The smaller houses had merely a gateway of more or less pretensions, such as may be seen at Cold Ashton, near Bath (Fig. 58), a charming little entrance on the roadside leading straight up by a paved walk to the front door of the house; or at Winwick, in Northamptonshire (Fig. 59), the stately remnant of a house now much curtailed in size. This example is treated in a more important manner than usual, the masonry flanking the archway on either side being of considerable width, and elaborately ornamented with sunk patterns and carving. The well-proportioned columns are disengaged from the wall behind them, and the whole treatment of the lower part as far as the top of the cornice calls to mind some of the Roman arches to be met with in Italy. The pediments above the cornice are hardly equal to the structure upon which they stand, but they give that variety and piquancy of outline which was considered indispensable in work of the time; moreover, the circular gable over the archway affords room for a panel containing the owner's arms, although, by an irony of fate which would have annoyed him deeply, the bearings are now indistinguishable. This gateway vies in importance with those at Holdenby (Fig. 61), but the house at Warwick could never have been more than a good-sized manor house. At Cold Ashton the gateway is more in scale with the house, and although the central feature above the cornice is mutilated, the arms still remain. The effect of this roadside gateway is heightened by the circular steps and the mounting-block. At Oundle, in Northamptonshire, there is an example of a small gateway in the front wall of some almshouses (Fig. 60) which, in spite of its insignificant size, imparts considerable interest and even dignity to the group of which it is the central feature. In large houses the entrance courts not infrequently had archways in their side walls to afford access to the gardens or the orchard. The base-court at Holdenby has already been mentioned as having a gateway in each of its sides, apart altogether from the gatehouse or porter's lodge. These two gateways still remain (Fig. 61), although most of the house and its adjuncts have disappeared, leaving them stranded in a position that is hardly intelligible without the aid of a plan showing the original arrangement. They bear the date 1585, and a shield of arms containing fourteen quarterings of the owner, Sir Christopher Hatton. In general treatment they resemble the similar gateways in the forecourt at Kirby, which also belonged to Sir Christopher, and they are more remarkable for their size and stateliness than for the beauty of their detail: but it should not be forgotten that the walls which supported them on either side, and which connected them with the great house, are gone, and that, denuded of their original surroundings, they appear much more heavy and cumbrous than when they were a small part of a large scheme.