang-
architect and gardener by the unlikely name of ley's book.
Batty Langley, who, in response to growing interest By mid-century, garden follies had become an
in Gothick, published Gothic Architecture Improved essential element in English garden design, fre-
by Rules and Proportions. In Many Grand Designs in quently providing a visual connection to the main
1742 with his brother Thomas. It contained a total house as well as a melancholic reference. The lively
of sixty-four delightful engravings of temples, "um- forms of Gothick, adapted for a significant number
brellos," fireplaces, windows, doorways, and pavil- of garden structures, sparked the imagination of
ions, confections dreamed up by Langlev that only architects and landowners, leading to further
vaguely resembled their medieval ancestry. It also experimentation
included five "Gothick Orders" that Langlev invent- By the end of the eighteenth centurv, with the
ed, based on those found in classical design, in his growth of the Picturesque Movement, which es-
attempt to make Gothic conform to prevailing clas- poused the adoption of a painterly approach to gar-
sical standards. dens, garden buildings as well as manor houses
Langley 's unique designs were decorative as well were looked upon primarily as elements within a
as innovative and were responsible to a large extent composition. Their placement was established
for the development of a style that in its early stages based on their pictorial effect upon a scene.
23
', .' >>'''
^-
i^m.
.
Hagley Park
SHAM RUIN
The first Lord Lvttelton, who was responsible for Haglev Hall's
cmhelUsh\m the extensive Cjrounds of politics, he served for a year as the prestigious Chancellor of the Exche-
HaMcy ^ark^, desianed h\ "gentleman"
architect Sanderson 'filler m quer. He was also a poet and historian with a lar2;e number of literarv
1747,
15 a ^rime example of a sham ruin, one
friends, including Henry Fielding, whose novel Tom Jones was dedicated to
of the first structures to punctuate
eighteenth' century landscaj^e gardens. him. Horace Walpolc was a friend as well.
^hove: A. detail of the sham ruin wall Lyttelton had original Iv wanted Sanderson Miller to redesi2;n his 1 564
25
family house in the Gothick style, but with consider-
able persuasion from his wife, he finally elected to
^clow: '^csiancd to k viewed from a distance and to suggest medieval
build a Palladian mansion executed by Miller. Com-
oriains, the seeminaly decaying castle, sheltered hy a large sycamore, ivas
authentic thirteenth-century ahhey that lay in ruin nearhy. Palladian houses in England.
In keeping with the fashion of the day, Lyttelton
built a collection of follies throughout his grounds.
Dispersed about were a Doric temple, an Ionic ro-
tunda, an obelisk, and a ruined castle situated on
what Walpole described as "a hill of three miles, but
broke into all manner of beauty."^ When Lyttelton
saw the sham ruin Sanderson Miller had designed for
himself at Radway Grange, he wanted one as well.
the hill "your eye will, delighted, repose ... on an^ thirteen \aX m diamettT, was onainall)' used (xs a aami}^VDvrs Xoiat.
the remains of an old dusty building, solemn and l^w leasecJ io a lau'ver, tke liimmutife castle strvcs as kis couwXr^ Kowse.
27
^ V,.-. -.^iii^l^^S^^ JsSf.-
Enville
SUMMER HOUSE
j\hove: Vhc jlamhoyant cunts toppma the Lord Stamford, filled its spacious grounds with a dazzling array of delight-
front facade of the recently restored summer
house are rcj^eated over the doorway and its
ful follies.
throughout years as a
referred to tlt
were Gothic in design. A nineteenth-century addition included a spectac-
billiard room and a museum.
ular Gothic glass conservatory 160 feet long. One of few that has survived
Opposite: cTKe decorative Gothicku'in-
the passage of time is the recently restored summer house, believed to
dows of the summer house at Snville are
Subtle hlocks of^inted arches run across An eighteenth-century letter mentions "an exceedingly, well designed
at midpoint.
+ 29 +
^^R}g}it and hclow: One of
the few rcmaimna follies
on the >nville estate, this
eighteenth century as
30
-
A. ^cn-and'wash drawing
hy William and '^avid
Hiorne of a garden "scat" at
ing ogee arches and rose windows are similar to central section a large, round, flower- like painted
Keene's lovely Hartwell church in Buckingham- glass window is joined by two smaller ones on
shire, one of the few rococo Gothick churches de- either side.
signed during this time. About twentv-four feet deep, the summer house's
Situated in a clump of trees not far from the main interior, once elaborately decked out in fanciful
house, the Batty Langley style summer house can plasterwork, is still in need of restoring. A decorative
be seen across the manicured lawn from the dining fireplace flanked by windows is centered on the back
room and the master bedroom windows. Its out- wall; side walls are ornamented with three delicate
standing architectural feature is its triple ogee- plaster ogee-shaped arches, the central ones carved
shaped arches, trimmed with finials and crockets, out to form niches. A suggestion of a plaster molding
that form the top of its front facade. This lyrical just under the ceiling remains.
ogee shape is repeated atop the central door, which Sold about fifteen years ago, Enville is now man-
most probably had a finial at its apex, and on the aged by the Trustees of Enville Estate. Recentlv a
two small windows flanking it. grant from English Heritage, coupled with a gen-
Decorative clustered columns run up the facade erous contribution from Enville s present owner,
and join the inner ends of the top ogee arches, has enabled repair to be undertaken bv William
dividing the building visually into thirds. In the Hawkes, an authority on Sanderson Miller.
31
-
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4
Painshill Park
GOTHICK TEMPLE
AND
SHAM RUIN
Oppo5it; ^amsliill ^ar](s recently rebuilt gardeners, the beautiful Painshill Park in Cobham, Surrey, was designed
sham rum is in need of weatherincj and
vcQctatwn climhina its pristine walls to
by its owner, the Honorable Charles Hamilton, an inspired horticulturist.
give it the desired appearanct' of an
Hamilton possessed the imagination of an artist and incorporated this with
authentic rum.
a love of the unexpected in the design of his park. One of the most
trived landscaping, designed for optimum visual effect, with winding cir-
Romantic Movement.
33
Hamilton purchased a lease in 1738 for 250 acres to determine Hamilton's original plan; descriptions
that were formerly part of a deer park owned by from early visitors were especially helpful. The
Henry VII. During the following thirty-five years he Gothick temple and the sham ruin shown here were
transformed the barren heath into one of the finest the first to be restored. Painshill Park has recently
and best-known gardens in England. Painshill was reopened to the public.
one of the first gardens to include an assemblage of
plants from the American colonies.
Many traveled to Painshill to enjoy Hamilton's t^
park in 1773. Miraculously, it survived the follow- patk not far from the entrance to
ing 150 years intact, until it was purchased in 1948 Painshill ^ar\, this Qothick^
34
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Painswick
ROCOCO GARDEN
one discovers that it aliahts atop mix of both formal and informal ele-
t\xe 8>agle House, one of a number
ments, is tucked avvav behind the main
of fanciful follies scattered around
the grounds.
Georgian house. Its broad central lawn, interrupted by two small ponds,
Opposite; Vhe tiny^^d House bowling green, and bordered by serpentine paths
a a kitchen garden, is
to the far right of a hroad
ex^nse of lawn is unusual in and woodland walks, with a number of decorative garden structures,
Its asymmetrical .skape
motto "lA steadfast Heart. some unknown reason, the Eagle House, can be seen from most of the
37
garden. Others, such as the castellated Gothick Al- restoring their unique garden in 1984. They were
cove, are tucked away in a small wood awaiting the aided by an intricately detailed garden painting by
pleasure of discovery. Thomas Robins, commissioned in 1748 bv Benjamin
Bishop Richard Pococke, an inveterate eighteenth- Hyett, son of the original owner and the one re-
century traveler who documented his expeditions sponsible for constructing Painswick's lovely garden.
to country houses and parks in a manuscript en- Robins 's delightful watercolor, with its whimsical
titled Travels Through England, was the first recorded border of painted shells, butterflies, and flowers,
visitor to the garden, in 1757. He wrote: "we came was especially helpful in documenting the physical
to Painswick, a market town prettily situated and appearance as well as the placement of each garden
on the side of a hill, and esteem'd an exceeding building. It is quite possible that Robins may have ex-
good air: just above it Mr. Hyett built an house of ecuted the painting as a design guide to the grounds
hewn stone, in a fine situation, and made a very rather than as a record after its completion. It
pretty garden . . . the garden is on an hanging was one of five views of Hyett 's properties Robins
ground from the house in the vale . . . cut into executed.
walks through wood and adorn 'd with water and Painswick's beautiful garden is now close to its
buildings,"^ ^
original appearance after considerable dredging,
Painswick's present owners. Lord and Lady bulldozing, draining, replanting, and rebuilding.
Dickinson, who trace their ancestry back to the This tranquil setting is open to the public from Feb-
original owners, started the formidable task of ruary to mid- December.
38
.
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39
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* 40
Exton Park
FORT HENRY AND
DOVECOTE
GothKl<^summcr house at Sxton number of wonderful follies are sprinkled about the grounds; the most
'^arl<^ Flanking the central room
are two smaller rooms, one an magical is Fort Henry, about two miles to the east of the manor house. A
entrance hall, and the other
Gainsborough, who was responsible for its construction and was rumored to
41
First viewed from across the ornamental lake, the end posts, reinforcing a sense of fantasy with their
inviting scene is the ultimate romantic vision. A fam- exaggerated scale. The lakeside pavilion is also
ily of snow-white swans glides serenely in the dis- dwarfed by the great sweeping branches of a giant
tance, sharing the pond with an assortment of other pine, some dipping into the water's surface, on its
wildlife, while the round, scalloped-edged leaves of far side. Barbara Jones, in her definitive 1953 book.
water lilies interrupt its smooth surface. On the dis- Follies and Grottoes, states, "No gothick decoration
^^
tant shore, a Gothick pavilion topped with oversized anywhere at any time was better than this."
pinnacles and crenellation sits invitingly on the edge, Another, of Exton Park's Gothick follies not far
reflected in the tranquil water. from the main hall is a lovely octagonal dovecote,
From across the meadow. Fort Henry appears which sits surrounded by sheep in a field on the
much smaller than when viewed from the lakeside. bank of another of the small lakes. First built in the
Built into the side of an embankment at water's eighteenth century, the pinnacled Gothick charmer
edge, the lower walls of the boathouse that contain had an arcaded semicircular cattle shed added to its
Fort Henry's first floor are hidden from view. The base in the early nineteenth century. Architectural
crenellated fortress-like side walls of the boathouse features include a pedimented central entrance and,
form a low three -sided stone wall that seems to em- above, the illusion of windows.
brace the summer house above it, on the second Exton Park is still in the family of Lord Gains-
floor. Enormous finials are positioned at each of its borough and is not open to the public.
i
Opposite; &xton '^ar](s octago-
42
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>^AiXj;^ ./
/'^
f
?.,. ^ .V.^',
"^^^
,,V.'^n n f! rl If ff f ^ ^Mi ii
' ^ M (
Ovvosiu: Fort Henrys delicate
French Gothic chairs from ^^allett's accompany a table set for a hunt
luncheon, c/he lilacpatternetl cloth and plates arc jrom Qjlefax and
Fowler.
'JAolding framing this door repeats the feather-lik^ motif found above
45
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es, gamekeeper lodges, dairies, ice houses, cattle sheds, aviaries, hound
houses, and even privies. Others were constructed solely for the pure
(The magnificent fan vaults of Arburv Hall's reception rooms are believed
garden temple at Enville.) The one common link among these eccentric,
appealing;, whimsical buildings was that each was dcliiThtfullv unique and
extremely personal.
49
It was only a matter of time before Gothick in- new species of building in the economy of domestic
fluences spread beyond the boundaries of country architecture, and subject to its own laws of fitness
estates to farms and laborers' cottages, small hum- and propriety. It is not the habitation of the labori-
ble dwellings scattered in fields and along the edges ous, but of the affluent, of the man of study, of sci-
of roads or clustered together around central greens ence, or of leisure; it is often the rallying point of
in village settings. The use of ornamentation here domestic comfort, and in this age of elegant refine-
was quite arbitrary. Gothick windows and door- ment, a mere cottage would be incongruous with
ways, label moldings over casement windows, the nature of its occupancy." ^
crocketed panels, and cusped windows perhaps Earlier mid-eighteenth-century pattern books,
seen in a pattern book brought an element of such as those by Batty Langley, Paul Decker, and
charm to vernacular cottages throughout the En- Thomas Lightolier, consisted of simple engravings
Cottages were not to remain the domain of the century and into the next by the likes of John B.
poor. Toward the end of the eighteenth century, as Papworth, P. F. Robinson, Francis Goodwin, and
a fondness for nature and things rustic grew, and as John Plaw, using a new printing technique called
the expanding Industrial Revolution fueled a desire aquatint, featured cottages and villas set in the
to return to a simpler life, the concept of a rose- midst of pretty gardens with distant rolling hills fre-
covered cottage was particularly appealing to many quently thrown in for good measure. The relation-
of the growing number of well-off middle-class ship of the house to its setting reflected the strong
English. Architects were quick to pick up on this influence of the Picturesque Movement and the im-
burgeoning interest in country retreats, referred to portance it placed on landscaping. By the end of the
as cottages ornes. Pattern books such as William F. centurv, architects like Humphrey Repton were de-
Pocock's Architectural Designs Jor Rustic Cottages and signing Gothick cottages with high gables, decora-
Picturesque Dwellings, first introduced in the 1770s, tive vergeboards, diamond-paned windows, and
offered the gentry a wide selection of picturesque fanciful towering chimneys. Repton, a prominent
cottage styles to select from, and Gothick was well landscape gardener, wrote, "The picturesque and
represented. pleasing effort of smoke ascending, when relieved by
John Papworth, in his 1818 pattern book. Designs a dark hanging wood . . . , is a circumstance by no
for Rural Residences, wrote, "The cottage orne is a means to be neglected,"^ a sentiment as well as a
50
style borrowed by nineteenth-century Americans estate parks were positioned to be seen from the
Andrew Jackson Downing and Alexander Jackson manor house. Author James Chambers, in his infor-
Davis. Lord Chesterfield tagged these houses "Car- mative book The English House, comments that "a
penter's Gothic." Architectural pattern books flour- number of landlords built Picturesque cottages and
ished until the arrival of the Victorian Age, which villages for their labourers, if for no other reason
heralded the end ot the Picturesque Movement. than to improve the approaches to their mansions.
The word "picturesque" was a familiar one com- Many were inevitably Gothic."^ Some landowners
monlv used bv citizens of the late eighteenth centu- went so far as to insist that cottage dwellers dress
rv. In 1756 Edmund Burke attempted to classify the up in long flowing robes or shepherd's costumes
visual sensations bv which man understands his for effect.
world in a philosophical essay entitled "The Sublime The building of workers' cottages was not con-
and the Beautiful," establishing attributes for each fined to private estates. Industrial concerns financed
that explain all aesthetic pleasure. The Reverend model villages to house workers and their families,
William Gilpin, a schoolmaster and travel writer motivated in large part by the desire to provide bet-
who enjoved painting pastoral views while on his ter living conditions for them. One of the most fa-
many journeys, felt Burke missed a number of char- mous of the English model villages was Blaise
acteristics related to painting, adding "picturesque Hamlet in Avon, designed by John Nash in 1810 at
roughness, irrcgularitv of form, and interest in light lages, where cookie-cutter cottages lined up in an
and shadow, all elements easilv translated into orderlv fashion, Blaise Hamlet simulated the natur-
architecture. al evolution of a village, with cottages in different
During the eighteenth and early nineteenth cen- architectural styles positioned in irregular spots.
turies, landowners, in their zeal to create the pic- One element all had in common was an elaborate
ture-perfect romantic landscape garden, swept ornamental chimney reminiscent of the exuberant
away existing villages housing their workers and re- chimneys dating back to Tudor times. During the
placed them with an assemblage of picturesque cot- nineteenth century, the influence of the romantic
tages. These pastoral villages incorporated into English Gothick cottage extended across the Atlantic;
adapted to American needs, it became part of the
fabric of American architecture.
Much of Gothick's appeal was fueled bv literary
endeavors that were the product of the Romantic
Movement. Among the luminaries who were par-
ticularly instrumental in fostering a taste for Goth-
ofJiomas Lykolitr mclucied so'eral s\i0^isX\or\s\or "Facades to place
ick were a handful of poets and writers who shared
\>i\ori Ji.sutjrtt'aMt Objects" m \\\s 1762 publication, The Gentle-
man and Farmer's Architect . . . Containing a Great
an interest in archaeology. The most distinguished
Variety of Useful and Genteel Designs, ^csyncii asQotfr of the group was Thomas Gray, a poet and a scholar
icl<^5luim r\K\y\s, the)' xxxxt inteniei to camou^(xat privids. of medieval literature and architecture who, as a
51
traveling companion of Horace Walpole's, is be- Frankenstein when she was nineteen. Many recognize
lieved to have had an influence on Walpole's selec- her as the first science-fiction wTiter with the publi-
tion of the Gothick style for his country house. cation of this 1817 thriller.
Another w^as Thomas Wharton, an archaeologist Gothick 's hold on the literary imagination was
who wrote an influential essay in 1762 encouraging also advanced by the work of Sir Walter Scott, who
the use of Gothick. brought another dimension to Gothic literature. Un-
In addition, romantic poets and writers such as der his substantial influence, which reached across to
Blake, Wordsworth, Byron, and Coleridge glorified America and the Continent, Gothic fiction strayed
what they saw as the victory of the senses over the from tales of horror to simple melodramas with char-
intellect, expressing in their works a love of nature acters that were more true-to-life. His vivid descrip-
and the simple life. The immensely popular 1798 tions of medieval times were invaluable in spreading
publication of Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and the Gothic style. Kenneth Clark, in his 1928 book
Coleridge, which praised unrestrained nature as a The Gothic Revival, commented that "it is the wealth
force that liberated man's imagination, heralded of archaeological detail in Scott's novels which made
Romanticism's overwhelming acceptance. his picture of the Middle Ages so satisfying and so
Gothic novels and historic romances popular much more influential than the mere melancholv of
during the second half of the eighteenth and into the the poets." ^ The most famous historical novel of the
nineteenth centuries exuded a fascination for the age was Scott's Ivanhoe: A Romance, an adventure
melancholy and the sentimental. In 1764 Horace story of medieval chivalry published in 1820.
Walpole wrote The Castle of Otranto, the first of the Painters of the time, far from immune to the lure
so-called Gothic novels. Set in medieval times in of nature, captured the prevailing spirit of the Goth-
an Italian castle evocative of Walpole's own En- ic movement on canvas. Important English land-
glish country house, it was full of melancholy, scape painters John Constable and J.M.W Turner
young love, and the supernatural. In its first edition best expressed the romantic notion of landscape.
Walpole actually claimed that it had been reprinted Constable's tranquil scenes encapsulated the rural
from a recently discovered medieval manuscript. ideal, with gentle cultivated fields, calm streams
Charles Eastlake recognized Walpole's Castle of with cottages nestled on their banks, and, in the dis-
Otranto as "the first modern work of fiction which tance, a church spire.
depended for its interest on the incidents of a The desire to escape to a tranquil country retreat
chivalrous age, and it thus became the prototype of is as appealing today as it was two centuries ago,
that class of novel which was afterwards imitated by when a growing English middle class, the product
.'"'^
Mrs. Ratcliffe and perfected by Sir Walter Scott of a population that had almost doubled between
Numerous books written in the same vein shortly the beginning and end of the eighteenth century,
followed suit. Rich in sentiment but light on his- found a special appeal in a rustic rural cottage. The
toric research, they all contained heroic larger- cottage orne, based on a stylish, sophisticated mod-
than-life figures and expressed the darker side of el of the simple became among the most fash-
life,
Gothick 's fascination with the mysterious and the ionable expressions of the Picturesque Movement,
supernatural. Mary Shelley, wife of the poet, was to finding favor with not only the middle class but with
take Gothic literature into a new direction, writing the wealthy as well.
52
.
-*
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53
A.n 1813 advertisement of Houghton Lodge m The Statesman reads, "Vhe cottage has heen erected within a few years at very great expense, and finished
." ^
in a very su]^erior and chaste style with Gothic emhellishments, affording accommodation for a family of the frst res^ectahility
Houghton Lodge
with towering beech trees that dwarf the handsome cottage. Built around
ilar to one of the plates in Flaw's 1795 publication, Ferme Ornee; or, Rural
Ahovc: c/lie lovely ^cacocl<^
+ 55 +
c/he pcturcs(^ue mirror-imaac
Qot]iic\aatc]iouses announc
\ng the intranet' to Houdhton
Lodae, an cnchantina cottaac
orni m Hamvshirc, an
tnmmcd with decorative verac
1800 shortly after it was constructed, most prob- Vhe veranda look^ across a gently slopng laini to the
ably because of the death of its owner, and again tranc^uil ^^verVest. ^uilt m i860 of wrought iron, the frame
the following January in the Times. Fourteen years 15 hdieved to have originally heen constructed of twigs.
56
A hcdac dccorativcly
Garden, a recently
redesxaned knotaarden on
It was dae\oif<cd m
iHtJuTiil times.
later the house and grounds were on the market was moved from its original location in the base-
chimneys soaring high above the roofline. Original- the period. The dining room to the right of the mu-
ly thatched, its roof was replaced in the nineteenth sic room has a window framed in pewter, its design
century by tile. On the south side, small, steeply reflecting an Indian influence.
pitched dormered windows with scalloped decora- Houghton Lodge is now the propertv of Captain
tive trim extend from the roof. Below them, the and Mrs. Busk, who inherited it in 1980 and are in
pointed windows of the drawing room dip to the the process of restoring it. The cottage and its sur-
floor and open out to a small court. rounding grounds have passed down through Mrs.
The cottage was symmetrical, until a small addi- Busk's family, going to the youngest daughter.
tion of stables was built around 1 808 to house four- Overnight guests are welcomed occasionally and a
teen horses and three coaches. This was later tour of the interior and the garden can be
converted to a smoking room and kitchen, which arranged.
57
J^
p
ni
h'Ml
1 Pt
*//!.
.
Clytha Castle
with Qothicl<^u.'indows, c^uatrefoils, and undertaken with the purpose of relieying a mind afflicted by the loss of a
crenellation along its roofline, its two
round towers are liollou^.
most excellent wife, to the memory of whose yirtues this tablet is dedi-
cated." Gwyn Headley and Wim Meulencamp captured the essence of this
Opposite . A vieu; of (^lytlia (pasties
rentals throuali the Landmarl<^Vrust building he left us is pure magic; deriyatiye yet wildly original, it is a late
59
Qlytha Qastlc was
built to ease its owner's
touching story
* 60
Qlytha Qastlc's si^uarc tower, the pirotal
fling of Strawberry Hill Gothick, to a pattern which dows, arrow slits (narrow openings through which
is its own master."^ arrows were shot), and crosses, all reminiscent of
The castle sits picturesquely on the summit of a its medieval inspiration, are utilized as ornamenta-
hill, half-hidden in a gjrove of ancient chestnuts and tion all over its lovely pink stucco facade.
encircled by a ha-ha. In front of it, a charming pas- The round tower to the east is open to the air, as
toral scene spreads out across the landscape, with is the top of the back tower to the west, whose first
rolling manicured fields populated by grazing cows floor houses a round bedroom. The square south
and sheep. Positioned to be seen from Clytha House tower in the middle has two rooms, each with ceil-
in the valley below, it was originally used by the fam- ings about twenty feet hi^h. The upper room, once
ily as a retreat, for picnics, or simply as an excuse for resplendent with delicate plasterwork, is connected
a long leisurely walk. More recently, the castle was to the lower by a spiral staircase and \n as used as a
61
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.
Frampton Court
Orangery
inllacjes virtually
Severn Vale, with its charming collection
unchancjed h\ time.
of half-timbered houses and thatched cottages surrounded by beautiful
ed uitfi stoneivor\<^carved The fanciful Gothick pavilion built in 1752 is an carlv example of the
with croc\<^ts sfroutmij
on window frames. decorative canal stretching out two hundred yards. The ornamental carp-
63 +
Left ; cJke hexagonal glazjna of
filled Dutch canal curves midway along its east side, ed by a rectangular hall with a cantilevered stone
which is bordered by flowering shrubs, roses, and staircase to the rear, which winds its way up a third
The fragrance of fruit trees was appealing to the of the third tower is decked out with battlements
romantically inclined eighteenth-century landown- and pinnacles. The beautiful hexagonal glazing bars
ers leading a number of them to construct buildings of the ogee arched windows and doors, typical of
to house a wide assortment of tropical trees. The *the early Gothick motifs, reinforce the folly's
ground floor of the orangery was set up as a green- i faceted surface and add a decorative touch to the
house for plants and flowers and probably housed a confection. The ogee arch, featured prominently in
variety of flowering fruit trees as well. Batty Langley 's publication Gothic Architecture Im-
The orangery is composed of two octagons unit- proved, was believed to have originated in the Near
64
1
^^^^"^
^m
^
'm
'4 r--'^-"
>
i
66
Ovfositc: An ocjccarchcd
doorivay, a form njpcaud
throuijifiout the [oily, frames
touer.
East in the fourteenth century and was introduced The second floor of the orangery was probably
as a decorative element in the Gothic Decorated pe- used for afternoon tea and possibly the pursuit of
riod around the same time. Interest in the "exotic" creative endeavors, such as painting. Its interior
in the eighteenth century brought together a mix of contains two decorative Gothick Hreplaccs that ini-
cultural influences, such as this motif. tially were upstairs but now arc on the ground floor,
While the designer of the pavilion is not known, which was converted from a conscrvatorv to the
the lively follv has the appearance of a scaled-down drawing room and dining rooms. Rcccntlv restored
version of Stout's Hill, a manor house also situated bv its present owners, the Cliffords a familv who
in Gloucestershire that was designed by William can trace its roots back to the twclfth-ccnturv Old
Halfpenny and closely resembles designs found Manor located across the village 2;rcen from Framp-
in his and his brother John's 1752 pattern book, ton Court the delightful Gothick orangery is now
Chinese and Gothic Architecture Properly Ornamented. available for holiday rentals.
67
wOi
h^ "'"^^^^
5*. r-->
^"5^-y:/^
II 1 iig^?x
1? ^^,v'
IKi it^WWs *
%
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%
The Ring
Opposite: c/uck^i away in a woodland, this Just such a building was included on the grounds of one of the largest
paU roses c\imhthe waWs and roof. was positioned on a hillside some distance from the main house and
69
i
christened The Ring because of its construction on Gothick windows opening to a small veranda and
the remains of an ancient Saxon fort. Like many fol- garden just beyond filled with flowering cherry
Hes scattered throughout the grounds of country trees. Furnished with taste and imagination, the
estates, it had been long neglected and ravaged Gothick cottage captures the comfort and warmth
bv time. exemplified in the best of English country houses.
This diminutive aviarv was luckier than most,
however. Bettv Hanlev, an American woman who
makes her home in London, came upon it in 1973
while visiting friends for the weekend who lived
over, trees were growing out of its roof. Undaunted, jm^lau. A. Qothic^chair sits at the dcsk^
* 70 >>
+ 71 +
A^.:w-
r %
Inwardleigh Cottage
AN EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY COTTAGE,
^..^f.-^ ,
.
^ Qj^g Qf ^ handful bordering a narrow coun-
about half Its p-esent siZf, toj^ed ed it, when told the cottage was not for sale, and eventually convinced the
u'ltli a thatckei roof. It 15 now
tkf country home of decorator owner to sell it to them.
^nd^ct Qlas^ow and her
hus\>and,^avid.
Ms. Glasgow had started her own design business in nearbv Salisbury
the style /or its charmina interior. tage is from that firm.) It took four years to remodel the cottage, as the
+ 73 4.
new owners extended it to include an ample draw-
ing room with a conservatory off the back overlook-
ing a pleasant garden. The small 1730 cottage
originally had a somewhat lopsided look, but is now
symmetrical with its recent addition.
Inside, the cottage projects an air of warmth and
comfort; its welcoming entrance hall, the oldest
part of the house, sets the tone for the rest of the
cottage. A large stone fireplace, with its original
74
.
tilt' ^otkicl^
window. Vhe
p)inU'J side chair
flankincj it reinforces
the Gothicl<^thcme
'^dsand hlues
Inwardleicjh
Q)tta(je's drawin(j
room, a decidedlx
lovely hack^aarden.
75
76
.
auest hedroom.
11
Ch an dos Lodge
Opposite: Once you sUj^ inside the garden landscape, the charming villa is distinguished by a set of Gothick windows
gates of Qhandos Lodge, tke kustle-bustle
that look out onto an expanse of lawn punctuated by a reflecting pond and
of the small village ]ust outside its walls
The lodge was originally built in 1810 bv Thomas Wythe, who chris-
at tite rear. Lodge became the cherished country retreat of world-famous choreogra-
+ 79 +
Opposite: Vhc pn]{j)f the faQodc his
pher Sir Frederick Ashton, who acquired the house dining room. Sir Fred, as he was affectionately
and its grounds shortly before he was knighted in called by friends, continued the Gothick tradition,
1962. The romantic structure is just the sort one installing a beautiful Gothick window and door,
would expect to appeal to the imaginative Ashton, most probably originally part of a church, to the
who until his death at eighty-three in 1 988 frequent- rear of this room. He also added Gothick moldings
ly returned to Chandos, finding in the quiet spot not to the dining room and the morning room, both of
only an escape from his demanding life but a source which feature the original Gothick windows. Most
of inspiration as well. of the pottery throughout the house is inexpensive,
By the time Ashton assumed possession, the having been collected by Ashton while poking
lodge had doubled in size. Toward the end of the through antique shops w ith friends when they came
nineteenth century, additional rooms were con- to visit.
structed on both ends of the original central por- Ashton made a number of changes throughout
tion. The area to the west was utilized as a storage the grounds, adding a topiary garden and a pond
room, with its entrance through the kitchen, but mirroring the lodge, their construction funded by
when it was later converted into a sitting room profits from his choreography for the film The Tales
its access was changed, so that it opened onto the of Beatrix Potter, made in 1971, Ashton also built a
80
small Gothick conservatory behind the lodge that the Vics-Wells, later becoming the Sadler's Wells
overlooks a garden and what was once the stables. Ballet. Ashton worked closelv with the famed balle-
Ashton, whom many credit with the develop- rina Dame Margot Fonteyn, who described him as
ment of a distinctlv British ballet stvle, was know^n the greatest choreographer of our time. Upon
for his versatility and his classical bent, choreo- Ashton's death, his nephew inherited Chandos
graphing the first of more than fifty ballets in 1926. Lodge. Now, with recent restoration and the prized
In 1963 he became director of the Royal Ballet. possessions of the new owner, the house stands
When he first joined the troupe in 1935 it was called ready to delight another generation.
81
#
.
x^
--6
c^uatrefoilyatterncd it-all paper jrom Q)lc, a
a late-nineteenth' century
addition, was
initially a storage area.
rimmed with
auatrejoils, were added
hySir
Freiericl^^^skton.
+ 83
03 +
r: M
v^ * ^-;\
V V
l^
xx;.
^/
^Ai&^ tiV^si^SrK
1 T 1 1 *
^s
^^^^^^'^^1^9 ^^E^^^^I^^^^B^^^ ^^^^^K^ ^^^^^^^^m^^^^^m
^m^
1
/\\'n V V
r*iifT2ix
;y^^ii;V..:j
if f^ ^ ^ \^ ^^^^r-^ ^^^^^^^I^^^H
.-v--^ ]^^^
86
Previous ^acjes: An i 8305 a^ssBsan
TW
he eighteenth century was a time of relative
Snalish hlock^fnntcd fahnc
utilizes
windows
Gothic staincd-glass
as a design motif.
Bl ^
S^^^
'^^ stability in England; economic changes brought
Got\iicl<^manor houses
enormous tower ultimately of the Bank of England in 1694, it dominated the world of trade and finance
toppled, destroying most of
or two earlier. But, unlike much of the wealthy on the continent who
English, with their long-standing love for the country, elected instead to
era when friends often stayed on for weeks. They were not only procla-
mations of their owners' wealth, education, and taste but a major avenue
peii and Herculaneum in 1748, the most popular architectural style for
87
cJlte vaulted U^fcr Qloistcrs
of Wilton House m
Wiltilinr, dcsiancd hxjamcs
statuary 15 displayed on
QotkicI^u'inJou'5.
these grand houses during much of the century was used an approximation of Gothic, and Sir John Van-
neoclassicism, governed by the precepts of re- brugh demonstrated a feeling for Gothic form, but
straint, balance, and unity. Gothick, during the ear- it was in the second quarter of the eighteenth cen-
ly decades of the eighteenth century, was, for the tury that 'Rococo Gothick' had its beginning, when
most part, relegated to the garden. There were, William Kent and Sanderson Miller introduced the
however, scattered examples early in the 1700s of use of Gothic details in a purely decorative manner,
Gothic motifs that had been adopted for residences adapted and applied to classical forms." ^
While
by architects such as Sir John Vanbrugh in his 1717 more often associated w^ith the Palladian architec-
castle-like house at Greenw^ich. Jane Davies, in her '
ture popularized by his mentor. Lord Burlington,
introduction to the catalog for the 1976 Houston the multitalented William Kent was one of the first
Museum of Fine Arts Gothic show, w^rote: "In the to explore the use of Gothick embellishments to
late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries Sir evoke the past. Around 1730 Kent created a coun-
Christopher Wren and his followers on occasion trv house at Esher Place in Surrev for financier
88
Henry Pelham by joining two semi-octagonal tow- Roger Newdigatc's manor house, continued for
ers of a late-fifteenth-century gatehouse and turning fifty years. Its splendid interiors featured early
the carriageway between them into an entrance Gothick at its best. Mary Ann Evans, better known
hall. Kent added ogee Gothick windows and large as George Eliot, was born in 1819 on the Newdi-
quatrefoil openings to the towers and the connect- gate estate, where her father was steward. Growing
ing unit. up with stories of the Newdigate family, she used
The formation of the Antiquarian Society, which these and the physical characteristics of the house as
was started bv gentlemen of taste and learning who material for several of her novels. Eliot described
were fascinated with the study of medieval life and the intricate plasterwork of the saloon ceiling as
culture, became a driving force in the revival of "petrified lace-work picked out with delicate and
Gothic. By mid-century, encouraged by the enthu- varied coloring. . . . a grand Gothic canopy."^
siastic Horace Walpole and other early advocates, Completing the trio, James West's Alscot Park,
the Gothick style finally found its way to English located in the picturesque Cotswolds, was consider-
manor houses. The early 1750s proved to be a ably smaller than Arburv Hall. Its lovely interiors
propitious time for the movement, with the Goth- are filled with a delightful plasterwork pastiche that
icizing of three outstanding manor houses brings together classical elements with fanciful
Strawberry Hill, Arburv Hall, and Alscot Park. Georgian Gothick.
Their owners Horace Walpole, Roger Newdi- Throughout the remainder of the century, Goth-
gate, and James West, respectively were all com- ick designs were adopted both bv those who were
mitted antiquarians. Each managed to capture the captivated by its whimsical lighthearted rococo
Gothick spirit through the use of exuberant orna- spirit and by the more antiquarian-minded, who
mentation only vaguely reminiscent of its medieval found greater appeal in a closer accuracy to the
roots. style's medieval ancestry. But until the third decade
The house that catapulted Gothick into the pub- of the nineteenth century, the use of Gothic motifs
lic eve was Strawberry Hill, the intriguing creation was basically decorative appearance was the only
of the oft-quoted literary lion Horace Walpole, who thing that counted. Terence Davis aptlv describes
had acquired a taste for Gothic after embarking on this early period in The Gothick Taste, focusing on
the Grand Tour with friend and poet Thomas Gray, Georgian Gothick: "the design and decoration of
an ardent Gothic admirer. Picturesque and capri- most Gothick houses was li2;hthearted, unrealistic
cious, the asymmetrical Strawberry Hill was an in- and sometimes frivolous. Herein lies the magic
tensely personal expression of the taste of its owner. in these very qualities of improbability and es-
The younger son of Sir Robert Walpole, the witty capism and the further they are removed from
Horace had many social and political contacts that these realms the less magical they become. This
made him something of a fashion arbiter, and his se- make-believe aspect is the strength and weakness of
^
lection of the unconventional Gothick gave it a the Gothick taste."
healthy boost toward respectability. Exterior additions, from simple pointed win-
Eighty miles to the north, another ambitious dows and interlocking fanlight traccrv to more
Gothick remodeling had begun in 1752. Grander in elaborate turrets, battlements, crocketed finials, and
scale, the flamboyant additions at Arburv Hall, bay windows, brought an animation to previously
+ 89 +
staid manor houses. Decorative interior alterations, west, with eighteen bedrooms and a gallery that ran
usually limited to the library and the entrance hall, a length of 1 85 feet. The immense central 1 2 8 -foot-
were playful and imaginative. high octagonal grand saloon was topped with a 276-
Mixing classical and Gothic as well as Chinese foot-high tower. Visible for miles, it collapsed in
forms together in one structure was quite accept- 1799, but was rebuilt in time for a visit from Lord
able throughout the eighteenth century. Castle- Nelson and Lady Hamilton. When Beckford decid-
ward, in County Down, Ireland, is an interesting ed to live at Fonthill Abbey full-time, he rebuilt the
example of this. In 1772 its owners, Lord and Lady tower bf stone, but again it came toppling down and
Bangor, decided to update their sixteenth-century demolished part of the house in 1819, shortly after
country house; Lady Bangor was set on using Goth- the estate was sold. Little remains of the massive
ic motifs, while her husband was just as determined structure today.
that it should be redone in the popular Palladian Fonthill Abbey's gardens were planned on the
style. The resolution was a compromise. The prevailing Picturesque theory, which held that a
house's formal southwest facade is pedimented and building should share a symbiotic relationship with
colonnaded, while its northeast garden fa9ade is its surrounding grounds. During the first year
decked out in Gothick splendor, with pointed win- alone, Beckford planted one million trees. Fonthill,
dows and battlements. Inside, the saloon and sitting however, was never really comfortable within its
rooms are fancifully Gothick, in contrast to the clas- landscape because of its overwhelming size.
sical restraint of the hall, dining room, and music Wyatt, having gained invaluable experience ear-
room. Castleward, now the property of the Nation- lier in the restoration of medieval Gothic cathe-
al Trust and open to the public, and Moore Abbey drals, was instrumental in establishing a taste for
in County Kildare, are the only surviving examples Gothick by the turn of the century. Yet, Terence
of major Irish manor houses in the Gothick style. Davis writes, "although Wyatt 's grasp of Gothic
Toward the end of the eighteenth century, ex- techniques was masterly . . . they were ... no
tremely large manor houses became fashionable, more authentic."^ He undertook at least ten grand
the largest being the mammoth Fonthill Abbey on manor houses in the last fifteen years of his life, but
Wilshire Dovsns, constructed in 1794 and designed Ashridge, in Hertfordshire, designed by Wyatt in
by architect James Wyatt. The most incredible 1 807 and carried out by his nephew Jeffry Wyatt-
country house of its time, Fonthill seemed to spark ville after Wyatt 's unfortunate death in a coach acci-
the imagination of all of England. Built as a summer dent, is the only one that has survived.
retreat for William Beckford, who inherited a vast During the mid-eighteenth century, a brief flirta-
fortune in Jamaican sugar plantations and slaves tion with ornamental Gothic elements descended
upon the death of his father, London's Lord Mayor, upon typical Georgian furniture forms. Like Batty
it was intended as a residential rival to the great Langley's imaginative architectural flights of fancy,
cathedrals of the Middle Ages. they bore little resemblance to original historical
The cruciform -shaped structure was constructed styles. A limited amount of genuine medieval furni-
initially of timber and cement by five hundred ture existed, and in the interim a plethora of new
workmen who toiled day and night. Fonthill mea- forms had come into existence. Consequently, ar-
sured 3 1 2 feet north to south and 270 feet east to chitects and cabinetmakers borrowed architectural
90
. .
motifs from medieval cathedrals for furniture, The first pattern book to feature Gothick furniture
freely incorporating carved pinnacles, pointed for interiors was Mathew Darly's A New Book of
arches, tracery, quatrefoils, crestings, crockets, and Chinese, Gothic 8i^ Modern Chairs, issued in 1 75 1
crenellations into chairs, cabinets, tables, bookcases, Darly, a talented engraver, also worked on the illus-
and the like. The only structural as opposed to trations for Thomas Chippendale's highly successful
decorative Gothic form adopted in furniture de- The Gentleman 8l Cabinet-Maker's Director, first pub-
sign was the clustered column, which was utilized lished in 1754. A number of respected furniture de-
for legs of tables and, occasionally, chairs. Even the signers of the day, such as George Hepplewhite and
ubiquitous English Windsor chair, normally found Robert Adam, turned for a short time to Gothick
in a country-house library, became gothicized, motifs when it was considered trendy.
sporting a pointed back and three pierced splats in- Pattern books were important because they
spired bv window tracerv. functioned as sales catalogues lor furniture design-
English furniture design books were latecomers ers such as Chippendale, an astute businessman as well
on the scene, first appearing in the second quarter of as a designer, whose polished design book attracted
the eighteenth century, because little importance wealthy clients to his cabinetmaking shop. The first
was placed on furniture in the sparely furnished edition of his beautifully illustrated Director reflect-
grand English houses of the seventeenth century. ed current trends, with an emphasis on the more
91
Left ; 'Purina the
mid'eialxtcenth century, a
of QhifT^endalc's The
Gentleman & Cabinet-
Maker's Director,
puMisheci in 1754-
W.V;Wja'AR3'3WIW*^JF.T**3**
of measured enaravincxs of
oriQinal Gotliic structures,
'T'uains Examples
of Gothic Architecture,
was ]^articular]\' helpful to
architects mteresteti m
experimenting with Gothic.
exotic and playful, incorporating elements of Goth- time recognized the difference between the two
ick, chinoiserie, and rococo. Two editions followed; styles, grouping them together simply as elements
of the 162 designs in the third edition, a dozen were of the flamboyant and exotic rococo style brought
whimsical fantasized versions of Gothick. over from France in the 1740s. Both shared sinuous
As in architecture, a number of furniture pattern linear curves. Chinoiserie, the eighteenth-century
books featured Gothick and Chinese designs com- English vision of Chinese style, like Gothick, usual-
bined in one piece of furniture. Few people at the ly strayed far from its original origins, as designers
92
freely lifted motifs from exported porcelains, wall- in the library at Stowe, Buckinghamshire, in 1 805.
paper, and other Oriental goods, creating fanciful Gothick had finally arrived. Although many at
designs with little basis in historic tradition. the time were ready to write Gothick off as nothing
The absence of books with engravings and mea- but a passing fad, it persisted, inspiring respected
sured details from original Gothic designs, such as architects, men of learning, and those in assorted
those by the extraordinarily talented sixteenth- artistic fields. While the eccentric style was diamet-
century architect Andrea Palladio, which had been rically opposed to the decidedly formal forms of
a major aid in fostering classical influences in archi- classicism in the forefront of fashion, the conflict
tecture, had slowed the spread of Gothick; howev- between the two styles was to produce an intriguing
er, after 1790, John Carter, Augustus Pugin, and tension that became an important element in Goth-
John Britton published a number of illustrated ick's appeal.
books on medieval antiquities that were especially After 1830, serious, carefully researched adapta-
helpful for early-nineteenth-century architects ex- tions were to bring a respectability to the Gothick
perimenting with Gothic forms. Even the revered style when, adopted by the Victorians, it ultimately
classicalist Sir John Soane tried his hand at Gothick evolved into a movement of gigantic proportions.
93
1
I
St. MichaeYs Mount
Opposite; St. '^ickael's^Mount Cornwall's predominantly rural landscape, interrupted by bleak moors, is
slurry \\ousiso^\)oaismcn. A. by wide estuaries and craggy caves that were once a favorite for smugglers
narrow causeway connects tke
A.hovc: A. decaying Lady's It is here, on the summit of a granite outcropping on an islet just off the
(^kapel was converted m tke mid'
Cornish coast, before land gives way to the Atlantic Ocean stretching out
ei^hteentk century into Qotfiicl^
sittiiw rooms.
to the north, that the priory of St. Michael's Mount was built. Named for
95
^
1
'<
i
H
i, i
9
j ;
4 JtabL
>|.,^^
.
frames tUe doorways and borders tfit" laultt' J ceilmej. Over the marble
Phivvendalc chairs were made for the room; tke upholstered sofa is
nineteenth' century
as a fortress, and, in 1659, the medieval castle be- Qprmsh castle onamallv built m the ta'eljth century as a monastvry,
came the home of the St. Aub\Ti familv. depicts It u'hen its cobbled vcoWvcay is covered bv an eighteen-foot tide.
and librarv', created in 1810, are t\pical of Strawberry Levan, because of the financial burden of maintain-
Hill Gothick. This was due to a strong sense of region- ing and preserving his unique English treasure, de-
alism that resulted in trends being absorbed more cided to donate the Mount, together with a
slowly. St. Michael's Mount, however, was the rare generous endowment fund, to the National Trust,
exception. Several parti cularlv early Georgian Goth- retaining a lease on part of the castle for his family.
ick rooms were constructed bv the third baronet, Now it is open throughout the year for all to savor
Sir John St. Aubvn, who had been exposed to cur- its colorful past; a steady stream of tourists tread
rent trends as a member of Parliament serving under the narrow half-mile-long causeway connected at
Robert Walpole. Sometime between 1740 and 1744, low tide to the village of Marazion on the Cornish
when he died, he elected to transform the disused coast. It is the same path followed bv pilgrims who
and decaying Ladv Chapel, originallv built in 1463, journeyed on foot or by small open boat when
into the elegant blue Gothick drawing room and the eighteen-foot tide closed off the cobbled walk-
boudoir. The lighthearted rooms are decorated wav to the early monastery, motivated in part bv
with a delightful assortment of imaginative plaster- the promise of indulgences. More than 170,000
work ornamenting their walls and ceilings. each year climb the steep rocky path to the impos-
In 1954, John St. Aubyn, the present Lord St. ing entrance of the splendid medieval castle.
97
JSl. detail oj one oft\it GotKicI^u'mdou'5 m the \i\uc ^rawxm room
\n^\\^ts tKe outstanixna crajtsmanskip of tke \ovdy Y\asUYwor\^
c/he window valance, witli it5 ailt wood trim, repeats the outline ojthe
Left .Jin anteroom with vaulted ceilings has four unusual Qothick^
(^hippendale chairs, one oj^ivhich is seen here. It hears the coat of arms
* 98
^70
99
Strawberry Hill
window m the garden entry hall, miles from London on the banks of the
one of a numher 0/ additions, has
stained'glass inserts at tke top Thames, was a favorite spot. It was here
ta]<^nfrom earlier huildings.
that Horace Walpole, at the age of thirty, subleased a five-acre farm bor-
around i860. Vhe wrought' out of Mrs. Chenevix 's shop."^ A year later, he purchased the proper tv
iron stairway leads to an
from three minors named Mortimer and promptly set about gothicizing the
anteroom dividing the nmeteenth-
101
Strawhcrry HiII, Horace
structure, ornamented
liest section.
102
.
this charmma
nineteenth' century work^
hy I. Jcavons, printed by
'i}omhleson&' Q).,
Waldearave, in
tke distance
"^ rrv'/'^^
- -- ^^i
'*
"^ Vv Mi^iit
"^
'
\ 'A,
^
f
Walpole's intention was to create "a small capri- ing himself an antiquarian, Walpole lifted designs
cious house . . . built to please my own taste, and in from all sorts of medieval sites, from chapel tombs
some degree to realize my own visions"^ a vision, to cathedral choirs, applying them in a random
he added, with every modern convenience. William manner to chimneypieces, ceilings, windows,
Beckford, who built the massive Gothick Fonthill balustrades, and other structures throughout his
Abbey toward the end of the century, dismissed house. While Walpole's adaptations of authentic de-
Strawberry Hill as a "gothic mousetrap."^ signs was a step away from Langley's whimsical in-
With few examples of Gothick manor houses ventions, their use was still purely decorative; this is
available at mid-century, Walpole was quite free to especially apparent when they are compared with
express himself in whatever manner he chose, as he later nineteenth-century structural applications of
merrily altered and added as his budget allowed. As Gothic forms. Victorian writer Charles Eastlake
writer Linda Hewitt says, "The pursuit of Gothic says of Strawberry Hill: "The interior ... is just
afforded the thrill of discovery and the delight of what one might expect from a man who possessed a
improbable conjectures. Walpole used his Gothic as vague admiration for Gothic without the knowledge
an intellectual plaything, a means of rising above necessary for a proper adaptation of its features.
and refuting the ordinary and mundane."^ Ceilings, niches, &c., are all copied, or rather par-
His inventive, picturesque villa, with its addi- odied, from existing examples, but with utter dis-
tions and decorative motifs borrowed from a wide regard for the original purpose of the design."^
variety of original Gothic structures, evolved into a Walpole assembled a "committee of taste" to as-
unique asymmetrical form that would influence the sist with Strawberry Hill's makeover. John Chute,
design of future English and American villas. Fancy- whom Walpole had met on the Grand Tour, and
103
who, like himself, took a scholarly approach to the artificial stone and became an annoyance, as tourists
use of Gothic, was joined by Richard Bentley, a took away bits for souvenirs,
draftsman who provided many fanciful touches to Walpole died in 1797, leaving his much-loved
the structure, and the gifted Swiss-born artist and villa in the hands of Anne Damer, a cousin and close
scholar J.
H. Muntz. Walpole also called upon a friend, with a yearly pension for its operation. In
number of his other sophisticated friends, such as 1815 she relinquished it to the descendants of his
Robert Adam, who designed the chimneypiece and niece. Countess Waldegrave, who sold Walpole 's
ceiling for the Round Room, which Walpole used treasures "at auction in 1 842 ; it was the largest sale
as a drawing room. of the century, lasting thirty- two days. For a while it
The first renovation Walpole undertook was to looked as though the neglected house had come to
the exterior, when he added a three-story bay to the an end, but Strawberry Hill was to be a center of
east front with ogee and quatrefoil windows and a
crenellated roofline trimmed with crocketed pinna-
cles. A new stairwell and library followed. Then, in
took to printing tickets for admission. Walpole had door on the landing, with its canoped ceiling under triple arches, leads to
used synthetic substances such as plaster in place of the lihrary. Noised on each of the newel psts (ahove) are gilded antelopes,
I
104
gaiety once againwhen the fashionable hostess
Lady Waldegrave, who had married both of the
countess's sons, reopened the house in 1856, su-
pervising its restoration and the construction of a
new Tudor Gothic Victorian wing in 1861. She
changed the entrance but kept the original portion
virtually the same, attempting to buy back paint-
106
.
Wal^le family
appropriately, straifberr^-patterned.
107
A.hovc left: e/Ite clahoraU chim-
Qjrnwall, in Westminster
Ahhey.
J.
H. JAuntz,.
(^atholic chai^el
109
Arbury Hall
that within Arburv's walls are "the most consummate Rococo Gothick
Opposite; A. not of loce'lik^ plaster-
iforl^^embelhshes the semicircular hay rooms ever designed." ^^
window uiling, modeled on Henry VlTs
Like a number of important Enghsh country homes, the original house
chaj^l at Westminster T^bbcv. Familj
flower motif tinted pale pml^ Hall, is derived from the name of that Augustinian priory, which was called
Erdbury. In 1580, Sir Edmund Anderson bought orative Gothick style, perhaps because of his friend-
the land and built a quadrangular, gabled Eliza- ship with Gothick enthusiast Sanderson Miller.
bethan house, which he exchanged six years later Newdigate, a member of Parliament for Oxford,
owned by John Newdegate.
for Harefield Hall, then was involved in both political and commercial en-
Newdegate then moved into Anderson's quadran- deavors. He developed coal fields on his vast estate
fourteen, elected to update Arburv Hall in the dec- transform his family mansion. Like Walpole, Sir
112
.
Roger gathered together a collection of talented Keene was fortunate to have the services of two tal-
artists throughout the restoration, turning as time ented stuccoists, Robert Moor, who also executed
went on to more historic medieval structures for in- the plasterwork at Alscot Park, and William Han-
spiration. Sketches done by Sir Roger indicate that well, who was responsible for the saloon. Keene 's
he almost certainly had a hand in the design of these first assignment was to design a new drawing room,
later sections. but his crowning achievement was the two-story
Miller undoubtedly assisted in the initial designs, dining room, begun in 1770. Originally it was the
aided bv William Hiorne, who was hired as master entrance to the great hall of the early house, and its
mason. Henry Keene, placed in charge of decora- soaring height added a sense of drama to the elegant
tions in 1762, brought an elegant yet lighthearted room. The staggeringly beautiful saloon was under-
touch to Arburv Hall as it was slowlv transformed taken after Keene 's death in 1776 by Henry Couch-
into a Gothick masterpiece. Keene 's position of man, but it bears Keene 's touch and may have been
Surveyor to Westminster Abbey was especially influenced by his suggestions before he died.
helpful as a reference for the design of the intricate The home of Viscount and Viscountess Daventry,
fan-vaulted ceilings
plaster castings from the the hall and its extensive grounds are open during
Abbey were actually used for some of the detaiUng. the summer months to the public.
113
Ift.
^ ^x >.
^.
#
'^ %
^^H
(0
ttl
iiii: :^H
^mm
Ahovc: Flowers, stars, jlcurs'dc'hs, leaves, and a trott\na horse are
mar china around the seat, and ar coded chair rails line the saloon hay
window, c/lte heautiful petit'pomt on the chairs and settee ivas the
uj^ the pale walls, terminating in fan yaultiiw t^iat erupts across tke
soariiwceiliiw.
115
'"f
iiiti
iiii
^
Ahove: e/Ke central tnple windows of the cjarien front re^laad tkc ormnal entrance to Arhury'sareat 8>lizahethm hall, whuh
was converted into a two- story dinina room in 1776.
Left: Vhe dinina room, occui^ying the grand hall of the original mcdiaul house, is distinguished hyfan vaultina, which heains
three'(^uartcrs of the way up the walls and spreads across tKe high ceiling. Inset hetween slender columns are niches tovved hy lacy
F^e
^elow leji : Vhra large mullioncd windows run along an aisle ^elow right : A. row of small intricate niches runs across the
ahout ten feet duj^, created hy triple arches ornamented with arched recess housing a hrass'trimmed iron stove, which in
delicate ]^lasterworl<^, on the south side of the dining room. turn IS centered on one wall of Arhury Hall's immense dining
:jiA> Stained-glass medallions are inset just ahove them. room, the culmination ofJ^wdigate's Gothick^ restoration.
III! liiii
Opposite: Vkc delightfully
decorative ^lasterworl^of
the room
Vhe walls of the drawing room are covered with lively flasterwork^fanclmg
inset with family ^rtraits, including one of Sir '^^chard l^wdigate, the first
118
4
Alscot Park
w^^^^^
n
i
^^
1,
1
SHAKESPEARE COUNTRY is the loca-
'
1
tion of another remarkable Gothick
Opposite. Alscot '^ar]<^, a manor Various owners made numerous changes to the small house as it passed
\u)usi m l\xc \xtan of tke Q)tswo\h
that siaxtcd Iije as a modest mcdxaul through the centuries, until 1749, when it was purchased as a summer re-
05 lilar stone. Christopher Wren, after hrst seeing the structure, wrote to her brother.
121
"It was the comicallest little house you ever saw." ^
^
room and dining room, both with intricate plaster-
West started remodeling the simple manor house work on ceilings and walls. All three rooms were
the following year, refacing its exterior walls, adding considerably grander than the modest existing
Gothick ogee arches to windows, building battle- house. Robert Moor, the stuccoist who was respon-
ments, and, in the back of the house overlooking sible for some of the more delicious concoctions at
the river, adding a three-story bay extension. Arbury Hall, worked on Alscot 's entrance hall and
Twelve years later. West retired and once again back stairway.
began remodeling his country house. This time, a ^
Interestingly, although West was an antiquarian
major addition was made to the front of Alscot and even served as president of the Society of An-
Park. It included a large entrance hall, decorated tiquaries for a time, his use of Gothick motifs had
with delicate garlands, swags, and medieval arcad- little relationship to historic references as at Straw-
ing, and, leading off either side, a dramatic drawing berry Hill and Arbury Hall, leaning more heavily
122
Ovvositc: Vhxs side view ofAlscot
toward Batty Langley's fanciful rococo Gothick In 1960 the current owners, descendants of
style, found in the early years of the revival. James West, took over the three-hundred-acre fam-
In the mid-nineteenth century, the house's glazed ily estate and began the arduous task of restoring
windows were unfortunately replaced with plate and updating it. Furniture and carpeting found in
glass, which had recently been perfected and was sheds and in the attic were repaired, the drawing-
considered at the time to be the height of fashion. room ceiling was regilded, and the dark paneling in
James Roberts West, the descendant of the original the dining room was lightened. Structural changes
owner who was responsible for the change, also re- also had to be made to reinforce ceilings and floors.
decorated the large dining room, removing most of The satisfying result of the family's labors is a com-
the eighteenth-century plasterwork on the walls, fortable environment that still retains a respect for
which was far from Victorian tastes. Darkly stained the integrity of its ancestral home.
oak paneling went up in its place.
123
^hovc the fircjflaas centered on the side walls, husts ofShak^^^re ani^^atthew ^rior rest on hracl<its framed hy exc^msite arches against acjorland of
* 124 *
Clustered columns run up the walls of the
125
^w
forms.
126
Vhc dining room's oak^fancl'
127
c/he elegant drawing room, part of the i']6^ addition, is formal, with
Its classical jircplacc of colored marhles and (^erhyshire ^luejohn
entrance hallway.
4. 128 *
A sccUon of the
ornate JraintW'
room jtiliiw.
executed m paptT'
mdche. is compjsed
uithin . In tilt
tilt Ki5t of a
tvnJant sprcaJs
of a hhsscm mjull
Moom.
129
St. John the &vancjclist, hmlt m i 736, is a ran example of the use ofQcorcjian Qothickjn a church. Vhc delightful structure at Shobdon m
Herefordshire was commissioned hy Viscount ^ateman.
4. 130 !.
Stjohn
Evangelist
INTERESTINGLY, examples of ecclesiastical Geor-
and supervised the church's construction, which ran from 1752 to 1756.
trejoils repeating those dccoratina church was built, but its plans were initially drawn in 1746. McCarthy in-
the sides of the peu's. Ji horder
131
Left; Fluid Imcs qffimal'topped oace arches ddin-
transect
openings.
132
1I,
N ^ ^
^
L?l* fl*l^l*lXl*
'"'
( '//'/////// ,/////',/' ^////',;A;f/ ,r/ j -^.^. _^""-
cJKc exuberant Qothvc ^ulpt m tKi5 lovel)' ckwrch is crowned with a Wkile tke dtiurc^is ardaitect is ur^own, its pulpit is similar to a
croc]<^ted tester and j^unctuated with decorative finials . Vo its left is the William Yjent enaravinaof a^^^it in the (^atheiral at Xor\(^nc\uded
133
^w^^/1
Castlps u a (jotl7i(;
Jra9sfor/T]al:io9
Ghn Qastlc is an Irish Georgian house on tke hank of the Shannon '^R^ver. RDeck^d out with troppmas of a castle,
was i^rohahly frst huilt in the I'jSos hy Q)lonel John Fraunceis Fit;^Gerald, the Knight ofQlin, on ]^roi^erty
i
it
that had been in his family since the thirteenth century. His son added the Gothichjirimminas and various Gothick^
ly, the Grimm brothers collected and published their beloved fairy tales, fa-
Gothic was flourishing a style closely associated with a time when knight-
hood was in flower and one that took special delight in the imagination.
Castles, whether from the pages of a storybook or from real life, have
traditionally held a unique appeal for all ages. Rose Macaulav, in Pleasure of
Ruins, wTites, "The castle has always been a formidable image, a pow^erful,
in 1066 heralded the first great era of castle building, with massive defen-
sive structures dominating manv English towns and villages during the
lancet windows, and drawbridges all evolved out of the need for protec-
137
building was once again undertaken in earnest. But acceptable because it incorporated familiar forms.
while these baronial residences had a distinctly me- Gothic's reappearance in Ireland was at Moore
dieval flavor, their construction was motivated Abbey in the 1760s, but according to Burke's Guide to
purely by the romantic appeal of the Middle Ages Country Houses, Gothick "was not really fashionable
rather than by a desire to actually reproduce an until immediately after the Union, when Gothic cas-
original Norman stronghold. tles suddenly became all the rage."^ With the pass-
Castle building became the ultimate expression of ing of the Act of Union in 1800, which abolished
the Picturesque Movement of the late eighteenth the Irish Parliament and joined England and Ireland
century. What started as a philosophical concept as- in a legislative union, a great deal of castellating
sociated with landscape gardens was adapted to ar- went on. The castle of Charles\ille Forest, started in
chitecture when Richard Payne Knight, a major 1 800, and Luttrellstovsni are two excellent examples.
supporter of the Picturesque Movement, conscious- Some eighteenth- and nineteenth-century castles
ly utilized the principles of the picturesque in his were built from scratch, but many originally started
decidedlv Gothick Downton Castle in East Cowes. life as Georgian houses. Glin Castle, on the western
Starting in 1774, Knight constructed a large irregu- coast of Ireland in County Limerick, is a prime ex-
larly formed structure specifically designed as an in- ample. Soon after his marriage in 1812, John
tegral part of the surrounding landscape. Fraunceis Fitz- Gerald, the Knight of Glin, added
The lure of many of the imposing newly built battlements to his eighteenth- century home, gothi-
castles was heightened by their romantic settings in cizing a wing of the house and farm buildings with
dramatic spots that dominated the landscape. The crenellations cind adding three Gothick lodges a few
Scottish Culzean Castle, positioned on the rugged years later.
cliffs of the Ayrshire coast overlooking the sea, was In England, the rugged Cornish coast was the
just such a location. Architect Robert Adam, better site of John Nash's imposing Caeyrhays Castle, built
known for his classical tastes, was responsible for in 1808. Nash, who was responsible for the exotic
its design, which incorporated a considerably older Brighton Pavilion, designed a number of Gothick
mansion house. While the use of many Gothic archi- castles, including Koepp in Sussex, Lascombe in
tectural elements was not particularly popular in Devon, and his own castle at East Cowes on the Isle
Scottish houses, Scotland's rough landscape was aptly of Wight in 1790. James Wyatt, an enthusiast of the
suited to the dramatic, solitary aspects of castles. Gothick style and a rival of Nash's, built Norris
The Gothick castle appealed to the wild and ro- Castle on the Isle of Wight about the same time.
mantic Irish also, and, as in Scotland, it melded well Wyatt was considered by many to be the most fash-
with the rugged Irish landscape. Wealthy Irish ionable architect in England; in 1796, two years af-
landowners encountering Gothick on visits to En- ter tackling the monumental Fonthill Abbey, he was
glish country houses had brought the style home appointed Surveyor General to the Office of the
with them. The grounds of many substantial Irish '
Works, the most exalted post an architect could hold.
*
houses abounded with authentic medieval ruins, The rebuilding of Windsor Castle became the
many of them in the southwest. Consequently, the most important of Wyatt 's projects. By the time the
fashion for adding decorative turrets and battle- Prince of Wales, at the age of fifty-seven, assumed
ments to contemporary dwellings was quite easily the title of King George IV, Windsor Castle had fall-
138
. -
en into grave disrepair. The State Apartments, suf- winning architect of the Houses of Parliament, and
fering the effects of an assortment of influences as a number of his contemporaries, such as Anthony
each monarch put his or her stamp on them, need- Salvin, Robert Smirke, and Edward Blore, were re-
ed not onlv modernizing but unifying as well. Wyatt sponsible for the design of many remodeled or new-
gothicized part of the exterior of the State ly built castles of the early Victorian period. In
Apartments and the Main Hall; upon his death, his Wales, Lord Bute, one of the wealthiest men in En-
nephew Jeffrv Wyattville, who changed his name af- gland, aided by architect William Burgcs, rebuilt
ter being knighted for his services at the castle, as- Cardiff Castle (see page 1 57) and the smaller Castell
sumed the task, and from 1824 to 1830 he carried Coche. One of the great triumphs of nineteenth-
on, gothicizing the staircase, the Waterloo Cham- century Romantic architecture, Cardiff Castle is
ber, the Knights of the Garter Throne Room, and brimming with ornate Victorian Gothic ornamenta-
the Queen's Guard Chamber. tion. Castle Drago, the last great castle to be built in
The restoration of Windsor Castle inspired many England, was designed by the renowned architect
to construct smaller versions on their country es- Sir Edwin Lutyens in the early years of the twenti-
tates and to update earlier castles with currently eth century for Sir Julius Drewe, founder of a
fashionable Gothic motifs. Sir Charles Barry, prize grocery chain.
c/his waUrcolor oj
^arlijtiousc m Qardiff.
designed hy architect
139
While architect A.W. N. Pugin was unsuccessful were rejected because of their connection to what
in his efforts to suppress the taste for picturesque was viewed as the decadent Regency period. Goth-
castles, he was ultimately instrumental in bringing a ic, on the other hand, appealed to the class-conscious
close to Gothick's early exuberance. Reinforced by wealthy English because of its suggestion of ancient
the 1833 Oxford Movement, favoring a return to lineage, and appealed as well to the growing middle
Catholic doctrines and practices within the Church class, who turned to a style rooted firmly in En-
of England, and bolstered by the remodeling of gland's history for identity.
Windsor Castle and the rebuilding of the Houses of When the Houses of Parliament were destroyed
Parliament in the 1850s as well as an expanding so- by the Great Fire of 1834, the Perpendicular Style
cial conscience, a more serious form of Gothic was of Gothic was selected for its redesign in an effort
to become the most important design direction of to retain a cohesive connection with the eleventh-
the mid-nineteenth century. century Gothic Westminster Hall that survived. Sir
By the 1840s, with Queen Victoria now on the Charles Barry was awarded the job; he was ably as-
throne, the use of Gothic went through a transfor- sisted by A. W N. Pugin, who was responsible for
mation, turning from decorative and associational the exterior and interior detailing.
to a concern for archaeological and structural accu- Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin, born in
racy. With its romantic youth now at an end, in be- 1812, was perhaps the most influential of the nine-
coming more authentic it became decidedly less teenth-century personalities in advancing and redi-
adventurous. While the linear Perpendicular Style recting the Gothic Revival. At twenty-two Pugin
was at first more popular, Victorians a bit later in the converted to Catholicism, and his new religion was
century preferred earlier medieval Gothic to play an important role in his life. Pugin 's father,
forms exemplified by heavier shapes and simpler Augustus Claudius Pugin, a French emigre who had
detailing. worked for the architect John Nash, made extensive
The Victorians, who took not only themselves studies of medieval buildings, publishing Specimens of
but life in general very seriously, adopted this same Gothic Architecture in 1821. His Examples of Gothic Ar-
attitude when choosing architecture. Classical de- chitecture, a three-volume handbook of mathemati-
signs, except when utilized for municipal buildings. cally accurate drawings, was completed by his son
140
.
after his death. An invaluable tool for architects, ficial ornamentation, it set an example for smaller
these books proved to be a turning point in the mid-Victorian houses. Of the more than one hun-
Gothic Revival. dred buildings Pugin designed, most were churches.
The younger Pugin was intense, intolerant, and Pugin first put forward his principle that Chris-
dogmatic; he believed Gothic to be the only appro- tianitv and Gothic were svnonvmous in Contrasts; or A
priate architectural style for Christians, insisting on Parallel Between the Architecture oj the 1 4th and 1 5th
strict archaeological correctness as well as on truth- Centuries and Similar Buildings of the Present Day, an
ful construction and the use of ornamentation only 1836 pamphlet. Initially drawn to the Perpendicular
as it related to a structure. Ultimately, architecture Style, he turned to the simplified form of the Middle
was to be judged according to the morality and re- Pointed period shortly thereafter. True Principles of
1823 and 1826. Shown on these twofages are (lejt to right) a Gothic
141
A. carefully measured drawing m ^cn, wash, and
m pencil of the Exterior of Ducal Palace,
Venice hyjohn ^^R^isk^n, executed m 1852, was
shown m an 1870 exhihitwn at the ^^yal Institu-
w^
w^^^
tion.
Qothic
Vhe ^lychromed huxldina, with
tracery, in ^^R^slqn's words, "stands
its lovely
comvara-
^.^^MMM:*M
i 'cutt mj^ mm fift^
i*t
exponents of High Victorian Gothic. In an attempt the importance of architecture. Born in 1819,
to modernize Gothic, many incorporated construc- Ruskin adopted Pugin's preachings, which instilled
tional polychroming, a style that made use of decora- architecture with moral and ethical qualities, yet
tive colored brickwork and tiles, in their buildings. the staunchly Protestant Ruskin had little liking for
Street's 1855 book. Brick and Marble in the Middle the Catholic Pugin. On numerous trips to Italy,
Ages, served as a reference for what became known Ruskin was impressed by its medieval architecture
as Italian or High Victorian Gothic. But the person and wrote in praise of it in The Stones of Venice in
most responsible for popularizing the style was not 1853. Keenly aware of the importance of color in
an architect. architecture, he created an interest in Venetian
John Ruskin, an architectural historian and a nat- Gothic with his eloquent praise of its technique of
uralist, had an outstanding command of the English colored banding, created by using contrasting mate-
language coupled with a passionate conviction of rial to form moldings.
142
A. six' inch-high 18^0 English sah- Jin final 15 h brass watch stand and
glaze teapt is ornamcnud with designs of bottle holder, ten inches high, has
Qothic arches are repeated m rows across this Wilton cari^et, an 1848 rei^ro'
duction that dui^licates tke colors of one m tke archival fles of Woodward
Grosvenor, the comi^any that produced tke carpet for 'burrows df Q). e/he
** ** '^ " " " -t " ' '-^^- ' *> " Jt-
> /^ ^>^^^ f^ J^ ^ ^ ^ A 4* ^ * border was not part of tke original overail design.
Bv the mid-nineteenth century, Gothic motifs style draperies topped with valances and pelmets
found their way into virtually all areas of the deco- that followed the line of a Gothic arch, which were
rative arts, including ceramics, glassware and silver- frequently embellished with embroidery of Gothic
ware, lighting, and even metal stoves. Gothic and ornaments, were commonly used in dining rooms
Elizabethan furniture designs, used primarily in or libraries.
grand halls and libraries, were at first custom-made During the last half of the nineteenth century,
for specific houses but later simplified versions were there were several movements formed by artists
mass-produced for cottage dwellers. By 1830, in- and craftsmen, such as the Pre-Raphaelite Brother-
lays, marquetry, and exotic woods, which captured hood, that were an outgrowth of Gothic influences;
the fancy of Regency England, were usurped by rose- they incorporated medieval themes, an interest in
wood, mahoganv, walnut, and oak. Pugin brought nature, and the ideals of excellence of design, in-
out Gothic Furniture in 1835. tegrity of materials, and exacting craftmanship. "By
Flamboyant Gothic designs on wallpaper and fab- the 1870's," as Gavin Stamp and Andre Goulancourt
ric started appearing in the eighteenth century, noted in their book The English House 18601914,
with patterns employing vistas of ruins, arches, "avant-garde architects had abandoned the literal
quatrefoils, and tracery, and bv 1815 were quite Gothic style the pointed arch which had so ob-
common. Carpets as well were designed with Goth- sessed Pugin . . . but they essentially remained
ic motifs throughout the 1830s and '40s. Gothic- Gothicists in their approach to design."^
143
1
ft
^ >> .'^a
f-
.*i.
*^Sir:
^ / !!
"^-f^-'
'>'
,<<i
^,
,ui-
,> :'r^^
^^
-:^*
L^.V
^ .c <^^
>^f>p^'
.^^^.
..^'*-
.^'
y^"??-
>>*?'
.*!f*Sr<^'*'-
\,l.j>l''
Opposite .'^irr Qastle's
the east of the 1 30-acre desmesne, or park, while on its western front the
Qounty O^aly is the seventeenth- The ancestral home of the Earls of Rosse, Birr Castle started with the
untury ancestral home of the
8>arls of'^sse .In 1810 the purchase of 1,277 acres of land in 1620 by English-born Sir Laurence
castle wasgothicizfd; at this time
Parsons, who had come to Ireland thirty years before with his brother.
tHe facade was encased in cjray
iron-studded door, was created. necting two free-standing seventeenth-century towers to it. The structure
145
suffered extensive damage during the turbulent self-governing Ireland loyal to the crown. When the
second half of the seventeenth century, passing down Act of Union was passed in 1800, Parsons retired
through several generations of Parsonses to Sir to his estate at Birr, where he began extensive
Laurence, the second Earl of Rosse, who inherited remodeling and updating, much of it in the then-
his title in 1807. fashionable Gothick style, which was largely in-
Sir Laurence had been a member of the Irish spired by work being undertaken at the castle of
House of Commons and supported an independent Charleville Forest. Sir Laurence was actively in-
46
Opposite: Valines line t\ic walls of
an earlier remodehruj.
volved in the designs; one of his notebooks contains Changes were again on the agenda after a fire de-
drawings for the castle's castellated front entrance, stroyed the roof of the castle in 1832. A third story
which was remodeled in 1810. The spectacular was built, and Gothick plasterwork was added to
Gothick saloon overlooking the river was also the staircase. Third-floor corridors were vaulted
undertaken at this time. A plan for a Gothick stair- and a Gothick ceiling installed in the entrance hall.
case has been found but it was never executed. In the 1840s, new Gothick gates were constructed
Sir Laurence was known and respected for his and moats and fortifications rebuilt, motivated in
honesty and intelligence. His son William became part by a desire to provide employment to many in
one of the most distinguished astronomers of his the area during the famine.
day, building a reflection telescope on the grounds Restoration to the castle and careful maintenance
of Birr, which, until 1917, was the world's largest. of the vast landscaped park, as well as cataloguing
In keeping with the castle renovations, the tele- the extensive collection of documents pertaining to
scope's walls were embellished with Gothic arches the estate, is an ongoing job for the present Lord
and topped with crenellations. William's wife, Rosse, who has dedicated his energies to preserving
Mary, was a pioneer in the field of photography. Birr. Its magnificent gardens, among the most beau-
Charles, the youngest of their eleven children, in- tiful found anywhere, are open to the public
vented the steam turbine. throughout the year.
147
^irr's resplendent octaaonal saloon is an outstandina example of the inventive Gothickjmrit Vhree Gothic\windows emhellisked with
.
delicate tracery stretch from floor to ceilina alonu the far wall, while slendev aold'and'white columns rise up tke other walls, flocked m green
and gold, to a s]^lendid vaulted tent'li]<i ceiling. i^
Opposite; c/ke saloon frej^lacc is detailed with Qothic]<jnotifs. '^fleeted m tke ornate gilded mirror ahove it is a beautiful Waterford crystal
chandelier sus]^endcd from the center of the room and one of the large Qothid<^indows tkat lint the opposite wall.
148
1
^^a r
>'-*^'l ^ -
*."
1
. 1 i^i 1
1.
J ii^!N^I V *^;
Ji
siJ^J
#^
:&
p
ll
-:^:^.^^?^^^-7^^:^^^^^
..
"""' ? ~rr=^
" MB::^^.^^^:^^ '
sy-^..-^-'-^'v -W "S^N '
fy
'
damaskcliki wallpaper.
150
j\n ovcrscalcd cag-and-iart molding frames doorways and the hay
Eastnor Castle
x^
THE IMPOSING Eastnor Castle in Led-
^^^m
bury, Herefordshire, designed bv architect
1
Robert Smirke, was begun in March of
Opposite; 3M<^nijicent tapestries line tke walls In keeping with the spirit of the castle, the Great Hall is lined with an-
IS a coYy 0^ one in J^rembera (^atkeinil Pugin. The grandly proportioned room is distinguished by richly gilded
153
fan vaulting, pendants, and decorative designs on of art. Pugin was responsible for the design of a
ceiling and walls. Commissioned by the second Earl number of the furnishings, such as the Gothic book-
in 1 849, it is a wonderful example of the more seri- case, inlaid round table, velvet-covered chairs, and
ous approach to Gothic in mid-nineteenth-century the spectacular brass chandelier, first shown at the
mentation is more grounded in historic references Heraldic emblems of the Somers and Cocks fam-
than the earlier exuberance of the eighteenth- centu- ily are emblazoned around the drawing room.
ry Gothick of Arbury Hall and Strawberry Hill. Above the large fireplace, the Somers family motto,
One of the particularly special qualities about "Be useful rather than conspicuous," is displayed
dwellings, like Eastnor, that have been handed down along with a heraldic tree illustrating the family ge-
through generations of the same family is that many nealogy from the time of Thomas Cocks of Bishops
still possess their original furnishings, providing a Cleeve, whose son Richard, around 1600, bought
rare opportunity to savor unique interiors imprint-' the property on which part of the castle is built. In
ed with the eccentricities of centuries of occupants. 1695, Richard's son Charles married Mary Somers,
Eastnor 's Gothic drawing room is filled with fine who brought with her a substantial fortune; it was
furniture, exquisite Brussels tapestries, and works their grandson, John, who built Eastnor Castle.
* 154 4-
Above left: Virginia creeper climhs the ivalls of&astnor Qastlc, hringirwj
touches ofjiamim red m the fall . In k^pvr^ with the fashion of tJre day,
Ahove naht .^Jhe lofty curved uiling of the drawing room is ornamented
the dado around the room. A.hove thf heavily carved fireplace is th^
^^Right: Simple columns join elahorate gilded and richly painted vaulting
that fans out across the drawing room ceiling, while various gilded leaf-
Hl<f moldings edge the doors and ceiling. Vhe letter "S" scattered
155
Cardiff Castle
^kt.c/Ite Winter
Smok}nq '^om door m
Qardiff Qastlc is deco-
hon hearing tKe arms of Gothic lies within the walls of Cardiff Cas-
Stuart of^ute. ^irds,
some on hranches, sina to tle. Its interiors are, in the opinion of re-
tke music of a drum and
cized vision of the Middle Ages, the castle interiors are, nevertheless,
worlds away from Arbury Hall and the other confections created one
Opposite; Vhe walls of the octagonal
A. muzjzled lion sits on the newel post. of the Welsh capital, Cardiff. The earliest building on the site was a Roman
157
fort dating from around 75 A.D. A Norman defense have a set of clothes appropriate to the period made
curtain was later erected on top, with living quar- up, which he wore on occasion. Burges 's preference
ters added in the fifteenth century. The low, massive was for French thirteenth-century Gothic rather
walls of the castle's austere and military-like exterior than the English Decorated period favored by Pugin.
belie the elaborate splendor of its interiors. Writer Construction began with the turreted clock tower
Olive Cook comments, "Not only must they be at the southwestern corner, consisting of summer
among the most lavish ever created, but they shock and winter smoking rooms together with the bach-
the senses with the boldness, the unrelenting thor- elor bedroom, which form the bachelor suite.
oughness, the sustained, almost maniacal energy Three other towers were enlarged and heightened.
with which every detail of the unique decoration has Bright murals depicting scenes from the life of one
been carried out."^ of the Norman lords of the castle top the wainscot-
The immense structure passed through the hands ed walls of Burges 's elaborate banqueting hall.
of a number of powerful British families until, in Arches with elaborate crocketing form over door-
1776, much in need of repair, it came into the pos- ways, while stained-glass windows depict many of
session of John Stuart, first Marquess of Bute, who the castle's past owners. Fan vaults create a banding
hired Henry Holland to reconstruct the decaying around the decorated timber ceiling, with rows of
lodgings in the Georgian Gothick style. But it was carved angels just above it.
his great-grandson, John Patrick Crichton- Stuart, The third Marquess did not stop at Cardiff Castle
third Marquess of Bute, who was to bring about but went on to build and restore numerous struc-
major changes, embarking upon a building program tures throughout Britain, lending credence to his
that lasted for sixty years. His father, who had died reputation as one of Britain's greatest builders.
when he was six months old, left him one of the Cardiff Castle was donated to the city in 1 947 and is
largest estates in Great Britain. Recognizing the open to the public throughout the year.
need for a port to handle the expanding iron and
coal industry in South Wales, he had sunk his for-
tune into developing Bute Docks. They would turn
Cardiff into an important commercial world port
and a major city. Sophia, second Marchioness, was
to die in 1859, when her son was twelve.
One of the first decisions of the serious, shy, and
scholarly third Marquess upon coming into his in-
the greatest exponent of High Victorian Gothic, to ^^arquess, into a pnmte chapel and
propose a scheme to restore the castle's living quar- dedicated it to him. Vhe large central
ters in 1865, A scholar like his patron, Burges was windows depct four a]^stles.
158
tlJ^^I'-l^
--*/ '^^
t5^
.-o
^ .'^-SiSZE^lpH-B I
f^l I
:S;^
H
^^^^K 1
1
Ki^\ ^ i
-55
r
W\c theme of the Winter Smok}m ^^R^m is time. Stained'
yield to love."
m a sty!i;^ei motif Opposite cJlit' I'antjut'tin^ hall, just off the top of the circular
A.hovc: eJhe staircase walls arc faxnud ;
simulatina tile and limestone and include illustrations oj^ animal, stairs, IS rich in symbolism, '^ased on the life of'^hert, 8>arl of
and motifs ornament forms tliejocal point of the room. Scattered al^out the
Overhead, a not of hold color the lively
vaulted ceilina. chimnejpiece are small ji^ures such as a lady bidding /areu'el
to a Iqnaht on horseback^
+ 162 !
r
flH^1% ^mki^m'l HIH
X
^n ^^^E9 aJa^.
f^ fl
J
^^^^^^^^^ !
1
^L^
r
1^1k^LJ X
/
Jl^^/lrriual
!9 tl?e
di^it^d^tat^s
.
\l<- '
URING THE EARLY YEARS of the nineteenth
Ifc^ ^^m^ ^^m^^^\ 1 \
'
'fli^BP^r^f ^ ^B7 1
for a nation grounded in the Puritan ethic. Sim-
U.K. Hurrah, \s shown in this
windows, and asymmetrical form and order were verv much in favor.
gave free reign to the imagination. As William Pierson, Jr., states in Amer-
ican Buildings and Their Architects, "The Gothic house changed the face of the
American town, and shattered forever the simplicity and stylistic coher-
The Gothic stvle was used in a rich diver sit v of structures, from rustic
architect Alexander Jackson Davis and landscape designer and writer An-
drew^ Jackson Downing. By the time Gothic was established in the United
States, its early, more whimsical days were left behind and it had headed
4- 167 +
into its Picturesque phase. Whereas a number of ar- and Masonic temple. Many of the churches were
chitects had flirted with Gothic toward the end of unpretentious wooden buildings with pointed win-
the eighteenth century, adding touches of it to de- dows and doors, a square tower, and a steep gable
cidedly classical structures, its use in residences was roof. The New York Ecclesiastical Society, founded
still rare. An early example was Sedgeley, built in in 1 847 by the growing Episcopal Church in Amer-
1799 on a bank of the Schuvlkill River outside ica, controlled the design of many rural churches,
Philadelphia and demolished in 1857. Designed by selecting Gothic partly because it was less expensive
English-born architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe, to construct.
the symmetrical house was decked out in pointed English-born Richard Upjohn, the leading Goth-
arches and hood moldings combined with neoclassi- ic Revival church architect, was responsible for
cal motifs. Latrobe, who came to America after the some of this country's finest churches. He designed
death of his wife, was the most prominent of a a number of smaller churches inspired by those
number of architects who emigrated during the found in English villages. In an effort to encourage
Federal period. design excellence in rural areas, he published de-
Unlike English Gothick, which reappeared in the signs for churches, schoolhouses, and parsonages in
eighteenth century in domestic architecture (adopt- Upjohn's Rural Architecture in 1852. Trinity Church in
ed by gentlemen of comfortable means who were New York City was Upjohn's most important work.
drawn to its aesthetic qualities), American Gothic Completed in 1846, it is one of three Gothic
got its start in ecclesiastical buildings. By the 1820s churches looked upon today as among the most im-
Gothic was frequently selected for churches of all portant architectural achievements of the nine-
denominations and eyen an occasional synagogue
J o o
teenth century. Ithiel Town's Trinity Church in
William (^rammond, is
ture elements
A ^
,!ir
'^chard UfJohn's charmim simple nave church with hcllcotc, designed in 18^8 for St. '^auVs Qhurch in ^rook]in, ^Massachusetts, was never built
hecause varishxoners wanted somethina more elahorate. A. number of similar Upjokn churches were constructed and j^roved to he influential in tkf
New Haven, finished in 1817, and James Renwick, in the United States there was a bountv of natural
Jr.'s St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, built resources such as timber.
in the English Decorated style, are the other two. English pattern books from such authors as Battv
St. Patrick's, the largest church in America at the Langley, Thomas Chippendale, and John Claudius
time, comparable in scale as well as grandeur to the Loudon were important sources for American ar-
magnificent cathedrals throughout Europe, was chitects, furniture makers, and local carpenters,
completed in 1879, with the exception of its spires, playing a part in the acceptance of Gothic in Amer-
which took another nine years to finish. ica. But it was the romantic novels of Sir Walter
Bv the 1830s, inviting examples of domestic Scott, first published in the United States in the
Gothic started appearing across the American land- 1830s, and widelv distributed and devoured bv
scape. While it had arrived by way of England, once Americans hungry for diversion, that ultimatelv
on American soil Gothic was to dance to its own sparked the imagination of the nation, creating a
tune. This distinct difference was the result of a wave of enthusiasm for Gothic. Scott's descriptive
number of factors. Unlike America, which had tales of chivalrv and valor set in the Middle Ages
boundless wilderness, English landscape gardens were taken to heart by a country engulfed in a ro-
could only attempt to create the illusion of untamed mantic spirit. Scott's writings inspired the work of a
landscape. Choices of building materials varied as number of American writers and poets, such as
well eighteenth-century English residences were Edgar Allan Poe, James Fenimore Cooper, William
frequently of stone because wood was scarce, while Cullen Bryant, and Washington Irving, many of
169
whom made the pilgrimage to Abbotsford, Scott's to as the first Gothic villa in the United States, but
romantic baronial castle on the River Tweed in no drawings or other evidence of it has survived.)
Scotland. Irving 's charming Dutch manor house, Irregular in form, Glenellen 's castellated towers
Sunnyside, and Cooper's classic Otsego Hall, re- and walls were of stone quarried on the estate. It
modeled by inventor Samuel Morse, incorporated a even had a sham ruin gatehouse, Gilmor ran short
number of Gothic elements. of funds, however, and plans for the top floor had to
Robert Gilmor is credited with building the first be scrapped. In 1988, Glenellen burned to the
truly Gothic house in America. Born into a wealthy ground, having been abandoned and neglected for
Maryland family, Gilmor traveled to France as an at- some time.
tache to the American embassy after graduating Alexander Jackson Davis started his career as an
from Harvard. While in Europe, with the prerequi- architectural illustrator, joining Ithiel Town as a ju-
site papers of introduction in hand, he paid a visit to nior partner in 1829. The combination of the older,
Sir Walter Scott at his celebrated home. Upon re- established Town, an engineer possessing one of the
turning to America, Gilmor commissioned the most important architectural libraries in the coun-
leading architectural firm of Town and Davis in try, and the ambitious, younger Davis proved to be
1832 to build a replica of Abbotsford, naming it a successful partnership, which lasted until 1835
Town and Davis in 1832. Davis recorded another trove of material at his fingertips, which undoubt-
1832 commission for a Gothic house for James edly helped to broaden his knowledge of Gothic.
Moulton of Brooklyn, New York, which he referred Town's architectural preference was for Greek
170
1
Glenellen, set m the 'Maryland countryside twelve miles
features a Yers]pectwe of
surrounding grounds
(Constructed m 1838,
It 15 one of the many
dwellings designed
loyA.f. ^avistomctt
the needs of middle- class
Americans interested in
elevation of Wildmont
Lodge, A.], (^avis's
romantic twentyacre
lHcwYorl<^Qity.
popular architects of the day. His imaginative de- Brick Presbyterian Church. Davis rescued its stair-
signs encapsulated the spirit of the age, inspiring case, incorporating it into Wildmont, a summer
countless cottages throughout the land. house he had built for his family in 1856. His Goth-
Davis published two thin installments of Rural ic House of Mansions, a series of eleven connecting
Residences Etc. Consisting of Designs, Original and Se- houses built in 1858, which later became Rutgers
lected, for Cottages, Farm-Houses, Villas, and Village Female College, was just a few blocks north at Fifth
Churches in 1837. Its introduction read, "The fol- Avenue and Forty- second Street.
lowing series of designs has been prepared in com- In 1838, Alexander Jackson Davis met Andrew
pliance with the w ishes of a few gentlemen who are Jackson Downing. Four years earlier, at nineteen.
desirous of seeing a better taste prevail in the Rural Downing had joined his brother in a Newburgh,
Architecture of this country." It continued, "The New York, nursery, a business their father had
bold, uninteresting aspect of our houses must be owned and operated before his death. Andrew be-
obvious to every traveller; and to those who are fa- came its sole proprietor five years later. Within a
miliar with the picturesque cottages and villas of relatively short time he was looked upon as one of
England."^ The book, the first of its kind in Amer- America's leading landscape gardeners and horti-
ica, introduced the concept of the villa to American culturists. Downing 's 1845 publication. The Fruits
architecture. and Fruit Trees of America, considered the definitive
While Rural Residences had a limited distribution, work on the subject in the United States, plaved a
it was most favorably received. It featured hand- role in standardizing the names of fruits. He was to
colored lithographs of three architectural styles become a major architectural critic and theorist as
termed classical, hybrid, and Gothic. Davis's pref- well before his tragic death at age thirty-six.
erence was for the last, which he called English col- Motivated by a concern over a general lack of
legiate style, because "it admits of greater variety harmony between American houses and their set-
both of plan and outline; is susceptible of addi- tings. Downing used his considerable talent as a
tions from time to time, while its bay windows, writer to persuade a receptive American public that
oriels, turrets, and chimney shafts give a pictorial a house and its setting should be viewed as a cohe-
effect to the elevation."''' Rural Residences included a sive unit. Passionately persistent, he encouraged
drawing of a whimsical gate lodge at Blithewood, a the construction of houses that were positioned to
large stone house built in the Gothic style in the take full advantage of a picturesquely enhanced
mid- 1 830s; this gatehouse was to become the proto- landscape.
73
The handsome Downing, who had married into several people, most especially Davis, a superb
one of Newburgh's most important famiHes, dedi- draftsman, to translate his rough pencil sketches
cated his first book, pubHshed in 1 841 , to his wife's into finished artwork. Original designs by Davis,
great uncle, ex-President John Quincy Adams. The such as the Albany, New York, villa Davis designed
first book of its kind written in the United States, for J.
Rathbone, and The Knoll in Tarrytown, New
A Treatise on the Theory and Practise of Landscape Gar- York, were featured in Downing 's books as well.
dening, Adapted to North America; with a View to the Downing 's Cottage Residences, or A Series of Designs
Improvement of Country Residences went through re- for Rural Cottages and Cottage- Villas and Their Gardens
peated reprintings, bringing Downing a major step and Grounds Adapted to North America, published in
closer to convincing the country that landscaping 1842, promised "smiling lawns and tasteful cot-
was within the reach of every homeovnier. tages." It featured Tuscan designs and those adapted
While Downing 's book discussed several archi- from rural English Gothic cottages. The Tuscan or
tectural stvles, his favorite was Tudor Gothic and a Italian style was considered to be more appropriate
simplified version of it that he referred to as Rural for tropical climates, while Rural Gothic to be
Gothic, or the English cottage style, because it more fitting for homes located in an area with
"gives character and picturesque expression to changing seasons. Davis and Downing envisioned
manv landscapes entirely devoid of that quality." the cottage as ideally suited for small working-class
Highland Gardens, Downing 's own Tudor Gothic families. Frequently symmetrical, it was character-
house in Newburgh, New York, overlooking the ized by board-and-batten siding, a steeply pitched
Hudson and, sadlv, torn down in 1951, was illus- gable trimmed with carved vergeboards, pinnacles,
match. Both were romantics to the core; drawn to American and English houses of the Gothic Revival.
the emotional aspects of the Picturesque, they be- . . . Although the porch was not new to American
lieved it to be an appropriate expression of the architecture, the idea that the veranda was the link
young country's tastes and ideals. Their vision was between the house and nature had picturesque con-
to change the course of American domestic archi- notations that had not been encountered before."^
tecture. One of the distinctions Downing made between
Downing collaborated with Davis on three pop- cottages and villas was that, for cottage dwellers,
ular architectural books. Each covered the practical household duties were performed by family mem-
aspects of the field as well as the aesthetic, offering bers or one domestic while the villa needed three
explicit information and specific advice. Written in or more servants to run. Unlike that of cottages,
an easily readable style, they also featured plans and the interior space of a villa was asymmetrical.
elevations of houses. Because Downiing lacked ar- Downing defined a villa as a country residence char-
chitectural training, he depended upon the skills of acterized by irregularity, with part of its surround-
174
mH
.
A hand'colorcd Utho'
arav\\[rom jKlcxandcr
Rural Residences
shows a charming
asaaatc lodcjcat
^litlituwii in
FLslikiK.Nt-uYorl^.
ha\and mullioncd
ivmdou's, Uiahgahlcs
with ornamental
chimncx sUajis
KITCHEN
-V '
-rs^- ^ /
'
; i
i
D I M N&
I PA R LOU R
X
k ( I
'i-j
LjlJ
_! ! L.
S t-C ON D
175
JAillhrook^, the late
18305 residence of
^arrytown, l^wYork^,
IS the workjof A. .
J
! QDavis. Illustrated in
'^owmng's Treatise on
Landscape Gardening,
It i^resented the architect's
;
A.mencan cottaae and
I
tlie^tck House.
r ^^ 1
n XJJ ij
rt.
ir-
H R tii NC
I KUL
-.n
f Tr
J)l f^ / NO-
i
J-
S A L O '> N .
:j:^
1;
I
I^
:l
n il. ::H:ft f>
/=" J'
1/ Mn rt A fj : I o .
V. . . ^
* \1G -^
ing land "laid out as a pleasure ground. Its owner alliance, but Davis appeared uninterested. Two
"^
should be a man of some wealth . . . and taste years later. Downing journeyed to England in
Downing, whose houses were frequently simpli- search of a suitable partner and returned with
fied versions of those found in English architectural twenty-six-year-old Calvert Vaux. They worked to-
books with a veranda added, was greatly influenced gether for two years before Downing 's untimely
bv English Gothic advocates A. W. N. Pugin, writer death on July 28, 1852, three months short of his
and critic John Ruskin, and John Claudius Loudon, thirty- seventh birthday. While he was traveling on
horticulturist and celebrated author. Loudon, cred- the Hudson River on a steamship, then a common
ited with popularizing the adoption of a romantic means of transportation, a fire broke out. Downing
garden and picturesque landscape for the less well- saved his wife but drowned trying to rescue anoth-
pedias on such topics as gardening, architecture, Vaux remained in the United States, going into
and furniture, which Downing did not hesitate to partnership with Frederick Law Olmsted and pub-
borrow from with great frequency. Downing, in lishing Villas and Cottages three years after Down-
fact, edited Loudon's books for the U.S. market, ing 's death. Dedicated to Caroline Downing and the
helping to popularize them through editorials in the memory of her husband, it included 370 engravings
Horticulturist, a monthly journal of which he w as ed- and reflected the less romantic direction the team
itor. Downing 's essays featured in the Horticulturist, had started to take under Vaux's influence. The
on subjects ranging from landscape gardening to preface reads: "In this collection of studies there are
rural architecture, were compiled and issued in many marked 'D. & V.' that have a special interest as
Rural Essajs a vear after his death. the latest over which the genial influence of the
In 1850 Downing published The Architecture of lamented Downing was exercised. Several of the
Country Houses, the most popular of his architectur- plans were in progress when the tidings of his sud-
al books. In it he wrote, "Those who love shadow den and shocking death were mournfully received
and the sentiment of antiquity and repose will find by his family and friends, and almost as mournfully
pleasure in the quiet tone which prevails in the by thousands, who, knowing him only through his
."^
Gothic style Downing dropped landscaping in this books, still felt that he was to them a dear and inti-
thev turn their informal collaboration into a closer ated an exploding market for new homes.
177
I
Rotch House
for William J.
Rotch. Featured in Andrew
central aahle, oriel window, and tall massing and extended central gable, although larger in scale than most
chimneys, ^^ownina helieved that no
dwellina was complete u'ltkout a porcK or cottages.
veranda. Vhc veranda, which intersects the
William J.
Rotch, the mayor of the thriving mill town of New Bedford,
entrance front, j^rovides a strong horizontal
throuqhout the house. ing upon a number of examples while honeymooning along the Hudson
179
River, and in 1 845 commissioned Davis to design a Some time later, Rotch built an addition to the
Gothic cottage. Davis apparentlv adapted a render- house for his family of nine children. About that
ing he had previously done in 1838, changing the time, dormers were added to the front to let in
rough stone to dressed stone. Ultimately, how^ever, light to the third storv. Chimnevs flanking the
flush boarding painted the color of stone was used, central gable, which were originally clustered with
probablv because it was less expensive. The house, terra-cotta chimney pots, were rebuilt, perhaps
set in a pear orchard, was built at an estimated cost because of structural problems. Around World War I,
of S6,000. The first Gothic Revival house in New the addition was removed (it is now a free-standing
Bedford, it made Rotch's sanctimonious grandfa- house just behind) and the main house was moved
ther, ensconced in a large Greek Revival house in the back about fifty feet. Interestinglv, the house now
same town, upset that his grandson would build in to the south side was designed by Davis as well.
Davis's dramatic use of animated architectural el- the hands of its The present owner,
original family.
ements, coupled with the house's pared-down or- John Bullard, a descendant who, coincidentallv, has
namentation, is an expression of American Gothic also served as mavor of New Bedford, moved into
at its best. The veranda, so tvpical of Davis's de- the house with his familv in the mid-1970s. In
signs, intersects the entrance porch, its latticed sup- 1980, the house was struck by lightning while the
ports repeating the pattern of the diamond-paned Bullards were aw^av. The ensuing fire destroyed the
windows. Downing 's description calls attention to roof, the third floor, and a portion of the second.
the aspiring lines of the roof and the horizontal lines Water damage was considerable as well. Since then,
of the veranda, stating that the house's dramatic the Bullards, who have a special feeling for their
high-pointed gable "would be out of keeping with home and a strong sense of tradition, have painstak-
the cottage-like modesty of the drooping, hipped ingly restored their treasured house, recognizing its
roof, were it not for the equally bold manner in historical significance as a living monument to Davis
which the chimney- tops spring upwards."^ and the American Gothic Revival.
180
^d.
c/Ke vcrachoard
jinial, 15 made up of
jlmd scallops tipped
ifitkjleurs'ie-lis.
pomteti U'lnclou',
he sun.
* 181 I-
Lvndhurst
front of the villa. First built m the concept to the Hudson River Vallev
18^8 for William Paulding and
called Vhe Knoll, Lvndhurst was
near New York City, designing baronial
its onqmal desian. hurst, the finest surviving Gothic mansion in the United States todav, that
^boi'e; A detail of Lyndhurst's was Davis's masterpiece and the first of manv Gothic villas to be built along
front (east) facade shows an oriel
can he seen helow. Hudson, for whom the river was named, explored the river in his search
183
for the Northwest Passage to China. The Algonquin prominent New York merchant, who renamed it
Indians once hved and traded along its banks; Wash- Lyndhurst. Merritt needed a larger house to ac-
ington's men pitched their camp along its shore. commodate his family and had the good sense to en-
Three-quarters of a century later, the banks of the gage Davis, now in his prime and with a sizable
Hudson were looked upon as an ideal picturesque collection of Gothic buildings to his credit, to de-
setting for the castles of rich industrialists. Wealthy sign an addition. Davis skillfully expanded his initial
New Yorkers, drawn to its beautv as well as its ac- design to double the space. The house's original form
cessibility to the city, began building sizable country was retained as additions were harmoniously incor-
estates in its valley. porated, controlling the scale and keeping the house
The Knoll, as Lyndhurst was first called, sits on a from becoming overwhelming. Davis skillfully uti-
bold promontory high above the Hudson River. It lized light, shadow, and texture, blending beautiful
was built in 1838 by General William Paulding, detailing with a great variety of shapes to form a
once mayor of New York City. Seventy-year-old unified structure. Originally symmetrical, Lynd-
Paulding, from one of the most prestigious New hurst became decidedly asymmetrical, with its new
York families, had commissioned Ithiel Town and wing, tower, and bay windows creating a house that
Alexander Jackson Davis to execute the design of was revolutionary in its freely developed interiors.
his house. Davis, who loved the majestic Hudson Jay Gould became Lyndhurst 's third owner, pur-
and the untamed beauty of its valley, created a quin- chasing it in 1881. A powerful business magnate
tessential Gothic villa, complete with turrets, bay who then controlled the Western Union Telegraph
windows, buttresses, trefoils, finials, and crenella- and the New York Elevated, he made few changes
tions, inspired by Lowther Castle in England. Of pale to the house. Gould's daughter inherited Lyndhurst
gray Sing Sing marble, it was surrounded by natu- upon his death, and when she died in 1964, she left
ralistic grounds that included stables, gatehouses, the estate to the National Trust for Historic Preser-
and a greenhouse. vation. Lyndhurst is now open to the public
In 1864 The Knoll was sold to George Merritt, a throughout the year.
184 *
Lyndhursts hroad veranda, an essential j^art of the oriainal plan, initiallv 'Purina remodehna, the onainal porle coehere was
U'raj^]fed around the west and south sides of the house, seen here. Later, it enclosed inalassand transformed into a vestibule
was extended to tfie jront east side. Its stroncj I'ertical line unified tde neiv with a veranda extendina from either side. A. new
ofit.
85
^'1 m
0m
^ . :^^
\
: V U "Wi lih II rTT^>!* ^ .^
// ,. 1^
. .
tkeji replace.
flanli^ng tke dinma room hay window, was with Its faux stone woXls, to tke dining room ^ayis jor Lyndhurst, this oak^hall chair from
oriamally made u'ltk aosjets. ]S(pu' adapted to On the riak is one of affair of beautijul Gothic about 18^0 15 ornamented with cusp, Gothic
electricity, it is believed to be jrom the early chairs designed by ^avis, inspired by rose arches, and a leajjinial top; its octagonal legs end
187
Opposite; A small
jewel of a room, the
designed hy ^avis
15 tucked into tke
left corner.
On the second floor, just across from the pcture gallery, a large hedroom
Vhe guest hedroom has a minted and stenciled Vudoresc^ue ceiling, part
188
II m
w
COLOMBIA uxivaRsntT ""
.-"
l-V'^T-/P--^?^i
. .
fierce new patriotism that emerged after the War of 1812, artists began
Around 1825, the nation's first native school of landscape painting ap-
a similar style and an understanding for the land, it became known as the
Hudson River School. At its head was Thomas Cole, whose naturalistic
views of the Hudson attracted local artists such as Asher Durand, Fred-
eric E. Church, John Kensett, and George Inness. Their art, celebrating
193
Lomsianas Old State (^apitol m ^aton '^ugc, situated on a kyh han]<j)verlookxna tke "Mississippi ^ver, was designed W James '^akpn. a onetime
partner of A. ^aris, and built m 1849. ^arkVumn, Jisapprorin*^ of its Qothic facade, referred to as a sham castle in his Life on the Missis-
it
J .
sippi. Vhe dramatic ^otliic interior ojtke castellated building lias recent!)' l^een restoreti to the i88ofcriod and converted to a state museum.
were commonly executed in sweeping panoramic College in Gambler, Ohio; the United States Mili-
views. To a large degree, European perception of tarv Academy at West Point; and Virginia Militarv
the United States was based on the art of these Institute and for municipal buildings, like the
Hudson River painters. The Hudson River served Town Hall in Northampton, Massachusetts, and the
not only as a stimulus to the imagination of artists Old Louisiana State Capitol in Baton Rouge, designed
but its banks also proved to be an appropriate back- by James Dakon, a one-time partner of A. J.
Davis.
ground for Gothic architecture. While the rough Mark Twain, who Wayne Andrews ob-
as writer
northern areas were better suited to the castle-like served, "would one dav come down with the Gothic
villas, it was the southern region, with its pic- contagion himself," wrote, "Sir Walter Scott is prob-
turesque views of the Palisades and its closeness to ablv responsible for the capitol building for it is not
New York City, where many wealthy New Yorkers conceivable that this little sham castle would ever have
chose to build. been built, if he had not run the people mad, a couple
Bv the middle of the nineteenth centurv, the of generations ago, with his medieval romances."^
American landscape abounded with a variety of Prisons, like the castellated Eastern Penitentiary
Gothic structures, from theaters right down to dog in Philadelphia; cemeteries, like Crown Hill in In-
houses. Gothic turned up in cities and towns across dianapolis; and train depots, like Church Street Sta-
the country, adopted for schools such as Kenyon tion in Nashville, were undeniably Gothic. So were
194
.oi.
.
San Francisco's Engine Company number 1 5 and not immune. By mid-century, Gothic designs were
Baltimore's Engine House number 6, as well as being made up in cast iron and applied to a vast as-
Chicago's 1869 Water Tower, which managed to sortment of commercial buildings as well.
survive the Great Fire of 1871 . Even bridges, from It was a time of economic prosperity and expan-
a small one in New York City's Central Park to the sion westward, aided by a growing network of rail-
fanciful Philadelphia Chestnut Street Bridge, were roads; it was also a time of great achievements
Gothic cathedrals
Schuvlkjll '^ver,
cast' iron
J
hridge, built m 1861-66 with
Gothic arcade and decorative c^uatre'
M:'
195
heralding remarkable inventions and social changes. had a rich tradition in carpentry, and became so
An emerging middle class with the desire as well as popular that it evolved into a vernacular form. As
the means for a home of their own brought about a Gothic flowered in rural and urban settings across
building boom, which became the most progressive the American landscape, lively interpretations were
period for residential construction America has encouraged by the development of the steam-
ever seen. powered scroll saw, a woodworking tool readilv ac-
Country houses were becoming larger, with cessible by the 1 830s, providing American craftsmen
more elaborate ornamentation, frequently includ- with the means to execute endless varieties of intri-
ing ribbed and vaulted ceilings, carved mantels and cate designs. The carved- wood decoration known as
paneling, and stained-glass windows. It was fashion- gingerbread, a term first used in eighteenth- century
able for houses to have at least one Gothic room; England to describe fancy carved decoration on a
where other styles dominated, libraries were often sailing ship, was actually an imitation of stone trac-
decorated in Gothic motifs. Houses that took the ery found in medieval Gothic buildings. Like origi-
whole plunge into Gothic possessed not only a nal Gothic forms, the roots of its ornamentation
sense of drama but a respect for their sites as well; were often to be found in nature.
picturesque yet practical, these homes ranged from At first, decoration was applied to traditional
castellated small fortresses to the gingerbread con- shapes. Generally, earlier houses were remodeled
fections referred to as Carpenter's Gothic. with classical and Gothic features combined. Per-
Carpenter's Gothic architecture, distinguished by haps the best example of this is w hat is known as the
the use of sawn and carved ornamentation, was a Wedding Cake House in Kennebunk Landing,
phenomenon unique to the United States, which Maine. The addition of a Gothic barn to the prop-
^f MEG WWKB^T.
196
crtv cncoura2;ed its owner, George Bourne, to The Architect (1847), Lewis Allen's Rural Architecture
build an exuberant lace shell of woodworking su- (1852), Gervase Wheeler's Rural Homes (1853) and
perimposed over the surface of his Federal house in Homes for the People in Suburb and Country (1855),
1855, producing, through an uninhibited addition of plus George Woodard's nine books and Arnot's
elaborate pinnacles, boarded buttresses, crenella- Gothic Architecture Applied to Modern Residences, were
tions, and spandrels, a uniquely personal dwelling. all eagerlv read by a surge of new homeowners.
Architectural handbooks and builder's manuals While local craftsmen referred to pattern books,
became quite popular as a number of American copying decorative designs from them, or chose
writers followed Andrew Jackson Downing; 's lead from a variety of decorative Gothic trims available
bv brin2;ing out pattern books featuring Gothic de- from lumber mills, bv the late 1830s free interpre-
signs. Samuel Sloan, whose best-selling The Model tations flourished; imaginative renderings created
Architect was presented in two tolio-sized editions in great diversity, ranging from primiti\e to the highly
1852 and 1853, also published Architectural Review sophisticated. "The opportunity of decking veran-
and Builders Journal, the first professional journal on das, gables and eaves with 'gingerbread' stimulated
its subject, from 1868 to 1870. William Roulett's a vernacular expression of folk art that blossomed
in the invention of a g^reat variety of fanciful cre-
ations,"^ asserted Jane B. Davies in her introduction
Enalish counterparts.
miET&,2.2^ So
+ 197 H.
^irt ipaths twist
and turn, leading one
on a merry chase
amona hundreds of
tiny cottages, which
campgrounds at Oak^
fluffs on ^artks
Vineyard. aeli cot-
a unique assortment
of gingerhread carv
ng
xnci and
ana w
all vossess a
disarmina charm
fluffs shows a
rahhit caught between
198
trv. Besides Lachryme Montis, one was constructed lated settlers, scattered throughout remote areas,
in San Francisco and lost in the great earthquake, who welcomed an opportunity for companionship.
and the other was constructed in Benecia for one of In the South, meetings were held in September after
Gothic failed to make major inroads in the South tow in need of daily milking. Camp gatherings in
because of an absence of major industry, yet scat- the East tended to attract people from urban areas,
tered examples can be found. While plantation who journeyed to a rustic country setting as much
owners on the whole preferred Greek Revival, cer- for the chance to experience the simple pleasures of
tain Louisiana plantations such as the highly deco- nature as to experience religious enlightenment.
rative Afton Villa, which was destroyed by fire in Presbyterians were the first to undertake these
1963, and the Orange Grove plantation as well outdoor meetings, but they were shortly joined by
as Errolton, a typical antebellum house in Missis- Baptists and Methodists, two of the fastest-growing
sippi with Gothic columns and arches, strayed denominations between 1800 and 1850. Methodist
from the norm. The first James River plantation camp meeting sites sprang up around the country,
house to be built in the Gothic taste was Belmead, yet they were never formally recognized by the
the work of A. J.
Davis, currentlv in need of major Methodist Church because of their emotional and
repair. sometimes controversial nature, and the church's
An interesting incarnation of Carpenter's Gothic archives contain no mention of their existence. One
architecture appeared at religious campgrounds, a of the most successful Methodist camp meeting
phenomenon that manifested itself during the first sites, and the largest of eight in Massachusetts, was
half of the nineteenth century. Religious freedom Wesleyan Grove, later knowTi as Oak Bluffs. Now a
guaranteed by the voung American democracy seaside community on Martha's Vineyard, it is filled
spawned a wave of religious fervor that proved to be with some of the country's best-preserved Carpen-
fertile soil for numerous new Christian religious ter's Gothic houses.
sects, all actively wing for members. Revivalist and What began in 1835 as a small gathering of nine
camp meetings, which sprang up all over the coun- tents in the woods eventually evolved into a perma-
try, were among the more successful ways to achieve nent community with the introduction of camp-
conversion. These gatherings, lasting from several ground cottages. One summer Sundav in 1858,
davs up to a week, were unique to the United States. twelve thousand people journeyed to Oak Bluffs to
Thousands of eager participants flocked to desig- attend a service preached by a hundred clergy. It
nated locations to hear evangelistic sermons deliv- was during; the 1850s that A-frame canvas tents
ered bv itinerant preachers and, in the heat of the started being replaced bv campground cottages, an
emotion, experienced conversion amid shouting, architectural form new to America. Manv sported
shaking, and falling to the ground in a state of mild exuberant gingerbread carvings on gables, door-
hysteria. Meetings offered an occasion to partici- ways, windows, and balconies, sometimes combin-
pate in animated devotion, setting aside worldly af- ing a number of patterns.
fairs for spiritual renewal; they also presented an Shelter Island Grove, a later and smaller camp
opportunity for socializing. Open-air revival meet- meeting site located just off the tip of Long Island,
ings on the western frontier brought together iso- New York, is another thriving summer community
199
A.n A.mcrKan transfcnvarc flatter jrom
about 1830 ornamented with a Gothick^
200
4
A mahocfany side chair from a set of twelve
boasting a selection of charming Carpenter's Goth- ric and wallpaper, stoves, lighting fixtures, and a
ic houses. Boston landscape architect Robert Mor- great variety of other articles. Gothic furniture was
ris Copeland, who had laid out the streets, parks, especially fashionable for libraries and halls. The
and lots in an area bordering Wesleyan Grove, best Gothic furniture was designed for specific
Massachusetts, was responsible for the campground houses by respected architects. Davis designed fur-
layout. In 1871 a 2;roup of Methodist churchmen niture for all his important houses, creating fifty
from Brooklyn, New York, headed bv John French, Gothic designs for Lvndhurst.
who had ties to Wesleyan Grove, purchased three With the end of the Civil War in 1 865, the coun-
acres in an area of Shelter Island then known as try was left disillusioned. The American dream, en-
Prospect. The following year the Shelter Island couraged bv economic development brought on by
Grove Camp Meeting Association was formed and expanding industrialization, had turned from a fas-
five cottages were built. Bv 1883, the number of cination with nature to the desire to conquer it. In a
cottages had climbed to two hundred. The small time of great economic growth and exploitation,
community, now known as Shelter Island Heights, Americans soon began to amass huge fortunes and
has remained virtually unchanged since its inception to build impressive houses. Europe beckoned to the
save for the loss of the 1873 Prospect Hotel, which nouveau riche, who now turned awav from the
functioned as the social center of the community naive charms of Hudson River paintings to Impres-
and which burned down in 1 942 sionism, a new form sweeping Europe. For the low-
Bv the middle of the nineteenth century, Gothic er classes, cities that had sprung up in the wake of
motifs began appearing on all manner of household the expanding railroad beckoned seductively, bring-
objects made in America, finding their way to fur- ing a shift awav from rural areas to cities and their
niture and decorative accessories, dinnerware, fab- surrounding suburbs.
20
Vhc Qothic cottage at j\ndalusia is ornamented with ^mtcd aahles, diamond'^aned windows topped with hood moldings, and crenellated hay windows.
202
1
^bii.
Andalusia
family, for close to two centuries. Originally consisting of 1 1 3/^ acres, the es-
tate was first purchased in 1795 by John Craig, an export trader whose
One of the few sham ruins m the connections with Spain must have influenced his selection of the name
United States, this charmina arotto
sits on a hank^of the ^Delaware Andalusia. Craig's daughter married Nicholas Biddle, a prominent banker
^wr amona the grounds of
who was to become president of the Second Bank of the United States. Upon
Andalusia, ^uilt m 183^, it
strollir^ tke estate grounds. Great care and considerable money went into developing the grounds,
203
?^'W:
Vhc Qothic pool pavilion at JKndalusia, on a hroad f rpansc of lawn to tke side of the cottage, is m fact a prtion of a porch rescued from a Qarventer's
Gothic house alona the Hudson ^^i{\ver that had hecn demolished.
which included exquisite gardens and natural wood- spot for ladies during their stroll around the gar-
land. Andalusia was also a working farm, with sta- dens. It, too, was designed by Thomas Walter and
bles housing some of the country's finest horses. The now serves as a mausoleum, holding the ashes of
estate was comprised of cottages, farm buildings, a several members of the Biddle family.
dairy, and a late Federal style house, which was Walter transformed a small farmhouse a few
modernized and extended in 1834 by Thomas Wal- years later at Mrs. Riddle's request into a Gothic
ter, who transformed it into a Greek Revival man- cottage, which he included in his book Cottage and
sion with a striking white columnated facade. Villa Architecture. The lighthearted spirit of eighteenth-
While the main house was decidedly classical, century Gothic permeates the Gothic cottage. En-
the spacious grounds abounded with Gothic struc- larged in 1853, now the private residence of
it is
tures. The grotto at the river's edge, a rare surviv- historian James Biddle, who has added to its won-
ing remnant reminiscent of eighteenth-century derful assortment of Gothic furniture and acces-
English sham ruins, was built as a summer house sories. Interior designer George Doan worked with
and initially used as a reading room and a resting Mr. Biddle to revitalize the cottage interiors in 1976.
204
Toward the back of the estate is a vv himsical Car-
penter's Gothic garden house dating from about
1855. Dwarfed by towering trees, it sits in the dis-
id
i
j\. Un\ Gothic Cjardcn cottaac nestled under towerma atrarccns look^
the doorway of the front ]f>orch. It 15 one of many Gothic treasures thatjill
205
eJlie cottage entrance hall is reminiscent of Strawberry Hill, with itis trom^e I'ceil tracery wall^aj^er. Vhe Gothic oakjjcnch and chair,
hoth Jimencan, are oriainal to the house . Vhe pedestal holding an Snglish Gothic lamp and tke radiator cover carved with Gothic
206
i
A.hove: Gothic treasures ahound throughout tke cottage. Here in one of
* 207 -^
Opposite: Vhe master
bedroom is dominated
by a beautifully
fainted to IooI<^IiI<c
ofl^j^leon, to
Kiicholas Middle
yhc warm tones of the dinincj room walls j^rovide a fleasmg hackaround [or the heautiful
sc^uared'hacl<^&nglish Qothic chairs m mahoaany from about 1813. ^oth the center
table and a small round one in the extending bay are twentieth' century interpretations.
Its legs are formed by clustered columns. Vhe Gothic tabic clocl<^on it is French.
208
^.i^
*^:x^
t^
"''a; .>,
.
Roseland
Wells, who was better known for the design of Gothic churches,
house in Woodstock^, (Connecticut, is distin- cottage. A successful silk merchant, Bowen published an influential week-
guished hy an ahundance ofQothic motifs,
ly journal called the Independent and was a founder of Brooklyn's Plymouth
such as hoard' and'hatten sidina, triple ctahles
glared stoneware ed style" of architecture, as Gothic was referred to, because he believed,
211
-
as many in the nineteenth century did, that it was the Rotch House in New Bedford, with its steep
morally more appropriate than other architectural central gable, oriel window, and extending pavilion
styles. pierced by side verandas. The main entrance on the
The property \yas christened Roseland for its south side, however, with its three dormers, bay
flourishing rose gardens set among attractive land- window, and projecting entrance hall w ith an extend-
scaped grounds, which included a barn with a bowl- ing portico, a possible 1880s addition, is distinctly
ing alley (one of the earliest), an ice house, and a original. The board-and-batten siding, originally a
privy. The well-connected Bowen often entertained dusty purple, was painted its present pink with
at his country residence and became known for his darker trim in the 1 890s.
lavish Independence Day parties, which were at- Wells completely furnished the house in the
tended by leading; writers such as Oliver Wendell Gothic style at the time it was built, designing some
Holmes and Henry Ward Beecher, and four United of the furnishings w ith motifs that repeated interior
States Presidents of the late nineteenth century. architectural detailing. Thomas Brooks is believed
The design of the lively asymmetrical cottage, to have designed a number of pieces as well. Many
while reflecting the influence of A. J.
Davis, is of the original furnishings are still in the house.
unique. Made up of a riot of gables and steeply Roseland remained in the Bowen family for 1 24
dormered windows trimmed with carved verge years. In 1970 it was acquired by the Society for the
boards, it sports a variety of windows, from trefoil Preservation of New England Antiquities and is
and oriel to a large pointed tracery window on the now open to the public during the summer months.
east side. The facade facing the street is similar to
213
214
Kingscote
then projects out atjain in 1700s. By the start of the nineteenth cen-
tke suaacstion of a tower.
Vhc entrance, with its tury, however, the town had lost its posi-
l^w^rts frst imj^rtant cottages, and in 1839 George Noble Jones, a prosperous Savannah planter,
ninetunth'untury summer
house. ^ handsome asym- decided to build a summer retreat there. His would be the first important
metrical ^otkic cottaae, it
215
1
Tl^TT.l^T^lfT
<ki\ Urn I r
0i:
^ '11
i&iJ ki
HP
1 m
iW
I^JP U 1
m
nn nnU
^ range of decorative Qothic details includes crenellation trimming the edge of a hay window, hood moldings atop windows, roojlines edged with
plumbing and sleeping apartments for servants. ers, as well as a crenellated entrance canopy and a
Upjohn was at the time involved in the design of veranda supported by slender clustered columns.
Trinity Church in New^ York City and had been re- The exterior surface, originally pale beige, is com-
sponsible a few years earlier for Oatlands, a large posed of horizontal wooden boards covered with a
Gothic house in Maine built for John Gardiner, paint- and- sand mixture and scored to resemble ma-
Jones's father-in-law. However, Gardiner's daughter, sonry. Its lovely garden, containing a wide variety of
Delia, died before Kingscote was built and Jones native and imported trees, such as paper birch,
moved into his summer cottage in 1 841 with a new sweet cherry, Sawara cypress, dogwood, American
bride in hand. elm, and balsam fir, reflects the influence of land-
Rural Residences. It encompasses a wide variety of shipped the contents of the house back to Savannah
Gothic forms, such as gables, vergeboards, diamond- and deeded it to a Canadian relative, motivated,
paned and bay windows, label moldings, and dorm- perhaps, by concern that it might be confiscated. In
216
1863 the cottage was purchased bv Wihiam King, Gothic, correspond as closely as possible to the
but several vears later King had a mental break- original cottage.
down, and it was leased by his nephew, David King, After William King's death, David's widow pur-
Jr., who named it Kingscote. Bv 1 880, Newport had chased the house. It ultimately passed on to her
become the height of fashion, with entertaining granddaughter, Gwendolin Rives, who battled land
done in a grand stvle. King was in need of more developers and the citv of Newport, who were both
space and en2;a^ed McKim, Mead & White to de- intent on destroving the house. Upon her death in
sign a three-story addition. The architects endeav- 1972, Kingscote was left to the Preservation Societv
ored to make the addition's exterior, while not of Newport Countv and is now open to the pubHc.
A. veranda runs aloncj the east side of Kinascote, overlooking Cjrounds filled with an impressive array o[ trees and shrubs.
Vhe house and its landscajfe rej lect A.. ] . '^ounincjs helief in the importance of siting.
217
IMj
.
Staunton Hill
Opposite: Vhc pcturcsquc castlclik^ Tour through Europe and, upon his return, set up his plantation on five
tkru'iiw ^,ooo'acre estate. ing tobacco, corn, oats, and hav, the plantation required five thousand
ways and a trianaular window centered ahove While not far from a number of Civil War battles, it survived untouched
^- 219
Vhc umntcrrui^ud surface of Staunton
garden
symmetrical storyhook^facade of
K'V0)1 j
220
-
koIdiM^ classical sXaXwxry. yhrcc of its doors, which have pointc^i ^ancl'
trance hall with a ribbed ceiling and a library with a
ing, arcjlank^d u'ltk clustered columns. Vhe front door has colored insets
bav window facing out onto a colonnaded court.
to simulate stained glass.
Lining the librarv walls are carved bookcases orna-
mented with pointed arches and crenellations divid- One wall of the likrarv, u'kick once housed one of Americas most impor-
ed bv clustered columns. Gothic details are also tant collections, is lined with arched hook^ases divided hy clustered
scattered about the house in mantels, on plaster columns and decorated with trejoils and crenellation. cJo tke rear is a
* 222 *
Bishop Gilbert
Haven Cottage
tottaaes l^uilt around 1869 have many unpaved. Sandwiched together, thev form irregular rows around a
heen comhined into one.
central preaching area, with smaller circles at the outer edges of the
grounds. Writer William Pierson, Jr., found these tiny jewels to be "one of
country.'"^
+ 223 +
ahc cottages were con-
structed on a platjorm,
224
. .
1880 most owners added front verandas and dorm- Association was formed; ten years later an immense
ers to increase the living space. Many cottages octagonal wrought-iron tabernacle was construct-
lacked kitchens (camp meals were eaten at large ed. Around this time two land developing compa-
communal tents), but, by the turn of the century, nies, the Oak Bluffs Land and Wharf Company and
kitchens and bathrooms had been added to the backs the Vineyard Highlands, began purchasing property
of most dwellings. bordering Wesleyan Grove, building houses that
In 1860 the Martha's Vineyard Camp Meeting turned out to be larger versions of the campground
hackihisOak'^luffs
cottage, with its synall
ovcrhanaim balcony i5
their front.
Opposite helow: On
either side of a cottage's
storyhook^comm unity
225
cottages. In 1880 the three groups officially united ment. Today, cottage owners travel from all over
to form the town of Cottage City, renamed Oak the country to open their tiny homes for the brief
Bluffs in 1907. By the turn of the century, there summer months. The present owners of the Bishop
were 500 cottages and 1 10 tents; with the start of Gilbert Haven cottage, who have owned the cottage
World War 1, only one lone tent remained. for thirty years, come from Ohio to spend each
One of the more important of the Wesleyan summer Oak Bluffs. Their four children, all of
in
Grove cottages belonged to Bishop Gilbert Haven. whom have honeymooned at the cottage, have a
The fanciful Gothic cottage, situated on a broad, special feeling for the time they spent growing up
grassy expanse known as Clinton Avenue, is a prime there and now bring their own children to visit
example of the exuberant camp meeting form of and experience the simple pleasures the camp-
architecture. High gables are trimmed with an un- ground holds.
dulating carved vergeboard, exaggerated hood
moldings end in corbels over windows and doors,
and two sets of pointed church-like doors flanked
by slender windows, the set above opening to a
small overhanging balcony, adorn the front facade.
A covered veranda wrapping around on one side was
added about twenty years after the cottage was built.
The camp cottages were now filled with middle the i^orch of bishop Qil hcrt Haven's cottage, one of a concentration
class families who journeyed to the area more for a of (Carpenters Qothic cottages m Oak^^luffs, Massachusetts, a
vacation than for the pursuit of religious enlighten- popular niy\cteenth-- century rehaious camj^ meeting site.
226
.
^isliop Gilbert Haven, a noted orator, received Ins cottaac, one of the laraer ones m OahJ^lujfs.
as a aijt from his j^arishwncrs shortly before President Qrants arrival
Ill
J{.hovc: One of the slender Gothic windows
adornma the cottaae is inset at the top with
^he front i^orch oj the lovely ^iskop Gilkrt Haven cottage wrap
around a side entrance. Its douhle doors on the ground level and ahove,
flanked with slender pinted windows, re^^eat the front facade . Vhe prch
and Its front roof were later additions.
228
yhe small
cottage j^arlor
15 simply
furnished.
Interior skutt^rs
add a decorative
element. Vhc
front door is
4. 230 *
Tom Fallon Cottage
tages at Oak Bluffs, manv were still modest dwellings. Gothic influences
gabled roofs, and gingerbread trim on the porches, balconies, and towers.
^n inacnwus solution jor Icttina
m more natural Uaht, the ^intcd One of the typical Carpenter's Gothic cottages in the quiet community
o^nin0, cut hiah u^ on one of the
Pettit family, the original owners, until about 1960. Initially constructed
+ 231 +
in the form of a cross, the cottage had undergone a the upper section of a pointed window, discovered
number of changes over the years by the time Mr. in the basement, was installed under converging
Fallon bought it; the dining room and an upstairs eaves, providing a decorative element in one bed-
bedroom had been extended two and a half feet and room as well as light to the dark hall. Mr. Fallon
the exterior, now covered by weathered shingles, added a kitchen by enclosing a portion of the porch.
was originallv constructed of board-and-batten sid- When it came to decorating, Mr. Fallon, who has
ing. The spacious living room, which most probably a special eye for putting together the unexpected,
was originally two rooms, included a large rustic was assisted bv
J
friends who have added to his eclec-
stone fireplace as well as wall paneling added at tic collection; each piece that graces this wonderful
some point after it was built. cottage has a quirkv character. As the owner savs: "I
Mr. Fallon made a number of changes but be- like to mix up objects with a sense of humor. Won-
lieved in the importance of retaining the house's in- derful antiques combined with nickel and dime stuff
tegrity. Since the house was surrounded by deep make things come alive." The large living room,
porches cind a thick web of trees and branches, his with its imposing Gothic chair from a Masonic
first priority was to bring light into the house as he lodge, as well as the kitchen have an Adirondack
set about thinning out the growth. Inside, walls feeling to them, while the dining room possesses an
were painted cool shades, and at the top of the stairs, eighteenth- century Swedish mood, with its pale
jKn antique Nmtlxayx ^ass cKanielier ^u^^xt^ tke \ns^\roX\oy\ \or the cJhe cottage's small aucst hcdroom has a pointed cu toiit that not only
peach wall m the icmxm room (jomJ^ined u^ith the 50^ tone oj the
c(}ior . Junctions as a chirmina decorative device hut, more importantl)', provides
* 232 +
.
an A.dirondackJodae
eclectic collection of
treasures, is decidedly
masculine, u;itk a
233
V
-y
->
^ '
Opposite, c/lit' pared'
onainal campground
halcony.
colored walls and its muted aqua ceiling. Mr. Fallon Inaenuity is tKe trademarl<^of this cottage kitchen from its hutcher
235
liSiSSii s 1 ,8
^ra'wus]f>acjcs: "York}nmskr ." c?ltis ITH THE END of the devastating Civil War in
Italy and Germany for design inspiration. Forms remained livelv and ir-
patterns.
Just as Sir Walter Scott sparked an enthusiasm for Gothic in the United
States earlier in the nineteenth century, the widely read books of English
critic John Ruskin were largely responsible for the creation of this new ap-
books. The Seven Lamps c)f Architecture, published in 1849, followed bv his
is nonsense)," write Calder Loth and Julius Trousdale Sadler, Jr., in their
book The Only Proper Style, "but his enthusiasm combined with a ^ih tor
239
and repeats the same idea continually. It is very
beautiful but the Italian Gothic is the nobler style ."^
While Ruskin never went so far as to advocate its
4at>l
of Ruskin's, for inspiration. The Jefferson Market
KS I.
Courthouse, designed by Calvert Vaux in partner-
drawing of the Senate front shows a small ]^rtion of the imposma architect particularly adept at this style, was re-
terns formed by colored masonry and restrained 1908. Isabella Stewart Gardiner's Fenwav Court,
ornamentation so unlike the crockets, pinnacles, built in Boston in 1901 to house her art collection,
and such found in the Gothic forms of Ruskin's na- was copied from a Venetian palazzo and is now a
tive England. He stated in The Stones of Venice, "the privately owned museum.
Veronese Gothic is strong in its masonry, simple in Castle building in the United States was for the
its masses, but perpetual in its variety. The later most part left to the closing decades of the nine-
French Gothic is weak in masonry, broken in mass teenth century, when many of the great American
240
.
this country.
241
Qi^or^e Washimton Van-
maamficcnt
m
derhxlts
jtibiH
'^iltmore estate, con-
^^^IH
^^^^^B
Olmsted laid out tke
IS distiiwuisk^d by stained-
crenellated ckimncvpiece
u'lth i^anels of
domestic scenes.
nitwnijiccnt samtyfoot-
stained-aloss ifiniou's
+ 242 +
Newport, Rhode Island, near the end of the cen-
tury, became one of America's most prestigious
summer resorts. Its rocky seacoast was lined with
fabulous mansions set in lush gardens with rare fo-
liage. The mansions were designed for the country's
wealthiest and most influential families by leading
American architects such as Hunt, Richardson,
Hn Codman, and the firm of McKim, Mead & White.
Several of the Newport mansions incorporated
some form of Gothic, such as an elaborate fireplace
at Chateau-sur-Mer, a French Gothic drawing room
in the lavish Louis XIV Marble House of Mr. and
Mrs. William Vanderbilt, and a ballroom grand
^:,|
]?
Chicago had become the center of commerce for
1^ !t .... 4
the Midwest with the establishment of the railroad
system, which transported grain into the thriving
T5 <:
+ 244 +
Richardson was responsible for the 1872 Gothic- world. John Meade Howells and Raymond Hood
stvle American Express Building, erected in Chica- were its architects.
go. It was his first commission and one of the few he Collegiate Gothic, frequently selected for a li-
did in the Gothic style. Chicago's 1885 Home In- brary or chapel, flourished from 1890 to 1930.
surance Building, the first major structure to utilize Colleges such as Bryn Mawr, built near Philadelphia
steel-skeleton construction, is frequently referred in 1896; Trinity College in Hartford, built in
to as the first skyscraper. 187380; and Yale Harkness Quad in New Haven,
The eight-storv Venetian Gothic Javne building, built in 1917, emulated such revered English uni-
constructed in Philadelphia in 1851, was the first versities as Oxford and Cambridge. The success of
building of some height to be built of iron columns. collegiate Gothic was due to a considerable degree
By the end of the nineteenth century, with the de-
velopment of cast iron and structural steel, sky-
scrapers would radically change city skylines, cJhispkoto of the ui^j^cr stones of the Woolworth '^uildina hiahliahts its
usurping the space that was once the sole domain of Qothic detailing, c/he skyscraper, referred to as a cathedral of commerce,
245
"H
A. iy^xcai example of
'^alionev Qon-
tures a iecoratiue
half'timher fai^ade,
narrow windows,
and vromment chim-
neys.
to leading architect Ralph Adams Cram, who, in style of fourteenth- century Gothic the only great
partnership with Bertram Goodhue, an outstanding U.S. cathedral to be built in the twentieth century.
early-twentieth-century draftsman, and Frank Fer- Cram, Goodhue, and Ferguson received a commis-
guson, until 1914, specialized in ecclesiastic and sion to remodel the immense St. John the Divine in
collegiate structures. Their firm was responsible for New York City, unfinished to this day, converting it
the expansion of West Point Military Academy and from Romanesque to Gothic.
the University Chapel and Graduate College at Gothic turned up in residential buildings during
Princeton, all designed in the Gothic style. the early decades of the twentieth century in the
Cram was a prolific writer and a staunch sup- form of Elizabethan-style manor houses, recognized
porter of Gothic; his The Gothic Quest, published in at the time as a symbol of affluence. By the Roaring
1907, and The Substance of Gothic, published in 1916, Twenties, the automobile offered mobility to many,
were first delivered as lectures. Cram, like Pugin and, as families moved to the suburbs, medieval-
before him, believed that Gothic was the only ap- style Tudor houses proliferated. In warmer climates,
propriate style fit for Christian worship, a belief Gothic appeared with a Venetian or Spanish flavor.
that determined the design of a number of major One of the more spectacular was Ca'd'Zan, the
churches. The group was responsible for the re- winter residence of showman John Ringling and his
design of New York City's St. Thomas Church after^ wife, built in Sarasota, Florida, in 1926 and de-
fire destroyed Richard Upjohn 's original, and at one signed by New York architect Dwight James Baum.
point they supervised the construction of the re- Gothic forms in general, however, were rapidly los-
cently completed Washington National Cathedral of ing favor, and in 1928 the respected art historian Sir
Sts, Peter and Paul, built in the English Decorated Kenneth Clark would write that "the real reason
246
A. detail of sUowman John '^n^luttjis
thirtx'room Florida mansion, Qad Zan, the
+ 247
why the Gothic Revival has been neglected is that it gables, soaring chimneys, arched windows, and veran-
produced so little on which our eyes can rest with- das, in their designs for contemporary residences.
out pain."^ Collegiate Gothic interpreted into today's terms
The Great Depression of 1930 brought a sobering is also alive and well. Recent versions include the
effect to architecture, introducing a profound Lewis Thomas Laboratory for Molecular Biology at
change. Around 1932, a revolutionary new design Princeton, built in 1986, and the Gordon Wu Hall
movement arrived in the United States. First con- at Butler's College, Princeton, opened in 1983.
ceived of in Germany in 1919, the Bauhaus school In 1988 the architectural team of Philip Johnson
stripped away ties to the past, concentrating instead and John Burgee executed a skyscraper at 1 90 South
on an idealistic, streamlined approach to design. It LaSalle Street in Chicago topped with extended
soon became known in the States as the Interna- Gothic gables. Gothic strains can be discerned in
Charles Moore, who crusaded for the return of or- also opens up possibilities for inventiveness, just as
namentation and architectural references rooted in High Victorian Gothic came as a breath of fresh air
tradition. This concept of returning to cultural after the archaeological correctness of the Gothic
Gothic and classical elements that had been lan- materialized yet again, motivated in part by an
guishing for decades once again emerged trans- awakened interest in nature and a concern for our
formed. Architect Charles Moore commented, environment. With it has come a renewed appreci-
"We are all interested in trying to make architecture ation for Gothic, with its rich reservoir of motifs
more interesting by attaching to it images from peo- and its close ties to nature. As Penelope Hunter-
ple's pasts, from people's memories, that make it Siebel, in her introduction to the 1989 European
mean more than the pure forms of the last fifty [or] Gothic show, "Of Knights and Spires," commented,
sixty years." "We are at last able to cast our eyes on works that
Many new homes today recall familiar forms, were the pride of another age and feel no guilt at
such as the cottage, villa, and meeting house; the the excitement they elicit."^
most successful combine a respect for past tradi- Architecture, in an effort to express the spirit of
tions with ingenuity, innovation, and imagination. an age, is constantly being redefined, bringing with
Neoclassical elements have never been more widely it widely divergent attitudes. Yet it is imperative
utilized, yet a number of respected architects like that, whatever the current fashion may be, we not
Hugh Newell Jacobsen, the Centerbrook Archi- lose sight of the fact that the history of a nation is to
tects, and R. M. Kliment & Frances Halsband have be found in the richness of its architectural her-
turned to Gothic-related forms, such as extended itage, created through a layering of a wide assort-
* 248 *
y\dorncd with trefoils and jinials, this
249
. .
Mar-a-Lago
floU'leof ceilm^ 15 a
accom]^anied hy armor-
Henry M. Flagler, a partner with John D.
ial shields hearincj the
Rockefeller in Standard Oil, put Palm
insignia of the '^oges
as one of the fabled winter watering holes for the rich and famous. In short
order, the rich began building lavish homes along its shores. The most
Oppo5ite: Qlittering regal lions stand
guard at the trii^le- arched entrance to sumptuous of these mansions was Mar-a-La2;o, owned bv Marjorie Merri-
the splendid salon of^ar-a-Lago,
'^arjorie'^erriweather host's weather Post, the cereal heiress whose father had established the Postum
extravagant ^alm ^each mansion,
Cereal Company, which in 1929 became the General Foods Corporation.
now owned hy Donald c/rump. Uv
tke swee]f>ing marble stairs, pa5t rou'5 of Ms. Post, who inherited the business in 1914, was instrumental in its
5inuou5 columns, a small loggia over-
251
'^J\Aarjonc ^^crnwcathcr host's fabulous '^ar-a-Lago m '^alm '^cach was completed m 1^2']. c/Ke mansion's salon, the most
svlcndid svau m tke iiy room house, has rare sill^needlework^j^anels from an old Venetian palace inset around the ivalls.
Marjorie Merri weather Post married four times. With the completion of her Mar-a-Lago winter
Her first marriage, in 1905, when she was eighteen, residence in 1927, Ms. Post became the head of
was to Edward Bennett Close. Edward Francis Hut- Palm Beach society. Her 1 15 -room mansion, set in
ton, the stockbroker, followed in 1920. Her third seventeen acres of landscaped grounds, took four
husband, Joseph E. Davies, whom she married in years to build. The crescent-shaped house, with
1935 shortly after her divorce, was ambassador to flanking wings, boasts fifty- eight bedrooms, thirty-
the Soviet Union from 1937 to 1939; her fourth three bathrooms, and three bomb shelters. There
husband was Herbert May, whom she married in was also a theater.
1958. Ms. Post's Washington, D.C., home, Hill- The mansion is situated on a coral reef anchored
wood, is filled with Imperial Russian treasures, by concrete and steel, with Lake Worth on one side
many purchased during her stay there. The hous^ and the Atlantic Ocean on the other. Designed by
was left to the Smithsonian Institution, but in 1978 Joseph Urban and Marion Sims Wyeth, its architec-
it was returned to the Marjorie Merriweather Post ture is mix of Spanish, Venetian, and Portuguese
a
Foundation and is now operated as a public non- influences. Old Spanish tiles, some dating back to
profit museum open by written request. the fifteenth century, were used extensively inside
252
_jt
.
cJhe chilcHtood room of actress '^ina '^crnll, ^Ms. host's daughter hy her second husharui, 6. F, Hii (ton, 15 out of a fairy tale.
Ji hechwe freifilace is surrounded hy a rosehush in j^laster relief. A. gilded Gothic dressing table is set against one wall
253
and out. The most important room in the house is c/he elaborate' salon, an opulent jantasv ii'itli a stwsc o^a siaat set, is Vien-
the magnificent Itahan Gothic hving room. Its gold- nese designer Josepk WrhayisY^ia dc re'sistance. Its focal pint is an Ital-
mon to these vestiges of an opulent age. Mar-a- lanterns arc suspended from
Trump, who has restored it to its original glory. amazyng concern for detail
ISA-
4. 255 +
Lfilifii'rii
.
McKim House
ofthc^^cKim house
15 dominated hy a lona
actually an extension
with j^lychromed
WHEN CHARLOTTE McKIM decided
brackets is tucked
kori;^ontaII)', flii'iiMi an indication oj^a'kere Ms. McKim, an independent filmmaker and screenwriter, selected
tke jloors are. Here, they vary in size and
Mark Simon and Leonard Wyeth from the architectural firm of Center-
placement and are scattered across tke
u'ltkm a room would be informal and would work well when entertaining numerous
257
Facincj north across Long Island Sound, this lively facade lias an extended weekend guests. Their solution was a structure that
aahle window that covers a hedroom halcony and an entrance, one of six,
redefines Gothic images in twentieth-century terms.
to tKe dimna room helow. In front of the dinina room is a dec\.
Packed with surprises, it forces all who experience it
258
to reevaluate their preconceived notions of space embraces a variety of forms, opening to a round en-
and ornamentation. try that gives way to a hall that in turn leads to an
The solitarv house, positioned on a windswept oval living room sited diagonally to the axis of the
bluff overlooking the sound, has now settled com- house and dropped several feet to create extra
fortably into its surroundings. It was constructed in height. A rectangular dining room, it, too, at an an-
1988, with a storage shed to one side attached by a gle, is approached by ascending several steps leading
roofed walkway. Echoing nearby Gothic Revival out of the living room. This in turn leads into a
houses, it exudes a Gothic feeling in its eccentricity square kitchen. The master bedroom, on the sec-
as well as in its use of architectural elements, such as ond floor, is oval in shape, with a peaked window
a steep extended roof, gabled and peaked windows, and small balcony looking out to Long Island Sound
and polvchromed brackets running around the wide and the Connecticut shore beyond. The unexpected
cornice under the eaves. The gray rough-hewn stick mix of shapes and their positioning creates a sense of
trim that distinguishes the facade is reminiscent of exploration in a house that refuses to take itself too se-
strong heritage of American craftsmen. Referred to bv editor and writer Martin Filler as
The lively cedar-shingled exterior, with its ran- "a wittv tribute to the eccentric seaside architecture
domlv arranged assortment of pointed windows of the late nineteenth century,"^ this Fishers Island
and its irregular stickwork, which decorates six weekend cottage has achieved that delicate balance
portes cocheres and balcony, hint at the cottage's between playful and functional, reminiscent of the
complex interior. Inside, the four-bedroom house past yet very contemporary.
Opener. Hussey, "Houghton Lodge I," Country Life (April 10, 1951): 1 190.
John Ruskin, The Stones of Venice (Boston: Estes and Lauriat, 1851 7. Gwyn Headley and Wim Meulenkamp, Follies: A National Trust
1. Horace Walpole, On Modern Gardening: An Essay by Horace Walpole 1. Jane B. Davies, The Gothic Revival Style in America, 18301870
(1780; reprint, New York: Young Books, 1931), 38. (Houston: Museum of Fine Arts, 1976), 2.
2. Kelli Pryor, "Back to Nature," Avenue Magazine (February 1989): 2. George Eliot, Scenes of Clerical Life, Mr. Gilfl's Love Story (New
133. York: Harper & Bros., 1858), 2:354.
3. Walpole, On Modern Gardening, 42. 3. Terence Davis, The Gothick Taste (Rutherford, NJ: Fairleigh Dick-
4. Christopher Hussey, The Picturesque: Studies in a Point oJView (Lon- inson University Press, 1975), 14.
don: Putnam, 1927; reprint, 1967), 130. 4. Ibid.
5. Lord Karnes (Henry Home of Kames), Elements of Criticism (Ed- 5. Horace Walpole to Henry Seymour Conway, June 8, 1747, Cor-
inburgh: A. Kincaid & J.
Bell, 1762), vol. 3. respondence, 37:269, Lewis Walpole Library, Farmington, CT.
6. Alexander Pope, essay in The Guardian (1713). 6. Horace Walpole, A Description f the Villa of Mr. Horace Walpole
7. Horace Walpole to Richard Bentley, September 1753, Corre- (Twickenham, England: Strawberry Hill Press, Printed by Thomas
spondence, 35:148, Lewis Walpole Library, Farmington, CT. Kirgate, 1784), Preface, iv.
8. Rose Macaulay, Pleasure of Ruins (London: Weidenfeld and Nicol- 7. From a conversation with Cyrus Redding in c. 1837, quoted in
son, 1953), 27. Lewis Melville, The Life and Letters of William Bedford of Fonthill
9. Walpole to Bentley, Correspondence, 35:148. (London: William Heinemann, 1910), 299.
10. R. Fish, The Journal of Horticulture and Cottage Gardener (1864): 8. Linda Hewitt, Chippendale and All the Rest: A View of English An-
376. tiques (Cranbury, NJ: A. S. Barnes & Co., 1974), 124.
1 1. Bishop Richard Pococke, Travels Through England (Westminster: 9. Charles Locke Eastlake, A History of the Gothic Revival (London:
Camden Society Publications, 1757), 271. Longmans, Green and Co., 1872; reprint, Leicester and New York:
12. Barbara Jones, foi/ies anJ Grottoes (London: Constable, 1953), 18. Leicester University Press and Humanities Press, 1970), 44.
10. Davis, Gothick Taste, 56.
1. John Papworth, Designs for Rural Residences (London: R. Acker- try Life (May 15, 1958): 1065.
2. Humphrey Repton, Observations on the Theory and Practice of Land- 1. Rose Macaulay, Pleasure of Ruins (London: Weidenfeld and Nicol-
scape Gardening (London: J.
Taylor, 1803), 138. son, 1953), 441.
3. James Chambers, The English House (London: W. W Norton, 2. Mark Bence-Jones, Burke's Guide to Country Houses, vol. I, Ireland
1985), 242. I
(London: Burke's Peerage, 1978), 24.
4. CharlesLocke Eastlake, A History of the Gothic Revival (London:. 3. Gavin Stamp and Andre Goulancourt, The English House
Longmans, Green and Co., 1872; reprint, Leicester and New York: 1860-1914 (Boston: Faber and Faber, 1986), 20.
Leicester University Press and Humanities Press, 1970), 43. 4. Mark Girouard, "Cardiff Castle, Glamorganshire," Country Life
5. Kenneth Clark, The Gothic Revival: An Essay in the History of Taste, (April 6, 1961): 760.
3rd ed. (New York: Harper & Row, 1962), 94. 5. Olive Cook, The English House Through Seven Centuries (Wood-
6. Quote from The Statesman (May 15, 1815), in Christopher stock, NY: Overlook Press, 1983), 293.
* 260 *
.
1. William Picrson, Jr., American Buildings and Their Architects, vol. 4. William Pierson, Jr., American Buildings and Their Architects, vol.
2, TechnoIoa\ and the Picturesque: The Corporate and the Early Gothic 2, Technology and the Picturesque: The Corporate and the Early Gothic
St//e5 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1978), 2:384. Styles (New York: Oxford University Press, 1978), 2:420.
2. Alexander Jackson Davis, Rural Residences (New York: the author,
1837, 1838; reprint. New York: DaCapo Press, 1980). Part VII.
3. Ibid. 1. Calder Loth and Julius Trousdale Sadler, Jr., The Only Proper Style:
4. Ibid. Gothic Architecture in America (New York: New York Graphic Socictv,
5. Pierson, Jr., American Buildings and Their Architects, 3023. 1975), 112.
6. A. J.
Downing, The Architecture of Country Houses (New York: D. 2. John Ruskin, The Stones of Venice (Boston: Estes and Laurait,
Appleton, 1850; reprint, New York: Dover Publications, 1969), 1851-53), 2:225 26.
388. 3. Loth and Sadler, Jr., The Only Proper Sytle, 1 34.
9. Downing, 295. 3rd ed. (New York: Harper & Row, 1962), 9.
3. John Claudius Loudon, An Encyclopaedia of Cottage, Farm, and Villa 9. Martin Filler, "Gothic Getawav," House and Garden (June 1989):
Architecture and Furniture (London: Longman, Brown, Green and 105.
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Addison, Agnes (Gilchrist). Romanticism and the Gothic Revival. New New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1928. 3rd ed. New
York: R. R. Smith, 1938. York: Harper & Row, 1962.
Andrews, Wavne. American Gothic: Its Origins, Its Trials, Its Triumphs. Cook, Olive. The English House Through Seven Centuries. New York:
New York: Random House, 1975. Overlook Press, 1983.
Aslet, Clivc, and Alan Powers. The \ational Trust Book of the English Cornack, Patrick. English Cathedrals. New York: Harmonv Books,
House. London: Viking, 1985. 1984.
Barton, Stuart. Monumental Follies: An Exposition on the Eccentric Edi- Cram, Ralph Adams. The Gothic Quest. New York: Baker and Tavlor,
fces of Britain. Worthing: Lyle Publications, 1972. 1907.
Bencc-Joncs, Mark. Burke's Guide to Country Houses, vol. I, Ireland. . My life in .Architecture. Boston: Little, Brown, 1936.
London: Burke's Peerage, 1978. Crook, Joseph Mordaunt. William Burges and the High Victorian
Chambers, James. The English House. London: WW Norton, Dream. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1981
1985. Davies, Jane B. The Gothic Revival Style in America, 1830-1870.
Chippendale, Thomas. The Gentleman Si^ Cabinet-.Maker's Director Houston: Museum of Fine Arts, 1976.
London: the author, 1754. Reprint, New York: Dover, 1977. Davis, Alexander Jackson. Rural Residences Consisting of Designs, Orig-
Clark, Kenneth. The Gothic Revival: An Essay in the History of Taste. inal and Selected, for Cottages, Farm-Houses, \ illas, and Village
261
Churches. New York: the author, 1837, 1838. Reprint, New Jackson, John B. The Necessity for Ruins. Amherst: University of
York: DaCapo Press, 1980. Massachusetts Press, 1980.
Davis, Terence. The Gothick Taste. Rutherford, NJ: Fairleigh Dickin- Jones, Barbara. Follies and Grottoes. London: Constable, 1953.
son University Press, 1975. Lambton, Lucinda. Beastly Buildings. Boston: Atlantic Monthly
De Breffnv, Brian. Castles of Ireland. London: Thames & Hudson, Press, 1985.
, and Rosemarv Ffolliott. The Houses of Ireland. New York: In Many Grand Designs. London: I. & J.
Taylor, 1742 (1747 edi-
Viking Studio Press, 1975. tion, Gothic Architecture Restored and Improved). Reprint, Farns-
Decker, Paul. Gothic .\rchnecture, Decorated. The author, 1759. borough: Gregg International Publications, 1968.
Reprint, Farnsborough: Gregg International, 1968. Lightolier, Thomas. The Gentleman and Farmer's Architect. Printed for
Diamonstein, Barbaralee. American Architecture Now. New York: Riz- Robert Sayers, 1762. Reprint, Farnsborough: Gregg Interna-
zoh, 1980. tional Publications, 1968.
Downing, Andrew Jackson. The Architecture of Country Houses. New Loth, Calder, and Julius Trousdale Sadler, Jr. The Only Proper Style:
York: D. Appleton, 1850. Reprint, New York: Dover, 1969. Gothic Architecture in America. New York: New York Graphic So-
. Cottage Residences. New York and London: Wilev and ciety, 1975.
Putnam, 1842. Loudon, John Claudius. An Encyclopaedia of Cottage, Farm, and Villa
Rural Essajs. New York: George Putnam, 1853. Architecture and Furniture. London: Longman, Brown, Green and
Downing, Antoinette, and Vincent Scully, Jr. The Architectural Her- Longman, 1833.
itage of Newport, Rhode Island 1640^1914. Cambridge: Harvard Maas, John. The Gingerbread Age. New York: Greenwich House,
University Press, 1952. 1952.
Eastlake, Charles Locke. A History of the Gothic Revival. London: McArdle, Alma and Deirdre. Carpenter Gothic. New York: Whitney
Longmans, Green and Co., 1872. Reprint, Leicester and Library of Design, 1978.
New York: Leicester University Press and Humanities Press, McCarthy, Michael. The Origins of the Gothic Revival. London and
1970. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1987.
Girouard, Mark. "Alscot Park, Warwickshire." Country Life (May 1 5, Macaulay, James. The Gothic Revival, 1745 1 845. Glasgow: Blackie,
1958): 1065. 1975.
. "Cardiff Castle, Glamorganshire." Country Life (April 6, Macaulay, Rose. Pleasure of Ruins. London: Weidenfeld and Nicol-
1961): 760. son, 1953.
Goodwin, Francis. Domestic Architecture. London: the author, 1833. Melville, Lewis. The Life and Letters of William Bedford of Fonthill.
Supplement. London, printed for the author, 1835. London: William Heinemann, 1910.
Halfpenny, William and John. Chinese and Gothic Architecture Properly Mott, George, and Sally Aall. Follies and Pleasure Gardens. London:
Ornamented. London: printed for Robert Sayer, 1752. Pavilion Books, 1989.
Harbison, Peter, Homan Potterton, and Jeanne Sheehy. Irish Art and Newton, Roger Hale. Town &^Davis: Architects. New York: Columbia
Architecturefrom Prehistory to the Present. London: Thames & Hud- University Press, 1942.
son, 1978. Pap worth, John. Designs for Rural Residences. London: R. Acker-
Harris, Eileen. British Architectural Books and Writers. Cambridge and mann, 1818, 1832. Reprint, Farnsborough: Gregg Internation-
Cranbury, NJ: A. S. Barnes & Co., 1974. Technology and the Picturesque: The Corporate and the Early Gothic
Hunter-Stiebel, Penelope. Cf Knights and Spires. New York: Rosen- Styles. New York: Oxford University Press, 1978.
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Hussey, Christopher. English Country Houses: Mid-Georgian, , and Ornamental Designs Calculatedfor Landscape and Picturesque Ef-
. "Houghton Lodge I." Country Life (April 10, 1951): Pryor, Kelli. "Back to Nature." Avenue Magazine (February 1989):
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The Picturesque: Studies in a Point View. London: Putnam, Pugin, Augustus Claudius. Examples of Gothic Architecture. 3 vols.
.. of
1927. Reprint, 1967. London: Bohn, 1831-38.
262
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. Specimens of Gothic Architecture, 2 vols. London: M. A. 185 3. Reprinted as Sloan's Victorian Buildings. New York: Dover,
Pugin, A. W. N. Contrasts; or A Parallel Belnccn the \ohlc hdijiccs of the Stamp, Gavin, and Andre Goulaiuourt. The English House,
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Wcalc, 1841. timore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1968.
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GLOSSARY
Apse .\n extension at the east end of a church, usually semicircu- Cornice A decorative molding, usually used as a terminal element.
lar, w ith
a domed or vaulted ceiling. Cottage orne A rustic building popular in England in the late eigh-
Arch A curved structural support that spans an opening. teenth and early nineteenth centuries, having gables, bay window s,
Battlement A parapet w all w ith notched edges. clustered chimneys, and often thatched roofs, noted lor its pic
Board and batten A sheathing for frame buildings made up of wide turesque design.
vertical boards with narrow strips of w ood covering the connecting Crenellation Notched edge topping a tower w all.
balconies used as a decorative element or for structural support. Dado The lower portion ol an interior wall trom lloor to around
Castellated Having battlements and turrets like those of a medieval waist height.
castle. Dormer A rool projection housing a w indow.
Chancel The east end of a church, close to the altar, reserved for Fan vault A highly decorated fanlike webbing of ribs within a \aull,
Corbel A projecting block, usually of stone, that supj)orts a beam Einial An ornament, frequently leallike, placed at the top ot a
263
Flying buttress A projecting masonry arch against an outer nave is used as a decorative element topping a gable, buttress, etc.
wall that strengthens the wall bv applying counterthrust against the Polychrome Having a multicolored design, such as a pattern in ma-
pressure of the yault. sonry created with banding of contrasting colored brick or stone,
Gable A triangular form created by the juncture of two sloping typical of the High Victorian Gothic, 186S-1880.
roof lines. Porte cochere A covered areawav attached to a building, usually a
Gothic arch An arch that comes to a point at its apex. large house, that originally was used to shelter carriages.
Ha-ha A ditch lined with stones to contain livestock, eliminating Quatrejoil A decorative cloverlike pattern consisting of four lobes
the need for a fence. joined together.
Hood molding A projection, frequently rounded in form, extend- Kih A structural element or decorative projecting band in a vault-
ing across the top and part of the \\a.\ down the sides of windows ed ceiling.
and doors to throw off rain. Also called a drip molding or a label Roundel A round ornamental form.
molding. Scagliola Imitation marble, composed of cement or plaster with
Lancet A narrow pointed window characteristic of early English marble chips or other colored material.
Gothic. Spandrel The area, often triangular, between the side of an arch
MuUion A support dividing a glazed window. and the vertical supports enframing it.
\ave The main, axial volume ot a church, usually flanked by side Tracery Decorative curvilinear pattern in the form of mullions
aisles. supporting glass in a Gothic window or used for ornamenting
Ogee arch An arch introduced around 1 300, composed of two op- screens, walls, buttresses, and gables.
posing S curves that come to a point. Transept A section of a church that intersects the nave at right an-
Oriel window A bay window, generally extending from an upper gles, forming a cross and furnishing space for small side chapels.
story, supported by a projecting structure. Trefoil A three-lobed cloverlike pattern.
Pediment A decorative element found above doors, windows, and Turret A small tower sometimes extending from the corners of a
Pendant .\r\ elongated ornamental projection. Vault .\n arched ceiling of stone or wood.
Pier A solid support designed for vertical pressure. Vergeboard An ornamental carved board attached to the edge of a
Pinnacle A small turretlike Gothic structure, usually pointed, that gable roof. Also called a bargeboard.
ILLUSTRATION CREDITS
Art and Architecture Collection, Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Divi- Christopher Hyland: 19091; Louisiana Division of Historic Pres-
sion of Art, Prints and Photographs, The New York Public Library, ervation. Photographs: Donna Fricker: 194; L\Tidhurst, a property
Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations: 13, 18, 22, 31, 50, 93, 170, of the National Trust for Historic Preservation: 185 (below), 189
17576; Copyright Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. All rights re- (Rod Bradley); John Mahoney: 178-81, 198, 210-12, 214-17,
served: 8, 142 (above); Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, 222-25, 227-29, 249; Collection David and Larry Marshall. Pho-
Columbia University in the City of New York: 166, 169, 171 tograph: John Mahonev: 143 (center and right), 200-01; New-
(above), 172, 240; Courtesy Baker: 236-37; Biltmore Estate, York Historical Society: 168, 195 (above, George P. Hall and Son,
Ashville, N.C.: 242 (above); Brunschwig & Fils Archives: 16-17, N.Y., c.1905), 238, 244, 245 (John Gillies); Philadelphia Histori-
4647, 171 (below); drawing by Georgia Chambers: 241; Cour- cal Commission: 195 (below); Preservation Society of Newport
tesy Clarence House: 134 35, 16465; Courtesy Cooper-Hewitt County. Photograph: Richard Creek: 243; Royal Arts Foundation,
Museum: 84-85; Courtesy of The Right Honourable The Lord Newport, R.I. Photograph: Christine Eagan: 242 (below); Royal
Dickinson: 39 (right); Courtesy Dillingham & Co., San Francisco: ^
Commission on the Historical Monuments of England: 97; Royal
91;JacquesDirand: 251-55; Michael Dunne: 2, 10-11, 32-38,^9 Institute of British Architects. Copyright British Architectural Li-
(left), 54-57, 62-71, 74-77, 80-83, 88, 94-96, 98-99, 104-32, brary/RIBA: end paper, 133 (right), 139; The Society for the
133 (left), 136, 143 (left), 144-63, 182-84, 185 (above), 186-88, Preservation of New England .Antiquities: 213; Ursus Prints:
202-09, 218-21, 230-35, 250; Photographic Collection Florida 140-41, 142 (below); Vineyard Museum/Dukes County Histori-
State Archives: 247; Nigel Hudson: 15, 24 30, 40^5, 58-61, cal Society: 226; The Lewis Walpole Library, Yale University:
72 73, 78-79, 100 02; Timothy Hursley: 256-59; Courtesy 20,86
264
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EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY DECORATION:
DESIGN AND THE DOMESTIC INTERIOR
IN ENGLAND
By Charles Saumarez Smith
388 illustrations, including 189 plates injull color
NINETEENTH-CENTURY DECORATION:
THE ART OF THE INTERIOR
By Charlotte Gere
500 illustrations, including 250 plates injull color
t'nnica m Japan
r^^'^SfS^^^
^v!4
^l ''i\
:BN D-flim-33fll-D
90000
9 780810"933811