House and Garden 
AN OLD HOUSE AT WOODSTOCK 
that old buildings were turned into cottages, 
as they fell out of use, owing to the erection 
of new and more commodious houses. Here 
is a view of an old house at Woodstock, 
with its mullioned windows, all of which has 
seen better days. I would distinguish a cottage 
from a hovel—a small space enclosed by four 
mud walls and sheltering thatch—as well as 
from one of those absurd lodges with Cor¬ 
inthian pillars or Gothic windows erected on 
some estates in a period of debased taste. 
I'he English cottage rejects the wretched 
poverty of the hovel, as well as the frippery 
decorations of “ the grand style.” 
Although our theme is the story ot the 
old cottage with its traditions and poetry, 1 
may mention that simple rural life has its at¬ 
tractions for the learned and the wealthy 
amid the rush of social existence in the Eng¬ 
land ot today. A recent writer' states, “ an 
ancient cottage, though far from being a 
mere curiosity—surviving, indeed, only be¬ 
cause it fulfils more or less its original pur¬ 
pose—is yet for most of us a beautiful 
anachronism, demanding for its occupants 
those who can live a hard, frugal, robust and 
1 In “The Studio,” March, 1901, p. 104. 
leisurely life.” Modern folk who are not 
laborers want a small country home, a cot¬ 
tage, where they can write their books or 
paint their pictures, far from the madding 
crowd. Hence architects in England are 
very busy designing such rural retreats 
wherein authors and artists and composers 
can retire and enjoy the sights and sounds 
of the country, and work in peace, away from 
the turmoil of the town. At Leigh, Kent, 
there are some charming examples of mod¬ 
ern work. It is a modern town built on 
very attractive lines. Some of the houses 
are arranged around the three sides of a 
square, which is usually planted with trees 
and shrubs and flowers. Some of these 
rural retreats are cleverly designed and fol¬ 
low the lines of our ancient dwelling-places, 
but are replete with modern comforts. It is 
true that some have so far forgot the real 
principles of art as to imitate the old half- 
timbered cottages by painting the surface of 
their walls with black diagonal lines so as to 
make them look like timbers. Others have 
stuck thin boards in patterns on the walls 
for a similar purpose. Such imitations of 
half-timbering work are terrible atrocities. 
A MODERN COTTAGE AT LEIGH 
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