DOI issue:
Division I: Great Britain
DOI article:Dawber, E. Guy: On some recent british designs for country houses
DOI Page / Citation link: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.19999#0084
BRITISH COUNTRY HOUSES
tradition has handed it on as one of the essential features of a room,
and to-day it is continually met with fifteen inches and more in
height, showing that its original purpose is not only absolutely
forgotten, but entirely misunderstood.
The masses of painted woodwork in the way of linings and
architraves, so constantly seen around doors and windows, are surely
entirely out of place in small country houses, and if instead the
plaster is carried into the window frames without any woodwork at
all, the effect is greatly enhanced. Mr. Voysey invariably treats his
windows in this way, as in his house at Frinton-on-Sea (B 98 to 101),
and we notice it also in Mr. Percy Worthington's dining and drawing
rooms at "Barrows Green" (B 107 and 108) and in Mr. Baillie
Scott's cottage at Loughton (B 88).
On the other hand, no more suitable or economical material
can be used for clothing the walls than wood panelling, for the older
it gets the better it looks, and it requires nothing in the way of
upkeep. What a quiet homelike feeling Mr. Sydney Tugwell has
gained in his hall at Upwey, Dorset (B 94), Mr. James Miller in his
billiard-room at Lowther Terrace, Glasgow (B 83), and Mr. Robt.
White in his dining-room at Thornton Hall (B 104).
Modelled plaster work is another delightful method of
treating walls and ceilings, and one that particularly lends itself
to the decoration of country houses. If used it should be carried
throughout the whole house, even if only a touch here and there
is put in some of the rooms, for the effect, however slight, of a
continuity of treatment will be better than concentrating all the
decoration in one elaborate room. And this, indeed, applies to
everything in a country house ; just as there should be no "back"
to it, so there should be no part or room out of character with
the rest. There should be a similarity of treatment throughout ;
one room should lead to another without any violent contrast in
colour or detail, and the whole should be thought out, planned,
fitted, and furnished as one scheme. The simpler and quieter houses
are kept both inside and out, the more successful they will be.
We should avoid any suggestion of prettiness and unnecessary orna-
ment, and seek after complete and expressive workmanship. Grace
and beauty of line, simplicity and austerity of design, always win
admiration.
It rests with us as architects to show in our work that it is
possible to build country houses which will combine the quiet
beauty of bye-gone times with a practical solution of the require-
ments of to-day, and this is what very many able and conscientious
men are trying their best to accomplish.
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tradition has handed it on as one of the essential features of a room,
and to-day it is continually met with fifteen inches and more in
height, showing that its original purpose is not only absolutely
forgotten, but entirely misunderstood.
The masses of painted woodwork in the way of linings and
architraves, so constantly seen around doors and windows, are surely
entirely out of place in small country houses, and if instead the
plaster is carried into the window frames without any woodwork at
all, the effect is greatly enhanced. Mr. Voysey invariably treats his
windows in this way, as in his house at Frinton-on-Sea (B 98 to 101),
and we notice it also in Mr. Percy Worthington's dining and drawing
rooms at "Barrows Green" (B 107 and 108) and in Mr. Baillie
Scott's cottage at Loughton (B 88).
On the other hand, no more suitable or economical material
can be used for clothing the walls than wood panelling, for the older
it gets the better it looks, and it requires nothing in the way of
upkeep. What a quiet homelike feeling Mr. Sydney Tugwell has
gained in his hall at Upwey, Dorset (B 94), Mr. James Miller in his
billiard-room at Lowther Terrace, Glasgow (B 83), and Mr. Robt.
White in his dining-room at Thornton Hall (B 104).
Modelled plaster work is another delightful method of
treating walls and ceilings, and one that particularly lends itself
to the decoration of country houses. If used it should be carried
throughout the whole house, even if only a touch here and there
is put in some of the rooms, for the effect, however slight, of a
continuity of treatment will be better than concentrating all the
decoration in one elaborate room. And this, indeed, applies to
everything in a country house ; just as there should be no "back"
to it, so there should be no part or room out of character with
the rest. There should be a similarity of treatment throughout ;
one room should lead to another without any violent contrast in
colour or detail, and the whole should be thought out, planned,
fitted, and furnished as one scheme. The simpler and quieter houses
are kept both inside and out, the more successful they will be.
We should avoid any suggestion of prettiness and unnecessary orna-
ment, and seek after complete and expressive workmanship. Grace
and beauty of line, simplicity and austerity of design, always win
admiration.
It rests with us as architects to show in our work that it is
possible to build country houses which will combine the quiet
beauty of bye-gone times with a practical solution of the require-
ments of to-day, and this is what very many able and conscientious
men are trying their best to accomplish.
xviii