Page:An Encyclopædia of Cottage, Farm, and Villa Architecture and Furniture.djvu/101

 COTTAGE DWELLINGS IN VARIOUS STYLES. all cases when walls, either of this class or of the former, are built, the foundations should be of stone or brick, and they should be carried up at least a foot above the upper surface of the platform. In the course of this work, we shall describe all the various methods of building earthern walls, and we shall here commence by giving one of the simplest modes of con- struction, from the work of a very excellent and highly estimable individual, Mr. Denson, of Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire, the author of The Peasant's Voice, who built his own cottage in the manner described below. 159. Mode of building the Mud Walls of Cottages in Cambridgeshire. After a labourer has dug a sufficient quantity of clay for his purpose, he works it up with straw ; he is then pro- vided with a frame eighteen inches in length, six deep, and from nine to twelve inches in diameter. In this frame he forms his lumps, in the same manner that a brickmaker forms his bricks ; they are then packed up to dry by the weather ; that done, they are fit for use, as 3 substitute for bricks. On laying the foundation of a cottage, a few layers of bricks are necessary, to prevent the lumps from contracting a damp from the earth. The fire-place is lined, and the oven is built with bricks. I have known cottagers, where they could get the grant of a piece of ground to build on for themselves, erect a cottage of this description at a cost of from £15 to £30. I examined one that was nearly completed, of a superior order; it contained two good lower rooms and a chamber, and was neatly thatched with straw. It is a warm, firm, and comfortable building ; far superior to the one I live in ; and my opinion is, that it will last for centuries. The lumps are laid with mortar, they are then plastered, and on the outside once rough cast, which is done by throwing a mixture of water, lime, and small stones against the walls before the plaster is dry, which gives them a very handsome appep.r- ance. The cottage I examined, cost £33, and took nearly one thousand lumps to complete it. I believe a labourer will make that number in two days : the roofs of cottages of this description are precisely the same as when built with bricks, or with a wooden frame. Cow- house sheds, garden walls, and partition fences, are formed with the same materials ; but in all cases the tops are covered with straw, which the thatchers perform in a very neat manner. — Benson's Peasant's Voice, p. 31. 131 160. The Roof of this cottage is shown 132 as if thatched with reeds or straw ; it pro- jects considerably on every side, and forms a truncated pyramid, terminating in the chimney-tops which are of stone, and of a very simple form, (fig. 131, to a scale of half an inch to a foot,) easily executed. Nearly the same form might be produced in well tempered clay, mixed with straw and gravel, and afterwards rough cast ; but it is evident that it would not be so durable. When chimney-tops are formed of clay, a shape should be adopted which admits of covering them with a flag stone, or a large slate, or tiles, in the Swiss manner, fig. 132. 161. Garden. The extent is about three-fourths of an acre. There are four large compartments, /, g, h, i, calculated for a four-fold succession of crops ; viz., potatoes, the leguminous tribe, the cabbage tribe, and turnips and other roots. Two small com- partments, fc and I, are devoted to currants, gooseberries, and raspberries ; and m, to straw- berries, asparagus, and sea-kale. The garden is surrounded by a wall, with a border for early and late crops, and for flowers. The rows of shrubs round the compartments, k and /, are chiefly ornamental, such as roses, honeysuckles, mezereons, Cydonia japonica, &c. The single fruit trees at the corners of the compartments are chiefly apples, with some pears, cherries, and plums. There is a small summer house at n, from which it may be supposed there is an extensive prospect 162. General Estimate. Cubic contents, 11,362 feet, at 6<i. per foot, £284:1*.; at 4d. £189 : 7s : id. ; and at 3d., £142 : Os : 6d. 163. Expression. " I imagine," says Newton, in his preface to Vitruvius, " that every building should, by its appearance, express its destination and purpose ; and that some character should prevail therein which is suitable to, and expressive of, the particular end it is to answer. To effect this, %vill require the exertion of the powers of the mind, the fire of genius, and the solidity of judgment ; and without this, a composition is but a compilation of parts without meaning or end." — Preface. The dwelling now under consideration can hardly be considered as having any other expression than that of the subject. It is a substantial looking cottage dwelling, without any pretensions to either elegance or beauty.