By J - H ELDER-DUNCAN
BOSTOIM
PUBLIC
tlBRARY
Ti-IE P" "~0N
BOOK STORE CO.
i OROMFILLD ST.
an<irnN . MASS.
COUNTRY COTTAGES AND WEEK-END HOMES
COTTAGE, GIDEA PARK, ESSEX.
MICHAEL BUHHEV and CLIFFOHD C KAKINS, AA.R.I.B.A., Architects.
The general treatment of the exterior is on the Hnes of traditional East Anglian work, with local red brick, parapeted gables to main roof and dormers, a large central stack and local red sand-faced pantiles on the roof.
COUNTRY COTTAGES AND WEEK-END HOMES
BY
J. H. ELDER-DUNCAN
Editorial Secretary of " The Architectural Review " Editor of "The Municipal Engineers' Specification"
WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS AND PLANS OF COTTAGES BY WELL-KNOWN ARCHITECTS
NEW EDITION WITH COLOURED PLATES
CASSELL AND COMPANY, LIMITED
LONDON, NEW YORK, TORONTO AND MELBOURNE
1912
JUN 1 9 feoM
i r'.r^L. /■*! i 1- ~' i.^tii'*
FINE ARTS DEPT
<#
\0
r
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
PREFACE
The object of this book is to tell the layman of moderate means some facts about Country Cottages, suitable alike to his class and to his purse ; to show him some commendable examples of modern cottages designed either for permanent homes or week-end jaunts; to tell him of what these cottages are built, and for how much they were built ; and, further, to describe any special features which had a direct bearing upon either the materials, the plan, or the ex- penditure.
As an ulterior object or motive it is hoped through these pages to introduce to his notice the work of a few of those Archi- tects who are endeavouring to follow their art with a higher appreciation for aesthetic considerations than commercialism de- mands ; and to prove, by the very examples given, that great expense is not the inevitable concomitant of good design. No idea of advancing any political, sociological, or ethical principle is attempted: it is assumed that the reader desires to live in the country ; that he wants a cottage ; and desires to know what kind of dwelling he can obtain for the available sum he has by him.
The preliminary chapters, in the nature of a general con- sideration of the subject of cottage building, are kept as far as possible free from technicalities which would be confusing, as the reader will not, it is supposed, be hazardous enough to start building without competent advice. So far as the writer is able to make them, these notes are practical suggestions — points on which the layman may have to form an opinion before he is in a position to build profitably.
As far as possible the actual costs of the buildings illustrated are given ; but in certain cases the figures have been suppressed in deference to the owners' wishes, or because the cottages were built for sale or are in the market. In regard to these houses the figures will be furnished to readers genuinely interested, by
s
PREFACE.
the respective Architects, whose names and addresses will be found in the list following. The costs as given apply to the dwellings only, and, unless specifically stated, do not include the expenses of sinking wells, laying out gardens, building stables or fencing.
The short chapter on gardens does not attempt to be ex- haustive, but may be suggestive to cottage builders of treatments that they may desire to employ. So much depends on the size of the available ground that dogmatism or any stereotyped plan is to be deprecated.
The information in Chapter VIII. is given merely for reference purposes ; the schedule of Architects' fees will no doubt be of service.
It remains for the writer to acknowledge his indebtedness to the various Architects who have kindly assisted him by contributions of plans and particulars; also the proprietors of The Tatler and the proprietors of The Architectural Review for permission to reproduce some notes and information written for those periodicals.
NOTE TO THE THIRD IMPRESSION.
Two correspondents have kindly called my attention to the absence of any information in the book concerning " pugging " (Scots term : " deafening ") — a device to prevent sound travelling through the floors between upper and lower rooms. There are two methods, neither of which is employed as frequently as it might be. In the first one fillets are nailed on the sides of the joists or floor beams to support planks, which are covered to a depth of 3 or 4 inches with fibrous plaster or slag wool before nailing down the floor boards. This is an efl"ectual method, but one that is liable to induce dry rot. The other method, which is not so liable to produce the defect mentioned, is to lay sheets of sound-proof felting, or Cabot's quilt, over the joists before laying the floor boards.
6
PREFACE.
One correspondent complains of sound travelling through partition walls. In his drawing-room he can almost hear the exact words spoken in the kitchen. This is, of course, a common defect with lath and plaster partitions, unless they are treated in a manner similar to the "pugging" of the floors. Slag wool or sawdust have frequently been employed between the studs; but sound-proof felting, or Cabot's quilt, nailed on to the studs would be better. To give sufficient key to the plaster the laths should be fixed to thin battens nailed on to the studs over the felting.
Another point raised is the number of w.c.'s and their position. The smallest cottage (of the class dealt with) should have two ; one upstairs and one down, and an extra one down- stairs for the servants is desirable. The noise of flushing can only be obviated by deafening the partitions or walls, and by fixing one of the silent flushing cisterns. To place them in convenient but unobtrusive positions is a matter of planning. In all cases the entrance should be contrived away from a main passage. I sometimes think there is undue squeamishness over these things.
One of the technical journals having attacked the diagrams of bedrooms on page 31, it is fair to myself to say that I have been trained both as an Architect and a Civil Engineer, that the bedrooms shown are all taken from architects' plans, that the rooms, as well as the pieces of furniture indicated, are drawn to scale, and that the chimney shown in Diagram i does not smoke, and never has done so. I could have given many pages of illustrations of badly designed bedrooms, all taken from architects' plans, but the one example was sufficient.
J. H. ELDER-DUNCAN.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER L
PAGE
Choice of a Locality and Site— Water Supply— Lighting- Drainage — General Notes ii
CHAPTER n.
Treatment of Exteriors and Interiors— Fittings— Decoration 23
CHAPTER HL The Question of Cost .46
CHAPTER IV. Descriptions of Cottages Costing from ^'200 to ;^ 1,000 . . 59
CHAPTER V. Descriptions of Cottages Costing from ;^ 1,000 to £2,000 . 95
CHAPTER VI.
Descriptions of Cottages and Houses Costing from ;^2,ooo
to ;^3,5oo 144
CHAPTER VII. Some Notes on Cottage Gardens 218
CHAPTER VIII. Professional Charges of Architects ...... 222
INDEX TO ARCHITECTS AND TO HOUSES ILLUSTRATED
B PAGE
Bacom, Francis, Junr., 6, York Mansions, Battersea Park, London, S.W. " Little Gravels," Burghclere, Hants . 54, 55 Bluhm, Q. Mangnall, Wood Street Chambers, St. Anne's-by-the-Sea, and 40S, Temple Chambers, Brazenose Street, Manchester. First prize Pair of Cottages, Cleveleys, Lanes . 36 Bolton, Arthur T., 28, Victoria Street, West- minster, London, S.W. Design for Ghyll Cottage, Goudhurst, Kent. 68 House on the Downs, Lyminge, Kent . .216 Brewill, a. W., F.R.I. B.A., and Basil E. Baily, F.R.LB.A., 44, Parliament Street, Nottingham. " The Paddock," Ruskington, Lincolnshire . 75 Pair of Cottages, Seacroft, Lincolnshire . 83 Cottage at Beeston, Notts .... 105 " The Bungalow," Seacroft, Lincolnshire . 133 House at London Road, Newark, Notts . 171
Buckland, Herbert T., and E. Haywood- Farmer, 25A, Paradise Street, Birmingham. House at Lynden End, near Birmingham . 128 House at Bridlington, Yorks . 134, 135, 136
House at Wigginton, Staffordshire . . i6i
BuNNEV, Michael, and Clifford C. Making, AA.R.I.B.A.,33,HenriettaSt.,London,W.C. Cottage, Gidea Park . . Frontispiece
Pair of Cottages at Ruislip . . Facing 132
Cappon, T. M., F.R.I. B.A., 32, Bank Street, Dundee, N.B.
Cottage at Rosemount, near Blairgowrie, N.B. 90 Caygill, The late Joseph.
The Avenue Cottage, Stansted, Essex 65, 66, 67, 68
Done, Albert E., 2, Oxford Road, Blackpool, Lanes. First prize Detached Cottage, Cleveleys, Lanes. 35 Douglas and Minshull, 6, Abbey Square, Chester. " Lonnin Garth," Portinscale, Cumberland 84, 85 Drummond, Bertram, A.R.I.B.A., 6, Birley Street, Blackpool, and 16, Clifford's Inn, London, E.C. Second prize Detached Cottage, Cleveleys, Lanes 35
Eden and Freeman, 3, Staple Ion, High Hoi- bom, London, W.C. Cottage at Harmer Green . . . 152, 153
Fair, John W., and Val Myer, A.R.I. B.A., 39, Furnival Street, E.C. Bungalow, Marsh Lock . . . ,30
Fair, J. W., and Val Myer (contd.). PAGB
Bungalow, Rotherfield Peppard, Oxon . . 52
" Oakleaf," Newenden, Sussex . Facing 64 " Redroofs," Henley-on-Thames, Oxoa . . 108
" Kiugs-Wood," Harpsden Heights, Oxon . 166
Field, Horace, and Simmons, i, Langham Chambers, Langham Place, London, W. Pair of Cottages at Ripley, Surrey . . 51
Two Cottages at Bramley, Surrey. . 53, 54
Cottage at Heyshott, Midhurst, Sussex . 138, 139 Group of five Cottages at Woking, Surrey . 180 " The White Cottage," Hampstead . . 184
House at Stanmore, Middlesex . . • 203
Figgis, T. Phillips, F.R.I.B.A., 28, Martin's Lane, Cannon Street, London, E.C. House at Loughton, Essex .... 179
Fletcher, H. M., 10, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C. Cottage at Letchworth, Herts . . .97
GiMSON, Ernest, Daneway House, Sapperton, near Cirencester. Cottage in the Gloucestershire Cotswold District ....... 106
Two Cottages in Chamwood Forest, Leicester- shire 116, 117
Gregg, Theodore, and Lionel G. Detmar, A.R.I. B.A., lA, St. Helen's Place, London, E.C.
House on the Broadview Estate, Rotherfield, Sussex ....... 8$
H
Hardwick, A. Jessop, F.R.I. B.A., Eagle Chambers, Kingston-on-Thames, Surrey. Cottage at Roehampton, Surrey, No. i . . 154 Cottage at Roehampton, Surrey, No. 2 . . 155 Cottage at Coorabe, Surrey .... 170 Hart, F. J. Watson, 39, Furnival Street, E.C. House, Hill Close, Hampstead Way, Hendon ..... Facing ga
HoRDER, P. MORLEY, F.R.I.B.A., 148, New Bond Street, London, W. Cottage at Orpington, Kent . . . .69 Cottage at Upper Warlingham, Surrey . .118 Cottage at Crompton, near Guildford, Surrey . 123 House at Garboldisham, Norfolk . . . 158 House at Swansea, S. Wales . . . 164 Cottage at Leatherhead, Surrey . . 201, 20Z HouFTON, Percy B., Furnival Chambers, Chesterfield, Notts. The prize " £150 Cottage," Letchworth, Herts 25 Cottage at Brampton, near Chesterfield, Notts 72
Ibberson, H. G., F.R.I. B.A., 28, Martin's Lane, Cannon Street, E.C, and Hunstanton, Nor- folk Week-end Cottage at Trimingham, Norfolk . 78 " Knighton," Boston Square, Hunstanton, Norfolk no, iii
B
Index to Architects and Houses Illustrated— conftntrecT.
Ibberson, H. G. {conld.). page
" Northemhay," Boston Square, Hunstanton,
Norfolk III. 112
" Fridhem," Hunstanton, Norfolk . 145. 146
" White Cottages," Hunstanton, Norfolk . 146 Pair of Cottages, Boston Square, Hunstanton,
Norfolk 147
Cottage, Lincoln Square, Hunstanton, Norfolk 148
Lander, H. Clapham, A.R.I. B.A., Effingham House, Arundel Street, Strand, London, W.C. Pair of Houses at Letchworth, Herts . 181, 182
U
Macartney, Mervyn E., B.A., F.R.I. B.A., 10, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C. Cottage at Silchester Common, near Reading 76, 77 " Foxhold," Newbury, Berks . i75. '76, I77
House at Greenham Common, Bucks . 182, 183 Mallows, C. E., F.R.I.B.A., 28, Conduit Street, London, W. Cottage at Biddenham, Bedfordshire, No. i . 172 Cottage at Biddenham, Bedfordshire, No. 2 .173'
174. 175
N
Newtov, Ernest, F.R.I.B.A., 4, Raymond
Buildings, Gray's Inn, W.C. House at Bickley, Kent . . . 190, 191
House at Wimbledon, Surrey . . .212 Nicholson and Corlette, 2, New Square, Lin- coln's Inn Fields, W.C. "The White Cottage," Englefield Green,
Egham, Surrey .... 162, 163 "The Warren," Totteridge, Herts. . .168
NivEN.WiGGLEswoRTH and Falkner.F.R.I.B.A.,
104, High Holbom, London, W.C, and 23,
West Street, Farnham, Surrey Cottage at Farnham, Surrey . . 70, 71
Cottage with high chimneys, Farnham, Surrey 89 " The Dial House," Shortfleld Common,
Farnham, Surrey .... 91, 92 Cottage in the Bourne, Farnham, Surrey 112, 113 Cottage with Pergola, Farnham, Surrey. 114, 115 North, Herbert L., B.A., A.R.I.B.A., Llaufair-
fechan, N. Wales. " Bolnhurst," Llanfairfechan, N. Wales . 47
Design for a Country Cottage in Snowdonia . 48 Pair of Cottages, Llanfairfechan, N. Wales . 107 *' Rosebriers," Llanfairfechan, N. Wales 119, 120
Owen, William and Segar, F.R.I. B.A., Cairo Street Chambers, Warrington, Lanes House at Appleton, Cheshire . . . 204
High Clifie, Appleton, Cheshire . . . 205
Parker, Barry, and Raymond Unwin, Bal- dock, Herts, and Buxton, Derbyshire. Thorn thwaite Vicarage, Keswick, Cumberland 160 Cottage at Minehead, Somerset . . 193, 194
Pinkerton, Godfrey, 10, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C. Cottage at Hook Heath, Woking, Surrey 126, 127
Poulter, H. R. and B. A., Camberley, Surrey. "Woodcote," Camberley, Surrey . . . 140
" Ingledell," Camberley, Surrey . . 149, 150
" Curraghvoe," Camberley, Surrey . . 156
QuENNELL, C. H. B., 17, Victoria Street, West- minster, London, S.W. Cottage at Sutton Veny, Warminster, Wilts 98, 99 Cottage at Famborough, Hants . . 90, 100
Cottage at Camberley, Surrey . 136, 137, 138 Cottage at Purley, Surrey .... 159 Cottage at Northwood, Middlesex. . . 165
House at Wickham Bishops, Essex . . 167
R
Rhodes, John W., F.R.I. B. A., 5, Mitre Court, Fleet Street, London, E.C. Cottage at Epping, Essex . . . .38 " The Garden House," Saltwood, Kent . 208, 209
RicARDO, Halsey, 13, Bedford Square, W.C. House at Letchworth, Herts. . . 121,122
ScHULTZ, Robert Weir, F.R.I. B. A., 14, Gray's Inn Square, London, W.C. Cottage at Polebrook, Hever, Kent . . 49
" The Croft," Winchfield, Hants . . .195
" Beaumonts," Edenbridge, Kent . . 198,199
Scott, M. H. Baillie, Fenlake Manor, Bedford. Pair of Cottages, Letchworth, Herts . . 37
Cottage at Letchworth, Herts . . .151
Shepheard, T. Faulkner, 13, South Bank, Birkenhead. Second prize Pair of Cottages, Cleveleys, Lanes ....... 36
SiRR, Harry, F.R.I.B.A., and E. J. Rope, 50, Twisden Road, Highgate, London, N., and Little Glemham, Suffolk. House at Orford, Suffolk . . . 177,178
Spooner, Charles and Cobeold, 17, Bedford Row, London, W.C. Cottage at Bury, Sussex . . 199, 200, 201
House at Shottermill, Hindhead, Surrey. 206, 207 " Rushmere Lodge," near Ipswich, Suffolk 209, 210
VoYSEY, C. F. A., 23, York Place, Baker Street, W. "Tikhurst," Bushey, Herts. . 124, 125. 126 " The Orchard," Chorley Wood, Herts . 196, 197
W
Warren, Edward, F.S.A., F.R.I. B. A., 20,
Cowley Street, Westminster, London, S.W.
Breach House, Cholsey . . 213, 214, 215
White, William H., F.R.I. B.A., I4a, Cavendish
Place, London, W.
Bungalows specially designed for Messrs.
Oetzmann and Co. . . . . 26, 56
Design for a Cottage Residence . . . 157
" Newlands," Bourne End, Bucks . . .211
Wilson, A. Needham, 28, Martin's Lane, Cannon Street, E.C. Cottage at Buckhurst Hill, Essex . . .109
Wood, Edgar, A.R.I. B.A., 78, Cross Street, Manchester. "The Dingle," Dore, Cheshire . . .169
COUNTRY COTTAGES AND WEEK-END HOMES
CHAPTER I.
CHOICE OF A LOCALITY AND SITE — WATER SUPPLY — LIGHTING
DRAINAGE — GENERAL NOTES.
WHERE Those who are seeking the recuperative effects of ^^ country as a remedy to the nervous wear and tear of
LIVE. modern city life are likely to be dismayed when first faced with this momentous question. To draw on the map a circle at a 20 miles radius from the heart of a big city and note on that circle the innumerable places at which one might live is almost to deter one from making a choice at all. In reality the difficulty of choosing is more apparent than real. It is determinate even more on numerous practical factors and considerations than on personal predilection.
Our main considerations must be distance and means of locomotion. To the proud possessor of a motor these matters may be of little moment ; to the average man they are of con- siderable importance, and will probably have great influence in his selection of the locality. If the City man intends to travel daily to and from his country home, thirty miles is probably the greatest distance from town that he can afford to live, either as regards the cost of travelling or the time so occupied. If this cottage is for use at week-ends or during the summer months, he may live another ten or twenty miles out. The leisured classes have a wider choice. A bungalow at Cromer or Sher- ingham, or a cottage in the New Forest may be conveniently suitable for the Society man who has no business claims to consider.
The " Country Cottage craze," as a social critic has unkindly termed it, has different manifestations in different towns, mainly depending on the advantages afforded by quick or express railway services. London has the greatest choice, for practically every one of the numerous railways caters for the "week-ender." In provincial cities the railways are fewer, and the " week-ender " foregathers in one or two outlying villages to which there are local travelling facilities. Thus the Glaswegian travels out to Helensburgh or some other Clydeside village ; the Mancestrian to the Cheshire villages beyond the Mersey; the Liverpudlian to Southport; the Nottingham merchant to Clifton or Carlton; the
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
Leicester man to Charnwood, Ashby Magna, or Lutterworth ; the business men in the loom districts of Yorkshire naturally travel to the Moors, while the inhabitant of Birmingham seems to favour the Sutton Coldfield district of Warwickshire.
But the week-end habit does not seem so pronounced in provincial cities as in London, and the reason is not far to seek. London is a peculiarly difficult city to " get out of"; the county area, ten miles by six, by no means represents the extent of London when the independent outlying boroughs and districts are considered, and these suburbs of " London-over-the-Border " must be traversed ere the country can be reached. In provincial cities, if we except Manchester, ringed round with manufacturing towns, this difficulty hardly exists. In Nottingham, Leicester, and other growing towns a twenty-minute tram ride from the Market Place will bring one into open country. Also in many of the provincial cities the conditions of life are hardly so onerous or unpleasant as to deter men from living within the city borders.
Yet the provinces are by no means oblivious to the benefits to be derived from a country home, but as a rule these country dweUings are permanent ones and not merely week-end cottages or summer pleasure haunts. And it is not an uncommon thing for provincial city men, who cannot well live in the outlying villages of the city, to rent a seaside or country cottage for the summer months, and spend as much time there as their business will allow.
Comparison, therefore, becomes difficult, if not impossible, if one desires to contrast the country home of the Londoner with that of his provincial brother. For the Londoner, already possess- ing a house or flat in town, desires in the country to live the simple life, and his cottage is considered with this end in view , while the provincial citizen usually takes with him his dining-room, drawing-room, study, billiard-room, boudoir, and all other items of a well-ordered city civilisation. Naturally his house is an expensive one, and he frequently spends thousands where the Cockney spends hundreds.
In the matter of traveUing facilities the Londoner is well endowed. Nine trunk and other lines exist to carry him away to the various points of the compass, and he has apparently an almost limitless number of districts to select from. Actually, he will find his choice considerably restricted. It is a troublesome matter, even with the aid of tube railways and other aids to rapid locomotion, to get across London, and the man whose office lies near to London Bridge will inevitably look to the Brighton line for a district to live in rather than one on the Great Western. In the provinces, as has been explained, there is not much choice of route ; but the distance to be traversed is generally less. Here the cycle may well become a factor in the matter of locomotion ; but in London only the owner of a powerful motor can be independent of the railway services.
Personal preferences in the choice of a district are obviously
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
outside the range of discussion. A desire to be near friends, to be near a river for boating, or a golf course for golfing, or in a good hunting district, are factors in the selection as important as the natural beauties and advantages of the place itself.
There is another question in the choice of a district to which, perhaps, passing attention should be directed. That is the quality of the air. We are accustomed to speak of places as being " bracing " or " relaxing," vi^ithout always attaching due importance to the meaning of the words. When, however, one seeks a country home from consideration of health, these items and the climatic conditions they represent become duly sig- nificant. Offhand one always votes for bracing air, and with the majority of folks bracing air will doubtless agree ; but there are numbers of city bred people and children who are rarely quite well except in an atmosphere that many would regard as relaxing. A more annoying contretemps cannot be imagined than the possession of a country home in a district which disagrees with the owner ; and as this has proved a genuine trouble in several instances a word of advice, medical or other- wise, would doubtless be prudent before the district is actually fixed upon.
The locality fixed upon, there remains the selection of
THE the actual site. Here comes into play a whole range
SELECTION q£ questions, having a more or less direct bearing on OF A SITE, ^.j^g convenience and comfort of the home to be erected. The proximity to the railway station, the post office, shops, places of worship, and a doctor, are questions that at once suggest themselves. Water supply, lighting, the condition of the roads, and the average price of ground in the neigh- bourhood, are also of importance. But above all these may be set the nature of the ground itself and its situation.
No one deliberately seeks a damp situation, but there is a temptation to nestle one's home in the trees on the banks of a lake or river, and this fondness for the picturesque may have to be resisted. The brook that babbles by is a promising and poetic addition to one's garden, but if the said brook is used by the village higher up as a public sewer the result may be promising but certainly unpoetic. Your neighbour's efforts in poultry raising may be interesting, but less so if his food bill is diminished by the nutritive value of your garden seeds. To many country people a rookery is a distinctly precious possession ; to a town bird these feathered friends may appear as a direct encouragement of insanity. These and a thousand other possible petty annoyances may occur to one, and the value of living in a district and learning something about it before one settles there need hardly be emphasised. It is best to buy land only in a district that one knows.
As regards subsoil it is a safe rule to have nothing to do with clay. It is a wet land, and, as a rule, unhealthy. If you build on a clay slope your dwelling may combine the advan-
13
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
tages of a home and a switchback, descending one fine day into the valley beneath. Clay is not an impossible soil, but if you desire to go in for draining — your purse as well as the ground — it can be made passable. Peat and other water-holding soils are always to be avoided.
Gravel is pre-eminently the best soil. A gravel subsoil, overlain with fine loam, will prove an excellent site. Rock is, of course, a safe and sure foundation, but the nature of the rock and the work necessary to firmly plant your dwelling thereon should be carefully looked into before it is decided upon as a site.
It is usually considered desirable to secure a good open outlook to the south and west, these being the quarters from which the maximum amount of sunshine is obtainable. All things considered, a site just below the summit of a hill facing south or south-west is an ideal situation. The summit of the hill protects the house from the cold northerly or north-easterly breezes, and a fine open view is obtainable down the slope. Almost as good a situation is the south or south-west side of a thick plantation, which acts similarly as a screen against the cold.
The distance from the main road, if considerable, may involve heavy expense in the construction of a drive. A drive means a continual expense for repairs, and in bad weather will be found a nuisance to traverse. At the same time it is not desirable to be too near a public road — especially a main road. The appalling amount of dust, not to speak of the noise, caused by motor cars will make any cottage near or " on " a main road practically uninhabitable, and not only will the dust be an absolute nuisance in the house, but the garden will be quite ruined by it. If possible, therefore, a situation on a by- road, some little way from the main road, is a desideratum.
The supply of water is another important matter.
THE Wherever possible it pays to have a supply of good
SUPPLY water from a company's main. When, however, this
is impossible, a well may have to be sunk. The
question of well-sinking opens up a wide field of ' possibilities,
difficulties, and dangers. Expert geological advice may be
required as to the requisite position of the well for tapping a
supply; and even expert geologists are sometimes at fault in
locating a possible source. The water, when found, may be
impure or undrinkable, or may require to be pumped up into
the house. For pumping an automatic hydraulic ram or a wind
pump can sometimes be profitably employed.
Shallow wells, i.e. wells up to about 50 feet deep, are liable to pollution from the percolation of filthy liquids from the surrounding soil.
Water-finders are frequently employed to discover sources of supply, and some are very successful. There is no doubt that certain persons are susceptible to curious sensations when
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
in proximity to running water ; but if a water-finder be employed, he should be one of those who work on the " no cure, no pay" principle, i.e. who agrees to be paid by results. LioHTiNo convenience, cleanliness, and beauty of effect,
electric light is undoubtedly the best illuminant, but in country districts it will rarely be available, and even if a public service is installed it may be considered too expensive to use. Very frequently, however, this light can be obtained through private enterprise. A well-known boat builder at Goring- on-Thames has an electrical plant installed for charging electric launch accumulators and lighting his yard and workshops, and supplies, I believe, a number of houses and bungalows in his vicinity. In several well - equipped mills electrical plants have been installed capable of lighting not only the mills but a number of private consumers as well.
If no public or private supply can be obtained, the cottage builder must weigh the advantages of the light against the cost of a private plant. Possibly if he has neighbours he can arrange to supply them with current, and so obtain some additional return on his outlay, which in such case would probably be increased by the necessarily larger plant. He must also consider the wages that must be paid to a skilled electrician to take charge of the plant.
The power necessary for working the dynamo (if water power is not available, and this is seldom the case) may be supplied by an oil engine, a gas engine using coal gas, or a gas engine using producer gas. The cost of such a plant is necessarily expensive, and it is very doubtful if all the ad- vantages of electric light justify such an expenditure for lighting a country cottage.
Generally speaking, the oil-engine plant will be the only one practically suitable for a country house. A gas engine necessitates a gas supply, and if gas is available it would not pay to instal electric light. Producer gas necessitates extra plant and labour. There are two or three good types of oil engines on the market ; the principle of them is that of the petrol motor car — vaporised petroleum and air are ignited by a spark from an electric battery, and the resulting explosion gives the working force.
A public gas supply, though exceedingly useful not only for lighting but cooking, is not always obtainable, and, like the electric light, is frequently prohibitive in cost. Five shillings a thousand feet is not an uncommon figure in country villages ; but even at this price it may pay in the matter of convenience.
As week-end cottages and country homes are frequently only used in the summer months when the long light evenings do not necessitate much artificial lighting, the expense may prove to be nothing untoward ; and a greater check may be kept on the expenditure by installing the light in the sitting- rooms and kitchen only, candles being used in the bedrooms.
15
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
As gas in bedrooms is regarded by many doctors as unhealthy, this little economy is supported by sound medical opinion.
Gas fittings are now very much improved, and the use of incandescent burners and mantles gives not only greatly increased lighting power but reduces the consumption of gas. With the new inverted incandescent gas burners decorative effects can be obtained as with the electric light ; but the selection of these fittings should be attended with circumspection, for in many of them the supply pipe is heated by the fumes rising from the burner, and the gas, becoming heated and rarefied, begins to "blow" or make a noise, necessitating a frequent adjustment of the supply before the requisite pressure under these con- ditions is attained.
Another form of gas lighting which has made considerable strides for country house lighting, more especially on the Continent and America, is acetylene. Acetylene is made by the admixture of carbide of calcium with water. This is a par- ticularly useful form of lighting for country houses, as the requisite plant is comparatively inexpensive, and the cottage builder can easily make his own illuminant and be independent of everyone. But it is essential that he thoroughly understands what he is dealing with and does not attempt any tricks with the plant, for, like coal gas, it is extremely explosive when mixed with air in certain proportions.
AIR GAS ^^^ latest form of lighting for country cottages, and one that is exceedingly well adapted for isolated dwell- ings, is petrol air-gas. This consists of a mixture of petrol vapour and air in the proportions of i^ to 2^ per cent, of petrol vapour to 98I or gyj per cent, of air. This is a non-explosive gas, and the apparatus for making it is quite small and easily accommodated in a small outhouse. Burning with a colourless flame, incandescent mantles are required to make it luminous.
Lastly, we come to lamps. There is little that need be said under this head, except that a cottage to be lighted by lamps should have a lamproom in one of the outbuildings, as it is impossible to avoid spilling the oil occasionally, and also the oil " sweats " through the material of the best-made lamps. This lamproom will be found of the greatest convenience and service for trimming the lamps and storing them when not in use. DRAINAGE ^^^ drainage of the country cottage is a matter that very greatly concerns the comfort and health of the inmates, and the term must be understood to apply not only to the conveyance away of slops and foul matters but also to any necessary drainage of the site.
It has previously been urged that wet lands, requiring a proper scheme of land drainage to render their use for building possible, should be avoided ; but in many cases, on an otherwise irreproachable site, a spring or underground water-course exists that will render the house damp unless it is diverted. In other
16
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
instances, especially in the case of agricultural land, there are land drains in existence which pass under the proposed site of the cottage, and it is desirable that such drains should be intercepted at a safe distance from the foundations and a main intercepting land drain put in to convey the water delivered by the subsidiary drains away from the house. Similarly, when a cottage is to be erected on a slope or just below the brow of a hill it is very desirable that the higher ground should be efficiently land-drained to prevent the possibility of underground water running down the slope into the foundations.
The cottage builder will be well-advised to collect his rain- water and store it in an underground tank or cistern, which may be built of brick, cemented inside, or of concrete. To do this a separate drain, distinct from that for the foul liquids, should be laid to convey the rain-water from the various down pipes into the cistern. A pump connected with this cistern is usually fixed in the scullery. Ladies greatly appreciate rain-water for ablutionary purposes on account of its " softness," and, even if not desired for this purpose, it will be valuable for garden watering. Country water supplies are not usually over generous in the matter of quantity per head per day. The first washings of the roof during the rain are generally very dirty, but there is an ingenious kind of rain-water filter on the market which diverts the first part of the rainfall into the foul-water drains, and only allows the clean water to enter the storage cistern.
In districts where by-laws are enforced a man need not connect his drains with a public sewer if the nearest part of his grounds (not his house merely) is over loo feet away from such sewer; if any part of his garden is within that distance he can be com- pelled to do so, even if the distance of the house is much more than ICO feet.
The dearth of country cottages, which the social COTTAGE reformer and the rural homeseeker both deplore, seems likely to become still more acute in the near future. The recent cottage exhibitions have been held mainly to interest the philanthropist, the country landowner, and all those seeking to improve the housing conditions of the agricultural workers. And it is noticeable, and even remarked by some of the exhibitors, that the bulk of the visitors are hardly to be included with the above classes, and from this it can safely be inferred that many of those who have visited these shows were of the well-to-do or profes- sional classes ascertaining what kind of a country home they could acquire for ;^i5o.
It is unfortunate that the glamour of the £1^0 cottage obscures all other issues, for if there is one thing these exhibitions do not disclose it is a cottage that can be built for ;^i5o. In some cases that sum covers the bare cost of materials ; in more numerous cases not even that. So that when the exhibitors of these homes are asked to plant replicas of them on the sides of Welsh hills and in sylvan spots remote from railway stations, together with fences of
C 17
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
unknown extent, a water supply, and a complete drainage system, they very naturally refuse, and applicants go away feeling that these exhibitions are more or less of a farce. Probably the nearest cottage to the /150 limit is that of Mr. A. H. Clough, of Ringwood, Hants, the cost of which is certified at /^I35 ; but this has only been accomplished on his own estate, and by the exercise of considerable opportunism in buying materials.
The fascination of the picturesque old country cottage still exercises considerable sway. The white walls, thatched roofs, rose- covered porch, and flower-filled garden, make an instant appeal to the English heart. To many people it seems an ideal plan to acquire a block of two or three such cottages, knock them into one, and make of them a new and improved home. The only advice one can give in such a matter is that of Mr. Punch — " Don't." Old thatched cottages are queer things : once you begin to pull them about they go to pieces. And once the pulling about commences, what irre- sistible opportunities for improvement appear ! A little wing out in this direction, a new bay in that, a new thatched roof that doesn't leak, damp courses (and they are considered essential nowadays), new casements, doors that fit passably into their frames, and so on. And the final cost is four times what was anticipated, whatever was formerly picturesque has been eliminated, and if the builder has left aught of the flower-filled garden or the rose-covered porch the owner can account himself uncommonly lucky.
No ; the old cottage is best left to itself. Modern country cottages can be built for less money, can be made quite as pic- turesque, and the porch and the well-filled garden are growths of a single season. Moreover, the rooms can be fitted to one's ideas, not one's ideas to the rooms.
The planning of country cottages demands most
GENERAL careful attention, and requires unusual skill on the
NOTES P^"^^ °^ ^^ architect, who, in too many instances, has
his reputation very much at the mercy of his client.
For clients are very apt nowadays to expect a considerable amount
of accommodation for a very small amount of money ; and when the
drawings have been prepared showing their little ideas and fads as
to decoration and fitments, to express astonishment at the probable
cost, which is so much more than the cost of the cottages of Mr. A.
and Mr. B. whom they know.
The average client is very apt to base his ideas of a home on the combined advantages and features of four or five houses that he knows or has visited. Thus the house of A. is small, but beautifully fitted up with oak-panelled rooms, marble bathroom, &c. ; the house of B. has much greater accommodation, but is very plainly fitted, and the woodwork is only painted deal. Your client conceives a home having the accommodation owned by B. with the decorative effects possessed by A., and cannot quite see why the cost is so much greater than the respective costs of the houses of either A. or B. Another error into which intending cottage builders are sometimes apt to fall is to base their ideas on the known cost of cottages built
18
COUNTRY COTTAGES
twenty years ago. The fact that the cost of building has risen about 30 per cent, in that time proves the futiUty of any such calculation.
In other cases the client is rather too ready to build a house with accommodation that does not really suit him because he knows the price. There is a desire for the " all goods marked in plain figures " kind of dealing, arising mainly from a certain timidity as to the possible cost if an original design is commissioned.
To mention one other type of client, there is the man who, having a certain amount of money to spend, does not quite know what to do with it. As an instance, I may quote from a letter recently received. " Approximately," says the writer, " the value of the house I propose to put up would be ^^1,500, exclusive of the land, and I should like to get the very best model to work from." Here we have a genuine case of a man in difficulty ; but the mere state- ment of his trouble does not enable us to help him very much. What kind of a house does he want ? what accommodation is to be provided ? what exterior treatment does he desire ? All these are pertinent questions upon which information must be vouchsafed before an opinion can be given.
The sum named should afford a moderate-sized and comfort- able kind of home. If the writer requires eight bedrooms and three sitting-rooms the problem becomes more difficult ; but the thing can still be done, though the materials must be of the plainest and most economical description. If only four bedrooms are necessary, we may be able to afford oak panelling in the dining-room, better chimney - pieces throughout, and so on. The accommodation required is the most important factor to be considered, and next to that the materials it is desired to use, not forgetting the distance the latter have to be conveyed from the station or builder's yard.
In America there are one or two building corporations who specialise in what they term " building organisation." The modus operandi is simple. You save up your $5,000, $10,000, or $20,000 as the case may be, and you march into the office of a building corporation and demand a house. You give them particulars of the site you have purchased, ask for a house with so many rooms, possibly you stipulate for a certain treatment, and you wind up by mentioning your impending six months' holiday, at the conclusion of which the house must be finished for immediate occupation. And finished it is. The corporation turns on its great organisation — the surveyors who measure up and plot out the ground, the "tame" architect who designs the buildings, the decorators who carry out the interior fittings, the plumbing and heating engineers who plan out those necessary equipments, the furnishing experts who make the rooms habitable, and the garden architects who construct a natural paradise to surround you. Invigorated by your European trip " you pays your money and you takes " — the company's choice.
To the American who is persuaded that life was meant but for the making of money in an office this method may appear
19
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
reasonable and sound. To the average Englishman it must seem very much like buying ready-made clothing — it may fit you or it may not. A house in the construction of which no whim or aspiration of your own has had its influence will hardly appeal to the average man as a home. But in the States these organisations flourish. Over it all is the trail of the dollar. Your agreement provides that you want such and such accommodation, and you are to pay so much for it. That sum you pay — no more and no less. But if you want a good deal for your money, or the organisation makes a mistake in its calculations, it would be interesting to know how and where things are cut down to fit. And perhaps it were well not to inquire too closely.
Another American idea is the book of plans. Here it is con- sidered unbecoming, in a professional sense, for an architect to advertise ; in America thousands of architects do so without any detriment to their professional status. The advertisement may take the form of the simple " business card," but more often it is the publication of a portfolio of designs for houses costing from |i,6oo to $25,000, or some higher sum. Therein are to be found plans for houses of all shapes and sizes, accompanied by detailed particulars and a draft specification upon which prices can be obtained direct from any local builder. The cost of such port- folios may be anything from $5 to $50, and whether the author- architect intends to make a living by the sale of these portfolios, or whether he hopes that the inexperienced building owner will be constrained to drift into his office and entrust him to superintend the carrying out of a design, is a moot point. The satisfaction of living in a home exactly similar to the dwellings of nine hundred and ninety-nine other men can hardly be very profound. Thousands of Englishmen do so, of course, but hardly from choice so much as necessity.
FREEHOLD ^^ ^^^ relative advantages of a freehold site or a build- AND LEASE- ^"8 lease there can, I think, be little difference of HOLD SITES, opinion. At first sight the small amount of ground rent to be paid may seem a considerable advantage compared with the large capital sum to be expended in a freehold purchase. On the other hand ground landlords are apt, nowadays, to be fairly stringent in the terms of their leases, and require substantial buildings to be erected of a certain value, the plans for which must also be subject to the approval of their surveyors, so that, considered in all its bearings, the building lease may not turn out to be so advantageous as at first appeared. The ground landlord's con- ditions are very natural ; it obviously does not pay him to lose control of his land for 80 to 99 years for a very small rental, if at the end of that period the building erected is practically worn out and useless. And of the present age it can hardly be said that it builds for posterity. Building for posterity is much too expensive, nowadays.
Moreover, there are other factors which point to a freehold as more desirable. First, we are dealing with land in the country which
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
is cheap, and not with an expensive site in a town or city ; and secondly, the country cottage is rarely a speculation. A building lease may be desirable to a speculator who is going to sell his interest on completion of the house, or who reckons on getting his money back out of the tenants. But the average cottage is usually the outcome of the desire of some individual to live in the country. Lastly, if the builder ever desires to sell, a freehold cottage will command a better and readier sale than a leasehold one. It must not be forgotten that most leasehold property, after thirty years, diminishes in value, and for the last twenty years is worth practically nothing, because of the inevitable bill of dilapidations that must be met when the place is surrendered to the ground landlord. " It will last my time " is, however, a very favourite argument with some people, and the building lease is likely, therefore, to continue in favour despite the disad- vantages cited.
If the purchase of an existing cottage is contemplated it is well to seek the advice of a competent surveyor. His opinion on the value of the property and a solicitor's as to the validity of the title are both essential before a bargain is struck. For those to whom the purchase money is a consideration there are societies who advance the purchase money on mortgage if the property is approved by them ; which mortgage is paid off in the shape of rent. These, I am told, carry out their bargains fairly, but the financial papers almost invariably condemn them. And it is doubtful if they can or would do more than one's own solicitor.
If a cottage is to be rented it is better to arrange a " seven or fourteen years' " lease than to take on a three years' agreement. The " seven or fourteen years' " lease confers a double advantage on the lessee. If he tires of the cottage he can sub-let for the remainder of the term up to seven years ; if he desires to stay he has the advantage of the full fourteen years. A lease is also a safeguard if one con- templates expending any money on the house or garden, and the rental should be less than on an agreement. But the question of spending money on other people's property should be very fully considered before such expenditure is incurred.
Quite recently some enthusiasts explained the inception and realisation of their country home for the benefit of the readers of one of the sixpenny weeklies. Certainly the place, as shown in the photographic views, deserved all their encomiums. But the financial side was far less alluring. They had found a farm cottage, derelict and overrun with rats, in Hampshire. This, with two acres of arable land, they leased for seven or fourteen years, at an annual rental of ;^32 a year. For such property this seems a very heavy rent to pay on lease. Then they expended ^^500 on putting the house in order and making the garden. Calculating the interest on this capital sum at 5 per cent., which is low for building operations, they were paying an annual charge of ^'57 a year for rent and interest on capital — a perfectly preposterous sum. And at the end of the fourteen years the whole place reverted to the landlord, with all the attractions and advantages which their money and effort had created.
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
" An ill-favoured thing, sir, but mine own," is certainly a better maxim than "A fine thing, sir, but my landlord's," and the cottage builder should remember it.
All legal documents should be supervised and approved by a lawyer. Estate agents keep printed forms of agreement which are very easy to sign, but very often contain conditions difficult to observe. It is almost needless to add that such agreements are more generous to the agent's client, the landlord, than to the prospective tenant.
As a last reminder ascertain how much in the pound the rates are before settling in any district. Even country districts can give some unpleasant surprises in this respect.
2S
CHAPTER II.
TREATMENT OF EXTERIORS AND INTERIORS — FITTINGS — DECORATION.
Having acquired our site, the next consideration must be the placing of our dwelHng upon it, and to do this satisfactorily is not quite so easy as would appear. The nature of the surrounding country will demand a certain treatment for the house. A house set among strong tall trees will require strong, broad detail to give it individuality ; a flat and somewhat bare site will be better suited with a long low dwelling having sweeping lines ; a rocky site naturally suggests a stone house with strong lines, and so on. This is, however, more a question for the architect, but the cottage builder would do well to remember that the architect, as an artist, has to consider these points, and that the ultimate artistic effect may largely depend on his capa- bilities for proper treatment.
Not only, however, does the nature of the surrounding country suggest a certain treatment for the house, but the nature of the site and its configuration will dictate to a certain extent the disposition of the house with regard to the site.
It is presumed that the site has been selected with certain ideas as to points of view and aspect ; these must be enhanced as far as possible in arranging the house on the ground. It must be decided whether the plan shall be straight or square, or whether it shall be built round an angle. If the ground area is comparatively small an endeavour must be made to utilise it to the best advantage ; the planting of the house in the middle of it will mean much waste of garden space, which might be avoided by placing the house in one corner. The two diagrams on the following page will show more clearly perhaps what is meant. This question is also one for the architect, but the cottage builder will be able to appreciate the necessity for its consideration.
When the arrangement of the house with regard to the site has been thought out the architect will begin to settle more particularly the actual outlines of his plan and the position of his rooms. By this time he will have formed a rough mental picture of the house as it will appear. He now has to fit in the accommodation required on two or more floors, and the planning of all floors should be done at the same time, so that alterations can be made in one or the other as may be found necessary to obtain the best result.
I would not like to say that all architects follow this course, as all have their individual methods of work. In some cases it is impossible to resist the conclusion that the ground floors of some houses have
23
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
occupied all their designers' attention and the bedrooms have been left to " go hang." In other cases it is palpable that everything has been sacrificed to exterior effect. I am merely indicating a some- what golden rule for planning ; one which may involve several attempts before a final and satisfactory solution suggests itself. The old idea of planning a wall over a wall, and voids over voids, is no longer rigidly adhered to, though there is much to be said for it. Beams and steel joists will carry walls over spaces so that bed- room floors need not, and rarely do nowadays, actually present the same outlines as the floors below them. But a bedroom floor which
Koom
Tioorn ':
'/knly
»y5^:
k
THE TREATMENT
OF EXTERIORS.
Diagrams showing a wasteful and economical utilisation of a site. Though the dwelling in the second case is much nearer the road, privacy and quiet are assured by placing the sitting rooms at the back.
practically dispenses with the support of the ground floor partition walls can hardly be defended from the imputation of bad planning.
The staircase necessarily forms the pivot of the plan. It is the fixed point in both floors, from which the rest of the space is worked out.
Having reached the point where the plan has practically been worked out, the treatment of the exterior elevations must now engage attention. In reality the plans and exterior and interior elevations are so intimately con- nected that the architect cannot really consider them otherwise than as a whole, but for the layman it is more convenient to take the points one by one.
The exterior elevations then should simply and straightforwardly arise out of the plan. There should be an entire absence of con- structed decoration ; that is to say, an absence of unnecessary features constructed solely for effect. In this connection I have more than once commented severely on the buttress, which is character- istic of so many modern. cottages. In the old Gothic Cathedrals the buttress performed a very vital and important work ; in fact, the buttress was almost the keynote in cathedral construction. By means of flying buttresses the thrust of the often heavy and elaborate nave roof, placed on iiigh and comparatively thin clerestory walls,
24
^^5^€l Jo©(6. e€)m€i
|
Tf--- |
^-^4 y— I- - S iVf| < |
|
|
h^fojii |
||
|
>^ ^^ |
||
|
j 1 |
iEMflSI Z^^ |
|
|
Ei=^ |
^ |
r°-|-^ |
KDMJM plm:
THE PRIZE "£150 COTTAGE" AT LETCHWORTH. PERCY B. HOUFTON, Anhittct.
Built of brick, rough-casted, and roofed with tiles. Wooden casement windows. Woodwork of deal, painted green outside. Cost, including builder's profit, etc., about /175. See p. 59.
25
BUNGALOW TO COST £200— £230. Specially Designed for Messrs Oetzmann &. Co
WM. HEURY white. Architect.
Built in bricli, rough-cast, with red-tiled roof, wrought-iron casements with leaded lights. See p. 60.
?6
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
was transmitted over the aisle roofs on^ to the massive buttresses on the exterior aisle walls, and the nave roof was thus directly buttressed from the ground on either side.
In the modern cottage the buttress performs no such useful function. In such structures there is practically no thrust to be resisted that cannot adequately be taken by the exterior walls. That these buttresses are constructed mainly for decorative effect is evidenced by the fact that, as often as not, they are placed where no possible thrust is likely to occur. It has been humorously observed that these buttresses are introduced to provide shelter for the young creepers planted to grow up the cottage walls ; but even if this explanatory sarcasm were true some less expensive method could be devised for the end in view without incurring the expense of a useless and unnecessary decorative feature.
The keynote of the country cottage should be simplicity. Many bays, gables, and wings generally, cost more than their effect warrants, and if the house is small will necessarily look trivial and small also. Breadth of eff'ect is by no means impossible in a small house, but the attempt to crowd into it all the features of a large mansion invariably ends in disaster both to convenience and artistic effect.
A plain roof is one of the most economical features in a country cottage ; once you begin to throw out bays and patch on gables you incur heavy and unnecessary expenditure in your roofing. More beauty can be secured by a well-proportioned plain roof with well- placed and finely designed chimney stacks than with any number of elaborate gables and decorated barge boards.
It is needless to say that as the by-laws have practically killed thatch they have also killed the thatcher. At least his occupation in thatching houses is practically gone. Builders who have contracted to build thatched cottages are often hard put to find a competent man to do the roof, and when found he often has to be imported from a long distance. Thatch is a light material, and the roof timbers may consequently be smaller and fewer in number than with tiles or slates. It is also a good non-conductor, and keeps a house warm in winter and cool in summer. At a time like the present, when bed- rooms are so often constructed wholly or partly in the roof, this is a great recommendation. The principal drawback is a certain amount of danger from fire, which is greater in the case of new roofs than old ones, as the old surfaces are usually protected by mosses and vegetable growth, but the insurance rates for thatched cottages are considerably higher than for tiled or slated dwellings. Where by-laws are in existence thatch is usually prohibited.
The arrangement of the rooms so that the chimney flues can be collected into one or two large stacks not only tends to economy, but also greatly increases the possibility of artistic effect. A number of small, spidery chimney stacks make breadth of effect quite impossible. Chimney stacks are better placed at the ridge of the roof than on the slopes, and centre stacks as a rule look better than stacks at either end. The doll's house with the door in the centre, a window on either side, three windows above them, and a chimney at either end, D* ay
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
is a type of cottage to be shunned. It affords pleasure only to the infantile mind.
A confused mixture of materials is also a thing to be avoided. It is no uncommon thing, nowadays, to see brick, rough-cast, wall-tiling, half-timber work, weather-boarding, and two kinds of roofing in one single cottage, for all the world as if the builder had used up the odd lots of material in his yard. Wall-tiling and brick consort well together; half-timber and brick make another scheme, and rough- cast may be employed for the panels between the timbers, but wall-tiling is best left out. Tarred weather-boarding and brick look well together, and wall-tiling may be added ; but rough-cast will not improve the scheme. As regards the roof, tiling is pre- eminently the best material for country cottages, unless the building is being erected in a stone country, when stone tiling may take its place ; but stone tiles should not be used on a brick building. Slates should never be used in the country except in a slate district, and then only with stone or rough-cast walls. Brick and slate cottages in a country district give the most dreary and " barracky " appear- ance to a cottage that it is possible to conceive.
Whenever possible the local natural materials should be employed, and a fairly rigid application of this rule will invariably tend to good effect. Rough-cast is a very safe and effective finish in any locality, in fact, " When in doubt use rough-cast " might almost be made a new proverbial phrase.
But it should be carefully done ; rough-cast in which the shingle appears to have arrived by accident has no place in the scheme of things. The rough-cast may either be left plain or lime- whited, according to taste, but the whitened wall usually gives the better effect.
Half-timber work is one of the most abused methods of building now extant. The beautiful effects achieved by its use in former times can be seen in many counties, notably in Kent, Warwickshire, and Worcestershire. But the beauty obtained by sound and honest workmanship is rarely seen nowadays. Half-timber should be a substantial framework, consisting of uprights tenoned into horizontal sills and heads, which in their turn are secured to substantial corner posts, the framework being strengthened by diagonal pieces. These diagonals were usually curved in the old work, and these curved pieces are best if they are so grown. The tenons should not run through the timbers, but be secured by wooden pins, the heads of which are left projecting. All the timbers should be left rough from the saw — they are better if only roughly squared — and are simply treated with boiled oil or thin tar. The joints should be made with a mixture of red and white lead, rendered workable with a small amount of boiled oil. In the old work the spaces between the timbers were filled with brick, usually set on edge and left plain, or covered with plaster. In some cases the plaster panels were the object of interesting decorative work by the local plasterer.
Modern half-timber, in nine cases out of ten, consists of thin slats of carefully planed timber nailed to the brick wall and provided
28
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
with projecting pin-heads, the brickwork showing between the slats being covered with rough-cast or plaster in imitation of the old work. The whole thing is a disgusting sham for which no possible or valid excuse can be advanced.
Too careful and precise a finish to the exterior walls rarely looks well ; on the other hand, the studied roughness and uncouth appear- ance often aimed at nowadays is irritating to the intelligence, as well as an insult to modern workmanship.
Americans, judged by their technical press and writers, have generally recognised the superiority of English domestic work over similar work in their own country, and in simplicity, absence of ostentation, picturesqueness combined with a real sense of home, the English cottage, in the main, has quaUties that cannot be assailed. But too often this exterior charm is effected at the expense of considerable interior convenience.
The verandah is becoming one of the most important adjuncts to the English cottage home. One could wish, however, that, generally speaking, its treatment was a little happier. The unfortunate little roof supported on skeleton posts (painted white) has an uncomfort- able feeling that is frequently enhanced by its being seemingly stuck on to the main building as an afterthought. The satisfactory arrangement of a verandah requires some effort on the part of the architect, and in most of the successful cases it will be found that the verandah forms an integral part of the building, and, in fact, might more properly be called a loggia.
In area, too, the verandah is now made more extensive than it used to be, and in particular the depth is greater. No doubt the advantage of the South African stoep as an open-air living-room has impressed itself on the minds of most of us, and in some of the modern country cottages the kitchen is planned to open on to the verandah so that meals can be served there in hot weather if desired. It need hardly be added that the roof of a verandah to be used in this way must be something better than the metal abominations of our forefathers. One might just as well be grilled in the open as under a tin plate.
Balconies are almost equally difficult to place satisfactorily. The speculative builder is exceedingly fond of them, and they blossom all over his buildings in amazing fret-work designs, usually too small to hold anything but flower-pots, and without any means of access. A long continuous balcony may be rather a nuisance, as it may be embarrassing to the occupants of the bedrooms to have people passing and repassing their windows. But a small balcony to a boudoir may be very much appreciated, and a balcony opening oft an upper landing or corridor forms a very enjoyable sitting place to command a good view.
In the arrangement of the interior much depends ARRANGEMENT °^ ^^^ accommodation to be provided, and the OF INTERIORS ^^P^ °^ house — whether it is designed for a per- manent country home or merely for week-ends or the summer months. In the simplest form of week-end cottage
29
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
there is one large living room with single fireplace, a small kitchen and scullery, or kitchen-scullery and offices, on the ground-floor. Above may be three or four bedrooms and bathroom. This type of cottage in a slightly larger form may have another sitting-room, and where money will allow, I think it is advisable to include this extra sitting-room, as the arrival of a visitor rather places the family in difficulties, there being but the one room into which he can be invited. This smaller sitting-room is most usefully situated in close proximity to the main entrance, so that it can be used as a reception-room.
There are certain elementary rules in the planning of all houses, large or small, which may be briefly catalogued. The principal rooms will face south or west ; the kitchen north or east ; the larder and the front entrance to the north. The kitchen must be handy to the dining-room, and the range should be lighted from the left wherever possible. It is assumed that in the kitchen of cottages of this class top-light is outside the range of practicability.
The living-room or sitting-hall, which is the feature of the majority of these cottages, can be very elaborately treated with ingle fire-places, window-seats, &c., according to the ideas and means of the owner. But the sitting-hall must not be regarded as the general passage-way from one room to another, as this will entirely destroy its comfort for living purposes. Various types of living- rooms and sitting-halls can be seen among the illustrations in this book, and detailed particulars are therefore unnecessary.
Generally speaking, it is best to avoid as far as possible all corridors and landings. A corridor well treated may be made a great feature in a house if expense is not the main consideration. Spacious landings and staircases of generous build add much to the beauty and stateliness of a house, but in the small cottage corridors and landings are expensive and a waste of space.
The English bedroom is by no means irreproachable. Con- sidering the length of time passed in bedrooms, their shape, cubical contents, window-space and ventilation are all matters of consider- able hygienic importance. Science would demand that our bedrooms should be even larger than our sitting-rooms, because of the greater air space required. Our forefathers of the half-timber age carried out this idea by making their bedrooms project beyond the living- rooms beneath them, though it would be too much to assert that they were actuated by the hygienic advantages of the extra cube space afforded. But at the present time the tendency is all the other way. We build bedrooms in the roof, and the slope of the roof necessarily cuts off" a considerable part of the ground-floor area, with the result that the bedrooms are necessarily smaller than the living-rooms they cover. I am not insensible to the artistic or financial advantages to be gained by placing bedrooms in the roof, but this policy is nowadays frequently carried to excess. Not to mention that without special and costly precautions such rooms are very cold in winter and hot in summer.
Architects are somewhat prone to denounce the demands of
30
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
Good Type of Bedroom.
Note : Furniture is according to actual measurement.
Fairly Good Type of Bedroom.
hygiene as tyrannical. The demand of scientific men for larger bedrooms and more window space has generally been met with the retort that peopfe should leave their bedroom windows open. This is a counsel of perfec- tion. We know perfectly well, through the modern treatment of tuberculosis, that it is quite possible, under skilled medical attention, for very delicate people to sleep in the open air. But such patients are always care- fully screened from draughts. And in many modern bedrooms I have seen I would defy anyone to sleep with open windows without catching a violent cold or incurring perpetual neuralgia. It is not sufficient for the architect to say " Open your window " ; he must so arrange his bedrooms that there is not a continual draught across the head of the bed.
There are two main defects in many English bedrooms, and these are their shape and arrangement. Too often there is every indication that the planning of the ground- floor with the living rooms has been regarded as the " be-all and end-all " of the design, and the bedrooms are disposed as best they may over the rooms below them. The long narrow room where the bed must be set lengthways along the wall in order that one may get past it is not a pattern to be adopted, for the bed has to be moved every time it is made, which is neither good for the temper nor the floor. Equally irrita- ting is the bedroom which has the door in the middle of one wall, the fireplace in the middle of another, and the window in the centre of the third, so that the fourth wall, the only possible one against which to set the bed, is in the full line of draught between the door and the fireplace, the window and the fireplace, or the door and the window. Yet an examination of some thousands of plans during the last ten years shows these defects to be the rule rather than the exception. The idea that anything is good enough for a bedroom should by this time be an exploded fiction.
The " bedrooms-in-the-roof " type of dwelling has given us some atrocities in the way of sleeping-places, and in one house it was my
31
Bad Type of Bedroom.
From Houses designed by Architects.
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
fortune, or misfortune, to visit, the only possible position for the bed was in the very centre of the room. Where the rest of the furniture was to be placed it was impossible to say, for excepting the centre space and a small area in the dormer window, it was impossible to stand upright. Such planning can only argue an entire want of architectural skill, or else a somewhat callous indifference to the comfort of the inmates in the effort to secure exterior effect.
But in the conception of a home there is one point on which the American architect outshines his English confrere, and that is the provision of cupboards. When the Millbank dwellings of the London County Council were opened by the King and Queen a few years ago, it was left for Her Majesty to remark on the absence of cupboard accommodation — a criticism which was said at the time to have been taken to heart by the august body concerned. Whether the more recent erections of the Council show an improvement in this respect, I cannot say ; but the absence of adequate cupboard accommodation is still a lamentable feature in the domestic work of even the most gifted English architects. True, in one of the houses I have lately seen there are no fewer than twenty-eight cupboards ; but this is an exception, and the house was designed for a lady by that very practical man, Mr. Voysey, so that this instance is perhaps reasonably accounted for. And in the majority of cases where cupboards are provided they are so small and awkward as to prove more of a nuisance than a blessing.
Now the American believes in cupboards, large ones, and plenty of them. Very often these are contrived by planning a space two or three feet wide between two bedrooms; half this space forms a cupboard for one bedroom, and half a cupboard for the other. Much more ingenuity, too, is shown in the planning of the bedroom floors to afford cupboard space than is the case with English houses. Why the English house should continue to be cursed with that abomina- tion in furniture, the wardrobe, it is difficult to say. It is cumbersome and heavy, and usually too small to hold one quarter of the things that one desires to put in it. Fitted bedrooms are not unknown here ; but they are practically confined to the largest and most expensive houses, whereas proper storage accommodation is a necessity in every house, and even more important in the small house or country cottage than in the mansion. This is very generally recognised by the American architect, and he frequently increases the inevitably limited storage accommodation of the country cottage by providing drawers under the stairs.
TIMBER '^^^ question of timber in building is daily becoming QENERALLY "^ore serious and difficult. The world's supply of this useful material is now being used up so rapidly that adequate time cannot be allowed for its proper seasoning. For this reason door-frames warp and twist, door-panels shrink and split, and all timber work is liable to seasoning defects. Even English oak, which for so long has had a reputation for undeviating rectitude, is being discarded by some architects owing to its liability to shiver and split. Elm is coming into fashion again, and the old cottage door of elm
32
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
slabs has been used in a number of modern cottages. Elm is a useful wood for weather-boarding, but it has a tendency to curl at the edges, and this must be guarded against by careful fastening.
Austrian oak is being largely used where oak is required ; but the use of imported oak will probably not appeal to the average English- man. Deal we have always with us, and good honest painted deal is much to be preferred to deal masquerading as something better. Deal can, however, be stained to pleasing and decorative colours without attempting the imitation of other woods. The use of the more precious and valuable timbers for decorative purposes is, of course, entirely one of cost, and depends on the amount of money available for building.
One difficulty of the modern cottage-owner is his floors. Stained and polished floors are very generally desired for decorative effect ; but too often such alarming spaces, not to say cavities, appear between the floorboards, that the continuance of a stained floor seems out of the question. Here again the seasoning difficulty crops up, and frequently floorboards properly put down and cramped up during laying will afterwards shrink and disclose unsightly spaces. If such floors exist on the ground level it is more than likely that they will be exceedingly dusty as well as cold by reason of the passage of air through the air-bricks provided for proper ventilation under the ground floors. With a floor very defective in this respect, practically the only efficient remedy is to take up the boards and relay the floor. To some extent the evil may be prevented by the use of grooved and tongued boarding, or by laying very narrow boarding well cramped up before fixing. But both expedients are a little more costly than the ordinary practice. Similarly, spaces between the floorboards and the bottom of the skirting may be prevented by the latter being tongued into the floor, and another and cheaper method is to nail a grooved fillet to the floor round the walls and fit the tongue of the skirting into the groove. See Preface for note on sound deafening in floors.
For kitchen and scullery floors tiles or the old-fashioned red brick floors are very desirable, but it is essential that they be laid on concrete, and with proper fall to one corner so that if washed or swilled out the water will run to that corner and may then be drained through a small aperture in the wall into a guUey outside. Gullies must on no account be set inside the house. The tile floors of the speculative builder are laid on a thin bedding of ashes spread over the roughly levelled surface of the bare earth, with the result that the tiles rapidly become uneven through the settling of the ground, and in wet weather become damp and cold through the wet rising from the soil. With such floors the skirtings will be of cement, unless, of course, tiled or glazed brick linings are provided for the walls. Where paved floors are provided it is better that they should be a step lower in level than the rest of the house to prevent any possi- bility of water overflowing.
Kitchen floors, it is true, are not generally designed with a view to swilling ; but from a hygienic point of view this is a very desirable
33
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
thing, and would contribute much to the coolness and sweetness of the room during hot weather. A daily swill, aided by a mop, would occasion far less fatigue than the laborious scrubbing which is other- wise inevitable.
Tiles, though pleasing in an artistic sense, are not the only form of paving suitable for interior floors. Concrete, usually with a granite surface, is frequently employed, but is apt to be slippery, especially to anyone turning quickly. Terrazzo, composition, and marble squares make handsome floors ; too elaborate for kitchens and sculleries, though very suitable for vestibules, corridors, verandahs, lavatories, bathrooms and the best water-closets. But these floors are costly, and in the majority of cases may be ruled out of the question.
Mr. C. F. A. Voysey, in his own house, had the floors of his sitting hall, kitchen, etc., paved with large slabs of Delabole slate, the pleasing grey colour forming an excellent decorative feature ; the slate is not, as might be supposed, unpleasant to walk upon, but it is comparatively expensive. Wood-block and parquet floors are likewise expensive, and it is doubtful if they are not too elaborate to find a place in a country cottage.
For the principal floors of many of the new artizans' cottages at the Garden City wood blocks have been used, and it is stated that while the first cost is greater their length of life makes the provision an economical one. This statement has, however, been openly scouted by many practical builders.
It would be difficult, on the score of health, to improve on stained and varnished floors for bedrooms, with rugs laid where necessary. But it must not be forgotten that it is difficult when washing to avoid splashing on the floor, and occasionally water is spilt with infinite risk to the ceilings underneath. Some impervious covering is therefore required under and round the washstand.
Of late years there has been rather a vehement repudia- tion of the high and narrow window of the Georgian period by some of our best architects ; so vehement that one wonders if they have quite a sound case, on other than artistic grounds, for turning the Georgian frame on its side and making the modern window long and low. On hygienic grounds there is much to be said for the older window, which made it possible to ventilate the top of a room while still inhabiting it. Three, and sometimes four, feet of wall above the latest windows constitutes a dead area in the top of the room, from which it is difficult to move the foetid air without opening door and window, and raising an unbearable draught.
In the country, where one spends so much time in the open air, the ventilation question is not so exigent as in the towns, and so largely escapes attention ; but the principle of the thing is not less true on this account, and in wet or cold weather, when outdoor life is impossible, the modern cottage room can acquire a stuffiness that must be experienced to be appreciated. The casement window, however, has many advantages, and numbers of people who have once tried them would never put up with the sash window again.
The main consideration in the treatment of the window itself is
34
FIRST PRIZE DETACHED COTTAGE, CLEVELEYS. LANCS. ALBERT £". DONE, Architect.
Built of brick, rough-cast, with hollow walls. Roof covered with red hand-made tiles. Casement windows with leaded lights. Cost, .^285 to ;f 300. See p. 61.
SECOND PRIZE DETACHED COTTAGE, CLEVELEYS, LANCS. BERTRAM DRU/HUOUD, Architect.
Built with hollow walls of brick, upper part rough-cast. Roof covered with red tiles. Casement windows. Cost £325. See p. 61.
35
36
>ij1 ..■■■■■
■(
C li A o c
mm
A PAIR OF COTTAGES AT LETCHWORTH. «. H. BAILLIE SCOTT, Architect.
Built of brick, rough-casted, and roofed with old tiles. Porch in half-timber work. Cost, /550 for the pair. See p. 62.
37
O ca. <3 o pi p p »-<**. r
FIRST pi-oOR pi_/>.n
COTTAGE AT EPPING. ESSEX. JOHN W. RHODES, Architect.
Built of red brick, upper portion of half-timber, with rough-cast paneh over brick-nogging. Roof covered with red tiles. Cost, just under /4C0. See p 63.
38
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
to keep the panes small. Large sheets of glass never look well, and their tendency is to make the cottage appear much smaller than it really is. Large panes also detract from the cottage-like appearance that most people desire, besides being more costly to replace if broken.
Leaded lights and metal casements are increasing in popularity. These, with plain oak frames, have a special value in rural districts where skilled labour is difficult to procure. If the house walls are half-timber or rough-cast, the woodwork can easily be coated periodi- cally with a little boiled oil and the rough-cast limewhited, and both jobs are within the capacity of the average handyman. The repaint- ing question is not therefore fraught with the difficulties that occur in connection with wooden sashes. The leaded light is, however, more difficult to repair when broken ; but the elasticity of the leads saves the glass from many a breakage. Coloured glass should be very sparingly used, if at all. The cathedral tinted variety can make itself very troublesome in a decorative scheme.
The question of jalousies or shutters to the windows must be left to the discretion of the cottage builder. Jalousies are only occasionally needed in this country, and their use must be determined by preference or questions of cost. It must be admitted that they often add to the appearance of a cottage, and are more in keeping than the sun-blind, which too often is put up after the place is built, and ruins the appear- ance of the window. Jalousies and shutters can be utilised as an additional means of protection to the lower windows in lonely places. But jalousies cannot be fitted with casement windows unless these open inwards, and this is unusual.
DOORS Doors are one of the most troublesome features of the modern house, being especially liable to damage from shrinkage and splitting in the wood. The ordinary panelled door is a great offender in this respect. To have the doors well made is a sine qua, non. Nothing is so troublesome to remedy as a split panel or a warped frame. In some of the newer cottages a return has been made to the ledged and braced doors of the old cottages, and the split panel difficulty is therefore avoided. At the same time the wood soon warps, sometimes in the most alarming manner. There is a patent door on the market which is built up of layers of wood, the direction of grain in each layer being opposite to that of the layer next it ; the whole is consolidated by pressure. By this means the tendency to shrinkage and warping is counteracted.
The folding door is an early Victorian abomination, happily becoming extinct. Where it is desired to afford some means of throwing two rooms into one sliding doors are far preferable. In this case the aperture is closed by two doors sliding into grooves formed in the walls on either side of the aperture. In America this is becoming a very common expedient, and the convenience is great, as two or three comparatively small rooms can be turned into one large apartment, capable of containing, on an occasion such as a wedding or an at home, quite a large circle of friends. The difficulty of conducting a similar festivity in the average English home does not
E* 39
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
need enlarging upon. Of course some amount of privacy may be sacrificed ; a wooden door cannot be relied on to be as sound-proof as a solid wall (not that English partition walls, in the main, are remarkable for solidity or sound-proof qualities) ; still, judging from his Press, the average American is not so intolerant of intrusion into his private affairs as we are.
STOVES "^^^ value of good grates and stoves is known to all housewives. Quite recently an official test of a large number of grates was carried out at the Local Government Offices in Whitehall, and five firms were commended for stoves that passed severe tests for small coal consumption and smoke production, compared with the heat produced and oxygen consumed. As regards coal cellarage, in remote districts, it is sometimes real economy to buy coal by the truck-load in the summer, and sufficient accommoda- tion may therefore have to be provided for at least eight tons of coal at one time.
The average kitchen fittings comprise, beside the range,
ci-n-iiN.i/-c a dresser and a few cupboards. In the twentieth century
FITTINQS. , ,. 1,1, ^■r ■ 1-
these thmgs should show some modification and improve- ment. The dresser is generally intended to hold the china in ordinary use ; but this would be far better placed in a dust-proof cupboard. If the dresser were made as a cupboard with close-fitting glass-panelled doors, more like a china cabinet intended for old and valuable specimens, much unnecessary washing of crockery-ware would be obviated. It is better if a proper pantry can be provided for the china and glass, with a sink, etc., for the washing of these articles, but in a country cottage it is not always possible to afford the room. In such a room drawers for holding the plate, table cloths, dusters, etc., should also be fitted, and if it forms a servery ample counter or flap accommodation should be provided for setting down trays and dishes.
Cupboards are generally set in the kitchen where it is thought they will not be in the way. This is quite the wrong method of regarding cupboards. If necessary, the whole of one side or end of kitchen or scullery should be cupboards, not cupboards contrived under the stairs, which, from their nature, are most awkward to use. These cupboards need not be exceptionally deep, but should contain the stores in current use. If there is no other position the store cupboard can be placed here also — fitted with shelves about nine or ten inches deep or divided into pigeon-holes, so that the various stores can be separated, and the mistress of the house can see practically at a glance what things require replenishing. In the scullery there should be a cleaning cupboard, so arranged that the various brooms, brushes, dustpans, etc., can be hung up, a locker provided for the housemaid's box, and shelves for the boot brushes, blacking, polishing paste, and drawers for clean and dirty rags, etc. Here, again, the cupboards should be provided with some thought of the purposes for which they will be required.
The sink is the most important article in the scullery ; it should have good big draining boards on either side and plate racks over the
4°
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
draining boards. A copper should be provided and space for a mangle, as some washing, as of kitchen cloths, etc., can always be profitably done at home, even if the bulk of the washing is sent to the laundry. If space is limited, it pays to provide a good big flap, hinged to the wall, that can be set up for ironing or other work. Gas stoves should also be considered ; in spite of the utmost cleanliness, gas stoves give off the most disagreeable fumes, and a big hood should therefore be provided over the stove with a flue to carry off these vapours. It is desirable that the sink be placed in front of a window ; but the walls round should be faced with glazed bricks or tiles, not just a course or two but for at least three feet above and on either side of the sink. If it is intended to do the whole of the washing at home a glazed wash-tub fixture is a useful addition to the scullery.
Proportion is rather a curse in the design of stair- stai'rcases cases. The grand staircases and flights of steps in
public buildings demand a wide tread and low rise, and it is amusing and instructive to watch how many people stumble up such steps because they have, by instinct, become accustomed to the more modest and different dimensions of the stairs in their own homes. A dignified staircase adds much to the appearance of a home, but in a cottage four feet will be about the maximum width. As a rule stairs look best if viewed sideways, the balusters and newel posts being then more in evidence, and the architect will contrive his stairs to the best advantage ; needless to add, on the design of the balusters, etc., much of the effect depends. The main defect with the balusters is to get them too thin and spidery.
Winders in the stairs are a nuisance, and should never be em- ployed unless absolutely necessary. They are a source of danger, and difficult to fit the carpets over. Square landings are much to be preferred. Staircases should always be well lighted ; windows arranged to come at the landings are useful, especially if fitted with a window seat, which is useful to old or infirm people who find climbing stairs troublesome. Twelve steps should be the maximum number in one flight.
The ingle-nook now finds a place in almost every INGLE-NOOKS. (,o^j^^jy cottage. Personally, I think the ingle-nook is a somewhat over-rated feature of the modern home. It boasts of a comfort that it rarely possesses. The seats seem inviting enough to tired limbs, but their hard wooden outlines afford little comfort. Often the backs are too straight or the seat not deep enough. A multitude of cushions are required to pad round the susceptible points of one's anatomy — with the result that barely sufficient seat is then left to sit on. From the structural point of view the ingle-nook also brings the fireplace out of relation with the room, and it not infrequently happens that while the nook itself is too insufferably hot to be habitable, the rest of the room is hardly warm enough for comfort. The mere recessing of the fireplace, and the placing of the seats is not sufficient to make a comfortable ingle-nook. But it is satisfactory to note that the ingle-nook is now generally designed by the architect, and is not the artistic ! fitment of the general furnisher.
41
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
It is an old axiom that the most expensive plumbing
SANITARY -g ^.j^g cheapest in the end. Good drainage well laid,
'^MENTS^" ^^^^ ^°^^ ^"^ rain-water pipes and good fittings will,
despite first cost, pay for themselves in life, comfort
and appearance.
In the matter of bathrooms we are reverting to the luxury of the Romans. In fact, educated people look upon their baths as an enjoyable pleasure, and not, like many of our forefathers, as a necessary but troublesome item of cleanliness to be undertaken with fear and trembling and extraordinary preparations and precautions. This desirable feeling has resulted in the provision of larger and better bathrooms. Marble bathrooms with the marble bath sunk in the floor, having steps down, have already made their appearance, and the nickel fittings, etc., now made for bathrooms represent gradual return to Augustan magnificence.
The porcelain bath is a beautiful thing in itself, but takes more heating than a metal one ; this fact must be remembered in connection with the hot water arrangements. It further emphasises the necessity for placing the bathroom and the linen closet in close proximity to the kitchen range so that the pipes of the hot water system may be as short as possible, and the chance of losing heat minimised. Person- ally, I have never found any hot water system satisfactory in the matter of hot baths ; unless a big fire in the kitchen range is kept going for a considerable time (in the summer this occasions much discomfort) the water never seems hot. Moreover, one bath exhausts the stock of hot water for some time, and a continuous supply of hot water is an impossibility.
Wherever there is a gas supply I prefer the geyser. The misuse of the geyser has brought about some fatalities it is true, but a geyser, fitted with a proper vent pipe carrying the combustion fumes into the open air, will, under intelligent management, be found an immense boon. Not that a geyser requires a superhuman intelligence to work it ; no more sense is required than is necessary in the manipulation of a kettle of boiling water to prevent one scalding oneself. If the geyser can be placed in a ventilated lobby outside the bathroom, so that foolish people cannot tamper with it, so much the better. If necessarily fitted in the bathroom some means of ventilation might be provided outside the control of stupid people.
A complete system of hot water heating with radiators is not usual in the English country cottage, and the American practice in this respect is not germane, owing to the differences of climate in the two countries. But where a heating system is required a boiler is necessary, and this may be utilised to supply hot water for baths also. The only thing against the arrangement is the fact that the heating apparatus is not required in the summer, and hot baths are.
A lavatory on the ground floor, with a hot or cold supply or cold supply alone, is a great convenience, for gardening operations or games are apt to leave one with dirty hands, and washing in bed- rooms during the day means much extra work for the servants, not to mention the inconvenience, and wear and tear of stair-carpets. If
4*
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
the ground floor lavatory cannot be contrived a lavatory basin in the bathroom may meet the difficulty.
In small houses the water closet is often placed in the bathroom. Though there is little in this to cavil at, considering the excellence of modern fittings, there is much to be said on the ground of convenience, as both fixtures may be required for use at the same time.
Slate shelves are best for larders, and perforated zinc makes the best kind of window. If money will allow, tiled or glazed brick walls might well be used for the larder walls. The importance of keeping the food amid hygienic and clean surroundings does not need emphasising.
Most of the interior walls will be the ordinary plaster walls INTERIOR covered with selected papers. If money is not an imme- diate object some rooms, such as the sitting-hall and dining-room, may be panelled in oak, or deal stained and polished or painted. Picture rails are a great boon, and not very expensive, and chair rails prevent many an unsightly mark on the paper or damage to the plaster. The division of the wall surface into dado, filling and frieze is largely a matter, however, for the artistic skill of the architect.
In sculleries, kitchens, larders, bathrooms and closets, practical considerations of cleanliness demand a washable surface. Plain or tinted limewash is considered good enough for sculleries and pantries ; kitchens, bathrooms, &c., may have a varnished paper. Limewashed walls are exceedingly troublesome ; they are easily marked and rapidly dirtied ; they cannot be washed, and the limewash soils the clothes of anyone who brushes against it. The washable distempers now upon the market in nearly every imaginable shade have done much, however, to remove the objections urged.
In certain directions the owner may elaborate the DECORATION interior of his cottage, but in certain directions only. GENERALLY. ^^^ cottage exterior with the palace interior is an artistic solecism that should never be contemplated. But it has been done, though fortunately the majority of cottage builders are rarely so blessed with this world's goods that they can pay for such freaks. In certain directions, however, there is a legitimate field for artistic effort. Plaster work, for instance. Even the humblest cottage may enshrine some delicate bit of plaster modelling on the principal ceilings or in the form of a frieze. Some of the old cottages near Bristol and in Barnstaple contain some quaint efforts in this direction, presumably by local workmen, very ambitious in intention and mostly Biblical in subject. I cannot say that Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden forms quite the best motif for representation in plaster, nor the kind of decoration one would recommend for the country cottage ; but flower and fruit motifs are very largely employed at the present day, and local flora and fauna would make a most appropriate decoration.
The woodwork of the cottage offers, too, an opportunity for skilled decoration. Carving in low relief, or some good simple mouldings may be introduced sparingly ; but one should not attempt to imitate the highest flights of Grinling Gibbons. Panel-
43
CARE OF THE HOUSE
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
ling should never be elaborate ; plain surfaces have an artistic as well as an hygienic value. Many beautiful effects can be obtained by the use of inlay. Chimney-pieces and doors may also be included in the objects for careful design, and the metal-work (the lighting fixtures, door-plates, handles, knockers, bell-pushes, hinges, and other metal included under the title of door furniture) offers immense possibilities for the expression of art. It is by the dis- cretion and restraint exhibited in the choice of these appurtenances that the cottage dweller may proclaim his intelligence and refine- ment to the world. As the parodist of Lovelace says :
" Gilt walls do not a mansion make, Nor Louis Seize a home."
Before proceeding to the actual consideration and description of examples of the British Country Cottages it is perhaps in place to say a word about the care of the cottage. The servant question is always with us, and in the past was hardly sufficiently considered. The old race of servants who laboured from six o'clock in the morning till eleven o'clock or after at night with hardly any cessation or rest, is now extinct ; and the new order is exceedingly exacting on the question of hours and the volume of work. As the number of servants in a country cottage will be small, it is well to consider this fact, and to remember that much may be done to minimise the necessary work of cleaning if modern materials and expedients are employed in the construction of the dwelling. Possibly something considered absolutely essential by the most advanced artistic cult may have to be sacrificed ; but comfort must be set before what, in many cases, are only fads.
For instance, in the higher cult there is an outcry against glazed surfaces. So white enamel has had to give way to flatted white, the former being twice as easy to clean as the latter. As I am no admirer of finger marks on white surfaces, I advocate white enamel. Where any surface can reasonably be of glazed or washable material, make it glazed or washable. Avoid ledges, avoid fretwork cosy corners, and elaborate mouldings ; have solid balustrades to the stairs if necessary, and generally banish all those resting-places for dirt and dust that takes a household half its time to keep clean. Stained floors, and rugs or squares that can be easily taken outside and beaten, are far preferable to the " all over " carpet which accumu- lates dirt and can never be moved without taking out all the furniture. Put an embargo on elaborate metal fittings that require continual and laborious cleaning. The additional comfort will always com- pensate for much that is lost from an artistic point of view, and truth to tell, in endeavouring to minimise the labour of the household one will escape much abominably bad art.
Special care should also be exercised in the selection of materials that they are suitable for their position and purpose, and not easily dirtied or discoloured by wear or contact. As an instance I might mention stone door jambs, where people are likely to lean against them. The doorways and walls of a well-known recently built theatre have now an ugly greasy mark on them up to about four feet from the
44
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
ground, caused by the queues of people waiting for the doors to open. Kitchen and scullery walls are subject to severe knocks, and ordinary lime plaster is not equal to such hard wear. If a glazed brick dado — and preferably one of salt-glazed bricks, as these are not so prone to " craze " or chip — were fixed, these rooms would be structurally improved, and the possibilities of cleanliness enhanced. Very frequently the big firms of glazed brick makers have small remainders of certain colours left over which can be purchased cheaply, and I have heard of a speculative builder who regularly bought up such lots for use in his houses.
As to furniture much might be written. Architects FURNITURE, j^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^ deplore the hopelessly bad and incon- gruous furniture that is put into rooms on which they have expended much time and thought. Needless to say old cottage furniture looks best in a cottage ; but if the purse does not run to old furniture, new furniture modelled on the old patterns can always be obtained. It is better to buy good furniture that is openly and avowedly new than be deceived by unscrupulous dealers with sham new stuff at antique prices. It is perhaps too much to ask that the architect be given a voice in the selection of the furniture. Yet how much better it would be if this were the rule.
45
CHAPTER III.
THE QUESTION OF COST.
I HAVE left to a separate chapter some consideration of the question of cost. For probably in connection with the subject of country- cottages there is no point so important, and withal so little under- stood by the layman, as the suiting of ways to means. If this book has any other purpose beside bringing some examples of small modern country homes before the public, it is the vindication of the " Art " architect as a designer well able to produce houses at a reason- able figure. No further proofs were needed than that afforded by a study of the examples shown, for all the architects whose work is here illustrated were specially selected, and requested to suggest the examples by which they are represented. They do not embrace, by any means, the whole of the designers who were invited, and the work of whom would have been a welcome addition to that shown ; but it must be understood that many could not contribute examples within the limits of size and cost set out for the book.
Still these examples will have fulfilled their purpose if they convince readers that the speculative builder is not the only individual who can build at a reasonable figure ; I despair of ever bringing home to the public the fact that the speculative builder never gets value for his money. And yet nothing is more true. To wander over any speculative property, built or in building, is to find a tale of lament- able things, ill done ; a record of good bricks wrongly and crookedly laid with good mortar ; of good wood and mouldings slashed as with a hatchet rather than cut with a saw ; of good material wasted by villainous plumbing. And all to save a few pounds by the employ- ment of small piece-work workmen whose interest in their work is limited to the minimum time in which they can achieve an appearance of having done it.
True the speculator is improving. He has been known to com- mission a design from a good architect, but by no means can he be induced to carry it out as it was designed. His improvements and alterations all tend as a rule to obliterate the merits of the design prepared for him, and here again the question is one often of saving trouble rather than cost. It is so rnuch easier to order stock window frames from a cheap wood or joinery firm than have well-designed ones made to order, though the difference of cost on the large number would probably be nil.
But with the sins of the speculator and his lamentable want of taste I am not here so much concerned, except to warn readers against him. Perhaps one little tale told to me in the course of preparing this book may form a more eloquent sermon than I
46
oSo^rr^jMiST^sir °:" JLJU2^^^^FV=^DT^lr]E:azM^^^
t^lTC t-tClN
tLLC«y>v ol
C> I fN 1 M Cj- ■
|
1 njirm |
ukgj |
|
|
^7^ |
c |
|
|
r' ^ |
||
|
aft^M! |
9 |
•uoo |
|
7yi\ 1 |
||
|
ai |
||
|
D f^>K>»'IMG |
||
|
r^oDT- |
T^tnj r
■por^cfr
"BOLNHURST," LLANFAIRFECHAN, N. WALES. H. L. NORTH, Architect.
Built of Stone, rough-casted, with " Carreg-Mwswg " or Moss slate roof. Cost /404. See p. 63.
47
= 1
5^
> ,. ;- I' itiT ■ \ :
<'^^ H^i
■a
|
-G |
|
|
H |
a) |
|
C/J |
|
|
^ |
|
|
n |
di |
|
t- |
|
|
0) |
|
|
<L> |
♦^ |
|
m |
60 |
|
cn |
C |
|
Tl |
|
|
r: |
3 |
|
H |
C |
|
OJ |
o |
|
nj |
S 8
o t-i
o
|
" -o |
|
|
■o H |
|
|
QJ TO |
|
|
1^ J3 |
|
|
< |
|
|
z |
-^ C |
|
o |
B e |
|
rt a> |
|
|
« |
S > |
|
o |
o O |
|
z |
i-> |
|
(0 |
O tn |
|
. tfi |
|
|
^ o |
|
|
S Q. |
|
|
LU * |
: V ^ |
t I o
o " ^ id
48
4 BEDROOMS ON FIRST FLOOR
COTTAGE AT POLEBROOK,
KOBERT WeiR SCHULTI, Architect.
HEVER, KENT.
Lower part of brick, limewhited, upper part of weather-tiling on battens. Red tiles on roof. About two. thirds o. materials were old, from a former cottage. Cost, /'270, without allowing for the old materials. See p. G3.
49
GROUND FLOOR PLAN.
BUNGALOW, MARSH LOCK. JOHN W. FAIR and VAL MYER. Architects.
UPPER FLOOR PLAN.
Built of local brick, rough-casted, with red sand faced tiles on roof. Cost on application to the Architects. See p. 63.
53
COAL&
EC PORCH
PA
PARLOUR
COALS
xwmi
PCRCH tC
mm
PARLOUR
PAIR OF COTTAGES AT RIPLEY, SURREY. HORACE FIELD, Archileci.
Built of brick, rough-cast with red tile roof and tile hung gables. Built for better class workmen ; but suitable for modest week-end homes or golfers' cottages. Cost of the two, just under ;f6oo. See p. C4.
51
HALL J VtPAMDAH
D[D BOOM i^M m mM^
DLD ROOM
BED I200M
GROUND PLAN.
UPPER FLOOR PLAN.
BUNGALOW, ROTHERFIELD PEPPARD. OXON.
JOHN IV. FAIU and V«L MYiR, Architects,
Built of local brick, white-washed, with sawn-framing to the gables. Roof covered with old red tiles. Cost on application to the Architects. See p. 64.
52
THE ENTRANCE FRONT. (For Rear View see next
COTTAGES AT BRAMLEY, HORACE FIELD, Architect.
SURREY.
Built of brick, rough-casted fcr lower storey; red tiles, hung, upper storey and roofs, and coachman ; but of a type used by golfers and others. Cost of the two, £(>6i.
Intended for gardener See p. 64.
53
TWO COTTAGES AT BRAMLEY. SURREY. REAR VIEW. (See pp. 53 un.l 64.) HORACE FIELD, Architect.
"LITTLE GRAVELS," BURGHCLERE. ENTRANCE FRONT. (See next page.) FRANCIS BACON, JUNR., Architect.
54
GROUND FLOOR PLAN.
|
^^Efe_dtdHM ^H |
^ |
■-■--^B |
|
|
^ |
i ^ |
==.(S.«K |
|
|
t |
|||
|
KITCHEN /T^!^ |
1 SCUl |
LERY (£ |
|
|
l-~^LRKDEH |
|||
|
i,i ^ |
|||
|
uv |
|||
|
SERVANTS ROOM 1 |
|||
|
BASEMEh |
«IT PLAN. |
"LITTLE GRAVELS." BURGHCLERE, HANTS. FRANCIS BACOH, JUHR., ArchUect,
Built of red-baked local bricks, with roofing of rye-straw 14 inches thick. Cost, /550, including a well and drainage. See p. 64.
55
VIEW OF BUNGALOW COSTING £300, IN THE OETZMANN SERIES.
^onh J^aachh
« » 1^
PLAN OF BUNGALOW COSTING £500-£550. Specially Designed for Messrs. Oetzmann & Co.
Wll. HEURY WHIT£, Archileat.
Built of brick, rough-cast, with red tiled roof, and wrought iron casement windows with leaded lights. See p. 60.
56
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
could write. Three maiden sisters commissioned a well-known archi- tect to design them a small home with specified accommodation. A design was got out for a cottage well within the fixed limit of cost, about ;^8oo, but when this was presented the ladies exhibited every symptom of timidity, and finally dismissed their architect on the specious plea that the commission was too small for a man of his calibre. These unfortunate people were later on much astonished to learn from 4heir solicitor that one cannot waste even an architect's time without paying for it ; but this by the way. Finally they got into the clutches of a speculative builder, who erected for them a perfectly atrocious house at a cost of some ^1,200, much to their solicitor's disgust, and the amusement of those who heard the story.
There is a moral in this tale, which is illustrative of the timidity of the average client unused to building operations. Cost is too often the deterrent to a man perfectly able to build, but yet unwilling to venture. For among the general public it has become almost an axiom that to employ an architect is to mortgage your last shilling, and if you must have one it is best to employ a good business man, one with a head for figures if devoid of taste. " The artistic tempera- ment is so unreliable, you know " ; I have heard this complaint dozens of times. That there must be some foundation for this grievance is an inevitable conclusion ; there cannot be so much smoke without fire. But an investigation into some of these cases will, more often than not, reveal faults on the part of the client. That individual frequently expects more for his money than can possibly be provided ; and when the work has been started often desires to make all kinds of changes and alterations, which are both difficult and expensive. But nothing will convince him that the increased cost is due to any action of his. Clients should remember to be extremely frank with their architect on the question of money. Stipulate the exact amount you are prepared to spend, including the architect's fees and extras. Make up your mind what accommodation you want ; and once you have signed the contract and the building has commenced, do not depart from the plans. The builder bases his calculations on the contract plans and specifications, and orders his materials on them. He cannot be expected to waste materials because the client suddenly changes his mind. And most builders look on extras as a legitimate opportunity for increased profit.
If a good architect is sometimes to blame for an unwarranted bill for extras, it will frequently be found that he has endeavoured by some minor alterations to improve on his original plan. In fact, the architect who cannot find opportunities for improvement as the building goes up is no true designer. Every good artist is dissatisfied with his work ; it is this divine discontent with his accomplished work that spurs him on to greater efforts. Herein the architect is the most hampered of artists, for his medium is costly and immense. Painters can destroy a canvas with small material loss ; sculptors can model and remodel their clay ; the etcher loses materially but his copperplate, but the architect cannot pull down his building and
G 57
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
erect better. Still no architect would deliberately gratify his artistic ambitions by alterations at his client's expense.
It will be of material importance for the client to remember that the cost of building has risen by about 30 per cent, in the last thirty years. The reports of strikes among building artisans, the efforts of trades unions for more money and shorter hours, which the average man may have noted from time to time reported in his paper, have had their influence upon the cost of the dwelling which he now proposes to erect, and not only is the cost of skilled labour immensely greater, but the cost of materials has also risen.
It is not intended here to go into minute calculations as to the cost of houses of different sizes — the houses illustrated, with their cost given, will be more satisfactory as showing what has been done and for what money. There are many indeterminate factors, such as the cost of cartage, the nature of the site and foundations, the distance of the connections to water and gas mains, the extent of fencing required, etc., which have a considerable bearing on the ultimate expenditure, and these cannot be considered in a theoretical calcu- lation. Also the condition of the building trade in the neighbourhood. If work is slack a builder will often tender at a low figure to get a contract and keep his works going. If he has much work in hand he requires a much bigger profit to take on other liabilities — more especially as a large amount of work gives him less opportunity for that personal supervision that guards against loss.
As a last word — the work here shown is work that is eagerly illustratedin American journals, and finds a place in publications sub- sidised by the German Government for the study and benefit of German architects and students. Elsewhere British domestic work is looked up to and admired, and there are symptoms that one day the Briton generally may find beauties in it to which he is at present blind. As one of the architects writes to me : " You will observe that I lay great stress upon the cost. I do this because so many people imagine that house building cannot be decently done except at great expense, and that architects with fads {i.e. a sense of decency) run up the cost of building. I think that these three houses will show accommoda- tion that will compare very favourably with some which have been erected (usually by speculative builders) without the same considera- tion for aesthetic qualities."
58
CHAPTER IV.
DESCRIPTIONS OF COTTAGES COSTING FROM /^200 TO ;^I,000.
Coming now to the descriptions of cottages actually erected it will be convenient to explain here that it was considered desirable to limit the maximum cost to ^3,500. Beyond this cost the term cottage would hardly apply, although the cost of a house is a very relative matter, for on quite a simple type of dwelling quite a large sum could be spent in fitting and decoration. Though very elaborate fitting in a small house is out of place, the employment of distinguished artists for quite simple decoration would soon run up the cost.
The cottages illustrated have been divided into three groups, according to cost — the first, from /^2oo (the practical minimum for this class of cottage) to ^1,000, being described in this chapter; those costing from ^1,000 to ^^2,000 being described in Chapter V., and those from ^^2,000 upwards in Chapter VI. The exact costs have, whenever possible, been given ; but in some cases the owners have withheld permission for the publication of these figures, usually because the property has been built for a speculative purpose or with a view to ultimate sale. In such cases the architects have kindly consented to give the cost to anyone genuinely interested.
First Prize "£150 Cottage," Letcliworth, Herts. Percy B. Houfton, Architect. {Seep. 25.)
This is a thoroughly well-built cottage, but (as has already been stated) its cost was not ^^150 in the general acceptation of the phrase. The priced bill of quantities showed that the cottage had actually been erected for that sum, but the prices gave the bare cost of the materials only, without the builder's profit — usually reckoned at 10 per cent. — and architect's fees. Further, fencing and other items were not allowed for. The actual cost would therefore amount to about ;^i75, and this may be taken as the lowest sum for which a middle-class country home can be erected. Even then the accom- modation is by no means ideal — a living-room, a working-kitchen and three bedrooms, the accommodation aimed at for an agricultural labourer. The cottage is, however, roomy, in this respect presenting an agreeable contrast to many of the other competing cottages, and there is no waste space. A family, to whom cost was a consideration, might find this suitable to their needs. The walls are of brick, rough- casted, and the timber of deal throughout, the outside woodwork being painted green. Mr. Houfton is represented by another example in this book, expressly designed for a country middle-class home.
59
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
Bungalows specially designed for Messrs. Oetzmann & Co. Wm. Henry White, Architect. (Sec pp. zb and ik)
The big furnishing firms have not been unmindful of the " country cottage " craze, and most of them have prepared books of designs and plans for various inexpensive cottages and bungalows which they will erect at a stated price, and which they will also furnish for a given sum. Messrs. Oetzmann & Co. are, however, the only firm who have commissioned an architect to prepare the designs and have acknowledged the architect's assistance, and their series of plans are therefore, the only ones that can be illustrated here. Moreover, they have taken precautions that these designs shall not be reproduced over and over again without payment of proper fees.
The cheapness of these bungalows has only been attained by considerable study, ingenuity in the planning and a standardisation of the fittings. The larger bungalows result from the simple develop- ment in plan of the smallest bungalow, estimated to cost from ;^2oo to ;^23o, according to the requirements of the local by-laws. In the smallest bungalow the plan is so arranged that the kitchen and maid's bedroom are shut off from the other rooms, and the maid can attend to the front doorwithout passing through the living-room.
The exterior walls of the bungalows are built of nine-inch brick- work, coated with cement, rough-casted on the outside, the roof being covered with red tiles. All the floors are laid solid on concrete foundations, thus ensuring against damp and vermin. The interior walls are plastered and coloured with a durable and washable dis- temper; the frieze, which has a picture rail below it, may be in another colour, or, if desired, may have a simple stencil pattern. The woodwork of the exterior may be painted to suit the owner's tastes ; a pale green and white have been selected by the architect. The interior woodwork is partly painted, and in the case of the ingle- nook, etc., is stained dark brown.
The estimates given for these bungalows assume that the cottages will be erected on a level site, easily accessible, with labour and materials plentiful, and that earth closets will be used. Extras will include fees for notices, etc., to the local authority, drainage and water supply. The cottages can be erected by any builder ; but in such cases it would be economical to obtain the special features, such as windows, porch, fireplaces, grates, ingle-nook, etc., from Messrs. Oetzmann.
Cottages at Cleveleys, Lancashire.
Cleveleys is a new residential district four miles north of Blackpool on the Lancashire coast, with which place and Fleet- wood it is connected by tramway. The estate has been rapidly developed by the owners, and to assist this development a cottage exhibition with substantial prizes was instituted for 1906. This exhibition was framed on lines somewhat superior to those of the Letchworth Exhibition, the object being to show what could be done under by-laws and not, as at the Garden City, what could
60
COUNTRY COTTAGES
be built for a certain sum without adherence to any by-laws. No stipulated sum was stated ; but certain accommodation had to be provided. The cottages illustrated show the first and second prize designs in Class I. for detached cottages with not less than three bedrooms ; and the first and second prize designs in Class II. for a pair of cottages with not less than three bedrooms in each.
First Prize. — Detached Cottage at Cleveleys, Lancashire. Albert E. Done, Architect. {See p. 2,S-)
This cottage has brick walls eleven inches thick, built with a hollow space, and rough-cast on the exterior face with Portland cement dashed with amber spar, not colour-washed. The roof is covered with hand-made red Staffordshire tiles. The accommoda- tion comprises a vestibule, kitchen, sitting-room, scullery, pantry, wash-house, store, and coal cellar on the ground floor, with two large bedrooms, one small one, bath-room, and separate w.c. on the upper floor. The house cubes 16,725 feet, which at 4jd. gives a total cost of ;^2go (this including the cost of the house as built, with sewers, fencing, copper back boiler and cylinder, and £10 for grates, but not for forming garden and paths, nor wall decora- tions). The cost of the house if duplicated is put at £2^^ (including builder's profit and architect's fees, but exclusive of site, fencing, sewers, paths, and ornamental rainwater head). There is concrete under all walls and over the site.
Second Prize. — Detached Cottage, Cleveleys, Lancashire. Bertram Drummond, Architect. {Seep. 35.)
The cost of this cottage is given as £2^$ (cubing 13,904 feet at 4|d.). If duplicated, the cost is put at ^^325 (including builder's profit and architect's fees, but exclusive of site, fencing, sewers and street making) ; it is stated that " this price could be con- siderably reduced on a modified specification." In the kitchen scullery there is a fireclay enamelled sink with a wooden drainer, and a cupboard under ; also a portable copper. The cottage has a concrete foundation, with a layer of asphalt under all walls, these latter (external) being eleven inches thick, with a cavity, built of good common bricks, and the upper part rough-cast ; roofs tiled. Special care has been taken with the construction, all external wood lintels being covered with sheet lead, and the chimney sur- rounds with nine-inch brickwork. There are no outbuildings, every- thing being under .one roof.
First Prize. — Pair of Cottages, Cleveleys, Lancashire. Q. Mangnall Bluhm, Architect, {Seep. 36.)
The cost of this pair of cottages is given as ^^430 (4?d. per cubic foot). If duplicated, ;^5oo (including builder's profit and architect's fees, but exclusive of site, fencing and sewers). There is a cupboard for cloaks, &c., in the porch ; the coal-house is covered over ; a wardrobe is provided in the first bedroom, and a cupboard in the living room : hot and cold water are laid on to
61
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
bath, lavatory and sink. The foundation is of cement concrete, eight inches thick under main walls and four inches thick over whole site. External walls are of brick eleven inches thick, with a two-inch cavity, rough-cast and lime-washed; roofs of Borrowdale thick green slates, from the fireproof slab partitions ; hearths, &c., formed with hand-made Dutch tiles.
Second Prize.— Pair of Cottages, Cleveleys, Lancashire. T. Faulkner Shepheard, Architect. {See i>. 36.)
The cost of these cottages, at 4fd. per cubic foot, is given as ^222 for each cottage ; if duplicated, ^270 (including builder's profit and architect's fees, but exclusive of site, fencing, and sewers). On the upper floor a small cistern room is provided, containing cistern, hot-water cylinder, and shelves for linen. The w.c, ashpit and coal- place are in the yard. Foundations are of concrete, walls of brick eleven inches thick, built with a cavity, and rough-cast on face ; roofs of hand-made Silverdale tiles. The architect's note on the cottages is as follows : " The houses have been placed on the site with the yard at the side, so as to leave the garden as uninterrupted as possible, with the windows of both rooms looking on to it. The bathroom, while conveniently reached from the bedrooms, and well screened from the hall, can, at the same time, be used as a downstairs lavatory. The sinking of the larder will tend to make it cooler and better for storage of food, at the same time giving greater shelving space. By placing the cylinder next the cistern, the plumber's work is kept compactly together, whilst the cold water will be guarded against frost in the winter. Shelves are also provided round the cylinder for the storage of linen."
Pair of Cottages at Letchworth (Garden City). M. H. Baillie Scott,
Architect. {See p. 37.)
These two cottages were included in the Cheap Cottages Exhibition of last year, though they were not erected specially for that purpose, and, indeed, their cost, some ;^520, excluded them on the ground of price from competing. They show how well the spirit of the old cottages can be transmitted to new ones. The cost was enhanced, however, by sundry works designed to give a more artistic character to the buildings, and if these were omitted and ordinary materials used the outlay could be decreased very considerably. For instance, the tiles are old, and were very carefully removed from their original position so that the lichen on them should not be disturbed. The doors were constructed of elm slabs in the old- fashioned manner, and the whole of the latches and other door furniture were executed in wrought iron from the architect's designs. The stair banisters and some other woodwork were of oak removed from other buildings. The general arrangement is very clearly shown in the plans. There is a very large kitchen paved with red bricks communicating with a parlour. Both rooms have wide open fireplaces and window seats. The scullery, on a lower level, has a new combination sink and bath, an ingenious arrangement by which
62
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
the bottom of the bath forms the sink. When the bath is required the fixture is turned over — the whole works easily on a pivot — and the bath is then ready for use. The two houses were arranged to allow of them being easily turned into one ; this has since been done, and the single dwelling is now occupied by a doctor. The forecourt is paved, the paths with old flagstones, and the four squares with pebbles in colour patterns. The wooden sundial in the centre was designed by the architect. Three bedrooms are provided in each part, or six in the single house.
Cottage at Epping, Essex. John W. Rhodes, Architect. {See p. 38.)
This is a type of cottage adapted for week-end purposes by a small family. The accommodation provided is a large kitchen, living-room, parlour, usual offices, three bedrooms, and a small bed and tank room ; the latter might be converted into a bathroom. The cottage is built of red brick, the upper part of half-timber with rough-cast panels on brick nogging. The roof is covered with red tiles. The cost was just under ^400.
Bolnhurst, Llanfairfechan, N. Wales. Herbert L. North, Architect.
{See t>. 47.)
This house is an exceedingly picturesque little dwelling built of stone, rough-casted and roofed with the old-fashioned " Carreg- Mwswg," or Moss slate, which is almost as ductile as thatch, as may be noted from the roof over the attic window. The accommodation comprises dining- and drawing-rooms, kitchen and offices with three bedrooms. The cost, £^04^, included fencing and coal bunk.
A Country Cottage in Snowdonia. Herbert L. North, Architect. {Seep. 48.)
I include this design by Mr. North as a piece of ingenious planning for a simple holiday home, with one big living room, kitchen and offices, and three good bedrooms with bathroom. The cupboard space afforded is an exceedingly good feature, for this necessary accommodation is so often left unprovided. The estimated cost is ;^45o.
Cottage at Polebrook, Hever, Kent. Robert Weir Schultz, Architect.
{See t. 49.)
This cottage was partly built with old materials from a cottage which had been pulled down, about one-third of the material being new. The actual cost was £2^0, without making any allowance for the old materials. The lower part is of brick, limewhited, and the upper part is weather tiled on battens. The accommodation com- prises parlour, living-room, kitchen and scullery, and offices, with four bedrooms on the first floor. This is an excellent and compact plan for a week-end cottage.
Bungalow, Marsh Lock. John W. Fair & Val Myer, Architects. {See p. 50.
This is an inexpensive little dwelling, having on the ground floor large dining or living room with ingle, cloak cupboard, boudoir,
63
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
verandah, kitchen, scullery and offices. On the upper floor are four bedrooms, bathroom, and linen cupboard. The walls are built of local brick, rough-casted, and the roof is covered with red, sand-faced tiles. Cost on application to the architects.
Two Cottages at Ripley. Horace Field, Architect. {See b. 51.)
These cottages are on a site overlooking the Common at Ripley, and are picturesque dwellings of a type suitable for middle-class people for week-end or holiday homes, and not employing servants. They are fitted with Elkay and Cornes' patent range, bath and copper combined, an ingenious apparatus, in which one fire does all the work for the three things. This fitment was very largely em- ployed in the cottages exhibited at the Garden City. The bath in this case stands in the scullery, and is enclosed in a cupboard. Working on a hinge it lets down when required, the water connections and waste pipe being flexible. The walls are of brick, covered with cement, rough-cast, and red tiles have been used for the roof and front gables. The cost of the two was ^600.
Bungalow, Rotherfield Peppard, Oxon. John W. Fair & Val Myer,
Architects. {See p. 52.)
This is a compact and inexpensive little country home, having large dining or living room with ingle, boudoir, kitchen, etc., small hall, and verandah, on the ground floor, and four bedrooms and bathroom on the upper floor. The walls are built in local brick, white-washed, with sawn framing to the gables, and the roof is covered with old red tiles. Cost on application to the architects.
Cottages at Bramley, Surrey. Horace Field, Architect. {See pp. 53 and 54.)
These cottages were built for outdoor servants ; but they belong to a very good class of building, and with a slight alteration in the accommodation could be made suitable for week-end or country homes for middle-class people without a servant. A bathroom could be arranged over the coal and woodshed, entered off" a landing on the staircase, and the parlour could be made larger. The walls are of brick, covered with cement, rough-cast, and the roofs are covered with red sand-faced tiles. The cost of the two was £66'^.
"Little Qravels," Burghclere, Hants. Francis Bacon, Junr., Architect.
{See pp. S4 and SS-)
This is a thatched cottage, situated among wild and beautiful scenery, and is planned to take special advantage of a rapidly sloping site. All the principal rooms are on the main ground floor, level with the highest point of the site, while the kitchen, scullery, and servant's bedroom are placed under in a basement floor, which is practically all above ground, at the lowest part of the site, and for which very little excavation was needed. The materials used in construction are red, hard-baked local bricks, the roofing being of rye straw, in no place less than fourteen inches thick. The walls above the basement floor are only nine inches thick, being sufficiently protected by the
64
111
Q Z LU
g
<
UJ
_l
< o
«) g o
O (U „,
-w *3 o -- oj ^
3 I-. <U
c s ° giCS 03'
^ ° S
&< - 2 -■a 5
D 3 ^ Oj (U Ir-
K
60
a
^ V a ° S S
(Ti r- Wm bo -^
3 rt 2
„ rt re
'55 0 tn
re J w
c
S • >■
O b tH in
(U C tn
cue o '
° "aj ^ tn
> ,„ o u
u
OJ
^ art c c E o OJ 0) 'IS
re
(U u ri 3
IL ^ O O
VIEW FROM STANSTED PARK. Photograph by the Citij Art Photo. Co.
HALL iSTUDt
^^■cncmiiiiaa
GROUND FLOOR PLAN.
FIRST FLOOR PLAN.
THE AVENUE COTTAGE, STANSTED, ESSEX. Designed by the late JOSEPH CAYeiLL.
Built of timber framing, on a brick base, with bricli-nogging, covered with rough-cast, lime-washed. Wood casement windows. Roofs covered with red tiles. Cost about ;£6oo. See p. 73.
H
65
THE AVENUE COTTAGE STANSTED, FROM THE ENTRANCE GATE
THE AVENUE COTTAGE. STANSTED. FROM THE LAWN. {See pre».ous page.) Photographs by the City Art Photo. Co.
66
UJ
o
< I-
H O
o
HI
Z UJ
>
<
UJ
I I-
67
THE AVENUE COTTAGE, &TANSTED , THE HALL AND STAIRCASE. (See p. 65.) Photograph by the City Art Photo. Co.
mM!mmm.Mnjmiimdijmih
6HYLL COTTAGE, GOUDHURST. KENT. A. T. BOLTON, Architect.
Designed, but not erected. Local brick for ground floor, upper part in half timber, and faced with local red tiles. Roof similarly covered. Estimated cost to build, ;£8oo. See p. 73.
UPPER FLOOR PLAN.
V-SSr;
■I mill
U8SS
Hiill TT^M
M
COTTA(jE at ORPINGTON, KENT. P. MOKLEY HOKaen, Architect.
Built of brick, rough-cast, with red-tiled roof and wood casement windows. Cost, /650. See p. 74.
69
CROUMD FUOoRPL^n
FIRST FLPOR. PLy\n
COTTAGE AT FARNHAM. SURREY. NI\/EN, WIGOLESWORTH anil FALKNER, Architects.
An altered cottage, built of brick, lime-whited. with red tiles on roof, casement windows with leaded lights. See p. 74.
70
COTTAGE AT FARNHAM, SURREY. (See preu.oi/s piige.)
71
GARDEN FRONT.
_r-. ^^■^ r^■^ r~^
ftyiiill'?)'J"i"'"n))">''T'nj)iii.iinn)ilinninii;niiiiiMnii)M.rn.i|-"inilw, ^■.iimi
»fa^-.o
COTTAGE AT BRAMPTON, NEAR CHESTERFIELD, NOTTS. PERCY B HOUFTOH. Archilect.
Built of brick, rough-casled in cement, and lime-whitened ; roof covered with orange-red Barton tiles. Casement windows with leaded lights. Exterior woodwork painted bright green. Cost including drainage, fencing, and forming garden, £692. See p. 74.
72
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
eaves, which project two feet beyond them. All window frames are set directly under the wall plate, which, for the benefit of the layman, it may be explained, is the flat timber fixed along the top of the walls to which the feet of the roof rafters are secured. The variation in the height of the eaves is due to there being two windows in the principal rooms, one raised for ventilation, and one to see out of comfortably. Gutters are not provided for the thatch, the drip in this case being provided for by a land-drain laid one foot underground directly below the eaves. Between the roofs there is, however, a secret lead gutter which is drained by a stack-pipe. To guard further against the possible ingress of rain there are two projecting courses of brick on the bases of the chimney stacks, forming a groove into which the thatch is notched as it were. The interior fittings and decorations have been kept extremely simple, the aim being to produce as cottage-like an effect as possible. For this reason the fire-places are left in plain brick, stout iron bars being built into brick hobs. The chimney-pieces have oak shelves in the best rooms, and elsewhere are of deal painted white. The casements are of wrought iron. The cost of the cottage, including a well and drainage, was
The Avenue House, Stansted, Essex. Desigrned by the late Joseph Caygill.
(See pp. 65—68.)
This cottage was built as the steward's house for the Stansted Park Estate, and occupies a site in a corner of the Park, looking down an old elm avenue that formed an approach to the old Stansted Hall, long since destroyed. Hence the name. This is a very cheap house. It is built of timber framing on a brick base, with brick between the timbers above, or as it is technically called, " brick- nogging." The exterior is faced with cement rough-cast, lime- washed. The windows have wood casements and frames. The roofs are covered with red tiles. The sitting-rooms are 16 ft. square, and the bedrooms above them, by reason of the projection, nearly 18 ft. by 16 ft. In the cottage as built there is no bathroom, but one could easily be provided over the pantry and coal cellar. The second entrance and hall was provided for business callers to the study. The sitting-hall is panelled in old oak, and some old carved oak has been utilised in the staircase. The cost (about 15 years ago) was (Jooo ; but this would probably be exceeded at the present day.
Design for Qhyll Cottage, Qoudhurst, Kent. Arthur T. Bolton, Architect. {See i>. 68.)
This house has not been erected, but the design is a good example of a comfortable country house in character with the local building. The walls are shown of brick up to the first floor, and above of timber framing part faced with wall tiling, and part shown as half-timber-work. The site intended was on the level plateau of the picturesque village of Goudhurst, which is situated on a hill in the Weald of Kent, and has fine views over the surrounding country. There was sufficient ground to form a garden as shown
I 73
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
in the drawing. The accommodation on the ground floor was to include a drawing-room, study, dining-room, small hall, kitchen and offices, and there were to be six bedrooms and bathroom in the first and attic floors. The finish throughout was intended to be very simple, and the materials all local. The cost was estimated at /8oo.
Cottage at Orpington, Kent. P. Morley Horder, Architect. (Seep. 69.)
Mr. Horder has a reputation for small and inexpensive country homes, of which this is an example. The cottage contains dining- room, drawing-room, small sitting-hall, kitchen, &c. ; and on the upper floor are four bedrooms, bathroom, and linen-room. The architect estimates the fair cost at ;^65o ; it was really erected for less, but the builder lost money on the contract.
Cottage at Farnham, Surrey. Niven, Wigglesworth, & Falkner, Architects.
{See pp. 70, 71.)
This cottage is a good illustration of the capabilities of these architects in the way of adaptation. The plans show the new addi- tions with the walls blocked in. A new dining-room, kitchen, and an entrance porch and bay have been built on to the old cottage. Two rooms have been thrown into one to make a large sitting-room, a pantry and larder being enclosed out of the space. On the upper floor two bedrooms have been added, making five in all, and a bathroom and linen cupboard provided. Cost on application to the architects.
Cottage at Brampton, near Chesterfield. Percy B. Houfton, Architect.
{Seep. 72.)
This cottage is built of g-inch brick walls, rough-casted in cement, and lime-whitened. The roof is covered with orange-red Barton tiles, and the woodwork is painted bright green. The casement windows are fitted with leaded lights. The accommodation on the ground floor is large living-room, drawing-room, small hall, kitchen, scullery, and offices. On the first floor there are four bedrooms, bathroom, linen closet, etc. A step ladder, folding back to the wall when not in use, leads to a small boxroom in the roof. The cost including drainage, fencing and forming garden, was .^692.
The Paddock, Ruskington, Lines. Arthur W. Brewill and Basil E. Baily,
Architects. {Seep. 75.)
The drawings represent alterations and additions to an old cottage, and the old and new work are differently marked on the plans. Originally the cottage was a plain red brick building with a pantile roof, and the additions were made to harmonise with the old building. Owing to the old walls being only nine inches thick the whole of the upper portion was covered with rough-cast, with a wood mould at the base to drip the wet clear of the lower portion. One of the old sitting-rooms was converted into an entrance hall, a new drawing-room was added, and a surgery (the owner being a doctor), also bed, dressing, linen and bath rooms. The cost, including
74
'TH£f>4DDOac'
GROUND FLOOR PLAN.
UPPER GROUND FLOOR.
THE PADDOCK, RUSKINGTON. LINCOLNSHIRE, AS ALTERED. A. W. BREWILL and BASIL £. BAILY, Architects.
The additions to an old cottage consist of new drawing room, two bedrooms, linen cupboard and surgery, rough- casting upper portion and converting remainder. The cost was ^^650. The roof is of pantiles, and the lower part of red brick. See p. 74.
I*
75
From a photograph by Irving.
iiJuJwc wmm coals ■ ^ ' fiiii ■ '
GROUND FLOOR PLAN.
FIRST FLOOR PLAN.
COTTAGE AT SILCHESTER COMMON NEAR READING. MERVYN C. MACARTHiY, Architect.
Lower part built of brick, upper part of tarred weather boarding. The drawing room is a later addition. Cost, about /650. See p. 79.
76
IN THE GARDEN.
THE HALL.
COTTAGE AT SILCHESTER COMMON NEAR READING. (See oDPOsite page.)
Photographs by truing.
77
CROUMD PLAM.
WEEK END COTTAGE AT TRIMINGH AM, NORFOLK. H. G. /B6£BS0/V, Architect.
A country holiday home, built of brick, rough-cast. Cost, /C50. See p. 79.
78
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
converting and fitting up the old portion, was about ;^65o. The out-buildings consist of stabling for three horses, with harness-room, coach-house, coals, etc. etc.
Cottage at Silchester Common, near Reading. Mervyn E. Macartney,
Architect. {See pp. 76, 77.)
This cottage is situated a short distance from the ruins of the old Roman city, the discovery and excavation of which have aroused so much antiquarian interest during the last few years. It occupies the site of a former building that was burnt down, and is owned and was designed by Mr. Macartney for his own country home.
It contains dining-room, drawing-room, study, and four bed- rooms, besides kitchen and offices. The lower part of the cottage is built of brick and the upper part of tarred weather boarding. That it is a typical English cottage home can be gauged from the illustration.
As regards the interior, the architect says there is nothing of note if the panelling in the drawing-room is excepted. This is carried out in oak and is seven feet high. The charming little entrance hall with its tiled floor presents a very inviting aspect to the visitor. The interior effect is heightened by the difference of level in the various rooms. The drawing-room is situated in a one storey annex on the left of the big view.
On the garden very considerable care and trouble have been expended. The view looking down the herbaceous border affords a very delightful vista, which can be matched by several equally charming views taken from other standpoints. The house has been built about eleven years, but the arrangement of gardens has been a constant occupation during that time. The cost of this beautiful little home, exclusive of the garden work, was about 1^650, but it is doubtful whether it could be carried out at quite so low a figure to-day, the cost of building having risen considerably during the last decade. It may be of interest to mention that Mr. Macartney is an authority on gardens.
Week- End Cottage at Trimingham, Norfolk. H. G. Ibberson, Architect. (Seep. 78.)
This is purely a country holiday home, and is designed strictly with a view to saving labour in a dwelling where only one domestic is possible. The large verandah opens out of both the sitting hall and also the kitchen, so that meals can be served there during the summer months. The bathroom and lavatory are situated on the ground floor (and is large enough to make another bedroom in an emergency), also two bedrooms, there being a third bedroom in the roof with linen cupboard, wardrobe and boxroom. The walls are brick, rough-casted, with wrought iron casements and leaded glass. The cost was ^650.
T**
i 79
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
Pair of Cottages, Seacroft, Lincolnshire. Arthur W. Brewill & Basil E. Daily, Architects. (See/. 83.)
These cottages are built of brick, with upper part rough-casted, and have red-tiled roofs. They contain small entrance hall, parlour, kitchen, scullery, etc., on the ground floor, and have four bedrooms on the upper floor. The cottages are let to golfers for the summer months. The cost of the pair was ;^650.
" Lonnin Garth," Portinscale, Cumberland. Douglas and Minshull, Architects. {See pp. 84, 85.)
This very picturesque cottage, situated amid beautiful surround- ings, is a home of the modern type, having a large living-room and kitchen as the main features of the ground floor. In the living-room is a dining recess, and a smoking porch opens off one corner of it. On the first floor there are four bedrooms, linen cupboard, a large cupboard and bathroom ; and on the attic floor three more bedrooms and a cistern room. The lower portion of the house and the chimney-stacks are constructed of local stone in roughly coursed ashlar, and the upper part of brick, rough-casted. The tops of the chimney-stacks are finished in brick. The roofs are covered with Westmorland green slates. The cost was ^^700, which is extremely moderate for the accommodation given.
Cottage on the Broadview Estate, near Rotherfield, Sussex. Theodore Gregg and Lionel Q. Detmar, Architects. {Seep. 86.)
This house is one of several about to be erected on the above estate, which is situated not far from Crowboro' Beacon in Sussex, They are being undertaken in response to a demand which has recently sprung up chiefly among motorists, etc., for week-end homes in the country. In the plan the idea has been to provide one main living-room of ample dimensions containing a wide bay and ingle nook ; this is entitled, perhaps erroneously, drawing-room on the plan ; the other sitting-room is a small one of secondary importance. The staircase is contained in a square hall and lands conveniently on the first floor, giving access to all four bedrooms, bath, and w.c, without any space being wasted in passage, etc. The materials proposed to be used are hollow red brick plinth with 9 in. walls over, covered in lime and pea-beach rough-casted gravel, and with half timber in the gables, etc., and old tiles on the roof. The external staircase to the balcony on the first floor — a somewhat unusual feature — was designed to meet a special requirement. Both storeys are 8 ft. high. The cubical contents are 21,888 ft., and it is expected that the cost will be between ;^8oo and /900.
Cottage with High Chimneys, Famham, Surrey. Niven, Wigglesworth, & Falkner, Architects. {Seep. 89.)
This is another interesting cottage at Farnham, the abnormal height of the chimneys being due to the existence of a row of high trees on the north side of the cottage. When the cottage was built
80
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
the land to the south was in another ownership, and the principal windows had therefore to be placed looking east and west. Over the plan the architect, Mr. Falkner, was accused by " The Studio " of being wilfully playful ; but this is quite erroneous, and it works perfectly well, not being so complicated in use as it appears on paper. Here again is an instance of economy by adopting a plain roof. The accommodation is drawing-room, dining-room, smoking-room, small study (future extension shown on plan), small hall, kitchen, scullery, and enclosed courtyard. On the first floor there are four bedrooms and bathroom. The cost is set down as from {j'So to ;^i,ooo.
Cottage at Rosemount, near Blairgowrie, N.B. T. M. Cappon, Architect.
{See p. 90.)
This is a typical Scottish dwelling of the modern domestic class, built of brick, with hollow walls, rough-cast, and tiled roof. The windows are casements. The accommodation on the ground floor comprises drawing-room, sitting-hall, dining-room, small vestibule, kitchen, pantry, servant's bedroom, wash-house and cycle-house. The arrangements are so planned that the servant can answer the front door or attend to duties upstairs without entering the sitting- hall. On the upper floor there are three bedrooms, dressing-room, linen-room, bathroom, and box-room. The cost was about ;^85o.
The Dial House, Shortfield Common, Farnham, Surrey. Niven, Wigglesworth, & Falkner, Architects. {See pp. 91, 92.)
Certain architects have shown peculiar aptitude in adapting old buildings to new uses as improved dwellings. The cottage here illustrated is a case in point. It was altered for an artist who lives in it. A study of the plans shows how the transformation was effected and how little of the old structural work has been altered. The walls and most of the floors remain. The roof having been built in the middle of the last century was not of the strength that earlier builders would have made it and could not be preserved. There was a rise between the floors at front and back which the architects used to advantage. The large sundial on the wall between the windows — which, by the way, gives the name to the house — was modelled by the owner. As can be seen in the plan before alteration there was a hop kiln on the ground floor, the upper floor of which now makes a fine studio, the lower part is devoted to workshops and dark-room, while the old ventilator serves as a look- out from which the magnificent country from Hindhead to Selborne can be seen. The beautiful dwelling which has thus been recon- structed with so little alteration in the main lines of the previous buildings is a testimony to the skill of the architects. It shows how well the previously existing walls have been utilised and how little cutting about has been done. The long room, of which a view is shown, is a very pleasant room in summer or winter, as it faces due south. At night a curtain is drawn across it to keep the fireplace end cosy and warm. The room shows the touch of the artist hand,
81
COUNTRY COTTAGES
and how much it gains from the beautiful specimens of old furniture can easily be estimated. The interior panelling and the front door were both collected by the owner in Brittany. The cost of such a house new would be from ^^850 to £1,500.
Cottage at Letchworth, Herts. H. M. Fletcher, Architect. {Seep. 97.) This is one of the improved modern cottages erected at the Garden City. The materials are brick, rough-casted, with red tiles to the roof, and casement windows. The plan has the large living-room with dining-room communicating by sliding doors, and conveniently served through the pantry. It will be noted as an excellent point in the plan that the living-room in no way serves the purpose of a passage, and that the servant can answer the front door and attend to her duties upstairs without traversing it. The upper floor has four bedrooms and a bathroom. This is one of the most compact and convenient plans for a small cottage home in the book. Cost on application to the architect.
Cottage at Sutton Veny, near Warminster, Wilts. C. H. B. Quennell,
Architect. {See pp. 98, 99.)
This is a small farmhouse amid picturesque surroundings. The walls are built hollow to resist the strong winds that blow from the Downs, and are faced with red bricks, while the roofs are covered with red tiles. The accommodation comprises living-room with bay, dining-room, office for interviewing farm hands, who can be seen without entering the body of the house, kitchen, scullery, pump-room, cycle-room and offices. On the first floor are four bedrooms and bathroom, and in the attics two other rooms. In the basement is a good coal cellar. Cost on application to the architect.
Cottage at Farnborough, Hants. C. H. B. Quennell, Architect.
{See pp. 99, 100.)
This house is built with "hollow" walls of brick, rough-casted, with red tiled roof and wood casement windows. The accommoda- tion comprises a drawing-room with bay, dining-room with bay, and small verandah, study, kitchen, pantry arranged as servery, scullery, and offices. There are five bedrooms and bathroom upstairs. Cost on application to the architect.
Cottage at Beeston, Notts. Arthur W. Brewill and Basil E. Baily,
Architects. {See p. 105.)
This house contains entrance hall, dining-room, parlour, with kitchen and out-offices, five bedrooms, bathroom, linen, etc., and is built of red sand bricks, the upper portion being covered with rough- cast, and roofed in with green slates. The windows are filled with leaded lights, and the woodwork is painted white. The cost was ;^85o.
82
COTTAGES, SEACROFT, LINCOLNSHIRE. A. W. BRCWILL and BASIL E. BAILY, Architects.
Built of brick, with upper part roughcasted, and red-tiled roof, for the pair, /C50. See p. 80.
Let to golfers during summer months. Cost
S3
GENERAL VIEW,
J^lKt }fouT .
"LONNIN GARTH,' PORTINSCALE, CUMBERLAND. DOUGLAS and UINSHULL, Architects.
Lower portion and chimney stacks of local stone. Upper portion of brick, rough-casled, and tops of stacks of brick.- Roofs covered with Westmoreland green slates. Cost /700. See p. 80.
84
DINING RECESS SHOWING STAIRCASE.
PARLOUR, SHOWING SMOKING PuRL-ri.
"LONNIN GARTH,' PORTINSCALE, CUMBERLAND. (See opposite page.)
85
ENTRANCE FRONT.
COTTAGE ON THE BROADVIEW ESTATE, ROTHERFIELD, SUSSEX. THEOOOBE OREGG and LIONEL G. DETUAR, Architects.
To be built with hollow red brick plinth, with 9 inch walls over, covered in lime and pea beach, rough-cast, with half timbers in the gables, and old tiles on the roof. Estimated cost, between ,^£800 and /900. See p. 80.
86
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
Cottage in the Gloucestershire Cotswold District. Ernest Gimson, Architect. {See 6. 106.)
The cottage here shown, situated amid beautiful natural surroundings in the Gloucestershire Cotswold district, is an example of Mr. Ernest Gimson's work, others of which are re- ferred to on p. 93. The walls are of stone two feet thick quarried from a bank opposite, and the timber is of larch and English oak from the neighbouring woods. The roof is of straw thatch 14 inches thick. There are four bedrooms and a large workroom on the first floor and another bedroom above. The Cotswold district has long been famed for stone cottages, and without doubt the right material to use for building is the stone in the neighbourhood. The majority of the newer cottages have been roofed with stone slates, or thin slabs of stone used like slates after ancient examples. Thatch, however, forms a much softer and more graceful outline for the roofing. The finely-grown trees show how a little care and patience in the selection of the site will make an immense difference in the appearance of the whole. Cost on application to the architect.
Pair of Cottages on the Shore, Llanfairfechan, N. Wales Herbert L. North, Architect. {Seep. 107.)
These houses are just completed, and are built of brick, rough- casted, the roofs being covered with thick small slates, with green ones to form a pattern. The front doors are of elm, and native oak has been used for the verandah posts. The long roofs give protection against the prevailing south-west and north-east gales. The windows have leaded lights. By a system of folding doors the downstairs can be made drawing-room, dining-room, and hall, or one big room with the front door and stairs screened off. The open ceilings are whitewashed and stencilled with a pattern of roses and periwinkle. The cost, including fencing and paths, was ;^9io.
" Redroofs," Henley-on-Thames, Oxon. John W. Fair & Val Myer,
Architects. {Seep. 108.)
This is a bungalow residence at this popular river resort. It contains a large dining or living hall, with verandah, smoking-room, two bedrooms, kitchen, servant's bedroom, scullery, and entrance lobby on the ground floor. The plan is so arranged that the servant can answer the door or proceed upstairs without entering the living hall. On the upper floor are a boudoir, two more bedrooms, bathroom, etc. The walls are built in local brick, with a deep-channelled joint, and whitewashed. The roof is covered with local red, sand-faced tiles, and the exterior woodwork is painted white. The fireplaces and the dining hall ingle are constructed in red brickwork, with a wide puttied joint and bands of old Dutch tiles. Cost on application to the architects.
Cottage, Buckhurst Hill, Essex. A. Needham Wilson, Architect.
{See p. 109.)
In designing this cottage an attempt was made to break away from the stereotyped plan of middle-class dwelling, and to combine
87
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
strict economy of space, and the minimum of passage, with cheap construction, and the reduction of housework. The walls are built of stock bricks, rough-cast outside, and the roof is covered with Broseley tiles laid on boarding and felt. The joinery, both external and internal, is of the simplest character, and all the internal walls are distempered. Use was made of the fall of the ground to secure a difference of level on the ground floor, thus imparting some interest to the treatment of the hall. It was felt that a large living-room is essential for modern requirements, and that in this type of dwelling a large drawing-room is not necessary, though it should be capable of enlargement on occasion. The total cost of the cottage was ^770, including fencing, electric bells, gas, and all decoration.
"Knighton" and " Northernhay." Two Cottages in Boston Square, Hunstanton. H. G. Ibberson, Architect. {See pp. no — 112.)
The majority of seaside houses are poor in the extreme from an architectural point of view. This is probably due to the speculative beginnings of most of our seaside resorts, the ground usually being acquired by a speculative builder or a land development company whose efforts, aided by the local Railway Company, result in the gradual dotting over the area of cheap dwellings of the flimsiest and cheapest description, designed mainly to induce people to occupy them because of the cheap rents, and the hope of profit from summer boarders. It is pleasant to be able to show a few seaside dwellings that do not come within this category, and these two cottages are interesting not only in themselves but as a solution of a little problem in planning. The sites are very narrow and deep, and face each other on opposite sides of a garden, which belongs to the same owner. This garden will never be built on. The gardens are necessarily small, but the seats at the ends of the pergolas are so arranged that complete privacy is attained. The walls are of the local carstone, having large rough angle stones, the joints generally being brushed well back with a stiff brush and " dashed " with the stone dust. The bays and chimneys are of rough-cast, and the roofs are covered with Bedford hand-made tiles. The accommoda- tion of " Knighton " comprises on the ground floor, drawing-room, dining-room, kitchen, scullery, and offices ; and on the first floor, five bedrooms, bath, and linen cupboard. The cost was £ts^- " Northernhay " has much the same accommodation, but there is a " den " opening out of the dining-room ; there are four bedrooms and a dressing-room on the first floor, and a boxroom in the attic. The cost was ;^g68.
Cottage in The Bourne, Famham, Surrey. Niven, Wigglesworth, & Falkner, Architects. {See pp. 112, 113.)
This cottage is an illustration of a successful adaptation of a small farmhouse to the purposes of a country cottage residence. The hatched lines on the plan show the old walls, and the blocked- in portions the new work. As altered the house is a delightful one in a still more charming garden. The drawing-room was formed out of
88
GROUND PLAN,
COTTAGE. WITH HIGH CHIMNEYS, AT FARNHAM. SURREY. mvEN, WieCLESWORTH and FALKNER, Architects.
Built of brick, rough-casted, with red-tiled roof. Wood casement windows, witli leaded lights. Cost, about /750 to /800. See p. 80.
89
iirfi M
GENERAL VIEW.
ENTRANCE FRONT.
COTTAGE AT ROSEMOUNT, NEAR BLAIRGOWRIE, N.B. T. M. CfPPON Architect.
Built of brick, with hollow walls, rough-cast. Roof covered with slates. Cost, about ;^S50. See p. 8i.
go
VIEW FROM THE SIDE.
GROVnO FLC&P. PL^n
•FIRST FUaR-PL'^n
PLANS BEFORE AND AFTER ALTERATION.
THE DIAL HOUSE, SHORTFIELD COMMON, FARNHAM. NII/EN. WIGGLESWORTH and FALKNER, Ar^kitecls.
Another example of excellent adaptive work. The blacked-in walls show how little structural partition work has been necessitated. Cost, new, from £850 to /■i,50o. See p. Si.
9'
FRONT VIEW.
THE LONG ROOM.
THE DIAL HOUSE, SHORTFIELD COMMON FARNHAM. (S« preuiotis iiagf.)
92
<
I
1°
O J3 U ♦-'
^ 5
^ 5? u a
° N
"•a
|
nj |
rH |
o |
|
<1) |
'? |
-+^ |
|
OJ |
-a |
O O |
|
11 |
||
|
"^ |
||
|
H |
lU |
^ |
|
O |
||
|
Xi |
C/5 |
u |
|
a |
'n |
|
|
^Tl |
O |
|
|
P |
c |
■ 1 |
|
C/3 |
i^' |
|
|
r" |
||
|
c: |
||
|
ffl |
H |
Cl, |
|
O |
a |
|
|
'0 |
n |
|
|
-^ |
-!r |
|
|
?r |
r; |
o |
|
O |
||
|
E |
-13 |
|
|
w |
tn |
|
|
X |
> t; c-^
D O
I
Ji rt C
^ r- "~
— OJ C c — rtl — r^ ^ D.
^.•^ vi — CO)
c «2
o^r3 u o u
=" c g
'/) c n] 3 £ ">
o •- -a
71
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
the old barn, and in the two bedrooms above the old timber trusses of the roof filled in to form partitions give the rooms a very cottage- like and ancient appearance. The accommodation on the ground floor comprises a dining-room, large drawing-room, store, garden- room, cloak-room, kitchen, and offices. The plan shows with how little alteration this excellent home has been completed. It is inhabited by one of the partners in the above firm of architects. Cost on application to the architects.
Cottage with Pergola at Farnham. Niven, Wigglesworth, & Falkner, Architects. {See pp. 114, 115.)
This is a very charming cottage at Farnham, and very char- acteristic of the country cottages now being built. As regards the plan the main idea was to get as much accommodation as possible under one plain roof. This desire to economise in the matter of roofs is an eminently desirable one, and probably not sufficiently considered nowadays. Country cottages are not improved by complicated and elaborate roofs, and many gables, hips, and valleys frequently make the cost of a roof out of all proportion to the house it covers. As regards the plan of this house, Mr. Falkner, the local partner in the above firm, acknowledges his indebtedness for the main ideas to his friend, Mr. C. H. B. Quennell, several of whose cottages are illus- trated in this book. The house has a courtyard to the offices where the unsightly parts of the household duties may be performed in private. The interior fittings are more elaborate than usual. The dining-room is panelled throughout in Jacobean oak, and has exposed beams of oak over. The frieze in the drawing-room was modelled in plaster by artists of the Bromsgrove Guild of Craftsmen. The tiles in some of the fireplaces are from a local pottery which produces a very decent glaze. The accommodation is dining-room, drawing- room, morning room, small octagonal hall, kitchen, scullery, offices, . and enclosed yard, and, on the first floor, five bedrooms and bathroom. The cost is not stated exactly ; but a similar cottage might be built for from /^goo to ^^1,500, depending on the district, and other factors mentioned in the chapter on cost.
Two Holiday Home Cottages in Charnwood Forest, Leicestershire. Ernest Qimson, Architect. {See pp. 116, 117.)
These two cottages are a striking illustration of an artificial creation like a house being so cleverly fashioned that it is not merely inoffensive but actually takes a place in the landscape as if it were part and parcel of Nature itself. Not many men have this gift of designing. There is another virtue in these cottages not, perhaps, apparent without explanation — they are both built of local stone. The Charnwood district of Leicestershire is one of great geological interest. Here volcanic action has thrust through the overlaying strata big bosses of igneous rock which makes the district rich in hard stone much used for road metal. Lumps of this stone picked up from the surrounding lands have been pressed into service for walling, and the walls of the cottages have, therefore,
J*
93
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
the tint of the surrounding rocks, one of the first steps in Nature harmony. The cottages are summer homes and they are somewhat older than the majority of week-end cottages, and in fact were built before the term, " week-ender," became at all current. But the essential lines are similar to those of the more modern cottage dwelling — they have the sitting hall, dining-room, kitchen, etc., and four or five bedrooms, a considerable picturesqueness being attained by the steps up and down to the different levels of the rooms. The cost of these cottages cannot be exactly stated ; the utilisation of the local stone and other circumstances varying from the ordinary building contract procedure make the exact amount uncertain. Mr. Gimson being himself a craftsman is accustomed to doing actual work on his buildings ; for one thing he is an artist in plasterwork, and has enriched many houses by delicately-modelled ceilings and friezes. He has also designed a great quantity of furniture and carried out some of the designs himself. With the other members of the Guild of Handicraft who have made Gloucestershire their home he is endeavouring to bring a new order into English homes, more particularly in avoiding the besetting sins of over elaboration and display. The creation of things beautiful as well as useful, and useful as well as beautiful, might be stated as the aim and object of the Guild. Cost on application to the architect.
94
CHAPTER V.
DESCRIPTIONS OF COTTAGES COSTING FROM ;^I,000 TO ;{2,000.
Probably the majority of country cottages of the small superior class will come into this division, and the greater proportion will range in cost from about ;^i,ooo to ;^i,300. At this figure some amount of decoration and finish can be afforded where the accommodation comprises five bedrooms or less. Under ;^i,ooo the architect cannot "let himself go," but has to exercise a close restraint on any exuber- ance of fancy. The number of examples here given is, however, slightly less than in the case of cottages under ^^1,000, as it was felt desirable to give as many illustrations of cottages in that division as possible.
Cottage at Upper Warlingham, Surrey. P. Morley Horder, Architect.
{Seep. 118.)
This is constructed of brick, rough-casted, with red brick chimney-stacks, and red tiles on the roof. The accommodation on the ground floor comprises a drawing- and dining-room, both being large rooms, and the former opens out of a small sitting-hall by means of folding-doors. There are also kitchen, scullery, and usual offices. On the upper floor are five bedrooms and bathroom. The cost was ;^i,xoo.
" Rosebriers," Llanfairfechan, N. Wales. Herbert L. North, Architect.
{See pp. 119, 120.)
Welsh architecture in the main is exceedingly poor, though Mr. North and one or two other men like him are making a brave attempt to infuse a little art and progress into the general ruck of mean and paltry building. It is astonishing, in a country so rich in natural building materials, that brick boxes with slate roofs should form almost a typical feature in a Welsh landscape.
" Rosebriers " is built of the local granite, rough-casted, and the chimneys and ridges are of brindled Buckley brick. The roofs are covered with third quality thick slates. The terrace walls are laid " dry," i.e. without mortar, and are of granite with uncut faces. The house is arranged to get as much sun during the day as possible. In the morning the dining-room receives the most benefit, and the sunshine works round to the drawing-room by the afternoon. The house is built in a form to resist the heavy gales from the west, while the long roofs to the north and east completely protect those quarters.
Of the interior views, one shows the drawing-room looking through to the ante-room, which is separated from both dining-room and drawing-room by glass doors, so that all three rooms can be
95
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
thrown into one if desired. From the ante-room a door opens on to the terrace. The chimney-piece in the dining-room has panels of glass tiles, blue and violet, with rose-grey lines and mother-of-pearl and silver mosaic dots. The beams are of pitch pine. The view of the dining-room shows the serving hatch from the kitchen. The floor here is of unpolished oak. Both the table and the cupboard are from the architect's designs, and the latter, which is of oak with ash doors, was partly made by him. The table frame and legs are of oak with elm top. The cost of the house was ;^i,ooo. The plan of the garden is exceedingly interesting.
House at Letchworth, Herts. Halsey Ricardo, Architect. {See pp. 121, 122.)
This is another of the modern residences at the Garden City. The walls, which are built with a hollow space, are of local white stock bricks. Elm weather-boarding has been used for the gables, and old tiles for the roof. The house is thoroughly well built. On the ground floor there is a dining-room, drawing-room, study, kitchen, scullery, bicycle room, and offices ; on the first floor four bedrooms and bathroom, and on the second floor three bedrooms, boxroom, and housemaid's closet. The house is rather new at present and un- occupied, but will improve in appearance in a year or two's time. The cost including gates, fences, colouring of the internal walls, and a fair number of cupboards, was ;^i,o5i.
House at Crompton, near Quildford, Surrey, P. Morley Horder, Architect,
{Seep. 123.)
The plans of this house, if compared with the perspective view, do not agree properly with it. In the plans the long wing of the house appears on the left hand and the short wing on the right, instead of vice versa. This was due to the tracings being made from reversed sun-prints, the only drawings available, and the error was only discovered when putting the illustrations together. If held up to a looking-glass the plans will appear as originally plotted. The accommodation is, however, correctly shown. There is an outer vestibule, from which entrance is obtained to the sitting-hall, which opens to a verandah, and separate access to a corridor from the kitchen so that the servant does not traverse the hall to open the front door. There are a dining-room and drawing-room, the latter forming the ground floor of the short wing ; kitchen, scullery, and offices. On the upper floor are six bedrooms, a sitting space over the porch, bathroom, &c. The house is typical of Mr. Herder's charming work, and is roomy and comfortable. The materials are brick, rough-cast, with tiled roof, stone dressings to windows, &c., and wrought-iron casements with leaded lights. The cost of the house alone was ;^i,25o. -^
"Tiiehurst," Bushey, Herts. C. F. A. Voysey, Architect.
(See tip. 124 — 126.)
This is another interesting example of Mr. Voysey's work, and should be specially noted for the square treatment of the plan, and
96
ENTRANCE FRONT.
GARDEN FRONT.
n LG- IVRT^^^^
COTTAGE AT LETCH yVORTH. H. M. FLETCHEH. Architect,
Built of brick, rough-casted, with red-tiled roof. Cost on application to the Architect. See p. 82.
97
GARDEN FRONT.
FIRST FLOOR PLAN. COTTAGE AT SUTTON VENY, WILTS.
C. H. B. QUeNNELL, Archilect.
Walls built hollow (to resist the strong winds that blow from the Downs), and of red brick with red tiled roof. Wood casement windows. Cost on application to the Architect. See p. S2.
98
COTTAGE AT SUTTON VENY, WILTS: ENTRANCE FRONT. (See „reuioue page.)
COTTAGE AT FARNBOROUGH, HANTS' GARDEN FRONT. (See next page.)
99
ENTRANCE FRONT.
n T.--]|iiiiiii'
le/p/ifrofi/i
^
T?
|r^
0/POi///D//00/?P/.f//
f/fisr fiooj? Pifl/^
COTTAGE AT FARNBOROUGH. HANTS. C. H. B. QUENNELL, Architect.
Built of brick, rough-casted, with red tile roof. Wood casement windows. Cost on application to the Architect. See p. 82.
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
the economy of the single chimney stack into which all the flues are gathered. It is built of brick, rough-casted, with stone dressings to the windows. The latter have wrought-iron casements with leaded lights. The roof is covered with red tiles. The accommoda- tion on the ground floor is a large sitting-hall, a parlour, kitchen, and offices, and on the first floor there are three bedrooms, bathroom, boxroom, and photographic room. The cost was about ;^i,ooo.
Cottage at Hook Heath, Woking, Surrey. Godfrey Pinkerton, Architect.
{See pp. 126, 127.)
In this cottage the object has been to bring all the principal rooms on to the sunny and garden frontage. The materials em- ployed are brick, rough-casted, with red tiles for the roof, and casement windows with leaded lights. On the ground floor there is small entrance hall, library, drawing-room, dining-room, kitchen, scullery, and offices, with outbuildings for coal and bicycles. On the first floor there are day and night nurseries, two bedrooms, dressing-room with bath, bathroom, linen cupboard and store ; and on the upper floor two more bedrooms, boxroom, and tankroom. Cost on application to the architect.
House at Lynden End, near Birmingham. Herbert T. Buckland & E. Haywood -Farmer, Architects. (Seep. 128.)
This house is built of brick, faced externally with rough-cast, and the chimneys are of brindled Black Country bricks, while the roofs are covered with Hartshill tiles. Internally the treatment is very simple, all the woodwork being of deal, painted. This type of dwelling is suitable for either week-end cottage or a small suburban country home for a man of modest income and some taste. The accommodation on the ground floor is as follows : — Dining-room, drawing-room, study, kitchen, scullery, and offices, including larder and dairy, and in the outbuildings are a wash-house and fuel-house. The outbuildings are connected with the scullery by a covered way, and they give on to an enclosed yard, walled off" from the garden. On the first floor there are five bedrooms, bathroom, and a large linen cupboard, and in the attic there are two other rooms. All the bedrooms have fire-places. The cost of the house was ^^1,150.
"The Bimgalow," Seacroft, Lincolnshire. A. W. Brewill & Basil E. Baily,
Architects. (Seep. 133.)
This cottage contains small entrance hall, living-room, dining- room, two bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen, scullery, wash-house, and offices on the ground floor. The two bedrooms could be used as additional sitting-rooms if desired. There is also a spacious verandah. On the upper floor there are five bedrooms, linen cup- board, etc. The house is built of red brick, rough-casted above the plinth, the roof being covered with red tiles, and the casement windows being fitted with leaded lights. The exterior woodwork is painted white. Cost ;^i,200.
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
House at Bridlington. Herbert T. Buckland & E. Haywood -Farmer, Architects. {See pp 134—136.)
This house is practically based, by desire of the client, on another house by the same architects erected near Birmingham ; but the site and aspect not presenting the same characteristics, the plan had, practically, to be turned round. Externally the house is rough- cast on brick, and is roofed with Hartshill tiles ; the caps of the chimneys and the dressings to the front door are of Staffordshire bricks, rather blue in colour, forming a contrast with the rough-cast. Internally the woodwork is of deal, painted, except in the dining- room, which is fitted with English oak. All the walls are distempered, the plaster being finished with a wood float, which gives an excellent texture to the surface to receive distemper. The entrance floor looks away to the open country, and the other side looks on to the sea. There is a small enriched plaster cornice in all the living rooms. The accommodation on the ground floor comprises dining-room, drawing-room, playroom, small hall, kitchen, and offices, and there is an enclosed yard to the offices. The first floor plan shows four bedrooms and bathroom, etc., and in the attics there are three more rooms. The cost was ^^1,112. Incidentally it may be remarked that the ordinary run of seaside cottages and houses is exceedingly bad in design, and this is not, perhaps, to be wondered at when it is remembered that they are mostly of the speculative variety, and that the speculative builder is usually a town bird who takes with him the plans of his architectural triumphs in the suburbs. One could wish that the big land speculators and the ground landlords, to whose efforts so many of our modern watering places owe their origin, would ally themselves at the outset of their enterprise with a decent architect, and not leave to the private owner only the inception of a piece of architectural design among the general chaos of building rubbish.
Cottage at Camberley, Surrey. C. H. B. Quennell, Architect.
{Seepp. 136—138.)
This picturesque house is built amidst a pine wood, the walls on the ground floor and entrance bay and the chimneys being of red brick. Above the ground floor the walls are rough-casted, and the roof is covered with red tiles. The windows are wood casements with leaded lights. The accommodation comprises living-room with big bay, dining-room, verandah, study, kitchen, cycle-room, store, and offices. On the first floor are five bedrooms, dressing-room, and bathroom, and two other rooms on the attic floor. Cost on application to the architect.
Cottage at Heyshott, Midhurst, Sussex. Horace Field, Architect.
{Seepp. 138, 139.)
This house is picturesquely situated, with the garden facing south, and is sheltered by a pinewood at the back. It is built of brick, rough-casted, has wood casement windows and a red tile roof.
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
The accommodation on the ground floor comprises a sitting-hall, a large living-room, work-room, verandah, kitchen, and offices. On the upper floor there are four bedrooms, a dressing-room, and bath- room. The cost will be given by the architect on application.
" Woodcote," Camberley, Surrey. H. R. & B. A. Poulter, Architects.
{Seep. 140.)
This cottage is situated on a gravel hill. The walls have a brick plinth, above which is oak timber framing left rough and filled with Taylor's bricks, covered with cement rough-cast and whitewashed. The roof is covered with old tiles from barns at Frimley. Internally the walls are finished with white plaster. Oak joinery is used through- out and hea\y oak ceilings. Wrought-iron casement windows with three-quarter inch leads, decorative portions being sparingly intro- duced. The accommodation on the ground floor comprises drawing- room, sitting-hall, dining-room, kitchen, servants' hall, and offices. On the first floor there are night and day nurseries, three bedrooms and dressing-room, bathroom, linen cupboard, &c. On the attic floor there are two more bedrooms and box-room, and in the basement there is a cellar. Cost on application to the architects.
"The White Cottages," Hunstanton, Norfolk. H. Q. Ibberson, Architect.
{Seep. 145.)
" The White Cottages " are a pair of semi-detached dwellings at the above seaside resort, and take their name, as may be imagined, from the colour of the walls. The main idea of the plan was to get the principal room at the back unspoiled by any kitchen projection into the garden. The walls are of brick, white rough-casted, and brown stone dressings, and the roof is covered with grey-green slates. The windows have iron casements, and leaded lights throughout. The accommodation in each cottage comprises drawing-room, dining- room, kitchen, scullery, and offices, and a large stoep or loggia at the back. On the upper floor are four bedrooms, bathroom, and linen cupboard. The cost of the two was approximately £i,ig2.
"Fridhem," Hunstanton, Norfolk. H. Q. Ibberson, Architect.
{See pp. 14s, 146.)
This is a small house, but with fairly large rooms. The materials are brown local stone, and Ham Hill stone and flint are also introduced. The lead enrichments were designed and beaten by the architect. The internal woodwork is Bass, stained, oiled, and rubbed, and enriched with copper, while the walls with plaster ornament worked by the architect are white-washed down to the dado rail. The accommodation comprises on the ground floor, dining-room, drawing-room, kitchen, scullery, and offices ; and on the upper floor, four bedrooms, bathroom, and two cupboards. Cost on application to the architect.
Cottages, Boston Square, Hunstanton, Norfolk. H. Q. Ibberson, Architect.
{Seep. 147.)
The architect describes this pair as an attempt to unite the picturesque and plate glass. The materials are brown stone with
103
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
yellow rough-cast and red tiles. The accommodation on the ground floor of each comprises dining-room, drawing-room, small hall, kitchen, scullery, and offices. On the first floor there are three bedrooms and bathroom, and on the attic floor two bedrooms, two linen cupboards and boxroom. The cost of the pair was £1,120.
Cottage, Lincoln Square, Hunstanton, Norfolk. H. G. Ibberson, Architect.
(See t>. 148.)
The materials of this house are the local carstone with red tiled roof. The windows are sash windows and the woodwork is painted white. The accommodation on the ground floor comprises drawing-room and study with folding-doors between, dining-room, pantry arranged as servery, kitchen, scullery, and offices. On the upper floor are four bedrooms, a dressing-room, and bathroom. Cost on application to the architect.
"Ingledell," Camberley, Surrey. H. R. & B. A. Poulter, Architects.
{See pp. 149, 150.)
This cottage is built on a sandy site, sloping rapidly to the south. The walls are built of local bricks, lime rough-casted, and the exterior woodwork is painted brown. The roofs are covered with red hand- made tiles. Internally the walls are plastered, the ceilings and friezes being in white plaster. The joinery is painted brown. The glazing, by the client's desire, is done in heavy plate glass. The ground floor comprises drawing-room with small verandah, dining-room, study, kitchen, servants' hall, offices, and enclosed yard. In the basement there is a heating chamber. On the first floor there are five bed- rooms, bathroom, linen cupboard, &c., on the attic floor three servants' bedrooms and boxroom. Cost on application to the architects.
Cottage at Letchworth, Herts. M. H. Baillie-Scott, Architect.
{See pp. 151, 152.)
Mr. Baillie-Scott's houses are always interesting, and this house, built for an artist at the Garden City, is no exception to the rule. As might be expected the cottage has been specially designed with the convenience of the owner in view. There is a large studio the full height of the building, with a large north light, and a corridor on the first floor forming a gallery at one end. There is a large garden porch which serves both for the studio and the large living room which has a dining recess off it. A children's room with small verandah is also a feature of the ground plan. On the upper floor there are five bedrooms, bathroom, etc. The casement windows have leaded lights. Cost on application to the architect.
Cottage at Harmer Green. Eden & Freeman, Architects. {See pp. 152, 153.)
This cottage presents an unusual and interesting treatment, showing a long low elevation, with the bedrooms in the roof and the chimney stacks kept low. The main entrance is on the right- hand side of the small bay, which also forms the staircase under
104
GENERAL VIEW.
GROUND FLOOR PLAN.
FIRST FLOOR PLAN.
COTTAGE AT BEESTON, NOTTS.
A. W. BREWILL and BASIL f. BAIIY, Architects.
Built of red sand bricks, with upper part rough-casted, and roofed with green slates. Woodwork painted white, and casement windows with leaded lights. Cost, £850. See p. 82.
105
COTTAGE IN THE GLOUCESTERSHIRE COTSWOLD DISTRICT. EUNEST aiMSON. Architect.
Built of rubble stone, quarried on site ; walls 2 feet thick, and rough-casted. Roof of straw thatch, 14 inches thick. Cost on application to the Architect. See p. 87.
106
PAIR OF COTTAGES AT LLANFAIRFECHAN, N. WALES. H. L. NORTH, Architect.
Built of brick, rough-cast, with thick small slates on roof having a pattern formed with green ones. Tlie long roofs protect from the prevailing south-west and north-east gales. Native oak posts to verandah. Front doors of elm. Casement windows with leaded lights. Cost of pair, £910. See p. 87.
107
uairJet) J-j ■o7?t:
Grtuind P/an
J<^frsf F/oor-
"REDROOFS," HENLEY-ON-THAMES, OXON. JOHN W. FAIR and VAL KfEK, Architects.
Built of local red brick, with deep channelled joints and whitewashed. Roof covered with local red, sand-faced tiles, and exterior woodwork painted white. Cost on application to the Architects. See p. 87.
)o8
ENTRANCE FRONT.
JUHCH
CORRIDOR
BrDROOM B[DR0OM
GROUND FLOOR PLAN.
FIRST FLOOR PLAN.
COTTAGE AT BUCKHURST HILL. ESSEX. A. NEEDHSM WILSON, Architeot.
Built of Stock brick, rough-cast ; roof covered with Broseley tiles. All internal walls distempered. Total cost, including fencing, electric bells, gas and decoration, £,']']o. See p. 87.
log
CROUMD PLAM "KNIGHTON," BOSTON SQUARE, HUNSTANTON.
H. G, IBBERSOU, Architect.
riRsr rLOOR plan
Built of local carstone, with rough-cast bay, gables and chimney stacks. Leaded lights. Cost, ^756. See p. 88.
C /I c n fi o/! O
e 03 TO/V J QU/lf>£ BLOCK PLAN OF HOUSES AT HUNSTANTON. " NORTHERNHAY " AND "KNIGHTON," SHOWING REASON
OF PLANNING TO OVERLOOK GARDEN IN SAME OWNERSHIP.
CROUnD PL-fln
|
if? |
P'^^^^ |
||
|
I::, . |
LAV |
J |
noon |
|
BE DfTC |
loon & noon |
1 |
OED Roon
FIRST FLOOR PLAN
"NORTHERNHAY," BOSTON SQUARE, HUNSTANTON. (See p. 8S and next page.) H. G. IBBBKSON, Architect.
ATTIC
PLrtn.
CO =
<
z g
.< -s
z o
<
UJ lU
O o
< <
a: I-
o: I-
lU o
H O
COTTAGE IN THE BOURNE. FARNHAM (as altered). NIVEN, WIOGLESWORTH and FALKHEft. Architects.
Represents a small farmhouse adapted as a cottage residence. Built of brick, part of weather boarding, with old tile roof. Cost on application to the Architects. See p. 8S.
M
Hi
z :s
DC g < -t
> Uj
I-
H O O
114
FIRST FLOOR PLAN
COAL-
GROUND PLAN.
COTTAGE WITH PERGOLA, FARNHAM. SURREY.
NIVEN. WIOGLESWOHTH and FALKHER, Architects.
Built of brick, rough-casted, with wood casement windows and red tiled roof. Cost, about .^950. See p. 93
"5
m^-^'
LEA COTTAGE, Photograph by H. truing.
GROUND PLAN. STONEYWELL COTTAGE.
GROUND PLAN LEA COTTAGE.
TWO HOLIDAY HOME COTTAGES IN CHARNWOOD FOREST, LEICESTERSHIRE, ERNEST GlltSON, Arohitect.
Built of local stone, and thatched. Cost cannot be exactly stated ; but particulars on application to the Architects. See p. 93,
116
LEA COTTAGE. Photograiih by H, Irving.
STONEYWELL COTTAGE. Photograph by H. Irtiing.
TWO COTTAGES IN CHARNWOOD FOREST LEICESTERSHIRE. (See opposite page.) £/IN£ST GIMSON, Architect.
117
GENERAL VIEW FROM GARDEN,
Hvc Bedrooms Over'
COTTAGE AT UPPER WARLINCHAM, SURREY. P. MOKLEf HOROEII. Arcliitect.
Built of brick, rough-casted, with red bricli chimney stacks, and red tiles on the roof. Cost, /i.ioo. See p. 95.
118
LOOKING TOWARDS THE DRAWING-ROOM WINDOWS.
^
-i^:^- , A
'.wi m.
Win-. ( r 'v- vZ .'^.^
ROSEBRIERS." LLANFAIRFECHAN, N. WALES. H. L. NORTH. Architect.
Built of local granite throughout, with chimneys and ridges of brindled Buckley brick. Terrace walls are granite laid without mortar, and the stones have uncut faces. Roof covered with third quality thick slates. Cost, /i.ooo. See p. 95.
iig
THE DINING-ROOM.
THE DRAWING-ROOM AND ANTE-ROOM.
"ROSEBRIERS," LLANFAIRFECHAN, N. WALES. (See preuicus page.)
ENTRANCE FRONT. Photograph (ij W. H. Watts.
Pi CIO o^ t^e c^oond ^locC
HOUSE AT LETCHWORTH, HERTS. HALS£Y SICARDO, Architect.
Built of local white stock brick, with elm weather boarding to gables, and old tiles on roof. Cost ;iCi.05i. See p. 96.
N
VIEW FROM THE GARDEN. Photograph by W. H. Walls.
HOUSE AT LETCHWORTH, HERTS. {See previous 'oage.)
I KITCHm \-s*
.COPBIDOB":
GROUND FLOOR PLAN.
^T|BAWiriGE0OMJ
HOUSE AT CROMPTON, NEAR GUILDFORD, SURREY. P. KORLEY HORDER. Architect.
Built of brick, rougli-cast, with red tiled roof, and store dressings to windows, etc. Casement windows with leaded lights. Cost of house, only ^1,250. See p. 96.
NOTE. — A comparison of plan with the view shows that the position of the long and short wings of the house are not in agreement. This is due to an error in tracing from a reversed " Sun Print." Holding the plan up to a looking glass would correct the error.
123
ENTRANCE FRONT,
TILEHURST." BUSHEY, HERTS, C. F. A. VOySEy. Architect.
Built of brick, rough-casted, with stone dressings to windows. Wrought iron casement windows with leaded lights. Red tile roof. Cost, ^fiiOoo. See p. 96.
J24
z s
I o
s fe
125
"TILEHURST" BUSHEY, HERTS; THE SITTING HALL. (See previous page.)
COTTAGE AT HOOK HEATH, FROM THE LAWN. IS« u/jposite cnge.) eODFRCY PINKERTON. Architect Photograph by the Citij Art Photo. Co.
126
VIEW FRuM THfc LAWN.
GROUND FLOOR PLAN.
FIRST FLOOR PLAN,
ATTIC PLAN.
COTTAGE AT HOOK HEATH, WOKING, SURREY. GODFREY PINKERTON. Arcliitect.
Built of brick, rough-casted, with red tiled roof and casement windows. Cost on application to the Architect. See p. loi.
127
^iitj^fa- . _..
HOUSE AT LYNDEN END, NEAR BIRMINGHAM. HERBERT T. SUCKLAHD and £. HAYWOOD-FAIIKER, Architects.
Built of brick, rough-casted, with chimney stacks of Black Country brindled bricks. Roof covered with Hartshill tiles. Cost ;f 1, 150. Seep. loi.
128
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
which is a room for photographic purposes. It will be noted that the tiled hall is a long corridor, and that the entrance and staircase as well as the nursery and kitchen departments are shut off from it, thus forming a sitting-room with fireplace. The day and night nurseries are both situated on the ground floor, the former having a big bay window, with window seats. The kitchen department is self- contained, and the latter has a big bay with seats balancing the day nursery window. At the other end of the building on the upper floor are six bedrooms, with bathroom, &c. The walls are built of brick, rough-casted, and are built of some thickness, and hollow in some places to give greater protection against extremes of heat and cold. Cost on application to the architects.
Cottage at Roehampton, Surrey. No. i. A. Jessop Hard wick, Architect.
{Seep. 154.)
This is an extremely picturesque cottage, and forms a very suitable model for a country home. The exterior walls are of brick, with white rough-cast over, and the woodwork is of Oregon pine stained to a very dark brown colour, almost black. The shutters are painted green. The small dome is covered with copper, and the roofs are covered with red tiles. The accommodation on the ground floor comprises a sitting-hall, dining-room, drawing-room, cloak-room, kitchen, offices, and bicycle-room. Back stairs are provided so that servants need not enter the sitting-hall to go upstairs. On the first floor are two bedrooms, day and night nurseries, and bathroom, and on the attic floor are two more bedrooms and a dark-room. The sitting-hall is panelled in oak, and the drawing-room contains a special piece of decoration by a lady artist. This takes the form of a frieze, with low relief Grecian figures, having a suggestion of flesh- tint colour on a creamy white background.
Cottage at Roehampton, Surrey. No. 2. A. Jessop Hardwick, Architect.
{Seep. 155.)
This is another of the four cottage residences erected close together from Mr. Hardwick's designs, so that the spot is some- times called Hardwick's corner. This cottage has a very pleasant sitting-hall, also a drawing-room, dining-room, kitchen, cycle-room, and offices on the ground floor, and on the first floor are five bedrooms and bathroom. The hall is treated in dark stained deal. Cost on application to the architect.
" Curraghvoe, " Camberley, Surrey. H. R. & B. A. Poulter, Architects.
{Seep. 156.) This cottage is built on a flat, sandy, roadside site. The walls are of Taylor's bricks, covered with cement rough-casted and white- washed. The wood-work is creosoted. The roofs are covered with old tiles, and the glazing, by the client's desire, is in plate glass. Internally the walls are finished in white plaster, as also are ceilings and friezes. The joinery is painted brown. The ground floor accom- modation consists of drawing-room, dining-room, study, small hall,
O 129
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
kitchen, offices, and small verandah. On the upper floor there are five bedrooms and bathroom, &c. Cost on application to the Architects.
Design for a Cottage Residence. William Henry White, Architect.
{Seep. 157.)
This cottage was designed for a client, but not subsequently- carried out. The plan is of the modern type, with a large dining- or living-hall, with ingle fireplace and big bay window, also separate entrance to the grounds. There are also a small entrance hall, drawing-room, study, kitchen, scullery, servant's bedroom, and usual offices on the ground floor. On the upper floor are five bedrooms, bathroom, &c. The cottage was to be built of brick, rough-casted, and finished a cream colour. The roof to be covered with red tiles. Estimated cost, ;^i,300.
Cottage at Garboldishara, Norfolk. P. Morley Horder, Architect.
{Seep. 158.)
This cottage home was built in connection with an old brewing house, the buildings of which were converted into stabling, gardener's cottage, &c. The residence proper is planned to form, with the older buildings, a carriage court, with covered way to the stables. On the ground floor there is a drawing-room with ingle, sitting-hall, dining- room, kitchen, offices, and large verandah. On the upper floor, nine bedrooms, bathroom, &c. The materials are brick, roughcast, with red tile roof and wrought-iron casement windows with leaded lights. The contract cost was ^^1,500.
Cottage at Purley, Surrey. C. H. B. Quennell, Architect. {See p. 159.)
This cottage is built on the Downs and commands fine views. The sunny side is at the back, and the dining- and drawing-rooms are placed on that front. There are beside on the ground floor a study with folding-doors opening into the drawing-room, kitchen, scullery, cycle house, and offices. On the upper floor are five bedrooms, dressing-room, bathroom, and linen cupboard. Externally the walls, built hollow, are of red brick, with red tiles on the roof, and the windows are wood casements. Cost on application to the architect.
Thornthwaite Vicarage, Keswick, Cumberland. Barry Parker & Raymond Unwin, Architects. {Seep. 160.)
The work of these architects, quite in a new and modern vein, is well known. Unfortunately considerations of time and space pre- vent the inclusion of more than a couple of examples of their interesting and delightful houses. Thornthwaite Vicarage, the smaller of the two, is delightfully situated amid beautiful Cumber- land scenery. It is a quiet house with rough-cast over local stone walls and green Westmoreland slate roof. The accommodation consists of living-room, sitting-hall, study, kitchen, butler's pantry, scullery, &c., on ground floor, with five bedrooms, bathroom, &c., on the upper floor. Below the study is an excellent well-lighted cellar. Cost on application to the architects.
130
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
House at Wigginton, Staffordshire. Herbert T. Buckland & E. Haywood - Farmer, Arcfiitects. {See pp. i6i, 162.)
This dwelling was built for a solicitor in practice in the small country town of Tamworth, from which place it is about a mile and a half away. It stands on a gentle slope, with the garden front looking over a fine stretch of typical Staffordshire scenery. The walls are built of thin (2-inch) Black Country brindled bricks, with thick white joints, and this brickwork looks really well, and possesses a fine texture. The roofs are covered with Hartshill tiles. All the copings and gables are formed with the same bricks as the rest of the house. Internally, the woodwork is of deal, painted. To add interest to otherwise plain rooms, modelled enriched cornices have been executed in place of the more commonly-used plaster moulded ones. The photographs do not, unfortunately, show the diaper patterning in the brickwork as clearly as could be wished ; but this adds much to the general effect. The accommodation on the ground- floor is : — Dining-room, drawing-room, hall, study, kitchen, and offices, with wash-house and enclosed yard ; on the first floor there are four bedrooms, a dressing-room and bathroom, &c. ; and in the attics four other rooms. The cost of the house was ;^i,293, ^'^^ the stables cost another ^^225.
"The White Cottage" at Englefield Qreen, Egham, Surrey. Nicholson & Corlette, Architects. {Seepp. 162, 163.)
This picturesque cottage is built of brick, rough-casted, with red pantiles on the roof. The feature of the ground-floor plan is the large living-room with ingle fireplace, this room having a modelled plaster ceiling by G. P. Bankart. Opening out of this is a spacious verandah. There are also on the ground floor, a dining-room, small hall with fireplace, sitting-room, garden entrance with cupboard for games apparatus, small servant's bedroom, kitchen, store, offices and small laundry. On the upper floor are seven bedrooms, bathroom, linen cupboard, and another large cupboard. The cost, which is extremely moderate, may be ascertained from the architects.
House at Swansea, South Wales. P. Morley Horder, Architect. {Seep. 164.)
This is a very charming little house with a fine water-garden scheme. The walls are built of local stone, rough-cast. The roof is covered with Westmoreland slates. The windows are wrought-iron casements with leaded lights. On the ground floor there is a drawing-room with bay, ingle, and verandah, sitting-hall, dining- room, study, entrance hall, pantry, kitchen, and offices. On the upper floor there are four bedrooms, bathroom, sitting - landing, linen-room, and box-room. The cost was ;^i,6oo.
Cottage at Northwood, Middlesex. C. H. B. Quennell, Architect.
{Seep. 165.)
This cottage was built round a corner with the object of saving a fine old tree indicated in the drawing. The walls outside are of brick, covered with rough-cast, and the windows are wood casements
131
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
filled with leaded lights. The accommodation on the ground floor is a small hall, dining- and drawing-rooms, both with bays, study, kitchen, scullery, servery through pantry, and offices. Upstairs there are four bedrooms and servants' bedroom, bathroom, linen cupboard, and box-room. Cost on application to the architect.
"Kings-Wood," Harpsden Heights, Oxen. John W. Fair & Val Myer,
Architects. {See p. i66.) This house is built of brick, faced with cement rough-cast, lime-whitened. The base is built of local red bricks and the quoins are formed with tiles. The roofs are covered with hand-made tiles and the exterior woodwork is painted white. The hall and staircase hall are paved with red quarries and the drawing-room is panelled and painted white, while the dining-room has a panelled dado 7 ft. high, with beamed ceiling. On the ground floor there are in addition to the accommodation mentioned, a morning-room, verandah, kitchen, scullery, laundry, offices and enclosed yard. On the upper floor there are six bedrooms, bathroom, Unen and three other cupboards, &c. The cost was £i,S'^7.
Cottage at Wickhani Bishops, Essex. C. H. B. Quennelf, Architect.
{Seep. 167.)
This cottage has been designed as a holiday home, and the seven bedrooms are all on one floor so that labour is reduced as much as possible. A larger dining-room was required than drawing-room, as well as a good verandah. In addition to this accommodation there are on the ground floor a smoking-room, kitchen, and offices, and a small hall with fireplace. There are a bathroom and linen cupboard on the first floor. The walls, which are built with a hollow space, are of red brick, and the roof is covered with red tiles. The house stands on high land, looking towards Maldon and an arm of the Blackwater river, in one of the prettiest parts of Essex. Cost on application to the architect.
"The Warren," Totteridge, Herts. Nicholson & Corlette, Architects.
{Seep. 168.)
This is another excellent cottage design by Messrs. Nicholson & Corlette, the material being brick, rough-casted, with a roof of red tiles. The cottage contains on the ground floor a dining- room, drawing-room, study, small hall, kitchen and offices, and on the upper floor four bedrooms, dressing-room, bathroom, and Hnen cupboard. The cost may be ascertained from the architects. "The Dingle," Dore, Cheshire. Edgar Wood, Architect. {Seep. 169.) Mr. Wood has a wide reputation for excellent domestic work, fully borne out by the example selected to represent him in this book. " The Dingle " is a charming little house in one of the most pic- turesque parts of England. It is built of local stone rubble with stone-slate roof. The windows have wrought-iron casements with leaded lights. The accommodation comprises on the ground floor, dining-room, hall, nursery, kitchen and scullery, with offices ; on the first floor, four bedrooms and bathroom ; and on the attic floor, two bedrooms and box-room. The cost was ^^1,700.
132
SI
B
if 1
SCO
X- -' *: 5
UJ ■ P o
</> -i f O
ly ■» £ S
o * -a "=
^ -^ c -C
Co . >
0.' 5 3j
"^ =*^ >- C^
Q -* -J-
I- *C ^ C
< II- ■- —
to 3 ^ T"
lu t> „, Is
o <
h h- o o
li. o
a. s H
rt
GROUND FLOOR PLAN.
coAiilfer
' "house
UPPER FLOOR PLAN.
THE BUNGALOW, SEACROFT. LINCOLNSHIRE.
A. W. BREWIiL and BASIL E. BAIU, Architects.
Built of red bricks, covered above the plinth with rough-cast, the roof being covered with red tiles. Casement windows with leaded lights. Cost, £i,2co. Seep. loi.
O"
133
im^m
1 ti'fii'
ENTRANCE FRONT.
gTc GROUND PI^AMlff
m
Elt PLSWl?
HOUSE AT BRIDLINGTON, YORKS.
HERBERT T. BUCKLAND and E. HAYWOOD-FARKEB, Architects.
Built of brick, rough-casted, the roof covered with Hartshill tiles. The caps of the chimneys and the dressings of the front door are of Staffordshire bricks, rather blue in colour. Cost, ;f 1,112. See p. 102.
134
GARDEN FRONT: LOOKING SEAWARDS.
THE DINING-ROOM.
HOUSE AT BRIDLINGTON. (See preuhus page.)
135
^ 7
. .^.. ^i/' ■■v'l:
I in
o
z o I- o z _1 o
DC
o
I
136
ENTRANCE FRONT.
GROUND FLOOR PLAN. FIRST FLOOR PLAN.
COTTAGE AT CAMBERLEY, SURREY. C. H. B. QUENNELi, Architect.
Built of red brick, upper portion rough-casted. Roof covered with red tiles. Casement windows with leaded lights. Cost on application to the Architect. See page 102.
137
COTTAGE AT CAMBERLEY, FROM THE PLANTATION. (See preuhus page.)
COTTAGE AT HAYSHOTT, MIDHURST, SUSSEX: GARDEN FRONT. (See next page.}
138
ffbsT f^p [{^y^.
Orovajd f^p Pt5^ .
COTTAGE AT HEYSHOTT, MiDHURST SUSSEX. HORACE FIELD, Architect.
Built of brick, rough-casted, with red tiled roof. Wood casement windows. Cost on application to the Architect. See p. 102.
139
ENTRANCE FRONT. Photograph by B. A. Potilter.
GDOVND fLGDD PLAN
NOTE
TWO BCDDOOMS AND BOXES IN DGOF ALSO CELLAD IN BASEMENT
riDST FLGOQ PLAN
"WOODCOTE," CAMBERLEY, SURREY.
H. R. and B. A. Poulter, Architects.
Built with a red plinth, oak timber framing above, with Taylor's bricks as filling, covered with cement rough-cast, and whitewashed. Roof covered with old tiles. Wrought iron casement windows with leaded lights. Cost on application to the Architects. See p. 103.
140
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
Cottage at Coombe, Surrey. A. Jessop Hardwick, Architect. {See p. 170.)
The feature of this cottage is the big verandah, about 35 feet long by 14 feet deep, which is largely used by the owner in the summer months as a living-room. Another quaint and interesting feature is the small hall and the vaulted corridor leading out of it to the lobby and verandah. This corridor is large enough for sitting purposes. The materials used were red brick with red tiles for the roof. The woodwork is stained to a very dark, almost black, brown. The windows have leaded lights with diamond panes. The accom- modation on the ground floor, besides the verandah, comprises a dining-room, drawing-room, study, kitchen, and offices. On the first floor are four bedrooms, dressing-room, and bathroom, and there are two other bedrooms in the roof. Cost on application to the architect.
House at London Road, Newark, Notts. A. W. Brewill & Basil E. Baily,
Architects. {See p. 171.)
This house is built of red bricks, the upper portion being covered with rough-cast, and the roof covered with red tiles. The principal external feature is the wood modelled cornice. A portion of the first floor is brought out, forming an entrance portico. The roof is covered with red tiles. The accommodation provided on the ground floor consists of a dining-room, drawing-room, and morning-room, with entrance hall, kitchen and offices. On the first floor there are four bedrooms, dressing-room, bathroom and linen cupboard, and on the second floor there are four more rooms in the roof. The cost was ^1,650.
Cottage at Biddenham, Bedfordshire, No. i. C. E. Mallows, Architect.
{See pp. 172, 173.)
This is a very charming cottage built of local " mingled " bricks, hard and well-burnt, but the cheapest — or nearly the cheapest — in the district. The uneven surface of the brickwork, combined with the varying tint of nearly every brick, gives a very pleasant texture and colour effect to the walls. The roof is covered with local hand-made red tiles, which in course of time will weather to a deep purple tone. The woodwork throughout is of canary whitewood, painted green outside ; and inside, left untouched from the bench. There is scarcely any internal paintwork of any kind. The garden was also designed by Mr. Mallows, and with the exception of a lily pond, was carried out as originally schemed. The accommo- dation consists of a large breakfast-room, and larger dining-room with ingle and window seat, a study and small hall, china closet, kitchen, offices, and bicycle house. On the first floor there are seven bedrooms, linen-room, bathroom with fireplace, and four large cupboards. Cost on application to the architect.
Cottage at Biddenham, Bedfordshire, No. 2. C. E. Mallows, Architect.
{See pp. 174, 175.)
This typical English cottage home is built in the lower part of local hand-made red bricks, with the upper part of common
141
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
brick covered with Portland cement rough-cast. Externally and internally the woodwork is painted white. The roof is covered with red local hand-made tiles similar to the other cottage at Biddenham by the same architect. The gardens in each case were designed by the architect and are often mistaken now for old gardens. In the present case the yew hedges are some four or five feet high. The accommodation comprises large drawing- room extending the full depth of the house, small hall, dining- room, morning-room, kitchen, scullery, cycle house and offices. On the first floor there are five bedrooms, two linen cupboards and bathroom, and boxroom in the loft entered through a trapdoor in the ceiling of first-floor landing. Cost on application to the architect.
" Foxhold," Newbury, Berks. Mervyn E. Macartney, Architect.
{Seepp. 175, 176, 177.)
This is another of Mr. Macartney's charming country homes. The difficulty in illustrating it has been to get an adequate view, as its picturesque situation, with the rapidly falling ground round it and with the one possible standpoint blocked by a high yew hedge, made only a sidelong perspective obtainable. The house is built of red brick, and the roof is covered with old tiles. The casement windows have leaded lights. On the ground floor there is a large studio with entrance to the garden, and doors communicating with the drawing-room ; these with the dining-room make up the sitting- room accommodation, which is shut off from the kitchen department. On the upper floor there are six bedrooms, a dressing-room, day and night nurseries, bathroom, hot closet, linen cupboard, &c. The garden was laid out from the architect's design.
House at Orford, Suffolk. Harry Sirr and E. J. Rope, Architects,
{Seepp. 177, 178.)
The house was planned to give the principal rooms a south-east aspect for the sake of the sea and river view and the yacht racing. The materials are local red bricks and Yorkshire tiles, and the exterior elevations above the first-floor string level, as well as the whole of the two-storied bays, are all treated with plaster-work in panels. The hall and the staircase have panelled wood dadoes ; the four enclosing walls of staircase from first floor up to ceiling are panelled in plaster and wood, and the ceiling beams are exposed. The bays of the drawing- and dining-rooms, and also the side-board recess, are wood panelled, and the window recess in the hall is treated similarly. There are two very commodious attics, the easternmost with an excellent view across the river and intervening beach to the sea beyond. There is also a large cistern-room on this floor (over the bathroom) besides an apple loft and several store cupboards — in fact the whole area of the attic is floored and made use of. There is a cellar for beer, &c., below pantry. The interior plaster-work is Durescoed. Inclusive of detached offices, well, rain-water drains, and underground storage tank, and soil drains, the cost was ;^i,637.
14a
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
House at Loughton, Essex. T. Phillips Figgis, Architect. {See p. 179.) This house, which has been built on a quick sloping site at the top of a hill overlooking Epping Forest, contains on the ground floor a good-sized sitting-room-hall, drawing-room, dining-room, and the usual kitchen offices. On the first floor, four bedrooms, bathroom, &c., and on second floor two bedrooms. The owner stipulated for few bedrooms but of good proportions in preference to a greater number of smaller area. The fall in the ground has admitted of a large billiard room being provided in the basement. In order to secure a particular view, and likewise the western sun, the drawing- room wing is projected at a special angle. The external walls are faced with red bricks and rough-cast on the upper storey. The roofs are covered with Broseley tiles and the gables tile hung. The total cost, including the fencing in of f of an acre, amounted to £i,ySo.
Five Cottages at Woking, Surrey. Horace Field, Architect.
{See/>. 180.)
These five cottages were originally intended for labourers, but two or three of them have been taken for week-end dwellings, and they are therefore illustrated as a suggestion for a community who desire to live in the country and who require accommodation at a minimum cost. The walls are of brick, covered with cement, rough- cast, and the roofs are covered with red sand-faced tiles. The court- yard faces south, and has a pleasant outlook over a small common. The cottages are situated about f of a mile from Worplesdon Station. The accommodation, as can be seen, is limited, consisting of a living- room, kitchen, small scullery. Considerable ingenuity is shown in the planning. Each cottage has three bedrooms. Cost, ;^i,8oo, or ;^36o each.
Pair of Houses, Letchworth, Herts. H. Clapham Lander, Architect.
{See pp. 181, 182.)
These houses form one of the picturesque new blocks at the Garden City. The garden fronts have a south-easterly aspect, and the road front consequently a north-westerly one. All windows receive direct sunlight at some hour of the day. There are no unsightly back premises, the intention being that the houses should look equally well from any point of view. The site is fairly level, but slopes somewhat towards the north. The materials employed are brick walls covered externally with rough-cast, and plain tiles on roof. Internally granite silicon partitions, 2 inches thick, have been employed, with 6-inch square oak posts to carry the weights. The floors are of polished oak, and the staircase and other principal pieces of woodwork, including the doors, are also of oak. The walls of the rooms are covered with brown paper, except in the kitchen, bathroom, and lavatory, which are painted with white enamel. The plans show how exceedingly well adapted the houses are for the simpler conditions of life in week-end country visits or summer homes. The cost of the pair was about ^1,700.
143
CHAPTER VI.
Descriptions of Cottages and Houses Costing from ;^2,ooo to ;^3,5oo-
It is extremely difficult to draw a hard-and-fast line between dwellings that may and may not be defined under the generic title of cottage. To the majority of people any house costing over ^i,ooo, or even a less sum — say £7S^ — is obviously not a cottage. Yet numerous examples — some of which are shown here — can be illustrated, which from their appearance are obviously designed on the old cottage lines, but in the matter of cost are not so easily designated. It must not be forgotten that while the homely cottage exterior may appeal to many people, the still more homely interior of the old cottage strikes an unresponsive chord, and thus the interior decoration and fitting are carried out on an entirely different basis. This fact in very many cases is responsible for a large increase in the total cost.
Cottage at Qreenham Common, Berks. Mervyn E. Macartney, Architect.
{Seepp. 182, 183.)
This cottage was specially designed to provide separate and distinct accommodation for a caretaker to take charge of the place during the absence of the owner, and as shown on the plans the caretaker's sitting-room and bedroom is shut off from the rest of the house, being planned in one corner of the building, having easy communication with the kitchen, &c. Besides the caretaker's rooms there are on the ground floor a dining-room opening into a loggia, kitchen, scullery, cycle-room, room for heating apparatus, and offices. On the first floor there is a large laboratory, drawing-room, and three bedrooms ; and on the second floor there are two bedrooms, bathroom, linen cupboard, and box-room. The house is built of brick, rough-casted, and stone dressings to windows, &c. The walls have been wired over for creepers, which gives the diaper effect seen in the illustration. The roof is covered with red tiles, and the windows have wrought-iron casements with leaded lights. A feature is the garden laid out from the architect's designs, and the little garden-house is illustrated. Cost on application to the architect.
The White Cottage, Hampstead. Horace Field, Architect. {Seep. 184.)
This is a borderland cottage — on the border between town and country — and was erected for an artist. It is built of brick, rough- casted, and has a red-tiled roof. The accommodation on the ground
144
GROUND FLOOR PLAN.
FIRST FLOOR PLAN.
PLAN OF THE "WHITE COTTAGES."
"WHITE COTTAGES" AND "FRIDHEM," HUNSTANTON. H. a. IB8ERS0N, Architect.
Built of brick, rough-casted, with local stone dressings. Cost of " White Cottages," ^1,192. See p. 103.
145
o
z
z o
H Z <
I-
Z D I
o
146
O
a
h K
a: O
z
z' o I- z
<
o
147
u
z
I
D
z o
CO .S
^ S
"15^
O 00 o
< 5
I- ^
I- a ._
8i «
J48
I- z o
DC
<
<
149
NOTE THREE !)EDVANt5 5EDRGDMSAND A BOXRGDM IN RC20f AND A HEATING CHAMbCD IN &A5EMENT
"INGLEDELL." CAMBERLEY. SURREY. H. «. and B. A. POULTER, Architects.
Built of local bricks, lime rough-casted, and exterior woodwork painted brown. Roof covered with red hand- made tiles. Cost on application to the Architects. See p. 104.
150
GARDEN FRONT. Photognifjb by W. H. Watts.
,Tp3/MD fLQ^C PlAN
riU5T rioOR. PLAN •
COTTAGE AT LETCHWORTH, HERTS. «. H. BA/LLIE SCOTT, Architect.
Built of brick, rougb-cast, with old tiles on roof, and casement windows with leaded lights. Cost on application to the Architect. See p. 104.
131
COTTAGE AT LETCHWORTH. {See prewous page.) Photograph by W. H. Watts.
COTTAGfc AT HAHMER GREEN: GARDEN FRONT. (4Vc .u«( p.Kje.l
152
ENTRANCE FRONT.
GROUND FLOOR PLAN.
COTTAGE AT HARMER GREEN. EOEH and FRElMlfH, Architects.
Built of brick, rough-casted, with old tiles on the roof. Cost on application to the Architects. See p. lO^.
Q
153
♦ dEP^/HO fjigz>e B?.N •
• fiesr n®<2 tt/^/^ ♦
COTTAGE AT ROEHAMPTON, SURREY NO. 1. A. JESSOP HAKDWICK. Architect.
Built of brick, rough-cast, with woodworls of Oregon pine, stained to a very dark brown colour, almost black. The shutters are painted green. The small dome is covered with copper, and the roof with red tiles. Cost on application to the Architect. See p. 129.
154
GUpuno Fi-oon Pi-A/s
♦ FIR,3T FLOOR R.RM ♦
COTTAGE AT ROEHAMPTON. SURREY. NO. 2. A. JESSOP HiRDWICK, Architect.
Built of red brick, with upper part in oak, half-timber and tile facings. Roof of red tiles. Wood casement windows with leaded lights. Cost on application to the Architect. See p. 129.
'55
Photograph by B. A. Poulter.
!>TVDY
COVEQED WAY PODChS|-
T0DLb
GROUND FLOOR PLAN.
UPPER FLOOR PLAN.
"CURRAGHVOE," CAMBERLEY, SURREY. H. R. and B. A. POULTER, Architects.
Built of brick, rough-cast, and whitewashed. The external woodwork is creosoted. The roofs are covered with old tiles. Cost on application to the Architects. See p. 129.
156
^4
iti - ._:-.-*^^''
GARDEN FRONT.
(XtOUND Pl^J^
hEVBOC^M PlAN
DESIGN FOR A COTTAGE RESIDENCE. NOT CARRIED OUT.
Win. H£HRY WHITE. Architect.
To be built of brick, rough-casted, and finished to a cream colour. Casement windows. Cost, estimated at ;^i,300. See p. 130.
'57
^3S Ir;
EtlTUAnCt
DdsrinQ
BUlLDinG
GROUND FLOOR PLAN.
GAEOEN
AMD
f EUIT H0U3C
FIRST FLOOR PLAN.
HOUSE AT GARBOLDISHAM, NORFOLK.
P. MORLEY HORDER. Architect.
The buildings outlined were formerly used as a brewhouse, and have been converted and adapted for stabling and gardener's cottage. On to them the house has been built at a cost of /i,50o. See p. 130.
158
rur
/O, S o
ff f^ft^/-
T^jray
GP°iJ//0 /7.00/P p/^//
n/?/rrioop pifirf
COTTAGE AT PURLEY, SURREY, e. «. B. QUENNUL, Arohilect.
Built of red brick, with red tiled roof and wood casement windows. Cost on application to the Architect. See p. 130.
159
a. 5
a
03
J3
a, a.
i6o
ENTRANCE FRONT.
y^C ClOVNB FLOOR- PL^a^ I
HOUSE AT WIGGINTON. STAFFORDSHIRE. HERBERT T. BUCKLANO and E. HAYWOOD-FARMER, Architects.
Built of thin 2-inch Black Country bricks, with thick white joints. Roof of Hartshill tiles. Cost, exclusive of stabling, £1,293. See p. 131.
R
l6i
HOUSE AT WIGLilNTUN UAKUbN HKONI 1^
"THE WHITE COTTAGE," ENGLEFIELD GREEN, EGHAM, See next page. Photograph by the City Art Photo. Co.
162
|
m^m^m |
1^ |
m^ |
I --•■ |
'«F |
|
|
v^^gMj |
J^^Ktf^^^^v ^ |
•■^'"' . . |
|||
|
m |
1 ;" "*>./■- -" |
»■ |
|||
|
*,i. M-, |
'ii^M.r.^ |
VIEW FROM THE LjAF.DEtJ. Photograph by the City Art Photo. Co.
BEDROOM PLAN
"THE WHITE COTTAGE," ENGLEFIELD GREEN. EGHAM, SURREY. NICHOLSON and CORLETTE. Architects.
Built of brick, covered with white rough-cast, roof covered with pantiles. Exterior woodwork painted white and jalousies green. Cost on application to the Architects. See p. 131.
.63
HOUSE AT SWANSEA, S. WALES. P. tHORLEY HORDCR, Architect.
Built of local stone, rough-cast. Roof covered with Westmorland slates. Wrought iron casements with leaded lights. Cost, / 1, 600. Seep. 131.
164
G^°lf//Z> /Z'^^ /D^/r
COTTAGE AT NORTHWOOD, MIDDLESEX. C. H. S. QUENNELl. Architect.
Built of brick, rough-casted, with red tile roofs. The plan was arranged as shown to show a fine old tree indicated in the sketch. Cost on application to the Architect. See p. 131.
'65
GROUND FLOOR PLAN.
UPPER FLOOR PLAN
" KINGS-WOOD," HARPSDEN HEIGHTS, OXON. JOHH W. FAIR and VAL Mffff, Architects.
Built of brick, faced with cement rough-cast and lime- whitened. Base of local red bricks and quoins formed with tiles. Roof covered with hand-made tiles and the exterior woodwork painted white. Cost, ;^i,527. See p. 132.
i66
G/POi//iD floopPi/ff
f/efr fwoePi/n
COTTAGE AT WICKHAM BISHOPS. ESSEX. C. H. B. QUENNELL, Architect.
Built of red brick, with red tiled roof. Cost on application to the Architect. See p. 132.
167
Photograph by the City Art Photo. Co.
< UPPER ^'^ k^
GROUND FLOOR PLAN
"THE WARREN," TOTTERIDGE, HERTS. NICHOLSON and CORLtTTE, Architects.
FIRST FLOOR PLAN
Built of brick, rough-casted, with red tile roof- External woodwork painted white, except jalousies, which are green. Cost on application to the Architects. See p. 132.
168
GROUND FLOOR PLAN.
FIRST FLOOR PLAN.
ATTIC PLAN.
"THE DINGLE,' DORE, CHESHIRE. £DG*R WOOD. Architect.
Built of local Stone rubble, with stone-slate roof. Windows with wrought-iron casements and leaded lights. Cost, £i,-joo. See p. 132.
169
GROUND FLOOR PLAN.
FIRST FLOOR PLAN.
COTTAGE AT COOMBE, SURREY. A. Jessop Hardwick, Architect.
Built of red brick, with red tile roof. A feature of the house is the big verandah. Cost on application to the Architect. See page 141.
T70
GROUND FLOOR PLAN.
FIRST FLOOR PLAN.
HOUSE AT LONDON ROAD, NEWARK NOTTS.
A. W BREWILL and BASIL f, BAILY, Architects.
Built of red bricks, the upper portion covered with rough-cast, and the roof covered with red tiles. The principal external feature is a wood moduled cornice. The cost was ;ri,650. See p. 141.
GROUND PLAN.
BEDROOM PLAN.
COTTAGE AT BIDDENHAM, BEDFORDSHIRE. NO. \. C, £. MALLOWS. ArMlect.
Built of local '■ mingled " hard well-burnt bricks, with local hand-made red tile roof, weathering in time to deep purple. Exterior woodwork painted green. Cost on application to the Architect. Seep. 141.
< r z
UJ Q Q
<
t- I- O
o
173
GARDEN FRONT.
BEDROOM PLAN.
GROUND PLAN.
COTTAGE AT BIDDENHAM, BEDFORDSHIRE. NO. 2. C. f. MALLOWS, Architect.
Built of brick, rough-casted on upper story, with red tile roof. Leaded light casements. Cost on application to the Architect. Seep. 141.
'74
> a.
O
I
175
UPPER FLOOR PLAN.
GROUND FLOOR PLAN.
FOXHOLD," NEWBURY, BERKS. UCRVfH f. UACARTHer, Architect.
Built of red brick, roof covered with old tiles. Casement windows with leaded lights. Cost on application to the Architect. See p. 142.
176
A CORNER OF THE LAWN AND THE STABLES. " FOXHOLD, " NEWBURY BERKS.
HOUSE AT ORFORD. SUFFOLK: Photograph by H. Dixon & Son.
THE HALL [S.. n„t p.„j. )
'77
ENTRANCE FRONT. Photograph by H. Dixon & Son.
GROUND FLOOR.
CHAMBER FLOOR.
HOUSE AT ORFORD, SUFFOLK. HARRY SIRR and E. J. ROP£, Architects.
Built of local red bricks and Yorkshire tiles, the exterior walls above the ground floor and the bays are treated with plaster-work in panels— some " combed " in with the old-fashioned tool. Cost, ;£i,637. See p. 142.
178
GROUND FLOOR PLAN.
FIRST FLOOR PLAN.
HOUSE AT LOUGHTON iSSEX. T. PHILLIPS FIGGIS, 'rchitect.
External walls faced with red bricks, and rough-cast on the upper storey. Roof covered with BroEeley tiles, and the gables tile hung. Cost, £i,-j&o. See p. 143.
179
GROUP OF FIVE COTTAGES AT WOKING, SURREY. HORACE FIELD, Architect.
Built of brick, rough-casted, with red tile roofs. Wooden casement windows. Originally intended for work- people; but two or three are let as week-end cottages. Cost for the five, /i,8oo. See p. 143.
180
Ground PiAn Dflic OF nouSL5 Lltoiwocth , Mlcts
t T
M CLflPliflM LAISDELI; flClftA ACCMITLCT.
PAIR OF HOUSES AT LETCHWORTH. H. CLAPHAM LANDER, Architect.
Built of brick, rough-casted, with red tiled roofs. Woodwork painted green. Cost, /i,700. See p. 143.
181
HOUSES AT LETCHWORTH : A HALL. {See iireaious page.)
COTTAGE AT GREENHAM COMMON, BERKS; THE GARDEN HOUSE. (See next page.)
VIEW FROM THE GARDEN,
COTTAGE AT GREENHAM COMMON. BERKS. ATTIC PLAN.
MCRVYN E. MACARTNEY, Architect
Built of brick, rough-casted, uitli stone dressings to windows, etc. Wrought-iron casements with leaded ligiits. See p. 144.
183
GROUND FLOOR PLAN.
THE WHITE COTTAGE, HAMPSTEAD.
HORACE FIELD, Architect.
Built of brick, rough-casted, wilh red tiled roof. Cost on application to the Architect. See p. 144.
184
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
floor comprises dining-room, drawing-room, morning-room, large studio, kitchen, scullery, and offices ; on the first floor there are six bedrooms, bathroom, &'c. The cost may be ascertained on application to the architect.
Cottage at Minehead, Somerset. Barry Parker & Raymond Unwin, Architects. {See pp. 193, 194.)
This beautiful dwelling in charming surroundings was by no means easy to plan successfully. The finest view was towards the east, and it was the owner's desire that the principal rooms should face that way. The land falls very rapidly from south to north, and there is a fine view from the north. To give all the important rooms a southern exposure, while gaining for them a view to the east, and for the living-room, at any rate, that to the north and a charming peep up the valley to the west, was a difficult matter. Then to place all the stables in such a way as not to obstruct any sunshine on the house was another problem complicated by the necessity of making the approach to the house from the north side. The house was built as largely as possible of local material. The walls were rubble, of stone got from a quarry a few hundred yards away. The outside was rough-cast with local lime and gravel, which gives a beautiful cream colour. The insides of the walls were finished in Cheddar lime worked up to a rough stucco surface, and left without any decoration or colour or anything to in any way change the white effect resulting from the use of this lime. There was nothing special used in the way of woods for the internal joinery ; it was all of red deal or pine. The window casements were of wrought iron with leaded panes. The roof was thatched, and the pavement of the courtyard and the steps were of Delabole slate. The accommodation is on the modern plan. A large living room with ingle, a study, dining-room, pantry, kitchen, scullery, with enclosed yard and offices, are on the ground floor. On the upper floor are four bedrooms, dressing-room and bath- room. The large living room goes right up to the roof, and is overlooked from a little gallery on the first floor. Cost on appli- cation to the architects.
"The Croft," Winchfield, Hants. Robert Weir Schultz, Architect.
{See pp. 19s, 196.)
The walls of this picturesque house are of red hand-made facing bricks, built hollow, and are eleven inches thick. The roof is boarded, felted, and covered with dark hand-made tiles. There are fir beams to the ceilings of the drawing-room, dining-room, and hall. The ingle in the drawing-room is built with thin bricks. The ground plan shows a small hexagonal porch, with inner doors opening into the hall and smoking-room, and large dining and drawing-rooms, each with bays and having communicating doors. There are also kitchen, scullery, and offices. On the first floor there are four bedrooms, two dressing-rooms, bathroom, linen-room, &c., and on the second floor five bedrooms, box-room, &c. The estimated cost was about ;^2,ooo.
U 185
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
"The Orchard," Chorley Wood, Hertfordshire. C. F. A. Voysey, Architect.
{See tp. 196, I97-)
This cottage is of particular interest, as it was built by Mr. Voysey for his own use, and may therefore be taken to represent this well-known architect's ideal of a home. The site is four hundred feet above sea level, and is situated in an old orchard of about z\ acres in extent, standing on ground sloping slightly to the south. On the sunny side of the house is a large cherry tree, fifty-nine feet in diameter, which casts a cool shade on the lawn; but is not near enough to shut the sun from any windows of the cottage. There are three other such cherry trees, but hardly so large, and about 100 apple trees, mostly of considerable age ; two walnut trees, one mulberry, and a well-formed wych elm. The ground is surrounded on three sides by very high hedges interspersed with holly bushes. The soil is gravel on chalk, and the cowslips, primroses, buttercups, snowdrops, violets, orchids, and honeysuckle grow wild in their respective seasons. The site is therefore ideal, and is further improved by the surrounding properties. At the back is common land, and facing the dwelling is a wood, the property of the Duke of Bedford, which is not to be bought or built over. The dwelling is small, having only five bedrooms and a good sized box-room, with ventilation at each end, the hot water tank in the middle warming long rows of shelves where linen is kept. The dining-room is 20 ft. by 15 ft., and the study 20 ft. by 12 ft., with a recess for an ottoman couch. The schoolroom is 14 ft. by 12 ft. This room and the dining-room have long windows which let in all the sun till the hottest time of the day, when the sun gets round to the end of the house with its one small circular window. The hall is 16 ft. by 17 ft. with the porch cut off one corner. It has a fireplace, and a long window seat arranged for the storage of rugs. Under the lavatory is a cellar, which derives light and air from a window above ground level but under the lavatory enclosure. The study has a steady north light and plenty of it. The rooms throughout the house are only eight feet high, and with their deep white frieze have an abundance of reflecting surface.
Externally the house is of cement, rough-cast, over brick, the rough-cast being lime whitened. The windows have dressings of Corsham Down stone and are fitted with iron casements and leaded lights. All the paint-work outside is of pale Brunswick green, and the roofing is of green American slates in gradating courses. These are in colour a silvery grey, tinged here and there with pigeon plumage tints. The chimneys are surmounted with tapered pots, twice tarred. From the entrance gate to the main entrance porch, the hall, kitchen, and offices are paved with large slabs of Delabole grey slate, all the woodwork throughout the interior being painted white. Every room has a low picture-rail with distemper white frieze and ceiling above. The filling below in the hall, and on the staircase and landing, is plain purple Eltonbury silk fibre paper. The dining-room walls are covered with the same material in green.
i85
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
The other rooms are papered with pattern papers, and the floors are covered with carpets designed by the architect. The whole of the first floor is covered with green cork carpet fitted to the walls, and upon this mats are placed where required. Most of the furniture is in quite plain oak, unstained and unpolished, from Mr. Voysey's designs. The cost was about ;^3,ooo.
"Beaumonts," Edenbridge, Kent. Robert Weir Schultz, Architect.
{See pp. 198, 199.)
No book on English domestic architecture would be complete without some examples of the excellent work of Mr. Schultz. The three examples shown in this book are examples of the inimitable note of domesticity, free from ostentation and vulgarity, which has been more fully explained in another chapter. " Beaumonts " is a fairly large house, built of red hand-made local bricks. The upper part of the walls on two sides is tile hung on brick-nogging, and, on the third side, rough-cast on metal lathing. The dining-room and hall have oak furnishings, and the principal staircase is of oak. The ground-floor plan shows large drawing-room, dining-room, and sitting- hall, with servants' hall, kitchen, scullery, and offices. On the upper floor are seven bedrooms, bathroom, linen cupboard, and box-room. The cost was about ^^2,400.
Cottage at Bury, Sussex. Charles Spooner, Architect. (Seepp, 199, 201.)
This charming thatched cottage was constructed by altering and adding to a small farmhouse and outbuildings. About it there is little to be said except that in the new work every endeavour was made to preserve the harmony of the old work, and how successfully this has been done may be judged from the illustrations. On the ground floor there are a large parlour, sitting-hall, dining-room, kitchen, and offices. On the upper floor, six bedrooms. The materials are local stone with Doulting stone dressings. The roof is of reed thatch, English oak is used for the joinery, and wrought iron fittings. The cost of alteration and reconstruction amounted
to ;^2,000.
Cottage at Leatherhead. P. Morley Horder, Architect. {See pp. 201, 202.)
This is an interesting example of Mr. Horder's work, and the plan is uncommon. The house is built on the golf-links and has only a small formal garden, being practically open to the links. It is, of course, more of a permanent country home than a week-end cottage. The walls are of brick, rough-casted, and the roofs are covered with tiles. Some of the interior fireplaces are of brick with open hearths, but generally speaking there is nothing exceptional in the fitting up of the interior, and the cost is very reasonable. The features of the house are the large paved verandah to the south, the sloping wings, and the arched gable end forming an open air bedroom recess. The cottage was to be broken up with gables as much as possible by the client's request, making it difficult to reconcile the larger
i37
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
openings formed by sash windows, which were also stipulated for. The rooms inside are low — eight feet high — but the windows are kept high, with the ceilings coved down on to the architrave of the windows, merely a plain band of wood connecting windows and doors, and the plain pilasters of the chimney pieces. There is a good deal of accom- modation in the house, as in addition to the usual dining-room, drawing-room, and small study, the hall forms a separate room, and the schoolroom almost a wing in itself. Upstairs there are seven bedrooms and two bathrooms. The back staircase is conveniently arranged in the servants' wing. The cost can be ascertained on application to the architect.
House at Stanmore, Middlesex. Horace Field, Architect.
{Seep 203.)
This house was built close to the golf links as a residence. The brickwork is red, and the roofs and tile facings are of red sand-faced tiles. The accommodation comprises drawing-room and ante-room, dining-room, billiard-room, small hall with fireplace, cycle house, kitchen and offices. On the first floor are six bedrooms, dressing- room and bathroom, and two servants' rooms in the attics. The first floor windows are built a little diff^erently to those shown on the plan, as can be seen from the view of the garden front. Cost on application to the architect.
House at Appleton, Cheshire. William & Sejfar Owen, Architects.
{See p. 204.)
This house is built with local grey bricks, the timber-work throughout being of Dantzic oak, and the timber framing being solid without exception. The roofs are covered with soft sand tiles for vegetating. All the ground floors are of oak boards. The accommo- dation comprises, on the ground floor, drawing-room with a big bow window, communicating with a sitting-hall, and both opening on to a verandah ; a dining-room, butler's pantry, kitchen, scullery and offices, and enclosed yard. On the upper floor are five bedrooms, three dressing-rooms, bathroom, &c. The windows are wrought- iron casements with leaded lights and diamond panes. Cost on application to the architects.
House, High Cliffe, Appleton, Cheshire. William & Segar Owen, Architects. {See p. 205.)
This picturesque house is built in Accrington bricks, with vegetating sand tiles on the roof. The architects have obtained some play in the fine chimney stacks. The accommodation on the ground floor comprises a sitting-hall, drawing-room, dining-room, loggia, kitchen and offices, wash-house, motor-house, and enclosed yard. On the first floor there are day and night nurseries, three bedrooms, dressing-room, bathroom, etc., and owing to the levels of the ground a short flight of six steps from the day nursery brings one to the terrace, which is a considerable convenience for children and
188
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
nurses. On the second floor there are four more rooms in the roof. The casement windows have leaded lights. Cost on application to the architects.
House at Shottermill, near Hindhead. Charles Spooner, Architect.
{SeeJ>p. 206, 207.)
This house, in the picturesque Hindhead district, commands fine views, and is built of brick, rough-casted, with a red tiled roof. The exterior woodwork is painted white. There is a small hall, also a dining-room and large drawing-room, both these rooms having big shallow bow windows. A combined pantry and servants' parlour is also provided, kitchen, and offices. Both dining-room and drawing- room are provided with separate entrances to the grounds. On the first floor there is a morning-room, with French windows opening on to a balcony commanding beautiful views; also three bedrooms, dressing-room, bathroom, and linen cupboard. On the second floor there are three bedrooms and box accommodation. Earth closets having to be provided has occasioned some difficulty in the planning. Oak joinery is employed in the dining-room. The cost was ;^3,ooo.
The Garden House, Saltwood, Kent. John W. Rhodes, Architect.
{See pp. 208, 209.)
The site commands extensive views over the English Channel from Dungeness to Folkestone. It is about 2\ miles from the sea, and adjoins and overlooks the well-known American garden which is in the same ownership. The new gardens (comprising six acres) are being laid out broadly to the architect's design. Abundance of excellent water was found on the estate, and pumping is eff"ected by a " Petter " oil-engine. The main buildings, stable and outbuildings, are all built with selected grizzles. All exterior walls are thrice coated with a special limewhite and tallow dressing. The roofs were originally intended to be reed thatched, but the stable only has been covered in this way, old selected tiles taken from demolished houses in Dover being used for the remainder. This necessitated some alterations in the original drawings of roof plans. The principal rooms face south-east and south-west. All the oak doors, architraves, etc., on the ground floor were cut from old mill-posts, the long strap hinges and latches being in wrought-iron. The boudoir is heated by a hanging-basket, and the remaining best rooms by well-fires with stone, red brick or wood mantels. All these fittings are to the architect's special design. The illuminant throughout is acetylene gas, and is most successful. The cost of the house alone was about ;^4,ooo, but there were, in addition, stabling, a long carriage drive and other extensive work in connection with the laying out of the site.
Rushmere Lod^e, near Ipswich, Suffolk. Charles Spooner, Architect.
{See pp. 209, 210.)
This is a very charming example of modern domestic work, albeit somewhat above the cost set out as the limit for houses in this book. The house has, however, considerable accommodation, and its
189
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
pleasing proportions and well-designed windows and doorway make it very acceptable for illustration. The walls are of brick, rough- casted, with red tiled roof. The exterior woodwork is painted white, with the exception of the jalousies, which are green. The accommo- dation comprises small hall, morning-room, large drawing-room, dining-room, cloak-room, butler's pantry and bedroom, kitchen, scullery, back hall, servants' hall and offices on the ground floor, and there are cellars under the butler's pantry, cloak-room, and lobby. On the first floor there are eight bedrooms, three dressing-rooms, bathroom, linen cupboard, &c. The joinery inside is painted, and the door furniture is of brass and good. There are oak floors in the principal rooms, and ventilating grates, which warm the rooms over. The cost was ^^3,400.
House at Bickley, Kent. Ernest Newton, Architect.
{See below and opposite page.)
This is a large house, by Mr. Newton, built of red brick with red tiled roof. The plan is regular, with a large drawing-room, sitting-hall, and dining-room, staircase-hall, and study on the ground floor, together with servants' hall, kitchen, second staircase and offices. On the first floor there are six bedrooms, two dressing- rooms, bathroom, linen-room, &c. ; and on the attic floor four bedrooms and box-room. Cost on application to the architect.
fiWESf/tZa'TCvl A3!?Jt'
HOUSE AT BICKLEY, KENT. (S«t abam and rext pagt.) £RNEST N£WTON, ArchiUct
igo
GARDEN FRONT.
GI30U/«JD FKBP
Fip;t FLOOE
HOUSE AT BICKLEV, KENT EUNEST NEWTON, Architeot.
Built of brick with red tile roof. Cost on application to the architect. See opposite pags
igi
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
"Newlands," Bourne End, Bucks. William Henry White, Architect.
{See p. 211.)
This is an example of Mr. White's larger domestic work, to be built in brick, rough- cast, with tile roof. The ground floor accommo- dation comprises drawing-room, large sitting-hall with loggia, dining- room, kitchen, bicycle house, offices, &c. ; and on the upper floor there are seven bedrooms, bathroom, linen cupboard, &c. One of the bedrooms has a small balcony overlooking a fine view. The contract price was ;/^2,200.
House at Wimbledon, Surrey. Ernest Newton, Architect.
{See p. 212.)
One of the leaders in English domestic architecture is Mr. Ernest Newton, and the two examples — the house above named and the house at Bickley — are very typical of his work. This house is of brick, rough-cast, with tiled roof. The projecting porch and bay above it give relief to the frontage. There is a small entrance hall, flanked with dining-room and drawing-room ; at the back is a study, and on the opposite side the kitchen wing. On the first floor there are three bedrooms, with a sitting-room or boudoir, dressing- room, bathroom, and linen cupboard. On the attic floor are two bedrooms and box-room. The staircase is roomy with square landings and straight flights. An excellent English house. Cost on application to the architect.
Breach House, Cholsey. Edward Warren, Architect.
{See pp. 213—215.)
This house, like Mr. Voysey's house at Chorley Wood, is of particular interest in that it was designed by the architect for his own use. The walls are built of local bricks overlaid with " fine- cast," or rough stucco, and colour washed. The roofs are covered with old red tiles obtained from neighbouring farm buildings. The corners of the house face almost exactly the cardinal points of the compass on a site formed by a spur of the Berkshire Downs, and about 300 feet above the sea, commanding fine views of the Thames Valley and the Chilterns. The dining-room and drawing-room open- ing into one form a fine room, and the hall has a sitting-corner well screened from draughts. The " terrace" is perhaps more entitled to the name of " stoep," and makes an excellent living-room. In the attic storey there are four rooms. The cost was about ;^3,ooo.
House on the Downs, Lyminge, Kent. Arthur T. Bolton, Architect.
{See p. 216.)
These drawings have been made for a house on a site about 500 feet above sea level, and of a very exposed character. The walls are accordingly designed two feet thick on the principal fronts and are built with a hollow space of Kentish rag and brick inside lining. Parts of the house are hung with local tiles as a weather covering, the brick walls being built hollow up to the first floor. The site is
192
GENERAL VIEW.
ENTRANCE FRONT.
COTTAGE AT MINEHEAD. SOMERSET. (.See page 185.) BA/mr PARKER and RAYMO.tD UHWfH. Architects.
193
THE LIVING ROOM.
COTTAGE AT MINEHEAD. (S.e preu/ous page.)
194
ENTRANCE FRONT VIEWED FROM THE SIDE. Photcgraph by F. Mason Good.
LWJDEE.C0AL5
BOU5HINC !^ IN SHEDS IN VACD
■' FLOOR 4. BE1«00M5, 2 DCE551NC ROOMS, BATHQOCM , UNEN OOOM. HMC it WC.
Z"" FLOOR.
5 BEDt30OM5 , BOXPOOM S- HMC
GROUND FLOOR PLAN
"the CROFT," WINCHFIELD, ROBERT W£IR SCHULTZ, Architect.
HANTS.
Built with ii-inch hollow walls of red hand-made facing bricks. Roof boarded, felted, and covered with dark red tiles. Casement windows. Cost, ;f 2,000. See p. 1S5.
195
"THE CROFT," WINCHFIELD, HANTS. (See aremous puc/e.) Photograph by F. Mason Good.
THE HALL, LOOKING INTO THE DINING ROOM AND STUDY
"the ORCHARD," CHORLEY WOOD, HERTS (Set next page.) Photograph bij truing.
196
Photograph by H. Irving.
|
•» |
|||
|
IS°5. |
|||
|
n94 |
■ |
p |
- |
FIRST FLOOR PLAN.
GROUND FLOOR PLAN.
"THE ORCHARD." CHORLEY WOOD. HERTS.
e. A. voYser, ArMuct.
Built of brick, rough-casted, with stone dressings to windows. Wrought-iron casement windows with leaded lights. Roof covered with American green slates. Cost, about ^3,000. See p. 186.
197
Photograph by G. Martin.
•J BCDOCOMS , DikTHCDOM,
WMC-. LINEN y DOXROOM.
OpAWINC DOOW
z-Jrt1
GROUND FLOOR PLAN.
" BEAUMONTS," EDENBRIDGE, KENT. ROBERT WEIR SCHULTZ. Arcliitect.
Built with hollow walls of red hand-made local bricks, the upper part on two sides tile-hung over brick- nogging, on the third side, rough-cast on metal lathing. Red tiles on the roof. Cost, about /2,40o. See p. 187,
igS
BEAUMONTS,' EDENBRIDGE, KENT; THE HALL. Photograph by G. Mai tin.
COTTAGE AT BURY. bUbbEX : FROM THE GARDEN. [Sei nent page.)
199
ENTRANCE FRONT.
CJX»M> ftjt/^
PU?Ci or iTPEE rtOCE.
COTTAGE AT BURY. SUSSEX, (^^ altered.) CHARLES SPOONER. Architect.
This cottage was constructed by altering and adding to a small farmhouse and outbuildings, at a cost of ^2,000. See p. 187.
COTTAGE AT BURY: THE HALL (See op/iosite mge)
COTTAGE AT LEATHERHEAD: SOUTH-WEST VIEW. (See next page.)
w
<
UJ
I- <
I- o o
o O
J3
o
>
o
m
HOUSE AT STANMORE, MIDDLESEX. HORACE FIELD, Architect.
Built of red brick, with red tile roof and tile-hung facings. Cost on application to the Architect, See p. i8
203
GENERAL VIEW. Photograph by T. Leiuia.
grovnd ]Plccr
"fiF^sT Ti.ooi^
HOUSE AT APPLETON. CHESHIRE. WILLIAM and SEGAR OWEN. Architects.
Built of local grey bricks, with Dantzic oak timber work, the half-timber framing being solid without exception. Wrought-iron casement windows with diamond pane leaded lights. Cost on application to the Architects. See p. i88.
204
j^gyjg,^^^^ ^^ -mmjs^ T,
UvLos
«,s«lPfPFJWK
^-^
■t
ifiB
CjL^ii_uI£!S£»
VIEW FROM THE GARDEN
HOUSE. HIGH CLIFFE, APPLETON, CHESHIRE. WILLIAM and SEeAf OWEN, Arcliitects.
Built of Accrington bricks, with vegetating sand tiles on the roof. Casement windows with leaded lights. Cost on application to the Architects. See p. i88.
205
HOTS TTOZEK BEDROOMS
A/W BOXROOMi av HSCOMDF-I.OOK.
GE0f7VDf2.0OK
rnuTrzooR.
HOUSE AT SHOTTERMILL, HINDHEAD. CHARLES SPOOHER, Architect.
Built of brick, rough-casted, with red tiled roof. External woodwork painted white. Cost, /3.°°°- ^^^ P- ^^
206
THE ENTRANCE FRONT.
THE DRAWING ROOM.
HOUSE AT SHOTTERMILL, NEAR HINDHEAD. (See opposite page.)
207
THE GARDEN HOUSE. SALTWOOD, KENT. JOHN W. RHODES, Architect.
Built of brick, coated with special dressing of lime-white and tallow. Roofs covered with old tiles. Oak half-timber work. Cost of house alone, between ^4,000 and /5,ooo. See p. 189.
208
THE GARDEN HOUSE, SALTWOOD : THE HALL. See opposite page.
RUSHMERE LODGE. NEAR IPSWICH: THE GARDEN FRONT [See next pa
2og
GKOmD FLOOKPLAfl.
rnar rLorx Pi.Af{.
RUSHMERE LODGE, NEAR IPSWICH, SUFFOLK. CHARLES SPOONER, A,cliilect.
Built of brick, rougli-casted, with red tiled roof. External woodwork painted white and jalousies green. Cost, £3A°°- See p. i8g.
^»*>7
"NEWLANDS," BOURNE END, BUCKS
WK. H£HRY WHITE, Architect.
To be built of brick, rough-cast, with casement windows and tile roof. Contract price /'a, 200.
See p. 192.
£me/( /fewlon^ ^M
_rL
DOXB'?
ATTIC
ATTIC 2
GROUND FLOOR PLAN.
FIRST FLOOR PLAN.
ATTIC PLAN.
HOUSE AT WIMBLEDON, SURREY. ERNEST NEWTON, Architect.
Built of brick, rougli-cast, witli red tile roof, Cost on application to the Architect. See p. 192.
GENERAL VIEW
GROUND FLOOR PLAN
FIRST FLOOR PLAN.
BREACH HOUSE, CHOLSEY.
EDWAKD WAKKEN, Architect.
Built of local bricks, overlaid with fine cast or rough stucco, and colour washed. The roofs are covered with o!d red tiles, obtained from neighbouring farm buildings. Cost, about £^3,000. See p. 192.
213
THE ENTRANCE FRONT
|
IpsKsa |
'""ri'i'Tpiiii - |
|||
|
;V - |
f |
, |
||
|
l>. |
||||
|
ri |
||||
|
w |
m i |
|||
|
m |
THE DRAWING ROOM.
BREACH HOUSE, CHOLSEY. {See prci'ious page.)
214
GARDEN FRONT
THE HALL.
BREACH HOUSE CHOLSEY ISee p. 213.)
Z15
HOUSE ON THE DOWNS. LYMINGE, KENT. ARTHUR J. BOLTON, Arcltitect.
Built in an exposed situation. Hollow walls, 2 feet thick, faced with Kentish rag-stone and lined with brick. Part of house hung with tiles as a weather covering. Estimated cost, £3,000. See p. 192.
216
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
chalk close to the surface, and has a considerable fall. The excavated chalk forms the filling in of the terrace, which is faced with Kentish rag rubble walling. On account of the splendid view from the garden front a recessed verandah, or portico, with columns and entablature of wood, forms a feature of this side of the house. It is arranged with a fiat terrace roof, accessible from the first floor bedrooms by- steps. The hall receives a clerestory light on account of the collection to be displayed in the cases forming part of the internal fittings, as marked on the plan in between the pillars of the screen to the outer hall, and in the side recesses.
The plan is laid out to suit the special ideas of the owner. The reception rooms are larger than is usual and there are fewer bedrooms, but they are of good size. It is proposed to have two bathrooms. The cost is estimated at ;^3,ooo, on the basis of gd. a foot cube.
at7
CHAPTER VII.
SOME NOTES ON COTTAGE GARDENS.
With regard to the country garden, the nature and extent of its laying out will depend very much on the class of house to which it is to be a setting. The rustic appearance is naturally enhanced by an " old-fashioned " garden ; any attempt at much formal gardening with geometrical beds, stately terraces, balustrades, and topiary work would result in an utterly incongruous effect. On the other hand, a large mansion, or one which aims at a considerable stateliness of effect, demands in immediate contiguity some mingling of easy natural forms and severe artificial outlines such as formal gardening affords, so that the eye sees a gradual transition from the hard outline of the house to the broad, flowing lines of the surrounding country. In some cases this formal method is adopted " to lead up to" the house, but the idea aimed at is the same — to soften the crude severity of a house against natural scenery.
Many good examples of country cottages cannot, unfortunately, be illustrated at their best. The country-home movement is of such recent growth that the present visible results in the majority of cases lack the mellowing effect of time, the sense of establishment, and that enhancement which verdure alone confers. Trees and shrubs, especially if planted small, take some years to give an appreciable effect to the general scheme, and for that reason it is advisable in selecting a site to get one on which there are a number of well-grown trees which can have their place in the general scheme.
It should be the first object in building to save as many trees as possible. The architect who has to fashion a home on a bare site has a troublesome task in store, and well he knows it. Judging from the efforts of the speculative builder, his first idea when he takes possession of a site is to hack every living stick of verdure down, and until the whole ground is as bare as a billiard table he seems unable to plant his abominations on it. In some cases it would almost appear that he takes a fiendish joy or malevolence in so doing. A few years ago there was an old mansion called Peterborough House in the New King's Road, Fulham. The grounds, enclosed by a high brick wall, had a thick belt of timber against the road, consisting of tall elms and other trees, which formed a grateful relief among the surrounding sea of bricks and mortar. The rest of the estate had an unusual complement of shrubs and smaller trees. Not a stick of these was left — not so much as a laurel or lilac bush to grace the cramped little backyards, or throw a relieving note in the rows of ugly little pink brick and yellow terra-cotta villas which now cover the site.
218
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
I am told that the speculative builder looks to the timber for an additional profit ; but no one is going to convince me that elms cut into blocks four feet long, or lilac bushes slashed off just above the roots, are of any good or value to anyone. The only explanation must be an utter indifference to any feehng of beauty or fitness.
Therefore our first duty is to save the trees, and to do this architects plan and scheme their houses on the sites to save as much of the existing timber as possible. A study of the existing trees goes far to decide on the laying out of the garden. About gardens there are two types of mind — the one that delights in an " old-fashioned " garden where things are planted haphazard and are allowed to grow " anyhow " ; and the more severe and prim type that favours trim beds and lawns, with plants equally spaced apart in serried rows, and, in extreme cases, has beds planted in geometrical patterns, with the date of the year or the name of the owner. The only relaxation — so it is meant to be — to the eye in the latter kind of garden is the invariable serpentine path whose convolutions are the outcome of a poorly educated mind struggling to emulate the supposed vicious objection of Nature to a straight line.
There is no inherent beauty in a lawn bisected by the wobbly path beloved of the gardener of i860, and architects are not afraid now to plan the approaches to the various parts of the grounds with a directness which is reminiscent of the Italian garden without following its formality in other directions. One could wish that the beautiful grass paths which were such a feature of the old monastic gardens could more often find a place in our modern gardens, and that the gravel path, troublesome to keep in order, and always uncomfortable to walk over, were more frequently conspicuous by its absence. Many of our modern gardens have paths paved with pebbles, than which, despite their pretty effect, there is no more slippery and ankle-twisting pavement in existence. The old red brick paths, or those made with old flagstones, are much to be preferred. I plead guilty to a preference for tarred macadam rather than gravel.
With herbaceous borders it is well not to plan them too wide, as it is both difficult to keep them in order in such case, or to reach the flowers at the back of them without maiming or trampling on those in front. And at the back of herbaceous borders I would have shrubs — a hedge of shrubs, and not necessarily a high hedge. In no way, I think, can the colour value and beauty of the flowers be better retained than against a background of green. The hollyhock is a tall, straggly plant whose colour and effect are often lost in the air, but placed against a background of yew or even hawthorn its beauty is at once increased.
The " old-fashioned " gardener has a great objection to anything approaching formality ; so much so that his beds rarely present the appearance of anything but straggling profusion. Beds devoted to one kind of annual, I think, give much greater beauty — one can obtain in the mass a feast of colour and scent that is never obtainable in any other way ; and they have this advantage, that when
219
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
the plants have died off they can be removed and replaced by some later flower with a minimum of trouble, without disturbing other plants and without leaving ugly gaps as in the old-fashioned border.
The backbone of a garden is, however, a profusion of shrubs ; planted intelligently they afford privacy, screen off ugly corners, give shelter and shade, and form a delightful background to the flowers. Moreover, the conifers with their perpetual foliage are most useful, as they practically make the garden in winter when flowers are scarce and the trees are bare. The flowering trees like the lilacs, laburnums, almonds, and hawthorns will find their place for effect. No set rules can be laid down as to the best trees to plant ; so much depends on situation, aspect, and soil.
The architectural features of the garden, comprising the terrace, seats, arbours, sundials, statues, ponds, &c., are, even in the cottage garden, more formal nowadays than they used to be. I use the term architectural merely for distinction ; the architect has as much voice — or should have — in the lay-out of the garden as in the arrangement and disposition of the house. These items of garden architecture as stated, and their placing in the garden, must receive very close consideration.
Builders of country cottages should therefore study the class of garden best adapted to the style of their home. The pergolas and summer-houses constructed in brick and stone with classic columns and mouldings may be admirably adapted for the mansion, but should be replaced by humbler structures of trellis in the cottage garden. The trellis may be of the conventional pattern sold by every provider of garden requisites ; but a more pleasing effect can be obfained by the square or French pattern, and this is more generally favoured by architects. The same formality of the French treillage in its entirety would, however, be out of place in a cottage garden.
As a rule these architectural features are points up to which the garden planting is made to lead — they form the setting to vistas and views. It is the aim of the designer to invest the grounds with some amount of mystery, with surprise views and little beauties in un- expected places which add to the general charm. The garden which is wholly revealed from the windows of the house can never afford this fascination. Perhaps in this connection a word can be said for the lawn. The modern lawn, despite its level and luxuriant turf, is a somewhat crude affair. The gardener of fifty years ago knew better when he hedged his lawn with evergreens — so that its full extent and beauty were not disclosed at a single glance.
The planting of creepers against the house walls is now so usual as barely to need mentioning. But the commoner kinds of creeper are hardly desirable. Ivy is harmful to the fabric unless attended to, while the ordinary Virginian creeper in a few years reduces the house to a shapeless and untidy heap. For general pur- poses the Ampelopsis Veitchii is hard to beat ; it is quick growing and neat, and if kept in order always looks well. The obscuration of all the architectural features of the cottage is hardly complimentary
320
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
to the architect, but, in too many cases, alas ! the owner is amply justified. Still clematis, roses, honeysuckle and the passion flower, &c., should provide sufficient variety for training on the walls with- out recourse to the more ungovernable creepers. Wistaria has a beautiful flower ; but as a rule, unless properly secured, becomes untidy and unsightly.
The pergola forms a prominent feature of the modern cottage. The Americans, influenced by their climate, doubtless, have greatly developed its use, but their pergolas are unlovely things, and the immense supports they usually employ (seemingly capable of carrying a twenty-floor skyscraper) appear altogether out of place in such a structure. The framing should be as light as possible consistent with the weight to be carried, and if possible trees should be trained to form the pergola without artificial support. A pleasing example of this latter method has just been completed in Sussex, where a very large pergola was formed with cherry trees, trained on a temporary framework. In five years' time it is estimated that this unique pergola will have reached its full beauty.
Arbours are nowadays more frequently formed with natural creepers trained over a framework, though more substantial " garden houses " are by no means uncommon. The " rustic " arbour of deal decorated with twisted oak, stained and varnished, is an atrocity fast dying out, and also the garden seats that match it. The beautiful seats on the old pattern introduced by the Pyghtle Works will, it is hoped, become more widely known.
Rockeries it is difficult to find delight in ; as a rule the average rockery reminds you of that infantile " catch " that begins
" Around the rugged rocks The ragged rascals ran."
As their purpose is more often to conceal an unsightly corner than to grow the plants most suited to them, their appearance is far from prepossessing. Rockeries are most suitable where there are springs or water which can be utilised for waterfall effects.
The subject of water treatment is rather a wide one to be dealt with in a short note. But a garden can hardly reach its full beauty without a small pond for water plants, though the inclusion of a pond must depend very much on the size of the garden. The small clear- water goldfish basin, into which most visitors accidentally stumble at some time or other, is hardly to be dignified by the name of a pond, and one's interest in it diminishes at the sight of the neighbour's cat sitting on its stone rim and fishing for a toothsome morsel. In the treatment of water, on a miniature scale, the Japanese have become pre-eminent, and a study of some of their garden effects is valuable in considering what can be done in laying out a small garden space.
CHAPTER VIII.
PROFESSIONAL CHARGES OF ARCHITECTS.
The charges of all reputable architects are made in conformity with the schedule sanctioned by the Royal Institute of British Architects, confirmed at a General Conference of Architects of the United Kingdom, 1872, and revised by the Institute, 1898. The main points are : —
1. The usual remuneration for an architect's services, except as hereinafter mentioned, is a commission of 5 per cent, on the total cost of works executed under his directions. Such total cost is to be valued as though executed by a builder with new materials. This commission is for the necessary preliminary conferences and sketches, approximate estimate when required (such, for instance, as may be obtained for cubing out the contents), the necessary general and detailed drawings and specifications, one set of tracings, duplicate specification, general superintendence of works, and examining and passing the accounts, exclusive of measuring and making out extras and omissions.
2. This commission does not include the payment for services rendered in connection with negotiations relating to the site or premises, or in supplying drawings to ground or other landlords, or in surveying of premises and taking levels, making surveys and plans of buildings to be altered, making arrangements in respect of party-walls and rights of light, or for drawings for and correspondence with local and other authorities, or for services consequent on the failure of builders to carry out the works, or for services in connection with litigation or arbitration, or in the measurement and valuation of extras and omissions. For such services additional charges pro- portionate to the trouble involved and time spent are made. The clerk of the works should be appointed by the architect, his salary being paid by the client.
3. In all works of less cost than ;^i,ooo, and in works requiring designs for furniture and fittings of buildings, or for their decoration with painting, mosaics, sculpture, stained glass, or other like works, and in cases of alterations and additions to buildings, 5 per cent, is not remunerative, and the charge is regulated by special circum- stances and conditions.
4. When several distinct buildings, being repetitions of one
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
design, are erected at the same time from a single specification and one set of drawings and under one contract, the usual commission may be charged on the cost of one such building and a modified arrangement made in respect of the others ; but the arrangement does not apply to the reduplication of parts in one building under- taking, in which case the full commission is to be charged on the total cost.
5. If the architect should have drawn out the approved design complete, with plans, elevations, sections, and specification, the charge is 2^ per cent, upon the estimated cost. If he should have procured tenders in accordance with the instruction of his employer, the charge is ^ per cent, in addition. Two and a half per cent, is charged upon any works originally included in the contract or tender, but subsequently omitted in execution. These charges are exclusive of charge for taking out quantities. Preliminary sketches and inter- views, where drawings are not further proceeded with, are charged for according to time and trouble involved.
6. Should the client, having approved the design, and after the contract drawings have been prepared, require material alterations to be made, whether before or after the contract has been entered into, extra charge is made.
7. The architect is entitled during the progress of the work to payment by instalments on account at the rate of 5 per cent, on the amount of the certificates when granted, or, alternatively, on the signing of the contract, to half the commission on the amount thereof, and the remainder by instalments during their progress.
8. The charge per day depends upon an architect's professional position, the minimum charge being three guineas.
g. The charge for taking a plan of an estate, laying it out, and arranging for building upon it, is regulated by the time, skill, and trouble involved.
10. For setting out on an estate the position of the proposed road or roads, taking levels, and preparing drawings for roads and sewers, applying for the sanction of local authorities, and supplying all necessary tracings for this purpose, the charge is 2 per cent, on the estimated cost. For subsequently preparing working drawings and specifications of roads and sewers, obtaining tenders, supplying one copy of drawings and specification to the contractor, super- intending works, examining and passing accounts (exclusive of measuring and valuing extras and omissions), the charge is an additional 4 per cent, on the cost of the work executed.
11. For letting the several plots in ordinary cases the charge is a sum not exceeding a whole year's ground rent, but in respect of plots of greater value a special arrangement must be made.
12. For approving plans submitted by the lessee, and for inspecting the buildings during their progress, so far as may be necessary to ensure the conditions being fulfilled, and certifying for lease, the charge is a percentage not exceeding i^ up to ^5,000, and above by special arrangement.
223
COUNTRY COTTAGES.
13. For valuing freehold, copyhold, or leasehold property the charge is : —
On ;^i,ooo ... I per cent. Thence to ;^ 1 0,000 ... J „
Above ;^io,ooo ... J ,, on residue.
In valuations for mortgage, if an advance is not made, one-third above scale. Minimum fee, three guineas.
14. For valuing and negotiating the settlement of claims under the Lands Clauses Consolidation Act or other Acts for the compulsory acquisition of property, the charge is on Ryde's scale as follows ; on amount of settlement, whether by verdict, award, or otherwise : —
|
Amount. |
Gs. |
Amount. |
Gs. |
Amount. |
Gs. |
Amount. |
Gs. |
|
/ |
/ |
£ |
£ |
||||
|
100 |
5 |
2,200 |
24 |
5,200 |
39 |
8,200 |
54 |
|
200 |
7 |
2,400 |
25 |
5,400 |
40 |
8,400 |
55 |
|
300 |
9 |
2,600 |
26 |
5,600 |
41 |
8,600 |
56 |
|
400 |
II |
2,800 |
27 |
5,800 |
42 |
8,800 |
57 |
|
500 |
13 |
3,000 |
28 |
6,000 |
43 |
9,000 |
58 |
|
600 |
14 |
3,200 |
29 |
6,200 |
44 |
9,200 |
59 |
|
700 |
IS |
3,400 |
30 |
6,400 |
45 |
9,400 |
60 |
|
800 |
16 |
3,600 |
31 |
6,600 |
46 |
9,600 |
61 |
|
900 |
17 |
3,800 |
32 |
6,800 |
47 |
9,800 |
62 |
|
1,000 |
18 |
4,000 |
33 |
7,000 |
48 |
10,000 |
63 |
|
1,200 |
19 |
4,200 |
34 |
7,200 |
49 |
11,000 |
68 |
|
1,400 |
20 |
4,400 |
35 |
7,400 |
SO |
12,000 |
73 |
|
1,600 |
21 |
4,600 |
36 |
7,600 |
51 |
14,000 |
83 |
|
1,800 |
22 |
4,800 |
37 |
7,800 |
52 |
18,000 |
103 |
|
2,000 |
23 |
5,000 |
38 |
8,000 |
53 |
20,000 |
113 |
Beyond this Half-a-Guinea per cent. This scale is exclusive of attendances on juries or umpires, or at arbitrations, and of expenses and preparation of plans.
Printed by Cassell & Company, Limited, La Belle Sauvage, London, E.G.
10.2I«
<3l 3/^^/fi
BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
3 9999 05692 4317
^