Page:An Encyclopædia of Cottage, Farm, and Villa Architecture and Furniture.djvu/699

 COUNTRY INNS AND PUBLIC HOUSES. 675 Chap. III. Designsjor Country Inns and Public Houses of various Degrees of jlccommodation, from the Hedge Alehouse to the Mansion Inn, with Us Gardens, Farm, and Park. 1408. An Inn differs from a private dwelling-house chiefly in having certain apart- ments and stores open to the public generally. In a private Iiouse all is private ; but in an inn, one of the recommendations to the traveller is to see a well-stored larder, and a spacious public room, in which he may take his meals, either at a common table or at a separate table. Another characteristic of an inn is the bar, or office, to which all enquiries are addressed, and from which all orders are issued. This is always placed in a conspicuous part of the interior, so as to be seen on entering, and so as the bar mistress may observe all comers and goers as they pass, and liave her eye as much as possible upon the servants of the establishmeiit. 1409. All Inns ought to be Duilt firr-proof. When the number of persons lodged in such dwellings are considered, the necessity for this will appear obvious. There are two ways in which this may be effected ; first, by forming all the floors of flat arches of brick or tiles, and cement ; or of hollow bricks, the abutments being of cast iron, tied with wTOught-iron rods ; or, secondly, by laying all the floors over the joists ith brick or stone pavement. The staircases ought always to be of stone ; and all the partitions either of that material, or of brick, or of quartering covered on both sides with tiles and cement. All the ceilings, where wooden joists are used, ought to be fonned of flat tiles and cement, and all the skirtings of the same material. The roof is easily made fire- proof by being arched on the same principle as the floors of the rooms, and, like them, covered with tiles and cement. In inns so constructed, there would remain no combus- tible matter but the doors, the window-shutters, and the furniture. The two former might be rendered incombustible by being saturated with sulphate of iron, or coated over with a solution of silex under the paint. We are the more anxious to direct the atten- tion of Architects to fire-proof houses, in consequence of the following communication from one of our most scientific correspondents : — " The new process for smelting iron by raw coal and hot air blast, is producing a great change in the iron trade ; and it is antici- pated by good judges, that no long period will elapse before cast iron of the quality known as No. 1. will be manufactured at the cost of about 405. or 45a-. the ton. When this takes place generally, it must inevitably produce an effect which will pervade almost every condition of society. Rich and poor will, by degrees, find themselves enclosed in iron cages ; and fir joists, and slate roofs, will become things to be alluded to as betoken- ing something venerable from antiquity. The introduction of iron into building oper- ations will, no doubt, spread rapidly, as the price of cast iron falls; and, if unskilfully done at the outset, we may have a number of imperishable monuments of bad taste before our eyes wherever we go. It is, therefore, of importance that good examples should be given in time, and that Architects should be prepared for the change, so as not to leave the matter to the caprice or taste of the workmen of the founderies. " 1410. Inns and Public Houses for the country, like private dwellings there, are of various kinds, and include various degrees of accommodation, from what is found in the small hedge alehouse, to what is afforded by the mansion inn, with its places for amusements, garden, farm, and perhaps park. In all of them the object is to provide entertainment for the pubHc ; and, consequently, the kind of accommodation afforded by the inn must be adapted to the wants of that portion of the public for whose use it is intended. Inns of every kind are the result of liigh civilisation, and the consequent intercourse of society by public roads, rivers, or canals. In rude countries, without roads or other regular means of communication, there can be no inns, because there can be no regular travellers. In countries imperfectly civilised, and with defective roads, the inns, like the caravanseras of Persia, or the post-houses in the interior of Russia, are little better than empty houses, or hovels, where the traveller, who carries his own bedding and provisions, may take shelter for the night. In the north of Germany and Poland, the country inns are little better. At one end of a small cottage occupied by the postmaster, or furnisher of horses for travelling, is an immense shed, closed in on the two sides, and with gateways at each end. Into this shed, the traveller drives, at the end by which he approaches ; and, when he has refreshed his horses and himself, he drives out by the other. If his intention be to stop for the night, he sleeps in his carriage, or spreads the bed he has brought with him on the floor of the hovel, which, in most parts of the countries alluded to, is occupied by the horses, cows, and other live stock of the postmaster, and the horses of other travellers. On the contrary, inns in a wealthy and highly civilised countrj- like England contain all the luxuries of a private mansion ; and the traveller who stops in them, with plenty of money, may enjoy many of the comforts of home, without its cares. In other countries, such as the south of Germany and many parts of Nortli America,