Curtain fixings, and how old is this porch?

[Nigel Watts]

Thanks Joce!

I've never let a lack of knowledge or qualification stand in my way of giving opinions on things, or having a go at making things ... but you have been warned!

There are precedents for houses being designed to appear classical on one facade and gothick or castle like on the other e.g (showing off here) Castleward, Co Down (1762 palladian and gothick); Castle Goring, Sussex (c.1790 Neo-classical and castellated) Lowther Castle, Cumbria (1806-11 Gothic and baronial) and Wilkins' Senior Combination Room at King's College Cambridge (1823 Grecian and gothic). Pugin and subsequent goths and modernists would have abhored such a thing - for them architecture had to be moral - but the late 18th C and Regency was more relaxed. If it was fun or picturesque, why not?

 

[Gareth Hughes]

I've read through a lot of the Papworth now and will read it in sections by firelight to Chris, who is also thrilled to have this sudden information. It's a wonderful work; I love it - had a look to see if I could buy one but it seems to be rather rare? There is an awful lot in there about what is appropriate and what is not, which is making me want to revise several decisions. It is also extremely helpful with garden design. Thank you so much for giving me this whilst we still have not really started on anything major. It seems that render is absolutely desirable for all these cottages.

I remain amazed that from the little you know about my house, and have seen of it, you are able to put your finger on this! I just can't thank you enough.

Your servant, ma'am

My copy is a rather grotty 1971 ex-library reprint, but I see there's a paperback, with colour plates, currently available from Amazon for a mere £8.99, which beats £1500-2500 for an original.

Several other pattern books of the period are also available in reprint editions, but those which aren't actually in print at present can be expensive - the reprints of John Plaw's many works (such as Sketches for Country Houses, Villas and rural dwellings Calculated for Persons of Moderate Income, and For Comfortable Retirement) start at around £100

 

[Gareth Hughes]

Gareth you are a star. You put all the rank amateurs like me to shame.

I'm actualy a complete sham, having never attended a single history of art or architecture lesson in my life - I picked up most of what I know from sharing a set a rooms at University with a friend who was studying architecture while I was plodding through the Engineering course and then by reading books to stave off the boredom of Accountancy training.

Not at all - you use your eyes and assimilate what you see with what you've already found out (hence the knowlegeable discourses on the correct colours of glazing bars etc). Far too many peole don't have any command of what should be a simple process.
As for the boredom of Accountancy training, my Dad's an accountant and you have my complete sympathy.

 

[Gareth Hughes]

Thanks Joce!

I've never let a lack of knowledge or qualification stand in my way of giving opinions on things, or having a go at making things ... but you have been warned!

There are precedents for houses being designed to appear classical on one facade and gothick or castle like on the other - Castle Goring, Sussex (c.1790 Neo-classical and castellated) If it was fun or picturesque, why not?

And how! Here's one of the end pavilions of Castle Goring viewed from the side. Note the subtle change from classical to gothick :shock:
http://www.fotolibra.com/en-us/gallery/148324/rats-castle-worthing/

 

[Nigel Watts]

"W Davey and G Cunningham repaired this door February 17th 1914., working for Mr G Clarke and Co, Grantham. Wages 7 1/2 d per hour and has been same for the last 15 years. Liberal Government in power Mr H Priestly MP for Grantham gave notice to resign last week"

Straying off topic here, but I dont think Priestly did resign as Grantham's MP in 1914 in the sense of leaving parliament, but he may have given notice he would not stand at the next election, which was in 1918. 1918 saw a major change in the Britsh electoral system - the final abolution of property qualifications and therefore for the first time universal male sufferage (women still had to wait). Lots of boundary changes resulted.

As it happens, my grandfather's first cousin Edmund Royds was the Tory MP for the adjacent seat of Sleaford in 1914. This constituency seems to have been abolished or merged in 1918, after which Edmund became MP for Grantham as Coalition Conservative, replacing the Liberal Priestly. He lost to a Liberal four years later.

 

[worms]

With respect to the mention above of Google books, am I alone in finding Google Books another fantastic way of wasting more time on the internet?

Last night having exhausted searches for Stephen Switzer, William Halfpenny and Richard Bradley, I ended up spending hours on J C Loudon's 1825 Encyclopaedia of Agriculture. Fantastic stuff but perhaps not the most productive use of time!

 

[Flyfisher]

I've lost whole evenings to Google Books while researching the history of our house, often by digressions and ending up none the wiser about the house itself.

Whether this is a 'productive use of time' is, of course, a personal judgement but what the accessibility of the internet makes abundantly clear (as if we didn't know it already) is that there is more knowledge out there than we can ever know; there is simply not enough time to read it all, never mind understand it all.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Well said. I was particularly delighted to find Blake's Songs online, I don't mean the text alone - but the actual original work with etchings, and by using that page turning tool, you could flick through the whole thing. The Internet is a wonderful, wonderful library - if used rightly!

"W Davey and G Cunningham repaired this door February 17th 1914., working for Mr G Clarke and Co, Grantham. Wages 7 1/2 d per hour and has been same for the last 15 years. Liberal Government in power Mr H Priestly MP for Grantham gave notice to resign last week"

Straying off topic here, but I dont think Priestly did resign as Grantham's MP in 1914....

Ah, my mistake. There should have been a capital "g" - indicating it was the tradesman who resigned (perhaps fired with notions of the glory of going to war?), not Priestly. How interesting about your family connection with Sleaford. I'm amazed about how many people have some connection with Sleaford on here; the town 3 miles from the village where I grew up. Biff knows St Denys' well, and Gareth left a roof elsewhere in Sleaford.

My copy is a rather grotty 1971 ex-library reprint, but I see there's a paperback, with colour plates, currently available from Amazon for a mere £8.99

Thanks - I should have looked there first rather than antiquarian bookshop sites, will order that then!

This thread has completely changed the way I see the house, many thanks.