Page:An Encyclopædia of Cottage, Farm, and Villa Architecture and Furniture.djvu/962

 938 COTTAGE, FARM, AND VILLA ARCHITECTURE. add to what wc have already said, that such things as a square-topped door and opening, in however obscure a situation they may be placed, are as much opposed to the character of that style, as a pointed door would be out of place under the great portico of St. Paul's. In fact, though the judgment which some entertain as to matters of taste may be satisfied with giving an architectural appearance to the prominent parts, or to the exterior of a building, wliile all the rest is left destitute of character ; we cannot tliink very highly of any structure claiming the name of Gothic, which does not preserve uninterruptedly the charm of association, and which is not at unity with itself, fiom the largest decorations of masonry down to the minute finishings of the ironmonger. For even in this last department there is a style of design which also requires attention ; and there is no want of precedents for knockers, hinges, locks, escutcheons, latches, drop- handles, and the like, all which should be in keeping with the rest, though they will cer- tainly admit of some modification, to suit the various improvements of more recent times. 1890. Gables in Domestic Pointed Architecture. Of external features the window and the door must be undoubtedly regarded as the most important ; next to these the gable is that which, perhaps, contributes most to the characteristic effect of Domestic Archi- tecture, and, indeed, to that of Pointed Architecture in general, by harmonizing with the tendency of perpendicular lines. In this style we have the simple gable of two lines, following the rake or slope of the roof; and the stepped gable, which may be compared to a pile of battlements, or to the form of line called by heralds " battled embattled." In the later practice of the Tudor times, we frequently see the apex of the gable finished by the introduction of a little octagonal shaft, bearing a moulded capping cut into battle- ments, and crowned with a pinnacle, of which the outline (as before noticed) was that o» the double ogee ; such pinnacle being frequently enriched with a leaf ornament, not unlike fish scales, or with a kind of honeycomb pattern of mouldings. A substitute for the pinnacle was often found in the figure of an animal, as a heraldic supporter or cog- nizance, sustaining a flagstaff, on which the banner acted as a vane, at the same time displaying in full blazon the armorial bearings of the proprietor. The same style of termination prevailed very generally also at the various angles of buildings belonging to the Tudor period ; such pinnacles or finishings being made to surmount slender octagonal oiers or shafts, which rose from the ground to fortify the corners ; and which, in the time of Henry VIII., commonly superseded buttresses for domestic purposes. In dwellings of a date prior to that period, there are, however, instances of the adoption of the buttress quite sufficient to prove that it was not then regarded as a feature exclusively ecclesias- tical, though some modern writers have pronounced it such. The truth is, that the buttress was used by the old builders with a primary reference to its utility ; and it is because the stone vaulting and massive roofs of churches so frequently demanded a resist- ance to their great pressure, that we find the buttress almost identified with Ecclesiastical Architecture. Where, however, the same necessity for its adoption arose in domestic work, it was applied without hesitation, as it is, for instance, against the walls of Eltham Hall, to counteract the thrust of a roof as ponderous as it is fine. In fact, the buttress, like the pointed window, must be used sparingly ; and only where it conduces, at least apparently, to the addition of necessary strength and stability, as well as to the purposes of decoration : to apply either to dwellings whose construction is simple, and >vhose extent is small, would be unmeaning and improper. 1891. Chimnejj- Shafts are additional features which contribute greatly to the picturesque effects of Domestic Architecture. These arc sometimes square, arranged diagonally in clusters ; sometimes octagonal, occasionally having the faces curved inwards ; and sometimes round. Under the latter form especially, their decorations are often very elaborate, the shafts being fiequently traversed by a succession of spiral reeds, or by the same again in opposite directions, so as to divide the whole into small lozenges. Some- times a similar moulding forms the surface into hexagonal figures ; and at other times, in connection with hollows, exhibits parallel arrangements of zigzag lines. Other varieties sliov/ the shafts covered with a repetition of the fleur-de-lis, lion, rose, &c. These are all finished aliove with a polygonal capping, frequently cut into battlements ; and, below, with the usual plinth and plinth mouldings, following llie same plan, and all sinking into (uniting with) the inclined upper faces of a general block or pedestal. 1892. The High Roofs of Pointed Domestic Architecture, also, though subjects whick admitted of little ornament, were not left without relief by our old builders. This relief they derived, variously, from the use of numerous lead rolls, when lead was the covering ; 'jr, in other cases, from the employment of shingles or wooden tiles of different sliajjes, producing a pleasing alternation of line ; besides which, there are instances of a finishing for the ridges of roofs, formed of what were called crest tiles, a little ornament of open work, bearmg an application very analogous to that of the ridge tiles of the Greek temples. 189.3. The Octagonal Turret (which in the old style of arrangement was frequently