DOI Heft:
No. 26 (May, 1895)
DOI Artikel:The new "Magpie and Stump": a successful experiment in domestic architecture
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.17294#0088
The " Magpie and Stump "
and simply shaped panels, these doors strike the
note of "style" which is conspicuous in the build-
ing; how far their details are based on early Gothic
woodwork it is needless to inquire; their principal
charm is undoubtedly due to a sensible use of good
material with much artistic reticence of expression.
The door facing you admits to Mr. Ashbee's
offices and studio; the one to the left, to the hall
of the dwelling-house proper. As you enter, you
are struck with an air of space, which is preserved
throughout the house, although on a second visit,
when you begin to look more closely at its dimen-
sions, you find the trick of ample space has been
secured by a fine sense of proportion, and that the
site is merely the awkward narrow plot of land,
ridiculously large in proportion to its width, which is
the outcome of restricted space in all closely popu-
lated modern cities.
Owing to the sketches Mr. George Thompson
has made specially for this paper, which explain the
various parts better than mere words could hope
to do, it is needless to describe the hall in detail.
One feature, however, refuses to be adequately ex-
pressed in black and white. This is the panelling
of the wall surface surrounding the fireplace, which the "magpie and stump"
is not of tiles as the sketch might suggest, but of ston'e corbel in drawing-room
square plaques of copper, many of
them enriched by the results of
various experiments in enamels.
Thus, spots of gorgeous crimsons,
purples and greens, inserted ap-
parently by chance among the plain
copper squares, give a jewelled effect
to the whole. This is typical of a
special fondness the owner betrays
for metal-work and jewels. By
jewels I do not mean diamonds or
the so-called precious stones, but fine
crystals, onyx, and other substances,
some of enamel as in this instance,
which yield spots of colour and come
peculiarly well set as they are in metal
that has the marks of its fashioning
still visible upon it. The handles of
the doors, in fact every atom of con-
structurally essential metal in the
house, speaks clearly of thought be-
stowed ; not in the ornamentation of
necessary things, but in making them
beautiful by reason of their fitness,
their material, and the bold recogni-
tion of their existence. To-day we
the " magpie and stump " stone corbel too often endeavour to hide some
72
and simply shaped panels, these doors strike the
note of "style" which is conspicuous in the build-
ing; how far their details are based on early Gothic
woodwork it is needless to inquire; their principal
charm is undoubtedly due to a sensible use of good
material with much artistic reticence of expression.
The door facing you admits to Mr. Ashbee's
offices and studio; the one to the left, to the hall
of the dwelling-house proper. As you enter, you
are struck with an air of space, which is preserved
throughout the house, although on a second visit,
when you begin to look more closely at its dimen-
sions, you find the trick of ample space has been
secured by a fine sense of proportion, and that the
site is merely the awkward narrow plot of land,
ridiculously large in proportion to its width, which is
the outcome of restricted space in all closely popu-
lated modern cities.
Owing to the sketches Mr. George Thompson
has made specially for this paper, which explain the
various parts better than mere words could hope
to do, it is needless to describe the hall in detail.
One feature, however, refuses to be adequately ex-
pressed in black and white. This is the panelling
of the wall surface surrounding the fireplace, which the "magpie and stump"
is not of tiles as the sketch might suggest, but of ston'e corbel in drawing-room
square plaques of copper, many of
them enriched by the results of
various experiments in enamels.
Thus, spots of gorgeous crimsons,
purples and greens, inserted ap-
parently by chance among the plain
copper squares, give a jewelled effect
to the whole. This is typical of a
special fondness the owner betrays
for metal-work and jewels. By
jewels I do not mean diamonds or
the so-called precious stones, but fine
crystals, onyx, and other substances,
some of enamel as in this instance,
which yield spots of colour and come
peculiarly well set as they are in metal
that has the marks of its fashioning
still visible upon it. The handles of
the doors, in fact every atom of con-
structurally essential metal in the
house, speaks clearly of thought be-
stowed ; not in the ornamentation of
necessary things, but in making them
beautiful by reason of their fitness,
their material, and the bold recogni-
tion of their existence. To-day we
the " magpie and stump " stone corbel too often endeavour to hide some
72