Wooden 

 bridges. 



Super- 

 structures to 

 bridges. 



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FIG. l88. BRIDGE AT MOUNT STEWART. 



SUMMER-HOUSES, PERGOLAS AND BRIDGES. 



shown in illustration No. 261, with its unstudied sylvan treatment and falling torrent, 



for here it must harmonize with the terrace in its architectural details and scale, and 



yet, on the other hand, there must be nothing 

 to clash with the natural scenery beyond, nor 

 must it form a hard dividing line between the 

 two. 



As in the case of terrace walls and every 

 other form of garden architecture, the style of 

 the house will more or less dictate the material 

 and style of the bridge if the two are near 

 together, while in other cases, local conditions 

 will have their influence. Thus, in illustration 

 No. 187, is shown a bridge erected in a 

 West Country garden in which the local granite 

 was used, and in illustration No. 186 an old 

 bridge of rag-stone, each being stamped with 

 the local character ; while, on the other hand, 

 the design of one for the Marquis of Bute, 

 shown in illustration No. 188, was influenced 

 by other architectural details which were part 

 of the same scheme. 



Very often a perfectly simple bridge built 

 of rubble walling with a neat flag coping will 



answer all purposes, and in any case it is far better to err on the side of plainness than 



to obtain an ostentatious result. Smaller bridges still should be constructed of oak, but 



never of the so-called rustic work, which, 



besides offending the canons of art in its 



design, invariably looks either brand-new 



or dilapidated. Where a wooden bridge is 



necessary, it should be a straight-forward 



honest piece of good carpentry, with as 



much quaint construction and strutting 



as this will allow of. Such a bridge 



will outlast a number of the so-called 



rustic affairs which are so often used 



because they are cheap. A representa- 

 tive design for this class of work is given 



in illustration No. 189, which shows a 



bridge designed by the Author for the 



late Colonel Sandys, M.P. ; and a still 



more rustic wooden erection, suitable for 



the wild garden, is shown in illustration 



No. 261. 



The effectiveness of bridges in gardens 



may often be enhanced by means of 



some form of superstructure, such as 



the summer-house shown in illustration 



No. 236 which represents the outlet to 



a formal canal at Kearsney Court, near 



Dover, or, in other instances, a pergola may not only stretch the whole length of the 



bridge, but extend along the path on either side, the part over the bridge being marked 



FIG. 189. WOODEN BRIDGE AT GRAYTHWAITE HALL. 



148 



