Page:An Encyclopædia of Cottage, Farm, and Villa Architecture and Furniture.djvu/836

 812 COTTAGE, FAIIIVJ, AND VILLA ARCHITECTURE. England. A person having such a village near his place would, probably, not improve it by altering the accidental arrangement of the groups of cottages ; and, if these chanced to be old and picturesque, much taste and judgment would be required in rebuilding or repairing them. I should scarcely have courage to pull down a fine old specimen of a picturesque cottage, unless in a case of extreme necessity. Generally speaking, an old cottage ruay be so repaired and restored as to preserve the picturesque exterior, while the interior was made convenient and comfortable : but when an old cottage stands in a damp unpleasant situation, and presents an exterior too wretched and ruinous to be pleasingly picturesque, in that case it is a nuisance, and should of course be rebuilt upon a better site ; a ruin of any kind, though generally a picturesque object, being never a pleasing one, when it is supposed to be the squalid habitation of a wretched fellow-creature. In rebuilding the cottages, I should use the material most prevalent in the neighbourhood, that the village might form a whole. Every district produces its proper building material : thus, in some counties, stone is the prevailing material ; in others, brick ; in others, chalk and flints. A mixture of houses of all these materials would only have an appearance of propriety, where all were procured in the immediate neighbourhood. Stone is generally the best and most picturesque material ; and most people have taste enough to perceive the staring disagreeable effect of a new red brick cottage, when placed in contrast with old stone buildings. There is an exception to this in favour of a mixture of wooden framework, filled up with brick or plaster ; this being an early inode of building, of which some specimens remain in most neighbourhoods ; and such cottages are always picturesque. In the case of rebuilding a village, great judgment would be required in selecting the designs, as, however beautiful the situation might be, the pleasing effect of the whole would depend chiefly upon the style of the buildings. In selecting the designs, there- fore, there are two or three things that I would especially avoid. In the first place, I would on no account have the cottages all alike ; and in the second place, I would discard those fanciful comfortless dwellings which are often erected as ornamental cottages. In my opinion, a cottage should present a picturesque simple exterior, conveying an idea of internal comfort and convenience ; and models of this kind are most common, I think, among our old-fashioned English cottages. I would build them chiefly in this style, beginning with that style of cottage in which wooden frainework prevails, and imitating all the various kinds of picturesque houses which are suitable to cottage residences. In many cases a cottage might be rebuilt exactly as it was in its old state, and, in pulling down, some of the old parts might be sufficiently good to remain ; and I should, there- fore, suffer such parts to remain, and build to them when they happened to present a pleasing specimen of picturesque Architectuie. If the cottages were thus managed, judiciously grouped, and properly mixed with the enclosures and timber trees, a pretty interesting village might be produced in almost any situation ; but, its beauty would be greatly increased, if it chanced to stand on a well wooded varied surface, and near to the boundary of the richly wooded park of a gentleman's residence. 1733. The Village Church. The beauty of the village would be very incomplete with- out a handsome village church ; and, though I describe it last in order, I consider it first in importance, and would make it the most interesting feature about the place. In all rural scenery, the towers and spires of churches generally form the most striking objects in the landscape. To a man of cultivated mind, who has resided much in the country, there is always something interesting in the appearance of a village church, in which he and the lowly rustic can both forget their cares, and worship God in peace ; and where all must be laid " each in his narrow cell," when the cares and enjoyments of this life are quenched in death. But I am far from considering this as a mere matter of taste. I will suppose the owner of the villa I have described a perfect specimen of a respectable country gentleman, formed after the model of Evelyn of Wootton ; a man of taste and refinement, a respectable scholar, an affectionate husband, a good father, a kind master, a considerate landlord, the true friend and general resource of his poorer neighbours, and a man of sincere and unaffected piety. A person of this character would think it a discredit to his taste and better feelings to have a comfortless dilapidated church. He would rather wish to have it a beautiful interesting edifice, worthy of the purpose to which it is devoted. We will suppose it, therefore, a fine old building, in the florid style of Gothic, preserved by his ancestors, with religious care, in its original state. As the population of the parish would be small, we will suppose the church to consist only of an ample nave and chancel, with two small transepts ; and a handsome tower or spire at the west end, or over the intersection of the transepts. The windows would be small, except the great east window, and all filled with stained glass ; those in the nave having old coats of arms ; and in the cast window a fine scripture subject. Entering the church by a rich porch at the south side, near the lower end, on your left would be the beautiful old Gothic font ; over it the richly carved oak loft, for the organ, schools, and singers. Standing under the loft there would be a perspective view up the