Robinson's Designs Jo?- Ornamental Fay-m- Buildings. 319 



to the 636, founded upon plans the usefulness of which has been already 

 acknowledged, these designs are now offered to the public. They will be 

 given in the old English style of architecture, in the Italian, the Swiss, and 

 the Rustic, in order to make them generally useful ; and as the chief merit, 

 in compositions of this nature, arises from the simplicity of the shape, pro- 

 vided that shape be pleasing, all meretricious ornament will be carefully 

 avoided. The work will commence with labourers' cottages of the humblest 

 class, and the scale will gradually ascend. Each building attached to the 

 farmyard will be given in its turn, with occasional designs for fences and 

 rustic seats. The village school-house will find its place in the work, to- 

 gether with the alms-house, the turnpike-gate, the mill, and the parsonage." 

 Candour obliges us to state that the author has not been so successful iii 

 this work as in those which preceded it. The plans of his designs for la- 

 bourers' cottages are liable to the same objections which we have made to 

 those of Mr. Hunt (Vol. IV. p. 44.); and the elevations, in the greater num- 

 ber of instances, depend more on the picturesque effect given by the draughts- 

 man and the engraver, than on architectural lines and forms. For instance. 

 No. I. is a labourer's cottage, containing a kitchen, bedroom, wash-house, 

 and porch, with no closets. The elevation shows a roof rendered pictu- 

 resque by vegetation, not mere mosses and weather stains, but absolute 

 bushes. No. II. is a labourer's cottage, also containing a kitchen, bedroom, 

 and wash-house, without a closet, in which the two fire-places andlhe oven 

 are in the outside walls ; a bad plan, since it loses much of the heat that 

 would otherwise be reserved in the masonry, and given out during the 

 night. The object of placing the fire-places in the outside walls, is to make 

 a more picturesque elevation ; but we can hardly allow this to be legitimate. 

 The architect ought to take a higher aim, and endeavour to combine the 

 greatest degree of comfort and convenience to the poor cottager, with eco- 

 nomy, both in the first erec- 

 tion of the building, and in 

 its occupation afterwards, 

 joined to a high degree of 

 architectural character and 

 picturesque effect. 



No. III. is a labourer's 

 cottage in the Italian style, 

 with a kitchen, bedroom, 

 and out-hcuse, and with an 

 oven. The elevation (Jig. 



68.), unaccompanied by the 



mountainous scenery given in the plate, we do not think elegant ; and 



certainly the 

 windows are 

 too small and 

 too gloomy for 

 the climate of 

 England. 



No. IV. is 

 a cottage in 

 the Swiss style, 

 with the same 

 accommoda- 

 tions, but with 

 a far project- 

 ing roof {^g. 

 69.), which, in 

 perspective, has a very excellent effect, and is quite characteristic. 



