MONTACUTE HOUSE, 



SOMERSETSHIRE. 



M 



ONTACUTl Horsi led the 



monastic foundation of the Cluniac order, 

 part of whose buildings survive, forming 

 a farmhouse near by, and close under 

 the sugar loaf hill the MOM-. Acutus which 

 the place its name. Its material is the warm-tinted, 

 open-grained, yet most enduring, Ham Hill stun. 

 largely used in this, its own district, and whose excel- 

 lence has helped to give to S>merset its reputation 

 for splendid and well-preserved buildings of' ancient 

 date. It was built by Sir Kdward I'helips, who 

 was successively Queen's Serjeant, Master of the 

 Rolls and Speaker of the House of Commons in 

 I c8o, and its complete erection occupied some score 

 of years. Its design, shapely and dignified, was in 

 the new style of the day when law anil order was 

 held to be so firmly established that the main 

 dwelling-house of the country gentleman need not 

 be surrounded and darkened by quadrangles of out- 

 buildings and outworks, but might stand forth openly 

 and drink in plentifully the air of heaven and the 

 light of day through its ample fcnestration, and 

 encircle itself with flowering courts and green 

 pleasaunces. The builder had hospitable views, and, 



far from seeking to lurk behind crenellated walls, 

 strove to welcome many friends in the house he so 

 richly adorned. Ix.-f us note the legend over the 

 principal portal of his house : 



, 



Mom- .MMII- ( r.nly. none- mum !" I.Hi 



Before we refer to the garden, we may certainly 

 draw attention to the extraordinary beauty of the 

 architectural embellishments which add so much to 

 its charm. Kngland can show few more delightful 

 examples of architecture conceived in the (iothic 

 spirit, and yet enriched with the fancy born of the 

 mind of the Renaissance, than the west pon h of 

 Montacute, which is seen in one of our pictures. 

 Notice the fluted angle columns rising to the quatre- 

 foil cresting, which is crowned by fantastic statuettes 

 upon twisted columnar lu-i-s, ami the glory of the 

 craftsmanship of the armorial achievement, and the 

 windows and other details. The spirit of the two 

 boys who uphold the lozenge in which the shield is 

 contained is admirable, and the enrichments arc of 

 most delicate and attractive character. This, however, 

 was not Sir Kdward I'hclips's work, but was brought 

 to and welded into Montacute in 1787 from the old 



run SOCTH WALK t>r/s//M THE 



