HOUSE AND GARDEN 
February, 
1911 
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Carved and pierced detail in stair-rail of Forde 
Abbey, Dorsetshire—a form of decoration per¬ 
mitting the sumptuous adornment of both sides 
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Another example of the combination of carved and pierced decoration—a detail of 
the gallery on the third floor, Tyttenhanger, Hertfordshire. Wren and Gibbons 
used this general type 
rate drawings, he kept in close touch 
with the work and solved the problems 
of design and building as they arose. In 
any case his buildings always look much 
better than the drawings would lead 
one to expect. 
After Jones there was an hiatus, un¬ 
til Christopher Wren came into promi¬ 
nence. For, curiously enough, notwith¬ 
standing the great amount of work 
which Inigo Jones executed, he did not 
found a school of architecture, nor train 
any men to carry on his work in the 
same spirit. There were one or two men 
who had worked with him, but who 
lacked his fine perception and knowl¬ 
edge. They imitated his work rather 
stupidly, without getting the quality 
which he was able to give it. 
Sir Christopher Wren had little or 
no training as a designer, except what 
he got from the study and execution of 
his own work. He spent a few months 
in Paris in his youth and studied there, 
and in consequence his design was 
based rather on the French than on the 
Italian traditions. 
He was, however, a man of such 
commanding genius that he became a 
really great architect and designed some buildings that were 
not only notable, but important as works of art. He finished 
and developed the Chelsea Hospital, which was built for a 
royal palace, and which Inigo Jones had started. Wren, how¬ 
ever, lacked the intimate knowledge of detail which Jones had; 
and, while his ornament was almost always in good scale —- 
that is, its size in correct relation to its position and surround¬ 
ings — it lacked charm, and he was apt to leave its execution 
largely to the workmen. Considering the enormous amount, of 
work he did, this is not surprising, for besides building a large 
number of luxurious houses, or palaces, 
as they would be called on the Conti¬ 
nent, he designed and built some thirty- 
five parish churches after the great 
London fire, besides rebuilding St. 
Paul’s Cathedral. 
He was doubtless thankful to make 
use of Grinling Gibbons, when he was 
introduced to this remarkable genius by 
John Evelyn. Gibbons was of Dutch de¬ 
scent, and after some vicissitudes, and 
being apprenticed to a trade in Lon¬ 
don, he was discovered by Evelyn mak¬ 
ing an elaborate reproduction, in carved 
wood, of a decorative Raphael in a rich 
frame. Evelyn was so much pleased with 
the work that he introduced Wren and 
his friend Pepys to Gibbons, and asked 
Wren to give him work. 
Gibbons and his followers did an im¬ 
mense amount of work in a rather novel 
style. He was most famous for his gar¬ 
lands and trophies, drops or pendants 
composed of flowers, ribbons and sym¬ 
bols. These usually comprised fruit and 
leaves with game and musical instru¬ 
ments or whatever seemed most appro¬ 
priate to the place, and had their ori¬ 
gin from the practice of hanging up 
trophies of war or the chase. This motive gradually came to 
have a wide significance, and is dated as far back as Roman times. 
About this time there came to be a more or less distinct sepa¬ 
ration between the carvers and the joiners — that is, between the 
men who did the wood paneling or cabinet work, and those who 
carved the ornament. As a result of this, perhaps, the ornament 
was often carved of box or some other light colored wood and 
applied on a background of dark oak or walnut, so that the 
decoration stood out very conspicuously. However, the effect is 
harmonious and often the interest is heightened by the difference 
An excellent example of the work of Grinling 
Gibbons—known best for these carved garlands 
and pendants of flowers, ribbons and symbols 
