The Country House (with Designs)Châteauneuf, Alexis de
History
The Country House (with Designs)
Châteauneuf, Alexis de
Architecture -- England -- History -- 19th century; Architecture, Domestic -- England; Country homes -- England
The hall or inner vestibule is a spacious room overlooking the small
flower-court above mentioned, the avenue leading to the stables, and
the larger trees on the north side of the house. A small door opens
into the court, while one of rich architectural character forms the
entrance to the suite of rooms occupying the south or water front of
the building. This last mentioned doorway leads into a small anti-room,
right and left of which are two moderate sized drawing-rooms, capable
of being used as one when the company is numerous. The folding doors
being thrown open, and the smaller intermediate room becoming the
centre-piece of the triple apartment thus formed. In front of these
three rooms is an open loggia on a somewhat lower level, there being a
descent to it of four steps, looking immediately upon the water; this
loggia would form a sheltered terrace immediately connected with the
sitting-rooms which it would also serve to screen from the sun.
The library, which, according to your wishes, is made one of the
principal suite of rooms, is the last of those in this front, it being
on the south-east angle. It has an alcove or deeply recessed bay with a
window in it, which not only affords a very agreeable little snuggery,
bower, or whatever else you may term it, for reading or studying, or
meditating in apart, but also gives additional spaciousness and variety
to the whole apartment. From this room a jib or concealed door opens to
the small private staircase, and another of the same kind leads into
the flower garden. The larger door on the north side of the room, is
that by which we enter the dining-room, to which, as it is upon a lower
level, there is a descent of a few steps. The reason for this
difference of level is that the room being more spacious requires to be
of more height than the others, and also that it may be upon the same
level as the terrace looking out upon the flower garden.
Beyond the dining-room, is the serving room, and behind that the
kitchen, which, however, does not form part of the body of the house,
but is included in the same range of buildings as the stables, being
under the same roof. Attached to it is a kitchen court, and it is
connected with the rest of the house by the servants' staircase, which
last leads both down to the cellars and rooms in the basement, and to
those above for the female domestics, to the childrens' rooms, &c.
The stables and conservatories call for no other explanation than what
the drawings themselves supply; we will therefore now return to the
principal staircase, on one side of which are two rooms not yet
mentioned, one of which may be used as a business room.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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