The growth of the English house; a short history of its architectural development from 1100 to 1800 by Gotch J. Alfred (John Alfred) 1852-1942

Author:Gotch, J. Alfred (John Alfred), 1852-1942
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: Architecture, Domestic, Architecture -- England
Publisher: London : B. T. Batsford
Published: 1909-03-25T05:00:00+00:00

LATE SIXTEENTH CENTURY.

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154 THE GROWTH OF THE ENGLISH HOUSE.

the largest houses which England ever possessed. Holdenby (1580), so far as the house itself went, was larger than the great palaces of Blenheim and Castle Howard. Its fronts were 360 ft. and 224 ft. long, as against 320 ft. and 220 ft. at Blenheim, and 324 ft. and 210 ft. at Castle Howard. But in both the later houses there were subsidiary courts attached which greatly lengthened the total extent. Audley End (1610) covered even more ground than Holdenby, its frontages extending to 470 ft. and 280 ft.: but more than half its area was occupied by a subsidiary court, whereas almost the whole of Holdenby consisted of important rooms. But rivalry in dimensions apart, it must be remembered that the designer of Holdenby had no precedent to look to, no great house to outvie. Hampton Court excepted, his was the first mansion, built for pleasure and for state, which had been conceived on so large a scale. There were also many other houses which, though smaller, were of the first importance. Such were Buck-hurst House in Sussex ; Burghley House and Kirby Hall both, like Holdenby, in Northamptonshire; Theobalds in Hertfordshire; Knole in Kent. The reason for erecting these large houses, or at any rate for making them so extensive, was stated by at least two of their builders. Lord Burghley and Sir Christopher Hatton both said that it was in order to accommodate the Queen that they were led to so much extravagance.

But the building fever seems to have been in the air. Almost every nobleman and squire in the country either rebuilt, enlarged, or altered his house. Sheldons manor house in Wiltshire is a charming example of alteration (see Frontispiece). The original house, of which the porch is a part, was built by the Gascelyns in the fourteenth century. The sixteenth-century addition with its rectangular, mullioned windows, was built over

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