DESIGN No. 39.

SUMMER VILLA FOR THE COUNT KINSKI, AT TEPLITZ.

THIS villa was designed about the year 1852, for an Austrian nobleman, who wished to have a villa in the English Elizabethan character. The plan was arranged after his own figured sketches, and it is given here as showing the requirements considered desirable for such a building in a summer place of

retirement, or palace for a foreign nobleman’s occupation. The porch was approached on four sides by flights of steps 12 ft. 6 in. in diameter; it opened into a hall b, 20 ft. in length by 14 ft. in width. The drawing-room c, of noble size, with two bay windows, was 36 ft. in length by 22 in width. The dining-room d, in the opposite side of the hall, was 28 ft. in length by 18 ft. in width. The butler’s pantry k, and the servants’ offices and kitchen g, with a large store-closet h, and scullery i, adjoined. A bread-room is shown at j, l is the servants’ hall, m a china-closet, n a store-room, and o the servants’ staircase, q q are the servants’ entrances, and r r the closets.

Returning to the principal portion of the building, the chief staircase, v, opens from the entrance hall, e e e are nurseries, and f is the library. On the first floor, a is the balcony over the porch; this was to be used for smoking, &c., b is the best bed-chamber, and c the boudoir to the same, d is the second best bedchamber, and e its boudoir, f is the third best bedchamber, and g its boudoir, h is a bedroom without any boudoir, i is the housekeeper’s bedroom, k k k the men’s sleeping room, i housemaid’s closet, j j closets, l l linen-closets, m a closet or bath-room, n the principal staircase, and o the servants’ staircase.

The attic plan was devoted to the sleeping rooms, b b b, of the female servants. Here plans are made

(the building being so large) on a smaller scale than the other plans in this volume.

The perspective view merely exhibits the common forms of Elizabethan character. The tower which formed the entrance was 70 ft. in height from the foundation to the top of its roof, the height of the ground-floor rooms was 14 ft. 3 in. They had rich plaster friezes, and the staircase had carved oak Elizabethan balustrading. The second-floor rooms were 12 ft. 3 in. in height, and were very plain in character. The upper floor of the tower was open, but could be closed by sashes; this was intended for a smoking retreat. A small detail of one of the gabled windows in front is given below. Altogether, the design had a most picturesque effect, and its style met with approval. It combined utility with elegance,

and completely answered the objects for which it was constructed.

Another villa was designed for an Austrian nobleman, the Prince Clary: a view of it is given in the first illustration of this volume, through the window of the architect’s study. It was intended as a summer retreat for the Prince and his friends when engaged in a fishing-excursion on the noble river the Elbe, on the banks of which it was placed. It contained a large centre dining-room, 48 ft. by 22, with a saloon or drawing-room, 40 ft. by 20 ft., and extensive accommodation for the kitchen and servants’ departments. The upper storey contained 14 best bedrooms, each with an ante or dressing-room, besides bath-room and the sleeping apartments for the domestics.

DESIGN No. 40.

HARRINGTON HOUSE, QUEEN’S PALACE GARDENS.

THIS building, with which the present collection of designs closes, is probably the most unpicturesque example in the volume. Its exterior has been frequently criticised; whatever its merits or demerits may be, it certainly is wholly unlike, while at the same time it is not inferior, to the strange style at present so popular with the younger branch of architectural professors, which appears to be a

mixture of the Byzantine and Romanesque styles, joined with the Roman Gothic. Some call it the Missal style, others the Northern Italian. The sole recommendation of it is that it comes more expensive to carry out than any other. This house has at least the reputation of being a very comfortable one, and as more than usually adapted to receive large assemblies and fashionable parties. Indeed the noble Earl who erected it was so pleased with it, that on entering, on its completion, he addressed the following note to the author:—

And after having resided in it nine months, he again
wrote as follows:—

The site upon which the house stands was taken by the Earl from the Commissioners of Her Majesty’s

Woods and Forests, and it certainly is, or was, one of the best sites for building in the metropolis. It adjoins Kensington Gardens, looking on the old winter garden of Queen Anne. Agreeable and admirable a

site for building as this was, in 1853, it remained for some time utterly neglected. The first speculator had been ruined, and only one or two of his houses (one erected by Mr. Owen Jones, the architect) were

standing in the road. Soon after the Earl of Harrington acquired the land, and erected this building, the whole of the road, on each side, was covered with first-class mansions.

The terms of the agreement were, that the Earl should take plot No. 9 and the northern portion of plot No. 10, having a frontage of 196 ft. to the Queen’s Road, and a depth of about 260 ft., for a period of 91¼ years, from the 5th July, 1851, at a peppercorn rent for the first year, of 73l. 10s. for the second year, and of 147l. a year for the remainder of the term, also a rent of 5s. a year in lieu of land-tax for every year except the first.

The Earl was to expend a sum of not less than 6000l. in erecting upon the ground a dwelling-house of the first-class style of building. The house was to be insured in the sum of 6000l., and the Earl was to pay jointly, with the adjacent occupiers, the expense of lighting and keeping up the road, which was a private one, and to pay the gatekeepers at the lodge. The rest of the covenants of the agreement were such as are usually found in such documents.

The house was, until the present year, the only Gothic one in the district, the Earl insisting upon having this, his favourite style, admitted. It stands in the centre of the road at the highest level, and is well up out of the ground. The principal floor is 7 ft. above the outside road of approach, and 14 ft. above the level of the public road. The whole of the walls stand on a basement of concrete, and the lower flooring is 5 ft. above the level of the foundations. The basement story is 14 ft. in height, and of entirely fireproof construction. The best rooms on the ground-floor are 17 ft. 6 in. in height, the secondary rooms are 15 ft. high. All the principal staircases are of stone; the ground plan on page 479 shows the

entrance hall, a, approached by 12 steps; it is 30 ft. in length, by 21 ft. in width; b is the principal staircase, situated on one side of the saloon in the centre of the building; the latter is 41 ft. long by 21 ft. wide. The dining-room e, and the library c, on each side of the hall, are respectively 30 ft. by 22 ft. The great room, with the bay window, entered from the saloon, is the picture gallery f. This room is 41 ft. long by 30 ft. wide, without the bay. The drawing-rooms d, d, on each side, are each 25 ft. by 20 ft.; g, the conservatory, measures 40 ft. by 21 ft.; this, with the two drawing-rooms and the picture gallery, can in less than half an hour be thrown into one by the removal of the large folding-doors in the picture

gallery, which can be taken away, frames complete, by simply removing a few screws. A length of drawing-room is then gained of 125 ft.

The principal staircase is shown in elevation on page 477; the plans are here given to a larger scale.

The lower plan shows a portion of the first flight and the servants’ passage, a, under the first landing; b is their staircase down to the basement, this should have been shown on the left-hand side. It is the footman’s staircase, adapted for him to ascend and

descend readily from or to the basement, and the passage a permits him to enter either side of the house without being seen. The upper plan shows the two flights, right and left, rising from the principal landing. Each of these has 22 steps. Three more in the centre lead up to the gallery round the saloon; the section of the staircase, given on p. 482, clearly shows this arrangement. The staircase front is in Bath stone. The only ornaments are the decorated corbels supporting the small angular projections or buttresses necessary to receive the iron standards of the railing above. One of the corbels and a panel of the iron railing is given. This is carried up the stairs on both sides and round the gallery, and is richly coloured and gilt. The only remaining portions of the ground plan to be described are the secondary rooms. A side entrance is at j, and the waiting room, i, is also at the side; h is the servants’ staircase, going from the basement to the attic. On the other side of the building o is the Earl’s dressing-room, with a study or writing room by its side. This has a lift, n, from the kitchen, enabling it to be used as a serving room. The picture gallery has a flight of steps descending to a large ornamented garden at the back of the house, n n is the stable yard, and k k k rooms over the stable.

The section through the complete building, given on page 486, shows the general character of the interior. The rooms are wholly without ornament; all have plain cornices formed of running Gothic mouldings. The

only decorated portion is the saloon (inf.), the coved ceiling of which has the shields of painted and gilt coats of arms of family connexions, together with

mottoes and monograms. The skylight is filled with richly coloured embossed glass, every pane having a shield of arms, its ceiling being panelled with painted enrichments on a blue ground. A view of the saloon is given on p. 487; it contains in the centre a statue

by Theed, of Lady Chandos Pole, the eldest daughter of the Earl. The statues are shown in the plan by the letters m m. The ground floor is supplied with warm-water pipes; these are shown by the dotted lines. They are sunk in the brickwork forming the substructure of the flooring, and covered with open ornamental ironwork. The hall has two warm-water pedestals. The whole of the rooms and conservatory are so warmed.

The latter part of the interior resembles in some respects a small chapel. A half-section of a portion

of its roof is given on p. 488; it measures 22 ft. from the floor to the collar-beam. The corbels, from which the roof springs, are decorated with shields of arms, surrounded by a garland of strawberry leaves.

In the plan of the one-pair floor a is the boudoir or morning room; b b b are bedrooms; c c c dressing-rooms, and d is the bath-room. The gallery is shown as completely going round the saloon; its ceiling is of ground glass arranged in panels, each of which is

moveable, with a skylight over the whole. There is plenty of light therefore afforded for the paintings with which the walls are covered.

The small attic plan shows these skylights on three sides only, likewise the sleeping-rooms b b, and the housemaid’s closet c. Under this plan is that of the upper room in the tower with its two slate cisterns, each capable of containing 800 gallons of water. They are supported by strong trussed girders fixed in the walls. This upper room is approached by a

cottage staircase, the plan of which, with its 22 risers, is shown in cut on p. 490. It enables the room to be approached without any structural appearance being seen from without. A half elevation of the exterior, and another of its section is given above. It is well supplied with light.

The building contains upwards of forty rooms; the basement is very large, and contains considerable accommodation. The mere enumeration of these would require every letter in the alphabet to point them out in an engraving, but as it is desirable to show how closely a large establishment of servants can be packed together, the basement plan is given. a is the kitchen, b the scullery, and c the larder. The kitchen is provided with a lift f, and a small service window; d is the pastry-room, and e the still-room, with the lift; g is the dairy, h the washhouse, i the laundry, j the butler’s pantry, k the steward’s room with its strong closet; l is the housekeeper’s, with the cook’s room between it and the still-room, m is the servants’ hall, n the men’s sleeping room; o o are wine-cellars, p the butler’s wine-cellar, q the footman’s stairs under the principal staircase, r the warm-water furnace, by the steward’s room, placed at the back of his strong closet; s is the stable, containing eight stalls, one loose box, and a harness-room; t t t are cart-sheds, u is the cowhouse, v the dung-pit, w the coach-house, x x two of the three coal-cellars, y the dust-pit, and z z z are the closets. The carriage-road to the side entrance is formed over the cart-sheds and coal-cellars. These are arched over in brick and covered with a thick layer of Brown’s metallic lava, and are provided with proper drainage. The boot-cleaning place and that for lamps are between the coach-house and the cart-sheds.

The exterior of the building has been censured on account of the Gothic outline being too flat, the roofs too low, and all the windows having common sash

frames. With regard to the latter, it may be considered very probable that if the Gothic race of architects had continued with us to the present day, they would have adopted plate glass for their windows, and put aside their lead-lights and small panes of common glass. One of the greatest improvements that could be made in our cathedrals, not excepting even St. Paul’s, would be the reglazing the windows in the modern style.

As a specimen of the architectural style of the building, the centre bay-window of the principal front is given, with its section and plan. It is 9 ft. 6 in. across, and 21 ft. 4 in. high, and stands directly over the chief entrance. The construction of a projecting bay-window coming over an archway requires a short description.

The three diagrams on page 495 show the manner in which such windows are corbelled out. The upper

one is a plan of the bottom stone course, immediately over the key-stone of the arch; it shows also the centre stone of the second course upon it. The middle diagram shows the two courses from the back. It will be seen that the middle stone of the first course does not bear upon the arch, but is supported by the two end stones let into the wall. The last diagram is a plan of the upper course at top. Slate dowels were used, and an iron bar, shown in plan under elevation a, 3 in. by ¾ in., was placed across the course tailing into the walls on each side; and two bars p p, each 2½ by ¾ in. and 12 ft. in length, tied it to the flooring of the room. This is shown likewise in the plan, the dotted lines dividing the length of flooring; d is the upper course of stones, and c one of the principal beams of the floor.

The bell-turret stands 20 ft. above the roof. This is carved in oak; an elevation, section, and plan is given. Only those parts of the building are intended to be here illustrated which have some peculiarity of design or construction.

A building of this size would require about 150 working drawings to be made for it, and a considerable number to be given to show its construction.

It was completed in about two years, at an expense of 14,814l.; but this did not include the price of the warming apparatus, nor that of the lightning conductor fixed to the bell-turret.

Whatever opinions may be expressed in regard to the architectural details of this erection, the author at least can plead, as its owner stated in the letters, copies of which have been given, that the essentials of a house, convenience, comfort, and complete suitability for all domestic purposes, were accomplished. These objects being attained, any real or imaginary faults perceived by professional critics may be palliated if not forgotten.

INDEX.

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, V, W, Z.

Introduction, 3-48

“Albert Hall of Arts”, 131
Architectural history, 16
Architectural orders, 20 et seq.
Architecture and gardening, 46, 312
Architecture, English, 25
Architecture, Grecian, &c., 11
Architecture, Mexican, &c., 26
Architecture, origin of, 8
Architecture, principles of, 27
Architecture, Roman, 23
Architecture, Suburban, 29
Architectural symmetry, &c., 31
Arnott’s, Dr., system of warming, 357
Arnott’s ventilator, 414
Aspect of a house, 36
Asphalte as a paving, 235
Atmosphere, the, and smoke, 431

Bacon, Lord, on house construction, 256
Balconet, an iron, 331
Balconet, design for a, 123
Balusters for a staircase, 277
Balustrade, a garden, 363 et seq.
Balustrade, Elizabethan, 181
Balustrade for a staircase, 282
Balustrades, stone, 247
Balustrading, cut wood, 279
Balustrading, designs for iron, &c., 299
Balustrading, house and garden, 204 et seq.
Barge-board, 247
Bath-house, design for a, 214
Bower, garden, rooms, 242
Boyd’s flue, 414
Bricks, ventilating, 157, 170
Buildings, foundation of, 151

Carving by machinery, 278
Casements, iron, 220
Castle, Gunnarstrop, Sweden, 464
Ceiling, a dining-room, 288
Ceiling and cornices, 44
Ceiling, drawing-room and library, 290, 291
Ceiling for a drawing-room, 166
Ceiling for a hall, 286
Ceiling, ornament for a, 61
Ceilings, ornamental, various, 313 et seq.
Ceilings, plaster ornament for, 161
Chalk concrete, 83
Chapel, design for a Roman Catholic, 210
Cheshire wooden houses, 233
Chimney-piece, ancient, at Enfield, 228
Chimney-pieces, designs for, 80, 81, 319
Chimney-pot, ornamented, 329, 330, 423
Chimney stack, ancient, 74
Churches, concrete, 96
Clunch, 246
Concrete as a foundation, 152
Concrete, chalk, 83
Concrete churches, 96
Concrete construction, 82
Concrete cottages, 83
Concrete, nature, cost, &c., of, 91
Concrete, remarks on, 93
Concrete sewers, 96
Concrete walls, 92
Construction, fire-proof, 156
Construction, concrete, 82
Corbels, 172
Corbel, French cut-wood, 403
Corbels, ragstone, 392
Cornice and ceiling, 44
Cornice, design for a plaster drawing-room, 101
Cornice for a drawing-room, 166
Cottage, design for a picturesque, 62
Cottage, double, design for a, 66, 72
Cottage, gardener’s, 50
Cottages, Hampshire, Kentish, &c., 88 et seq.
Cottage or lodge, design for a small, 58
Cottage or lodge, design for a huntsman’s, 78
Country house, design for a small, 174
Country villa, design for a, 182
Cubitt’s flues, 407

Dab houses, 251
Damp walls, 152
Damp, wash to prevent, in walls, 159
Deals, stained, 45
Decoration external and internal, 42
Denley’s flue, 413
Door, entrance for a hall, 458
Door ornaments, 69
Doric order, 20
Drain-eye, 450

Egyptian architecture, 19
Elizabethan balustrades, 181
Elizabethan villa, 280
Encaustic tiles, 460
English architecture, 25
Escutcheon, design of an, 69
Escutcheon, key, 172

Finials, 109
Finials, roof, 80
Fireplace for a hall, 284
Fireplace, the, 404
Fire-proof construction, 156
Fire-proofing, 158
Flue construction, 405 et seq.
Flue pedestal, the, 446
Flues, Cubitt’s, 407
Flues, various, 405 et seq.
Fogs, London, and smoke, 443
Foundations, concrete, 152
Foundations of buildings, 151
Fountain, an ancient nymph’s, 47
Fountain, garden, 49
Fountain, garden, design for a, 469
Fountains, various designs for, 307
French villas, roofs, zinc work, &c., 273
Frieze, external, 173
Frieze for dining and drawing-room, 178
Frieze, plaster, for a drawing-room, 65

Gable, ornamental, 170, 220, 300
Gardens, ancient, 312
Gardens and architecture, 45
Garden, architectural, 313
Garden bower rooms, 242
Gardener’s cottage, 50
Garden fountain, 49
Garden gate, a, 204
Garden gate, design for a, 95
Garden, gate to a flower, 265
Garden or summer villa, 302
Garden summer house, 262
Garden steps, 197
Garden seat, design for a, 361
Garden, vignette plan of an Old English, 119
Gate, a garden, 265
Gates, iron, in Hyde Park, 128
Gate lodge, Hyde Park, 125
Gates, Park, 149
Gates of London Parks, 139
Gothic, modern, 24
Gothic screen, 205
Gothic style, 10
Gothic window, 204
Grecian architecture, 11
Gunnarstrop castle, Sweden, 464

Half-Timbered houses, 248
Hall ceiling, 286
Hall fireplace, 284
Hall, lecture, design for a, 456
“Hall of Arts and Sciences,” Kensington, 133
Hall stove, 285
Hall, stove for entrance of a, 120
Hampshire cottages, 88
Handle, design for a door, 69
Harrington estate, the, 136
Harrington House, Queen’s Palace Gardens, 476
Houses, foundations of, 151
Haum as a building material, 249
Hiort’s flue, 412
Hot-water apparatus, 349
House, a bachelor’s, 401
House, a garden summer, 262
Houses, aspect of, 36
Houses, dab and wattle, 251
House construction, Lord Bacon on, 256
House, design for a small country, 174
Houses, heating of, 34
Houses in Kent, 249
Houses, noggin, &c., 249
Houses, post-and-pan, 252
Houses, site, &c. of, 351
Houses, warming of, 351
Hyde Park, Queen’s Gate, entrance to, 139
Hyde Park Corner Gate, 140

Ice-house, design for a, 370

Kensington Gardens, 140
Kent ragstone, 176
Kentish cottages, 91
Kentish village houses, 249
Key escutcheons, 172
Knocker, 172

Library, elevation of a small, 200
Literary Institution, design for a, 456
Lodge, a park, 102
Lodge and gateway, design for, 112
Lodges of London Parks, 142
Lodge or cottage, a huntsman’s, 78
Lodge or cottage, design for a small, 56
Lodge, park entrance, 104
Lodge, Queen’s Gate, Hyde Park, 125

Machine-carving, 278
Mantel-pieces, 44
Maisonette, a French, 268
Meat-jack, design for a, 267
Moule’s earth system, 241
Moon’s flue, 412
Mud walls, 90

Noggin houses, 249

Orders of architecture, 20 et seq.
Origin of architecture, 8

Paper hangings, 42
Parge-boards, 247
Pargetting, &c., 248
Park, entrance lodge and gateway, 112
Park lodge, design for a, 99
Park lodge entrance, 104
Parks, history of the London, 139
Parks, the Royal, 139
Pedestals, ornamental, 326
Pedestal, the flue, 446
Pendants, &c., 289
Perkins’ hot-water apparatus, 350
Picturesque cottage, design for a, 62
Picturesque defined, 5
Pipes, elevation of Elizabethan lead-water, 55
Plaster frieze for a drawing-room, 65
Plaster ornament for a ceiling, 161
Porch, design for an entrance, 225
Portico, elevation of, 180
Post-and-pan houses, 252
Pots, ornamental chimney, 423
Prevention of damp, 151

Queen Anne’s garden, 140
Queen’s Gate, iron-work of, 143
Queen’s Gate Lodge, 125, 142

Ragstone, Kentish, 176
Railing, French, in iron, 190
Railing, park, 147
Railing, ornamental, 81
Riding-house and stabling, 389
Reading-room, design for a, 208
Rectory, design for a small country, 162
Retreat, a small country, 268
Roman Architecture, 23
Roman Temple, 5
Roof, French style of, 275
Roofs, iron, 348
Roof ornaments, design for wood, 463
Rose Hill Villa, 82
Rotunda at Bank of England, 158
Rushton Hall, 283

Schools, design for, 208
School, design for a village Sunday, 70
School, village, 208
Screen, Gothic, 205
Screen, hall, 206
Sculptor’s villa, 338
Serpentine, the, 140
Sewers, a receptacle for soot, 438
Sewer gases in houses, 436
Sewers, concrete, 96
Situation of a house, 38
Smith’s, Seth, flue, 412
Smoke Nuisance Act, 452
Smoke Prevention, 405
Smoke purified, by a spray of water, from soot, 441
Smoky chimneys, 427
Soot and the sewers, 436
Soot, prevention of, 428
Soot, removal of, from smoke, 433
Soot, value of, 451
Spiral staircase, 61
Stabling and riding-houses, 389
Stack flues, 417
Stair, best proportions of a, 231
Staircase balustrade, 277, 282
Staircases, construction of, 194
Staircase railing, French, in iron, 190
Staircase, spiral, 61
Steps, garden, 197
Stone balustrades, 173
Stove, design for an entrance hall, 120
Stove for a hall, 285
Styles of architecture, 10
Style, Gothic, 10
Summer house, or garden, 262
Summer or garden villa, 302
Summer room, design for a, 214
Sunday school, village, design for a, 70

Tall-boys, 416
Taste in architecture, 15
Terrace, ironwork, 297
Tiles, design for ornamental, 189
Tiles, encaustic, 460
Tiles, ornamental, 187
Turn-buckle, 221

Ventilation, general principles of, 32
Ventilation, 411
Verandahs, 375
Verge-board, 247
Villa, a sculptor’s, 338
Villa, design for a country, 182
Villa, design for a small country, 222
Villa, double suburban, 192
Villa, Elizabethan, 280
Villa, French, 268
Villa, old English wooden, 232
Villa, suburban, design for a, 382
Villa, suburban, design for a, 373
Villa, summer or garden, 302
Villa, summer, for Count Kinski, 470
Village schools, 208

Wainscoting, 285
Walls, concrete, 92
Walls, damp, 152
Walls, how to cure damp, 160
Warming houses, 34, 351
Water, for removing soot from smoke, 440
Wattle houses, 251
Weathercock, design for a, 261, 381
Window, design for a decorated, 336
Window, Gothic, 204
Window, ironwork for, 297
Wooden villa, old English, 232
Wood-noggin houses, 249
Woodwork, French, pine, 186
Woodwork, French, 275

Zinc, French ornamental work in, 274