ENTRANCES AND CARRIAGE COURTS. 



Owing to the happy combination of homely circumstances they present, both single 

 and double gate lodges placed at the ends of long park drives often blend perfectly with 

 their picturesque landscape surroundings, suggesting to the passer-by a scene of peaceful 

 habitation. It is this delightful homeliness above every other quality that is to be 

 sought in lodges when far removed from the mansion ; in these and similar positions 

 rustic character need not be sacrificed to style. Given the right surroundings, this is much 

 to be preferred to making the lodge appear as an offshoot from the mansion. Illustra- 

 tion No. 18 gives a solution of this problem of an entrance so far removed from the 

 mansion as to suggest a design which harmonizes with the district of which it forms 

 a part, rather than the mansion to which it belongs. 



In choosing a position for a lodge, although a backing of foliage is desirable, do 

 not place it amidst or too near trees, but allow ample space for sunshine and flowers. 

 A common mistake is to omit the yard and provision for the ordinary household re- 

 quirements, such as drying clothes, which can be arranged with privacy by enclosing 

 a piece of ground within hedges or walls. 



All examples referred to so far are connected with more or less extensive domains. 

 There is a tendency for them to become sub-divided to meet the growing demand for 

 small compact country residences which the motor car has brought within the reach of 

 so many persons who for business reasons have hitherto been compelled to reside near 

 railway stations. Such properties are often small in extent, ranging from five to twenty 

 acres, which must be so developed as to secure the delights and conveniences of larger 

 estates. They must therefore be carefully and compactly planned, providing, in addition 

 to a good garden for use and ornament, a small garage or stable, with chauffeur's apart- 

 ments, coachman's or gardener's cottage. Here necessary compactness of plan often 

 leads to a most effective grouping of garage, stables, lodge and entrance. The result 

 is usually better than a series of scattered buildings, and indeed often adds a note of 

 interest to the garden. Illustration No. 26 shows such an arrangement. Here the 

 residence stands on an elevated site and is some one hundred yards distant. This 

 picturesque and well-planned group was designed by Mr. Lei per, A.S.A., of Glasgow. 



The grouping of the necessary accessories to small country houses will undoubtedly be 

 further developed, and out of this may grow a distinctive character and style ; but, as 

 each site will need special consideration, no fear need be entertained of monotonous 

 repetition. 



It has always appeared to the writer, that the suburban house, on a site of perhaps 

 only two acres, requires greater care in its placing than any other ; such houses when 

 built on the South side of the road, are invariably placed near the public highway, with 

 little more than a carriage court or even only a covered way (111. No. 27) to separate 

 them. Formerly the house was often a plain Georgian structure, with a beautifully 

 designed portico entrance. This refined and scholarly phase of English domestic archi- 

 tecture, whether near a town or in the country, calls for a corresponding solidity and 



richness in the entrance piers, wing walls, and gates. At 

 Farfield House, near Bolton Abbey (111. No. 48), piers 

 stand at either side of the entrance to the North Garden, 

 which was probably at one time the carriage court. The 

 wrought-iron gates, which from their position and proportions 

 must have been very beautiful, have disappeared. The 

 Carshalton gates and piers are better known, but both 

 serve to show how much the architects of the later 

 renaissance valued the entrances as points of emphasis, often restraining expenditure on 

 the house that they might enrich them. 



The gate piers at Wood, a modern residence on Dartmoor, are of more modest 



Grouping of 

 garage, 

 stable, lodge 

 and 

 entrance. 



Houses 

 near the 

 highway. 



43 



