HOUSES AND GARDENS 



central apartment, where the occupants of a group of houses could enjoy well- 

 cooked food in spacious surroundings, while still, where required, food 

 could be conveyed to the separate houses where special conditions made it 

 desirable. 



Having thus centralised the functions of feeding and service, the next 

 consideration would be the centralisation of heating, which would be effected 

 by hot air or hot water supplemented in the separate houses by the 

 open fire. 



In seeking for the type of plan which would be most suitable tor such a 

 group of houses, the college court with its central hall and cloisters at once 

 suggests itself. A covered approach to the central hall from the various 

 houses is thus provided, and the whole arrangement is one which is admirably 

 adapted to artistic treatment. 



In the plan illustrated, such an arrangement on a small scale is shown, 

 comprising twelve separate houses, which vary slightly in their accommoda- 

 tion, but contain on an average two sitting-rooms on the ground floor, with 

 four bedrooms and bathroom, &c., above, and in the roof one or two 

 attics. 



These houses are placed round three sides of the square, which a further 

 addition to their number would enclose, leaving merely a covered carriage 

 entrance. In the centre of the south side is the central hall, beneath which 

 is the kitchen and offices, and over which are the bedrooms for the servants 

 and accommodation for the mistress. Adjoining the hall are lavatories and 

 cloak-rooms, and over this lower portion, in a mezzanine floor, is a reading- 

 room. 



The building is surrounded by ample garden-space, where, instead of curly 

 paths and shapeless shrubberies of the villa, there are square lawns enclosed 

 by yew hedges, an orchard with brick paths set in the grass, pergolas and 

 arbours, and all the other features of the old English gardens. It may be 

 questioned whether such a setting is altogether admissible in a scheme which 

 professes an economical basis, but it is not suggested that this group of 

 houses should be tied to a railway station, where land is dear and space 

 limited. One of the promised results of modern advance in locomotion has 

 been the practical possibility of living in the country, and one of the features 

 of the scheme proposed is a motor 'bus, which would convey the occupants 

 at stated times to their business or pleasure. 



It is a question as to what degree the features of the individual house 

 should be retained or merged into the general use, and it might possibly be 

 advisable to set apart a portion of the garden to be divided up into small 

 private gardens for the individual houses ; or again, in the central dining-hall, 

 on a larger scale a series of recesses might be arranged, allotted to individual 

 families. For the benefit of those who wish to retain the possibility of the 

 simpler forms of cooking in their own house, such as the preparation of a 

 simple breakfast or tea, at least one of the fireplaces in the sitting-rooms 

 would be of a type suitable for such purposes, and the presence in the room 

 of necessary appliances for such operations would help to give it that quality 



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