@he (jlljrtattttas foust ^(lardcn 
l 9 t ‘ z 
gs^jik- 
demolish this building and erect upon its site a residence. How¬ 
ever, the fine wood carving of consistent Tudor detail rendered 
available by dismantling, and the lines of the barn suggested re¬ 
modeling. It seemed a pity to tear down anything so well built 
and so enduring. The propo¬ 
sition was then turned over to 
the architect and part renovation 
of the structure considered. 
There was something in the 
lines of the old building sugges¬ 
tive of an English manor house 
and their imaginations set to 
work could see developed from 
it another such house as those 
providing the chief charm of 
the English countryside. The 
owner’s enthusiasm grew as the 
possibilities became apparent. 
The actual advantage of creat¬ 
ing in America a home that 
would approximate that type of 
English manor house made a 
strong appeal. 
Remodeling of this type is no 
small matter, and in this place it 
might be well to say that only 
the most sympathetic co-opera¬ 
tion between client and archi¬ 
tect can bring the results herein 
attained. There is an immense 
amount of study involved com¬ 
pared with that necessary to 
produce a new building of equal 
size, and as the end in view is 
not as definite as in the case of 
a new building, a considerable 
amount of patience is required 
and a willingness to meet unex¬ 
pected cost. For in 
such work unfore¬ 
seen difficulties 
arise, and unless the 
owner is willing to 
go ahead slowly, he 
is apt to be disap¬ 
pointed. But on the 
other hand there is 
an attraction that 
does not develop in 
the construction of 
a new house, a fas- 
c'ination which 
grows from adapt¬ 
ing to good purpose 
something that was 
heretofore useless, 
a n d redeeming to 
good advantage a 
building that would 
have served in the 
ordinary course of 
events no economic 
use. In this way 
one becomes a 
magician, and by 
the magic of a con¬ 
structive imagina¬ 
The high leaded glass window opening into the great hall is 
particularly effective in so large a room 
One knack in remodeling is the adaptation of materials to new uses. This caen stone fireplace 
was too narrow. The addition of the keystone rendered it available 
tion turns an ugly and useless stable into a beautiful residence. 
Actually when the work was completed it was discovered that 
the final expense was but two-thirds of what it would have cost 
to build anew such a structure. Then, too, it really was the clos¬ 
est approximation to the way old 
English houses grew. There, 
many years, perhaps centuries, 
of adding to the main house 
gave the final result we appre¬ 
ciate to-day. Here at Marion 
the process was just the same, 
although the time was a very 
short one. That is, the house 
grew part by part and thus has 
achieved the charm that one ap¬ 
preciates in the old country. 
The first thing that was con¬ 
sidered was the adaptation of the 
plot to the building—a not un¬ 
usual reversal of the proper 
method of procedure, even in 
cases where it is not necessary. 
However, the stable occupied a 
good situation and the land was 
easily fitted to it. The stable as 
it appears in one of the pictures 
and in a plan, had rectangular 
foundations. Along the front 
ran a row of stalls, and upon 
this side the stonework was most 
solid. In back most of the area 
was occupied by a court and a 
great cement floored room where 
the carriages were washed. The 
roof was supported by great solid 
pillars. At the west section of 
the barn was the carriage room 
that went up two stories, but had 
merely a wooden 
second floor above 
stairs. The walls and 
foundation were ex¬ 
tremely solid and 
thick. If the for¬ 
mer first floor plan 
is consulted, the 
condition of the 
building will be at 
once apparent. 
A cellar was ex¬ 
cavated under the 
stable or east wing. 
Part of the carriage 
house already had 
a cellar. The foun¬ 
dation walls were 
fortunately very 
deep and little un¬ 
derpinning was nec¬ 
essary to carry them 
below the new cel¬ 
lar bottom. This 
was easily done with 
concrete. Just out¬ 
side the building 
large 
reser- 
was found a 
underground 
(364) 
