Chapter V: Part 5

which were to be emblazoned, came over the panelling. An elevation of the fireplace, to have been made in Caen stone, with its details on a large scale, is given in cuts on pp. 284, 285.

The fireplace is shown with fire-dogs to burn wood, with its iron fire-back; but this was objected to, and

the stove was selected; my friend having great interest in coal, preferred it to wood.

The illustration on page 286 is a portion of the hall ceiling, copied from a celebrated example of the time of Henry VIII. To illustrate every room or give only one-third of the drawings made for this design would far exceed the limits the present volume allows. Each of the three rooms on the ground floor had

decorated chimney-pieces, and carved architraves and panels to the doors. The section shows the height of the rooms. The dining-room _e_ (see ground-plan) was

22 ft. by 20 ft.; the library _c_, 17 ft. by 15 ft., and the drawing-room _d_, 24 ft. by 17 ft., with a large bay window opening on to a terrace--their height 12 ft. 9 in.; _f_ is the lift and _g_ the closet. Each of these rooms was to have ornamental flat plaster ceilings with

pendant ornaments. These are shown in illustrations on page 289.

The staircase led to a gallery in the middle of the building on the first floor, dimly lighted at each end by the staircase and passage windows. The first floor (page 292) contained a morning room, _a_, in the centre, 15 ft. by 12 ft., with a bow window; and three bedrooms _b_, _b_, _b_, with two dressing-rooms _c_, _c_, one with a bath and a closet.

The attic plan (page 292) contained three large rooms for the servants, _b_, _b_, _b_; a housemaid’s closet _e_, and in the recessed space by the side a large slate cistern for water. The basement (page 293) contained considerable accommodation: _d_ was intended for a private room for the family, _a_ the kitchen, _c_ larder, _b_ the scullery, _i_ beer-cellar, _g_ butler’s sleeping-room, _e_ butler’s pantry, _h_ wine-cellar, _l_ place for cleaning

knives. The housekeeper’s room _f_, and servants’ hall are in the front, and _j_ is the lift for dishes to ground floor, _k_ the coal-cellar. An open area was made on two sides of the building.

It was intended to construct the basement fireproof, and to have the flooring chiefly of asphalte, laid on brick and concrete, solid with the earth; having a width of stone at the fireplaces. Small openings into the areas were to be made for water to run off, so that the floors could be at any time flooded from a

hose. The skirtings for eighteen inches above the floor were to be in asphalte, so that no beetles or other vermin should find their way in. It was a

subject of discussion whether all the other floors and skirting should not be of a similar description. The three elevations of the building are given: they were

to have been in red brick with compo dressings, and the balustrades in artificial stone. One peculiar portion of the exterior decoration was the ironwork in lieu of stone balustrading. The bay window and the terrace were surmounted with this ironwork; that on the terrace was to be formed so as to sustain heavy

earthenware pots of flowering shrubs:--an elevation of the two examples is given on page 297.

The mouldings on the exterior of the building were small and simple; this is shown in illustrations on page 298. Various designs were made for the

balustrading; three of these, with the ornament containing a shield of arms in the centre of the side gables, are likewise given.

The expense of constructing this design with all the ornamentation shown, would have been great. A

considerable portion of it, when it came to be estimated and the specification and working drawings were made

for the builder, would have been left out, and the whole made more simple. The design would not have materially suffered for such deductions; all the general forms or the simple outline of the exterior would have been preserved. The chief deduction would have been made in the ornaments of the interior, or these might have been only partly done. Such a design, with a moderate amount of decoration only, would cost about 4700_l._

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The vignette shows French and English cut-wood patterns for blind ornaments.

_DESIGN No. 26._

A SUMMER OR GARDEN VILLA.

One of our most eminent writers on gardens, Repton, remarked that “gardening and architecture, like all the fine arts, have much in common; and the department of architecture which belongs more exclusively to gardens has especially a great affinity to gardening in its broadest principles.” In fact, there is much more relation between the two than is usually admitted--a matter already alluded to in the Introductory Essay. Architectural forms and decorations, temples and rustic bowers, seats, &c., are not, as many have observed, unfit for our climate. In western counties they certainly can be indulged in to a large extent; and the fine evergreens and the beautiful grass of this country will, in association with ornamental terraces and sculpture, impart sufficient warmth of tone to render them agreeable. The garden of _Mon-plaisir_ at Elvaston, in Derbyshire, and the Alhambra Gardens there; those at Castle Coombe, Trentham, Alton Towers, and Bowood, sufficiently prove how attractive gardens can be architecturally made. In former years gardens were almost universal through every part of England, as is proved by the bird’s-eye view, engraved by Kipp, from drawings by Knyff in the book, “Britannia Illustrata,” and those of the gardens given in Loggan’s “Oxonia Restituta,” and the similar work on Cambridge. But gardens, like all other mundane matters, have their periods of change or retrogression; the natural style having almost obliterated the architectural garden of William and Mary. This might have been too precise, as

copied from the Dutch model: they were satirized by Pope, thus--

“Grove nods at grove, each alley has a brother,
And half the platform just reflects the other.”

They were called King William’s style of fortifications, surrounded with yew hedges, cut in variety of forms; those which have been suffered to outlive their original shape are really beautiful. Queen Anne’s Garden, now part of Kensington Gardens, is an example. But these gardens were very inferior to those of Italy and France, or even those in England of the Elizabethan age. It is to Italy, the garden of Europe, that we must look for the finest specimens of garden architecture. The Villa Pamphilia or de Belrespiro, situated half a mile out of Rome beyond the Gate of San Pancrazio, is celebrated for its gardens; from them could be observed the whole city of Rome, and surrounding suburbs. The gardens are nearly five miles in circumference, and occupy the site of those of the Emperor Galba. Their arrangement is varied and agreeable; being picturesque without disorder, symmetrical without monotony; and we here observe the art with which the arrangement of a regular garden is made to agree with the rural nature of which it forms a part, and the noble structure it surrounds. It is doubtless the work of the architect of the villa L’Algardi, about the year 1646. They have been ascribed to the French artist, Le Notre, but there is very little of the French style about them; they are wholly Italian, following the lines of the villa, and in the same style or spirit. These are, or were admirable; while the fountains,

the cascades, grottos, basins, statues, and the antique fragments which adorn them are arranged with the

skill and intelligence of genius. Illustrations are preserved to us only in a fine Italian work, by Jacobi de Rubeis, published at Rome, about the middle of

the seventeenth century. The villa was destroyed by the French when they crushed the liberty of the Roman people at their onslaught on Rome against Garibaldi.

In designs of this description the house and garden should unite, and be lost in each other. Those parts of the garden most contiguous to the house should follow its outline, its walks and terraces, and be so

placed that the windows and doors of the mansion could command a perfect view of them. The province of garden architecture is, primarily, to supply fitting appendages and accompaniments to the house, so that the latter may not appear alone and unsupported. If judiciously adopted it will be effective in helping to produce a good outline, carry down the lines of the

house, and connect it with other buildings, which may be conservatories, ferneries, aquaria, rustic seats, temples, and arbours; and it will provide a

proper basement to the house. Such arrangements afford shelter or privacy to a flower garden, extend the façade or frontage of the house, shut out back yards, stabling or offices, enrich, vary, and enliven the garden, supply conveniences, receptacles for birds, plants, sculpture, or works of art, specimens of natural history, and support for climbing plants. These points indicate refinement, wealth, and love of art, and otherwise blend the various constituents of a garden with the house, and harmonize the two by communicating an artistic tone to the garden. So says Repton, and most of the principal writers on gardening.

Some of the ancient gardens of Asia and Italy were considered among the wonders of the world. They were termed paradises, and were filled with such plants, both beautiful and useful, that the soil could produce; they were enriched with many kinds of works of art, banqueting-houses, aviaries, wells, and streams of running water, indispensable in those warm climates.

An architectural garden, as illustrated in the design at page 302, should have a picturesque outline, a

marked boldness and prominence of parts, rather than a mere ornamental detail; a picturesque effect by changes of level in the ground, by diversity of height

of the different terraces, and by an arrangement in plan that would produce depth of shade. Every object admitted should fit into its proper place. This

villa was designed to cover a fine spring of cold water, and thus insure a deep cold plunging bath. It was to be merely a place for temporary occupation and retirement, to renovate the health of the owner. The gardens and fountains externally were only ornamental accessories; the plan at page 306 illustrates these. The villa was approached by two roads _d_ _d_; there was a circle of open lawn between the house and the terraced gardens in front. The latter were approached

by descending flights of steps. A basin of water and a large fountain, rising from a group of sculpture in the centre, are there shown. By the side are two smaller basins with smaller groups of sculpture, representing sea-horses, cupids, and dolphins. This terrace is paved with ornamental encaustic tiles. At the head of the two side gardens _b_ _b_, are grottos _g_ _g_, with seats on a raised terrace on each side of their entrances. The steps descend to a lower level, and have sea-horses and cupids on their pedestals, with five falls of water from griffins’ heads, filling a basin below. A

wide walk, and a running stream by its side, were thus gained.

The author at the time he made the design was effecting some additions to a country house, which admitted such a garden to be formed in front of it: he published his design for it at the time (1850) in the _Builder_.

This villa may be considered a casine, or a retired dwelling on a rather larger scale, similar to the picturesque house at Wothorp, in Northamptonshire, which was erected by one of the Earls of Burleigh, as a place to retire to, while his “great house at Burghley was sweeping.” Wothorp was a large building: it was fully illustrated in one of the

author’s works, from original drawings lent him by the late Marquis of Exeter. The casine, only one size larger than a cottage, was the fashion of the preceding age. Whenever the proprietor of an estate wished to turn hermit, he retired to the casine, a small temple erected in a portion of his grounds, where the finest views could be obtained, and the most perfect repose secured. In earlier times such buildings

afforded secret meeting-places wherein to hatch political plots; such a one was the triangular lodge in a secluded part of the wood at Rushton in Northamptonshire,

the seat of Sir Thomas Tresham, where the gunpowder conspirators assembled. The casine of more modern times was not so small, but it contained all the requirements of good living. One example, is the casine of Marino, near Dublin, built by Sir William Chambers for the Earl of Charlemont.

It was square in plan, surrounded by twelve columns, two projecting flat porticoes in front and back, and pedimented porticoes at the sides. The entrance was approached by a noble flight of steps, the pedestals of which were decorated with carvings, and supported crouching lions. Statues and vases adorned the roof. A print of it, from a drawing of Wheatly, was published in 1783. The building contained a small hall or vestibule, a saloon or living-room, 20 feet in length by 15 feet in width. Leading out of this were

two small rooms; one a study, the other a bedroom and closet. The basement contained a large and well-fitted kitchen, a scullery and larder, a butler’s pantry, and servants’ hall, and cellars for ale and wine. Retired buildings of this kind, of larger character and of more importance, were often erected in private grounds of noblemen and gentry. One, very similar to the present design, was constructed by the late Robert Adam, for a salt-water bath, at Mistley, the seat of the Right Hon. Richard Rigby. Mr. Adam and Sir William Chambers erected a large number of such ornamental structures. One of the most elegant

examples, by Mr. Robert Adam, was the rout-house or pavilion erected for a _fête champêtre_ in the gardens of the Earl of Derby, at the Oaks, in Surrey, in 1774. The building was internally of the most ornamental character; there was an octangular vestibule, a hall 30 feet in diameter; this opened into a grand ball-room, 72 feet by 35 feet within the columns, and 86 feet by 56 feet within the walls. The supper-room, surrounding the ball-room, measured 200 feet from one end to the other, and 20 feet in width. It was exposed in its full splendour on the curtains being drawn; and at the end of the ball-room there were

two tea-rooms, each 20 feet square, on each side of the entrance saloon. The author gives these details in order that he may not be considered too venturesome in submitting to public notice, in these economical times, such an ornamental design as the

present. Similar structures of a more expensive character were once very common; but the small

retired casine has now gone out of fashion. The ladies consider such secluded buildings as only fit for laundries, and not preferring themselves lives of perfect retirement and quiet, have brought in the small

villa where a whole family can dwell, and no selfish thoughts or gloomy contemplations find place.

In referring to the plan of the villa at page 304, of which the plate page 302 shows the elevation, _e_ is the

small hall 8 feet square, _g_ the gun room or waiting room is on the right, the serving room with a lift from the basement on the left. The saloon is a highly decorated apartment, 20 feet in diameter. This is seen in the section through the centre of the building given at page 310; _h_ is the sleeping room, 13 feet square, with an ornamental ceiling. The saloon serves as a dining-room and place for meals. The drawing-room, _d_, or music room, 22 feet by 14 feet, is on

the left, _b_ is the principal staircase leading to the upper rooms; this serves also for servants. The small iron staircase _j_, is for passage to the cold bath below, _i_ is a room for a warm bath. The cold bath, as shown in the section, is ventilated through a domed ceiling, but the scale is too small to show this perfectly.

A portion of the saloon is shown at page 311, with a few of its details in the six cuts following it.

The bedroom ceiling (page 316) supposes the covering of a tent, upheld by spears and ropes. The colour of the drapery is of a light fawn, the ground a deep ultramarine blue. In the centre of the ceiling is a small Cupid on a red or gilt ground, a light blue circle surrounding it. The spears, roses, ropes, and tassels are gilt and coloured.

The drawing-room ceiling is decorated plaster work in white and gold. Its plan is shown at page 317, and three of its details on page 318. Among other decorations of these rooms may be considered the chimney-pieces. The cuts (page 319) give an elevation of the drawing-room chimney-piece, the plan of its shelf above, and a portion of its details to a larger scale beneath. This chimney-piece in the finest statuary marble would cost 80_l._ to execute. Several have been done for the author at that price. They look very well in execution. Two fire-places of less pretensions are shown in the illustrations at pp. 320 and 321; the first was in rouge royal, costing 25_l._; the last are of marble with slate panels covered with imitation of Brocatelli marbles, these costing 19_l._ 10_s._ each. The illustration of the whole of the details of internal decoration of such a structure would fill a much larger volume than the present; but it is the sole object of the author to give such illustrations of the several designs, that a portion of each part of the building only shall be shown; _k_, in the ground plan (page 304), is an open portico with steps to the garden or park in front of it.

The next plan (page 322) is that of the mezzanine. This shows two of the female servants’ sleeping rooms, _a_, _a_, with a closet; the decorated ceilings of the saloon, drawing-room, and bed-room, are also shown; the bath-room should have some slight decoration, but this has been omitted. The female servants’ sleeping rooms are each 17 feet in length by 8 in width.

The plan of the upper story (page 323) gives a smoking room _a_, with an open terrace _c c_, front and back, a closet _d_, and a cistern room _b_.

The basement plan (page 324) shows the cold bath in the centre, with its staircase; the kitchen _b_, the scullery _g_, _h_ _h_ the larders, _c_ is the lift, and _d_ _d_ are men’s sleeping rooms; the servants’ hall _t_, and housekeeper’s room _j_, are on the left, _q_ is the wine cellar, and _s_ the beer cellar.

The elevation of the back front is at page 325; it has a circular portico and steps down to the garden. An attempt has been made to introduce an original termination for the pedestals on the attics, instead of using the almost universal Soanic bulbous ornament so repeatedly seen in nearly every public building in

London and the country, and of which the author’s late master, Sir John Soane, was so fond. These attempts are given in the figures pp. 326-328; and an attempt is made to give an ornamental chimney-pot on page 330. It will be seen in the figure that the ornamental cement pot or vase contains an iron, or it might be a zinc, lining; this would be kept warm, and a security for the smoke passing out.

The exterior of the building is ornamented with statues and vases, and the windows have iron balconets.

The last remaining illustration to be given is the arcade on each side of the villa, dividing the front and back gardens. The chief portion of this in stone, with statues between the columns and vases over them; at the back of the columns is another front of ornamental trellis work in wood, with scroll stands for flowers--this is supported or upheld by the stone screen; an elevation of each, with a section, is given at page 334.

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The vignette gives French and English patterns for cover to external sunblinds.

_DESIGN No. 27._

A DECORATED WINDOW.

This design was sketched with the intention of making Italian forms rival the tracery of the Decorated Gothic window, and to obtain a rich and variegated mass of painted and coloured glass, without any stiff mannerism or formality. The window was 11 ft. in height with a width of 7 ft.; it served as a screen in one of the principal staircases in a house at Queen’s Gate, Kensington; immediately behind it is the servants’ staircase, having a large window and skylight. The lower portion of this window is divided into three lights by two pilasters acting as mullions. The circle above the transome is filled with a richly painted subject, representing a basket of flowers and scrollwork on a ruby ground. The basket is formed of emerald glass, the ground of the surrounding portions is richly embossed glass, the chief portions white, the small portions ruby, yellow and blue, the latter with white ornaments upon it. The three lights between the pilasters are filled with embossed glass, and the whole is surrounded by borders of scrollwork richly embossed, stained and painted; the ruby ground is shown in the drawing by vertical lines, the yellow by oblique lines, and the blue by horizontal lines. The expense, including the zinc-work for fixing the glass to the upper portion or fan-light, was 22_l._ 6_s._; the lower portion cost 8_l._ 10_s._ It was the work of Messrs. Baillie and Co. of Wardour Street.

_DESIGN No. 28._

A SCULPTOR’S VILLA.

During the year 1850 the author, in conjunction with the late Mr. John Britton, F.S.A., was engaged in making some topographical sketches in one of the western counties of England. He became for a short time the guest of one of its principal residents--a gentleman who had succeeded to the possession of more than a million of money, the result of a relative’s gains as a merchant in the City. He had filled the small house he was then inhabiting with a very fine collection of antique bronzes: also with ancient and modern statuary. The house was occupied in every corner with these valuable and beautiful works of art. He was then having another house of larger dimensions erected to receive them. Considerable discussion took place at his table between himself and his visitors, among whom were two or three distinguished men of taste, as to the best method of introducing sculpture into a dwelling of moderate capacity. It was the general opinion that to properly exhibit classic sculpture, a villa the size of those of the ancients, such as are described by Pliny in the account of his villas at Laurentinum and Tusculum, would be required, and that no other would suffice. On his return home, the author, as a matter of amusement, without any thought that his ideas would ever be carried out, made the present design; it was a subject that pleased him, as he had only a few years previously

superintended the construction of a small sculpture gallery for the late Sir Francis Chantrey at Pimlico.

The ground plan of this design shows a gallery of sculpture in the centre of the building, a small

“Museo Chiaramonti.” The principal group at the end, representing the capture of the Queen of the Amazons, is so placed that the staircase winding round it forms its base; the group can be seen from the staircase, and from the galleries at the side, in every point of view. This being a large building, the scale upon which the plans, elevation, and sections are drawn is smaller than the scale previously used in this volume. The gallery, including that portion which forms the ante-room to the conservatory, is 80 ft. in length by 20 ft. in width, which is a poor

imitation of the gallery at the Vatican--the Museo Chiaramonti. This is 280 ft. in length, with a breadth of 20 ft.

But the possession of only a million of money gives a moderate income compared with that of the sovereign popes at the time the Vatican was erected. The

sculpture is arranged on each side of the gallery, the bas-reliefs inserted in the walls, the bronzes on small pedestals, a reclining group is placed in a niche in front of the staircase. A marble group is placed in the fountain in the ante-room to the conservatory, and another in the conservatory itself. A gallery of this description permits the admission of a large quantity of sculpture, allowing it to be seen with advantage. The entrance of the building, partly taken from the front of one of the Italian palaces,[C] permits a large quantity of sculpture to be placed in advantageous positions. The plan, page 340, shows an entrance loggia _a_, the hall _b_, 17 ft. by 16 ft., with the waiting-room _c_, to the right, the breakfast parlour _d_, and the butler’s pantry _g_, to the left; _f_ is the library, 28 ft. by 16 ft., entered either from the gallery or the waiting-room. It has a large window looking into the ante-room to the conservatory, and permits a good view of the group of sculpture and the fountain in the centre; _e_ is the gallery, with the principal staircase, _i_ is the dining-room opening into the picture gallery and drawing-room _h_, _k_.

The section, page 343, shows the general arrangement, and an idea can be formed of its grand scenic effect in summer, when the doors were opened. The walk round the conservatory and through the whole of the gallery would have a length of 170 ft., and round the galleries 150 ft. more, giving ample space to place a very large collection of sculpture. Underneath the gallery were supposed to be large cellars for wine. These had a private entrance through the pedestal of the Amazonian group, as shown in the plan and section to a larger scale at page 342; the collection below was supposed to be as valuable as the one above, and calculated to yield as much enjoyment, and one certainly that would be more highly appreciated by a greater number of persons. The villa, however, is on a small scale compared with some of the noble residences in the county, and the accommodation throughout very scanty. The servants’ offices are shown annexed to the plan; _l_ is the kitchen, 24 ft. by 22 ft., _m_ the scullery, _n_ the housekeeper’s room, _o_ a small servants’ hall, _p_ is a serving room, and _q_ the external entrance to the cellarage.

By the side of the principal staircase is a descent into the cellars and basement, for the servants, _b_, plan page 342. The conservatory has a diameter of 40 ft. and a height of 44 ft.; it is of light construction, in decorated ironwork.

The one-pair plan shows the sleeping department, the principal bed-rooms, _b_ _b_, each with a dressing-room,

_d_ _d_. These are entered direct from the gallery; in the front of the building are five smaller sleeping

rooms. At the conservatory end the gallery opens on to the roof of the ante-room beneath, and from this there is an entrance to a circular gallery inside the conservatory. On the servants’ side are seen two large sleeping rooms, and a housemaid’s closet; as this portion of the building is kept lower than the other, it could have two or three rooms constructed over the kitchen, or it could be carried up another story. The plan of the principal bedchambers is taken up another floor; the small staircase for this purpose is seen at the end of the gallery.

The cross section (page 347) shows the height of the building, and its general construction. The whole of the principal living rooms in the three floors are of the same height, 16 ft. 6 in. each; 37 steps were required in the principal staircase to ascend to the first floor on one side, and 31 on the other; the roof of the saloon was to be constructed similar to the roof of the Riding-house shown in plate, page 389. Large roofs can be constructed on this principle at a very cheap rate, and it is a very strong and efficient one; the roof of the Pantheon in Oxford-street, constructed by Mr. Sydney Smirke, is of a similar kind; the roofs of the annexes to the Exhibition building of 1862 by Captain Fowkes were on the same principle, but as these were only intended to stand for a year, were very slight. The cross section shows the ventilating flue, proposed and illustrated in a following chapter; the small stack in the low building shows the incline necessary to meet the back eddy of wind from the high building. It would have been better, could it have been effected, to have placed the stack in a position parallel to the high building, and not at right angles to it. The stack on the latter shows two ventilating flues, each with an upward shaft; the whole of the smoke from the fireplaces would be delivered from these two shafts.

It only remains to illustrate the system of warming proposed to have been introduced. This was by a combination of two entirely different systems of warm water circulation through iron pipes.

The various apparatus of warming buildings by the circulation of hot water, may be roughly stated to be of two kinds, each acting on the opposite principle to the other. The first, or more modern one, is the _closed system_. This has always been preferred by the author, it being more conveniently introduced into a building, less expensive, and giving less trouble than any other, and more certain in its action. In it the water circulates with great rapidity, completely under pressure, the pipes being closed, and the whole of the air expelled from them. The older system is that in which the tubes are not closed, but are connected with a cistern, into which the water is allowed to flow and re-flow; the two may very properly be called the high and low temperature systems, and by these terms they are here designated. With the first, the tubes can be made to reach a higher degree of heat if necessary, by placing a larger proportion of them than is usual in the furnace; but with the second, a temperature of 180 degrees can alone be reached. With the latter, its greater or less efficiency depends upon the position of its open cistern, which regulates the amount of pressure in the tubes, according as its situation is high or low. It was introduced into this country about 1818; the open cistern was placed in the upper part of the house, the boiler being below in the kitchen, thus allowing a considerable pressure in the tubes, and securing a quick circulation of the water. The high temperature system was introduced by A. M. Perkins, Esq., about the year 1832; in its simplest form it consisted of a continuous or endless tube of wrought iron of one inch external diameter, filled with water, and closed in all parts; a portion of the tubing was formed into a coil and placed in a furnace of wrought iron, the fire being enclosed in fire-brick. When it was first introduced a larger amount of tubing was placed in the furnace than is now usually done; with the proper amount, one-tenth or one-eleventh only of the full quantity is necessary, and then it must be obvious that no overheating of the tubes can take place. In practice it is more usual to find objections made to the apparatus not giving sufficient heat, than to its giving too much. The quantity of feet in pipes necessary to raise rooms of a certain size to a given temperature, must be proportioned to their cubical contents, and this depends equally on the situation and aspect of the building, the number of doors, and windows or skylights; no rule can consequently be given which would be applicable to all places with any degree of certainty.

The pipes being only five-eighths of an inch internal diameter, a very small quantity of water is required to fill the apparatus. A tube called the expansion tube is placed above the highest level of the circulating pipes, and is generally of larger diameter. The object of this tube is to allow for the expansion of the water as it becomes heated; a tube is also placed at the highest level, in order to fill the apparatus, so as to leave the expansion tube empty.

The tubes are provided with screw plugs, so as to be conveniently opened when it is required to fill the pipes with water, and closed again after being filled. This can be done with facility by a servant. The circulation of the water is produced by the application of heat to the coil in the furnace; and as the small size of the pipes admits of presenting the largest possible amount of surface to the action of the fire, it is clear that a greater economy of fuel is effected by it than by the ordinary system of boilers. As the water becomes heated it rises immediately to the highest level of the circulating pipes, and thus forms a column of heated water, specifically lighter than the colder water, which descends to the lower part of the coil. Thus a circulation is effected throughout the whole course of the pipes,[D] which eventually become heated, and the whole may be regulated exactly to that degree of temperature which is most conducive to a beneficial effect.

To regulate the degree of heat to be given to the tubes, without requiring the necessity of an attendant, advantage has been taken of the expansive property of the iron pipe when heated. There are three multiplying levers fixed in a box, and so placed that the short arm of one of the levers rests upon a regulating screw attached to the flow pipe. On the other end of the series of levers a rod so rests that upon the slightest movement of the levers, the damper in the flue, which is attached to the rod, is opened or closed, as the case may be. The box of levers is suspended from the hot pipe, so as to leave about two feet in length between the point of suspension and the point of contact with the short arm of the lever.

The operation of this arrangement is obvious, for the instant the pipe becomes heated, it expands and presses the short arm of the lever; and as the fulcrum within the box cannot move, by reason of the rod which suspends it being cold, it follows that the lever must be depressed, by which action a sufficient motion is given to the damper, to close it at any given temperature at which it may be originally fixed.

The great advantage in the use of this apparatus is the saving of time in obtaining the requisite degree of heat. It often happens that the time occupied in heating the water of an ordinary hot-water apparatus completely defeats the object of getting warmth in any reasonable time, particularly in greenhouses, where it is frequently desirable to get up the heat quickly, to prevent the effect of frost. It has been said that this property of generating the heat rapidly has the disadvantage of not being able to retain it: this, however, is not the case, for, on the contrary, an equal temperature may be maintained for any length of time that may be desired. It is only necessary to make the fireplace sufficiently large to contain fuel enough to last the time the heat is required to be continued, and the damper will regulate the combustion of the fuel and the heat of the pipes, so that there will be no variation for twelve hours together.

There being no boiler to the apparatus, it is free from the ordinary danger of explosion; if a pipe by possibility should burst, no harm ensues, for the water escapes from so small an aperture that it becomes absolutely cool by its expansion and mixture with atmospheric air.

So little fear of fire exists with the apparatus, that the directors of the principal fire offices readily accept, at the lowest rate of premium, all proposals for the insurance of buildings in which the system is adopted, not requiring even the customary inspection.

The author made drawings of one of these apparatus put up in an ornamental greenhouse in Kew Gardens in 1844; and fourteen years after, the director of the garden, Sir W. J. Hooker, publicly allowed it to be stated in print that no hot-water apparatus in any of their houses had given so much satisfaction; that the heat was given out after lighting the fires more rapidly than in any other of their houses, and steadily maintained at any degree of temperature required. The two systems of the high and low temperature can readily be combined, and the temperature of both large and small tubes nearly equalized. This may be done by using one furnace. A diagram given by Dr. Arnott in a lecture delivered by him at the Royal Institution in March, 1836, with his explanation, will show the principle upon which the combination is effected. Suppose A, fig. 1, is a cistern full of cold water, and B a cistern full of hot water: if the two cocks _c_ _c_ are unturned, it is a fact that the water at _d_ will be one degree of warmth only above the water at

A, and the water at e will be of one degree less temperature than the water in B. If, therefore, on this principle, some of the pipes of the high-temperature system are passed through the large tubing of the low temperature one, the desired effect is obtained: the large pipes or tablets of one apparatus remain at their full heat, while an additional quantity of inch pipe of sufficiently warm temperature is obtained, that can be carried into rooms and placed in situations into which the warming surfaces of the low-temperature system could not be made to approach.

As regards the low temperature apparatus, if the large pipes belonging to it are laid in sufficient quantity, they doubtless have the effect of producing a moderate degree of heat.

The best way of introducing them into a dwelling-house is to sink them in channels in the floor, with perforated ironwork over them: they are more usually introduced into hothouses, factories, and workshops, where their appearance is not objectionable. A feeling exists in favour of their use in conservatories; in order to show how they can be retained for that purpose, the combined systems are introduced in the plan of the villa here described.

The ground plan shows the entrance hall, the gallery or sculpture saloon in the centre, the principal staircase, the picture room and the servants’ staircase, all warmed by the inch pipes; the larger pipes are introduced into the conservatory. In the picture room--that between the drawing-room and the dining-room--and in the hall, the pipes are sunk in trenches in the floor. They are close to the walls, and lined with brick with an inside covering of zinc. These trenches have over them perforated ornamental ironwork; _a´_ _a´_ are pedestals containing coils of pipe; _b´_ _b´_ are pipes behind the skirting, likewise perforated. Where these pipes pass the doorways they are sunk in the floor. In the conservatory _d´_ _d´_ are the large pipes; _f_ is an open cistern, through which the circulation of water in the pipes flows; at _g_ are placed the expansion and filling tubes.

Fig. 2 is an isometrical view of the pipes, furnace, and cisterns complete to a small scale; _e_ is the furnace placed in the basement; _f_ is a cistern of cold water through which the flow and return pipes from the furnace pass: the water becoming heated in the cistern flows out, and returns in the direction shown by the arrows. The flow pipe, leaving this cistern, passes up to the expansion tube _g_, whence the tubes run through the building in the manner shown, returning to the furnace. The pipes _d_, are two other flow and return pipes, furnished with a stop-cock, by means of which the circulation can be confined either to the house or to the conservatory. The furnace

should in reality contain two coils of pipe, having two flows and two returns, the whole of which should go through the cistern _f_, but the small scale of the plate allows one circulation only to be shown.

Dr. Arnott’s principle of nearly equalizing temperatures was applied by him for room ventilation. Its mode of application is explained in the following extract from his report on “Warming and Ventilating Infirmaries, Workhouses, Factories, and Domestic Apartments,” given in the appendix to the Second Annual Report of the Poor Law Commissioners:--“In rooms where the mechanical mode of ventilation already described (by means of fanners) and now common in factories, has been adopted, an addition might be made to the apparatus for extracting the impure air, which would drive fresh air in, and which, by causing the two currents to pass each other in contact for a certain distance in very thin metallic tubes, would cause the fresh air entering to absorb nearly the whole heat from the impure air going out, and would thus render it at once both pure and warm, and would consequently save, after the room was once warmed, any further expense of fuel for the day, and would avoid, how rapid soever the ventilation, all the danger from draught and unequal heating.”

The above idea is extremely ingenious, but as to its practical efficiency, some doubt might be expressed. The temperature of a warm room, even if it was 65°, would be much too low to produce the action described.

A very ingenious application of the small-tube system of warming has been introduced into his dwelling by Mr. Babbage. He placed the furnace in the basement, and divided the whole length of piping by means of a multiple cock into four circulations, any one of which he could turn off or on at pleasure; one circulation warmed the bath, which, when the cistern that supplied it was once up to 160 degrees (and this it took an hour to obtain), remained sufficiently warm for a bath during 24 hours. The whole quantity of pipe in the building was 891 feet, and the quantity in the furnace 135. The thermometer in the smoke-flue was seldom higher than 212 degrees, when that in the flow-pipe was 240 degrees. Any two or three, or all four of the circulations could be worked together, by simply turning an index provided for the purpose.

The tool-room was always kept at a temperature of from 50° to 54°. In winter the hat-room received a portion of piping, so that coats and gloves, even in the dampest weather, were always kept dry. One circulation was sent through the dining-room a short time before it was used; it was after a certain time turned off and sent through the bedrooms and dressing-rooms. The various rooms in the winter were kept at different temperatures, the dressing-rooms were a few degrees warmer than were the bed-rooms: an inducement for early rising. The linen was aired, and warm water provided in the dressing-rooms and for the use of the servants. The apparatus saved labour in cleaning and lighting of fires, and it was economical, the consumption of fuel during the six winter months being about a bushel of coke in 24 hours. The supply of air, and the consequent combustion and quantity of fuel, was regulated by the fire itself. This was never suffered to go out after it had been once lighted, except when necessary to remove the clinkers, and this occurred about once a fortnight. In the morning, about seven o’clock, the fire was well shaken by means of a lever attached to the bars of the grate. Coal or coke was supplied, and the air valve opened. The stop-cock was then turned on to supply the coils for the library and stairs. At about eight o’clock in the evening the stop-cock was turned to heat the coil of the bath, and at eleven o’clock, fuel having been supplied, the air valve was completely closed, and the damper also if necessary. By these means the fire burned very slowly during the whole of the night, and the bath cistern received the warmth thus generated.

These conveniences and luxuries might be more generally applied than they are at present in the dwellings of this country.

_DESIGN No. 29._

GARDEN SEAT.

This small ornamental structure was designed for a garden in Wiltshire, on an estate near Chippenham. The garden, which is very extensive, rises

in steep terraces up the combe or hill by the side of the mansion, which lies down in the valley. The structure was to be on the highest part of the garden,

commanding an extensive view of the valley, the village, and adjacent country. As the house is in the neighbourhood of several fine old Elizabethan mansions, the design partook of that character. The view represents

the structure in its complete state, with the terrace overlooking the valley. The turret on the tower of the village church is seen in the distance. The latter

is an agreeable object in the view, being an extremely fine specimen of Decorated English Gothic, and in good preservation.

The plan is beneath the view, and the elevation of the building is likewise given. The whole of it was to have been constructed in stone; the vases were intended to receive flower-pots, so that a constant change of flowers could be placed in them by the pots being changed as often as was desired. A section through the centre and a side elevation are given; the balustrade is from an ancient example, it is five inches in thickness. The mouldings of the exterior are of plain Roman character, without any admixture of Gothic forms. The best examples of our Elizabethan architecture are pure Italian, but possessing a bolder and more picturesque outline, suited to our northern climate, than that shown by the elegant Italian model.

The second balustrade, p. 365, was an after-suggestion, it being considered more appropriate to the design than the first one. Another elevation was made for the same structure; this is shown as Design No. 30; it was to occupy the same site, and to have been constructed wholly in stone.

* * * * *

Opposite is a drawing of an ancient chimney-piece at Enfield, bearing the inscription--

Sola salus servire Deo,
Sunt cætera fravdes.

(Formerly in the occupation of Queen Elizabeth.)]

_DESIGN No. 30._

A GARDEN SEAT.

The turret of the village church is seen through the centre opening; this was proposed to be filled with plain and coloured glass; the detail of the ornament above the cornice is copied from that on

the gables of Charlton House, Wiltshire, from which the author had just returned, having visited it for the purpose of making drawings and fully illustrating it in one of his publications.

_DESIGN No. 31._

AN ICE-HOUSE.

This design represents an old-fashioned ice-house, such as were constructed in the country several years ago, and still are so, where large quantities of ice are required to be stored. This small structure, embosomed amidst trees, impervious to the sun, was formed with the stone of the district, and arched and domed over with bricks. The well _a_, sunk in the earth, is 10 feet in diameter, _b_ is a cesspool to receive the water that drops from the ice, and _c_ is the drain

to convey it to the well _d_; the ice is thrown in from the top, the earth _e_, and the two stone slabs and the straw between them, being removed.

As an additional precaution against warmth, the structure was buried in a mound of earth. This, as it quite destroyed any picturesque effect it would otherwise have had amidst the trees, is not shown in the view.

These ice-wells have not often so long a passage of approach; one only from 6 to 10 feet in length is sufficient, but double doors and a free current of air across the entrance passage are desirable. It has not often a domed roof to cover that of the well, a common wooden roof covered with thatch placed a few feet above the roof of the well being sufficient; neither is it often considered necessary to have a well to receive the water dropping from the ice. The ice-well walls may be splayed down to the ground, with proper footings, and an uncovered piece of ground left at the bottom. Over this is placed an open wood frame, which supports the ice, and permits all water to drain off. When the walls are splayed down in this form, buttresses must be added to support them, and the weight of the ice. Every country house in America is provided with an excellent ice-house of the simplest and most practical kind. It consists of a deep excavation in the earth, roofed over with a pointed thatch. These ice-houses are always well filled in the winter, and rarely if ever quite emptied during the summer. An accurate section of such an ice-well, with full directions for its construction, has been lately published.[E]

_DESIGN No. 32._

A SUBURBAN VILLA.

One of the chief peculiarities in small suburban villas that have been erected near London within the last thirty years, is that of making the

chief room on the basement the ordinary apartment for the family. The confined areas formerly adopted in front and back of the building are omitted, and the earth is sloped up in form of a bank, being adorned with flowers and shrubs so as to look pleasing from within the apartments. There is usually a side room in the basement, with descending steps to the entrance, which serves as an office to the occupier of the house. If his business be chiefly in the locality,

this is very convenient; the chief room in the basement is used as a dining and supper room, and indeed for all common purposes by the family. It renders it unnecessary to have more than one, or at most, two servants’ rooms. The drawing-room, the library, and the superior dining-room are on the floor above.

This suburban dwelling very much resembles the same class of structure in America, where economy of space is carried out more completely than with us, and the residents are less dependent on servants. In the American house, the pantry is nearly always placed between the kitchen and the dining-room, and its chief approach is from the latter, even when the dining-room is on the ground floor. The American

house has the office, or place of business of the occupier, on the lower floor, with its separate entrance. The Americans exhibit a compactness of arrangement and an attention to detail that prove they are in no way behind us in a knowledge of what is requisite for household comfort. One peculiarity in the American building is the verandah, which is considered to be indispensable. It is large and roomy, and often placed on three sides of the building; the climate, warmer and drier than our own, renders such an addition a

great luxury. Our atmosphere in the winter months has often been pronounced of leaden gravity, and it does not permit of any erection that stops the circulation of the air, which would render it stagnant. Another peculiarity in the houses of our American cousins, is that they are often cased in wood. If the house be only two or three storeys in height, an 8-in. brick wall is considered sufficient: this is “furred off outside, and covered with clap boards,” in the ordinary

way followed in a wooden building. Its advantage is, that it is sure to secure a perfectly dry wall. This mode of construction in England would necessitate the painting of the whole of the exterior once at least in every three or four years. One more suitable with us for a wall in a damp situation would be the plan the author pursued in the house on Salisbury Plain, putting quartering against the wall, and covering it with diamond slating. The surface could be varied with coloured encaustic tiles so as to present a pleasant

appearance, proper ventilation being given behind the slating.