204 DYRHAM, GLOUCESTERSHIRE 



The entrance front (Fig. 137) is lengthened by the adjoining 

 orangery, forming a facade of some 220 ft., of which the house 

 itself occupies 1 30 ft. In the middle of this part is the front door, 

 which opens into a hall (see plan, Fig. 138). Immediately opposite 

 is the door into the saloon, beyond which is a second hall, which 

 leads out to the terrace. A vista is thus formed through the house 

 and on to the gardens. The terrace is flanked on one side by 

 the stable buildings and on the other by a corridor leading to the 

 ancient church. The whole arrangement is symmetrical, stately, 

 and interesting. Being on a reasonable scale the effect is digni- 

 fied without being overpowering. Time has dealt kindly with 

 the place, and there are no modern restorations to interfere 

 either with the tone or the sentiment of the surroundings. 



There is nothing particularly striking about the architecture 

 of the interior, charming though this is ; most of the rooms are 

 panelled with the large and boldly moulded panelling of the 

 period (Fig. 139), and there is one in which the effect is very 

 happily enhanced by rich, though subdued gilding. The un- 

 usual charm of the house springs from the fact that very few 

 alterations have been made, and that it retains its old furniture, 

 books, and pictures, which combine to produce a fine feeling of 

 old-fashioned comfort and culture. 



From the plan (Fig. 138) it will be gathered that many of 

 the rooms communicate with each other and are, in fact, thorough- 

 fare rooms ; and in this respect it must be granted that the 

 comfort of those days differed from that of our own. It will 

 also be seen that the saloon is lighted from one end only, an 

 arrangement which, although rendering the room by no means 

 dark, yet detracts somewhat from its cheerfulness and deprives 

 it of all prospect. 



An important point in the external treatment, differentiating 

 this house from most of those hitherto mentioned, is that the 

 roof is not visible. Webb made his roofs an important feature, 

 bestowing much care upon their proportion and pitch ; here the 

 cornice is surmounted by an open balustrade, and the chimneys, 

 instead of being made to attract the eye, are as inconspicuous as 

 possible. 



Talman had adopted the same treatment at Chatsworth, 

 which was being built at this time 1 for the first Duke of Devon- 

 shire (Fig. 140). Chatsworth is on a much larger scale than 

 1 It was begun in 1687 and finished in 1706. 



