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THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



[January, 



planke Jurms, that Iwo yeoman can scant remove out of their jilaccs, and 

 waynscot stools so liard, that since great breeches were layd aside, men can 

 scant indewr to sit on." 



Tlicre was one room, also, which does not occur in every mansion uf the 

 time, namely, the library ; but where it docs it seems to have been highly 

 considered, so much so, as to be entitled " Paradise." In the descriptions of 

 old houses "great and lilUc Paradise,'' freijuently occur. At Wn-ssil Castle, 

 Yorkshire, an ancient seat of the Pereies. there was " one thyng," says Le- 

 land, "I likid e.\ceeding1y in one of the lowers; that was a study eallid 

 ' Paradise,' wher was a closett in the middle, of eight st|uares laltiscd about ; 

 and at the top of every square was a deske ledged to fit bookcs on and cofcrs 

 within them, and these seemed as yoined Iiard to the top of (his elossctt ; 

 and yet by pidling, one or al would come down briste high in rabattes and 

 serve for deskes to lay bookes on."' 



In noticing the fittings-np of the bed-chambers, we need mention little 

 except the bedstead and bedding, as the chairs, stools, &c , were very similar 

 to those of the other rooms. To this we may add that the bedsteads were of 

 a massive character, with the pillars, headboards and canopies, or spervers, 

 elaborately carved and variously painted in lively and decided colours, 

 hatched with gold. The pillars were sometimes surmounted with gilded vanes, 

 The hangings need not be farther described, than as being of the richest ma- 

 terials, oflen worked by the hands of the ladies of the family. The art of 

 needlework was the fashionable pursuit. Henry VIII. 's daughters, Mary 

 and Elizabeth, were good needlewomen, and Anne Boleyn embroidered the 

 tester of a bed for her husband. They were bequeathed from one generation 

 to another, and often, indeed, entailed. 



.Some of the state beds of the time exhibited the utmost magnificence, and 

 were distinguished by liighllown appellations. M'olsey had one calleil the 

 "Infantilege" and another called the "Sun."— The bedstead was generally 

 placed on a raised step, and was sufhciently high to allow a smaller one on 

 castors to be rolled under it in the day time, forming the "standing-bed" 

 and " truckle-bed" alluded to in the Merry AVives of Windsor. The latter 

 is sometimes styled " trundle" bed. 



There seems to have been no want of well-stuffed wool mattresses, down 

 beds and bolsters, blankets of fuslain or wool, and sheets of fine linen ; but 

 in the counterpoints or counter^'dHcs, as they were afterwards called, from 

 being worked in diamond or'square figures, the utmost magnificence was dis- 

 Jilayed;— coverlets of satin ; damask, velvet and the richest furs are of con- 

 stant occurrence in old wills and inventories. 



Larj^e heavy wardrobes, with curtains to draw, were another article, — and 

 large trunks called trussing-chests were used as depositories of the bedding 

 for removal. 



Beside the bed lay a narrow -carpet of tapestry, — and rich chairs and seals 

 were not wanting in the chamber. 



The dressing-table w as also elaborately furnished with rich coverings, and 

 over it sometimes hung a mirror of polished steel in velvet frame embroidered 

 with gold. 



We may here conclude this list, for the inferior rooms and the offices 

 scarcely demand our attention. 



In considering the proper manner of adapting the Elizabethan style to the 

 use of the present day, it may be necessary in the first place to divest our- 

 selves of whatever predilection we may feel for any other style of deciiration. 

 The influence of taste or the prejudice of education may lead some to con- 

 trast it disadvantageously with the classic style, and it would be scarcely 

 fair to expose it to so severe a test, Comparisons are proverbially invidious, 

 and we must judge it by its own merits alone, without reference to those of 

 others. 



An excellent study of the general features of this style is to be found in 

 Mr. Nash's admirable work on the '• English mansions of the olden time." 

 It is not alone for the faithful delineation of the mansions themselves that it 

 is so truly valuable. The appropriate furniture of the apartments, and the 

 picturesque grouping of the figures, represented as engaged .in various occu- 

 pations or sports, exhibit the most perfect acquaintance with the habits and 

 customs of the diflerent periods, and bestow a charm on the whole, which 

 mere architcctuial details alone would never have imparted. As the work, 

 however, includes mansions of all dates, those who consult it with reference 

 to the Elizabethan period must be careful not to confound the examples with 

 those of later date. Another work of similar kind, and entitled to equal con- 

 sideration is, the " Baronial Halls," now publishing by Mr. S. C. Hall, which 

 is illustrated by some of the best artists of the day. 



To those who are prevented visiting the mansions themselves, nothing bet- 

 ter can be recommended than the study of superior works like tliese, from 

 which the modern adapters of the style may select those particular beauties 

 which give it its distinctive character, and at the same time learn to avoid its 

 peculiar faults. 



An architect would be justly exposed to ridicule, who in designing a man- 

 sion in this style should borrow its faults instead of its beauties, or adopt its 

 more elegant features only to misapply them. While with praiseworthy am- 

 bition aspiring. 



" To raise the ceiling's fretted height, 

 Piich panel in achievements clothing," 

 he should be careful not to expose himself to the charge contained in the rest 

 of the verse, by adopting the 



" Huge windows that exclude the light, 

 And passages (hat lead to nothing." 



So we ourselves in the Interiors committed to us shoulil studiously strive to 

 avoid the redundances that disfigure it ; for even in the best specimens that 

 are left us, in the midst of all their beauties, there is continually something 

 appearing which detracts much from our admiration. Turn for instance to 

 Richardson's work, and ob>erve some of the illustrations of Claverton House. 

 Nothing can be in better taste than some of Ihe details (The Screen, Plate 

 viii. — The enriched Columns of Plate xi. — The Pilaster, Plate xvi. Sic.) : but 

 on the other hand examine the barbarous figures in the carving (Chimney- 

 piece of Hall, Plate xv. &c.) ; no one can look at them with any pleasure, 

 except as a curious object of anticjuity, and with the same mi.xed feelings 

 which are excited by the strange attempts at [lerspeclive in a highly-finished 

 Chinese painting. Not even the most enthubiastic admirer of the Klizabethan 

 style can defend such outrageous representations, or wish them adopted in 

 modern im'tations Mr. llowitt in his " Visits to Remarkable Places" describes 

 in an amusing manner some uncouth specimens of the kind, which he saw at 

 Complon Wynyates, an Elizabethan mansion in M'arwickshire. 



The multitude of small square panels introduced on Ihe walls is also a sad 

 disfigurement: look in Richardson at the illustrations of the Duke's House, 

 Bradford, and more particularly at the .'^tar Chamber, which fully confirm 

 these remarks. That splendid structure, Holland House, with all its beauties, 

 is in some parts liable lo the same charge. These objections may be con- 

 sidered presumptuous ; it is by no means, however, in a spirit of cavilling 

 that they are made, but solely from an anxious desire to arrive at Ihe best 

 mode of carrying out the style efl'ectually. In fact, the pruning-knife ap- 

 pears to be the principal requisite, for the very luxuriance of the style is its 

 greatest fault. It is too elaborate, the ornaments too complex and redun- 

 dant, and the general effect is often lost sight of in too great an attention to 

 details. 



The barbarous representation of the human figure, alluded to above, in the 

 carved relievos of chimney-pieces and panels, was also one of the great de- 

 fects ot the arras hangings. Some of the taiicslry of the age was doubtless 

 of the best execution ; indeed the very factof Rafiaelle having been employed 

 to design Cartoons for the purpose of being worked sufficiently attests it ; 

 but there can be little doubt that by far the greater part was in a barbarous 

 style ; forjudging from the quantity of rubbish that has descended to us, ive 

 may make a tolerable estimate of what has perished. 



The revival of a taste for this article for covering walls cannot be desired ; 

 they can be decorated in a better and cheaper manner ; Ihe varieties of paper- 

 hanging and painting, with the facilities they afford for continual renewal, 

 and the recent revival of fresco-painting will be quite sufficient without these 

 "fly bitten' tapestries. They have, however, admirers, and haveof late been 

 introduced somewhat largely into this country ; — many specimens have been of 

 good design and most brilliant colouring ; but it is impossible for Ihe most skil- 

 ful hand torepresentihe human figure, orevenlandscape, in tapestry orneedle- 

 work with half the effect that would be given by the jwncil and colours of 

 the artist. The nice gradations of nature cannot be produced by the materials 

 employed, and the general effect of the representation is consequently crude 

 and raw. 



There is one description of hangings used by our ancestors, which has been 

 recently revived in France and imported into this country — namely, embossed 

 leather. From the great control the manufacturer has obtained over this 

 article, there is little doubt of its being capable of introduction with good 

 cflect ; but there is a limit to its capabilities, and Ihe attempt to execute it in 

 high relief has proved a comparative failure. 



The representation of festoons of fruit, flowers, &c., in the same material 

 (the " Pi II II en plastiijiic," as it is aftieetedly called, when an English name 

 might as well be used) has obtained much patronage of late years. It is sus- 

 ceptible of l»ing used with advantage as an enrichment, taking care not lo 

 overdo it, but there is great room for improvement, as a metallic harshness 

 of appearance is perceptible about it, which renders it very inferior lo good 

 carving in wood, lo which some of its admirers have not hesitated to jwo- 

 nounce it fully ctjual. 



How far the use of this article can be justified in an Elizabethan interior 

 is however a matter of consideration. It has no precedent in the edifices of 

 that age, the more perfect imitation of nature which forms its principal re- 

 commendation not having been introduced until nearly the end of the seven- 

 teenth century by GrinUng Gibbons and his contemporaries. But the efiec- 

 tive manner in which it would harmonize with the more elegant features of 

 the Elizabethan might almost reconcile us to the anachronism. 



There is another feature of the Elizabethan style, that is, the introduction 

 of elaborate open work in panels, friezes, &c., which modern improvement in 

 mechanics renders easy of adoption, thereby affording a handsome and cha- 

 racteristic mode of decoration at a cqpipatatively small expense. When 



