English Gardens 
aspect. On this account, if for no other, the immediate ap¬ 
proach to the house is not so capable as other places of being 
made livable. Considerations of utility are therefore paramount. 
If it is a carriage entrance, a short drive and a convenient turn 
are the things sought. This has resulted in a number of types 
of which the most familiar are the simple in-and-out on 
different lines, and the straight drive finishing in a circle. 
Both these lend themselves readily to a formal treatment, 
and trees planted regularly, hedges or walls give an element 
of style to the simplest of plans. The kitchen approach is even 
more utilitarian ; the chief object being to keep it separate from 
the master’s approach and screened from view. The most 
direct approach is the simplest of turns ; privacy is obtained 
by walls, fences, hedges, or, in the case of basement offices, by 
sinking the road below the general grade. 
The formal planning of the early seventeenth century, 
which developed the H and E plans, suggested the partial or 
complete enclosing of the two approaches. It reproduced in 
more regular form the early forecourt and basecourt. 1 he for¬ 
mer name is still generally in use, the latter is more generally 
referred to as kitchen-court. The forecourt became at once an 
interesting feature of the plan, but never lost its true status. It 
A WALK BEFORE THE HOUSE 
74 
