THORPE HALL, PETERBOROUGH 91 



plain type which was supplanting the more varied and ingenious 

 designs of fifty years before. 



The plan of the house, as given by Hakewill (Fig. 47), is of 

 the modern order, although faintly reminiscent of the ancient 

 arrangement in respect of the hall, which is approached from 

 the entrance passage through a screen. The ground floor, con- 

 taining the hall, library, and dining-room, is raised well above 

 the ground, and the servants' quarters are in the basement. 

 Subsequent to the making of Hakewill's plan, certain alterations 

 were made which did away with the necessity of passing through 

 one room to get to the next, but they did not affect the main 

 dispositions. 



Much of the detail inside is quite charming, especially the 

 ceilings, the panelling of the dining-room and the staircase. 

 The sober yet fanciful treatment of the dining-room is delightful 

 (Fig. 48) and strongly resembles that of some of Webb's designs 

 at Worcester College. Indeed the detail throughout abounds 

 in touches such as are to be found in his drawings, and it has a 

 freedom from pedantry which is quite refreshing, and may be 

 regarded as a legacy from his less learned predecessors. The 

 staircase has a carved and pierced floral balustrade of a type 

 which had a considerable vogue in England during the second 

 half of the seventeenth century (Fig. 49). The carving is 

 particularly vigorous, especially in the newels and the great 

 scroll at the foot of the stairs. The carved work is in lime, while 

 the framework is in oak, but time has coloured the whole to one 

 tone. The newels are crowned with fanciful vases full of flowers, 

 another feature characteristic of the period. Some of the doors 

 have panels over them, filled with painted landscapes, one of the 

 earliest instances of a method of treatment that became very 

 general in later years. The fireplaces, with one or two excep- 

 tions, are not fine examples of their kind. 



The lay out is quite formal. The house stands in the midst 

 of a large oblong enclosure, some 700 ft. long by 350 ft. wide, 

 containing between five and six acres. The stables and garden 

 houses occupy part of this space, the remainder being devoted 

 to a forecourt and gardens. The enclosing wall is pierced with 

 gateways of which the piers are of varied and interesting design 

 (Fig. 50). The stables themselves are less formal and more 

 picturesque than the house, but the same strong and masterful 

 treatment prevails throughout (Fig. 51). As within the house so 

 without, the detail has more individuality than was possible in 



