50 
House & Garden 
INTERIOR 
DECORA TORS 
Old English Interiors in American Homes 
(Continued jrom page 42) 
at formal decoration took the form of 
shields, arms and trophies of the chase 
fixed upon the walls, which both satis¬ 
fied the pride of the owner and fur¬ 
nished some relief for the plain walls. 
The floors were of wood, rough, stout 
and substantial, and there were great 
square beams supporting the ceilings. 
The doorways were small and of the 
simplest description. Tables and seats 
were of the plainest hewn character— 
all of solid oak and devoid of carving. 
The Hall 
Then a change came over the politics 
and security of the nation. The country 
became more and more settled and de¬ 
fense was not so imperative, so the 
keep, which was piled up, one story on 
another, took a more convenient and 
livable form. The rooms were placed 
alongside each other on the ground, and 
the manor house type emerged. It is 
this manor house which has developed 
through the centuries into the house of 
modern times. 
The fortified manor house, in addi¬ 
tion to its strong outer walls, was usu¬ 
ally surrounded by a deep ditch or 
moat, across which a drawbridge was 
placed, which could be raised or low¬ 
ered as occasion demanded, and which 
led to a strongly defended gateway. 
The principal feature of these fortified 
houses was a central hall, where every¬ 
one lived when indoors. It was the 
living, dining and sleeping place for all. 
Adjoining this at one end was a room 
or rooms for the master, which was 
called the solar, and at the other end 
a culinary department, which formed 
the headquarters for the servants. 
The hall, or principal room, was neces¬ 
sarily of large size, lofty and of one 
story, with an open timber roof, some¬ 
times freely decorated. Its importance 
was so pronounced that the house itself 
was called “The Hall,” a name which is 
applied to the principal house in a 
parish to this day. A screen was usually 
placed so as to form a corridor between 
the hall and the kitchen, and this screen 
was developed into one of the principal 
decorative features of the hall of the 
Elizabethan and Jacobean periods. 
In the manor house attention became 
concentrated on comfort and privacy 
rather than defense, as the condition of 
the country became more and more set¬ 
tled. Little by little, drawbridges and 
moats were no longer required; the sur¬ 
rounding walls, though they continued 
to be of great strength, needed no de¬ 
fensive towers; houses began to be 
planned with courtyards, more expan¬ 
sive windows were introduced, sheltered 
gardens and terraces became possible. 
The wider opportunities for commerce 
and adventure enabled the traders to 
become rich and the nobles more power¬ 
ful. There was added to the great hall, 
in which the old time baron had sat 
at the table with his family and guests 
in patriarchal relation to his retainers 
and serving men, the long gallery for 
entertainment and for the retirement 
and privacy which the lord and his lady 
might seek from the common throng. 
Development of the house continued 
along English lines until the classical 
period came along, when English archi¬ 
tecture became thoroughly Italianized. 
The heroic and pure period of English 
decoration was over. The classical 
period remained to the end of the 18th 
and the beginning of the 19th Century, 
when it passed into strictly modem 
banalities, that are of no interest what¬ 
ever from the art standpoint. 
The Classical Period 
The classical period was ushered in 
by architects, proud of their ability to 
destroy the old and erect the new. The 
distinctive characteristics were the ab¬ 
sence of gables and the substitution of 
sash windows for the old mullioned form. 
This took away the picturesque treat¬ 
ment characteristic of the earlier houses, 
which gave way to cold, careful spacing 
and other arrangements not conducive 
to artistic effects. The classical spirit 
seemed to pervade all artistic efforts, 
whether in painting, sculpture or litera¬ 
ture. Stateliness and noble proportions 
were achieved, it is true, but sincerity 
gave way to artificiality. Persons of 
distinction seemed content to forego the 
comforts of home for the opportunity 
of living the stately life. 
This period is perhaps best repre¬ 
sented by Pope, himself a stilted classic¬ 
ist, who, when Blenheim was described 
to him, was compelled to say, “I see 
from all you have been telling me ’tis 
a house and not a dwelling.” 
Having traced the development of 
the house itself, we now arrive at the 
decorations. It is these adornments 
which interest us here in America, be¬ 
cause so many of them have been taken 
bodily from their English settings and 
removed to this country, and also be¬ 
cause they have served and still serve 
as models for reproductions of great 
beauty and sound artistic value, which 
also serve to make our homes livable. 
(Continued on page 52) 
W E have a large assortment 
of Philippine furniture in 
tables, chairs and other articles. 
This furniture is rare and not 
likely to be reproduced and is 
recognized for its beauty, 
durability and appropriateness 
for country homes. 
W. 
That the old English interior can be adapted to the American 
home is evidenced by this dignified library. Charles of 
London, decorator 
