Porter (building)

“ His published works were written with a view to being useful to ‘those who are engaged in ye noble art of building,’ and are mainly devoted to domestic architecture. He prepared estimates as well as designs for the construction of buildings as economically as possible. His more ambitious designs for country seats are in the classical architecture of the period. ”

“ The Oxford Five-mile Act necessitated frequent changes of abode, and he laboured in London, Bristol, Pinner, and Torrington, as well as Barnstaple. It is not known how long he presided over his newly gathered congregation, with whom, however, he communicated either in person or by letter to the time of his death. Previous to the building of a meeting-house in 1672, near the castle, the congregation met in a private malthouse or warehouse, where two or three confidential friends were ready to give notice of the approach of informers. Hanmer was a scholar and a man of generous views. ”

“ The appearance of the building from a distance has been commended (note by Dallaway, Walpole, p. 688) , despite the strange combination of styles used, and Malcolm's quaint comparison of it to ‘a very large ship ... under an easy sail, with a flag flying at her maintop’ (Londinium, ii. 83) . ”

“ In almost every competition for a building of any importance, drawings were sent in by Goodwin, in the preparation of which he spared no expense. He designed a scheme for an extensive cemetery in the vicinity of the metropolis, with buildings from the best examples in Athens, and exhibited his drawings gratuitously in an office taken for the purpose in Parliament Street. ”

“ In November 1816 Hamilton submitted designs in competition for the completion of the Edinburgh College Buildings, but those of Play fair were chosen. He printed and circulated observations on his two designs on 19 Nov. of the same year. His design for the Burns memorial to be erected at Alloway, near Ayr, was selected on 26 Jan. 1818, and after some unavoidable delay the building was commenced on the anniversary of the poet's birth, 25 Jan. 1820. The monument (Grecian) was completed on 4 July 1823. ”

“ GWYNN, GWYN, or GWYNNE, JOHN (d. 1786) , architect, was born 'of a respectable family' in Shrewsbury, probably in the parish of St. Chad's, but the year of his birth is not known. He is said to have left his native town in early childhood. He does not seem to have been educated as an architect. In 1760 he was described as 'till of late of another profession' (Observations on Bridge Building, p. 22) . He became known in London as early as 1734, as a writer on art and a draughtsman. In 1749 (3 Oct.) he published 'A Plan for Rebuilding the City of London after the great fire in 1666 ”

“ Hosking wrote the articles on ‘Architecture’ and on ‘Building’ for the seventh edition of the ‘Encyclopædia Britannica.’ These were illustrated from drawings by Hosking and Jenkins, and reappeared in the eighth edition; that on ‘Architecture,’ with a supplement written in 1853, and articles on ‘Construction’ and ‘Drainage of Towns’ being added. Many of the plates were retained in the ninth edition to illustrate the rewritten articles. ”

“ The original builders, in the flights of their imagination after spaciousness, gave so little heed to the constructional problems involved in its achievement, that less inspired but more practical successors found it imperative to prop the outside wall with a great flying buttress which arches over a street running past the south side of the building, and seems to form a portion of the main building. ”

“ In the spacious halls of opulent companies, which showed but an old-fashioned porch in a narrow quiet lane, but which presented to those who were permitted to enter their portals a superb range of apartments teeming, mayhap, with old furniture and valuable pictures, and doubtless giving on a quiet garden, worth no one knows what a square foot for building purposes, but preserved from the ravages of the builder, merely to gladden the eyes of the plump City sparrows, and of the master, the wardens, and the clerk of these most worshipful corporations. ”

“ There were apparently two entrances to the courtyard. The chief of these was adjacent to the dale, and from the remains of the arch stones would appear to have been some 5 or 6 ft. wide. Here is said to have been the porter’s rooms, and if this were the main entrance, custom would place the porter there. At the other end of the wall, against the gorge, are the remains of what has been called the sally-port; but the work has been so much defaced as to render its purpose obscure. ”

“ The sashes, frames, doors, shutters, linings and soffits are all framed and put together, i.e. wedged up and cleaned off at the shop; the flooring is planed and prepared with rebated or grooved edges ready for laying, and the moulded work—the picture and dado rails, architraves, skirtings and panelling—is all got out at the shop. On a new building the joiner fits up a temporary workshop with benches, sawing stools and a stove for his glue pot. ”

“ This impression is somewhat relieved by the elaborate decorations—four handsome Ionic pilasters rising above the roof of the porch nearly to the eaves, while a gable or pediment extends across almost the full width of the façade. The porch itself is of generous breadth, Ionic pillars with a beautifully ornamented frieze, representing grape leaves and clusters, forming a fitting frame for the hospitable entrance just behind. [Pg 36] Probably the porch is of more recent date than the building itself, although this is a matter of conjecture. ”

“ The portico of the Pantheon he thought perfect in plan, and magnificent in effect. He admired its great depth, the increase of this in the centre, and above all the disposition of the inner columns, which gave apparent stability and variety of effect, without confusing the eye or obstructing the approach. He never could endure a portico which was shallow, or which had no inner columns, or which had the wall, the background of the columns, broken up by windows. But the junction to the circular building appeared to him unhappy. ”

“ It stands to-day almost alone in its picturesque antiquity, its huge central chimney, tiny window-panes, plain front door, guiltless of porch, with iron knocker, steep-pitched roof with lean-to at the back nearly sweeping the ground,—all betokening its age. ”

“ Of rather more human interest is the decorative and spiky iron-work fixed on the ground-floor window-sills of the frontage, which clearly shows that the architect of the building, when he drew out his design, had forgotten the loungers of Colnbrook, and, in placing his sills at the height above the ground of the average chair, had unwittingly provided the lazy with seats in the most advantageous position. ”

“ The visitor leaves Clifford's room and makes his way into the open attic, for he came up two stories by the secret staircase and is now under the sharply pointed roof and surrounded by trunks, [Pg 22] chests, and bandboxes. This is a good place to understand the structure of the house. The main building had at first just two gables in front and one at each end; then a wing was built on in front, covering one of the gables, which was largely cut away. This wing had three gables, and the porch, which was built in the angle of the wing and the main house, was roofed by another gable. ”

“ Well, thou canst keep thine own counsel, lad as thou art. I will come back to thee shortly.”
It was nearly half an hour before the porter returned; but the youth never changed his position, as he stood leaning against the side of the porch.
“Come in,” said the porter, holding the wicket open. “Sir Piers will see thee. I told him, being sent of none, thou wert like to have no token.”
The unknown visitor followed the porter in silence through the paved courtyard, up a flight of stone steps, and into a small chamber, hung with blue. ”

“ The porter, trembling under the piled-up hamper, trots along the street, with his teeth clenched, and shirt wet with the weight, and staggering at every step he takes.
Inside, the market is all bustle and confusion. The people walk along with their eyes fixed on the goods, and frowning with thought. Men in all costumes, from the coster in his corduroy suit to the greengrocer in his blue apron, sweep past. ”

“ Unfortunately the general effect of the exterior, in spite of the fine Norman towers and the beauty of the decorative sculpture of the west front, is inferior to that of the interior, a 15th century porch harmonising ill with the earlier work, whilst breadth is too great for the height of the building. ”

“ The doorway is in a sort of shallow porch under a stair-turret projecting from the north-west corner of the tower, but extending only up to the second story; in this turret are several small windows, of single lights, trefoil-headed. The staircase is connected with the tower by a passage corbelled out in a singular manner, and has loopholes in the upper part; there are fireplaces and other marks of habitation in the chambers. The whole dimensions of this very singular building are only forty feet long by sixteen wide, external measure. It is remarkably lofty in proportion to its size. ”

“ It stands well to the front of the lot of which it forms a part, with scarcely any yard space separating it from the sidewalk, and it boasts a handsome porch supported by finely carved pillars, approached by a flight of steps. The broad entrance door, with its brass latch and old-time knob, swings easily upon its great hinges into a spacious hall that extends the length of the dwelling, affording access to the finely finished interior apartments. ”

“ Always the same rows of red-brick or brownstone houses, all alike, the monotony broken only by infrequent warehouses or loft-buildings; always the same doubtful mounting of stone steps, the same searching for a bell, the same waiting, the same slatternly, suspicious landlady, the same evil hallway with a brown hat-rack, a steel-engraving with one corner stained with yellow, a carpet worn through to the flooring in a large oval hole just in front of the stairs, a smell of cabbage, a lack of ventilation. ”

“ The house was very still. In the little room over the porch the Lady in Black sat alone. Near her a child's white dress lay across a chair, and on the floor at her feet a tiny pair of shoes, stubbed at the toes, lay where an apparently hasty hand had thrown them. A doll, head downward, hung over a chair-back, and a toy soldier with drawn sword dominated the little stand by the bed. And everywhere was silence—the peculiar silence that comes only to a room where the clock has ceased to tick.
The clock—such a foolish little clock of filigree gilt—stood on the shelf at the foot of the bed ”

“ In such a neighbourhood men and women are doubtless in the habit of coming and going, of appearing [154] and disappearing, without exciting curiosity. Cards of rooms to let were in a great many windows, and I selected a house, No. 119, and found, upon inquiry, that I could have a bed-room on the first-floor, or one on the second. I took the bedroom on the first-floor, which is at the back of the house, and the landlady informed me that by the end of the week I could have the adjoining room, the windows of which front the Square, as the present occupant had given notice to leave. ”

“ Some of the original shingles and clapboards, covering a solid wall of home-made bricks, are still in a good state of preservation, especially on the west end. The innovation of a modern porch has added to rather than detracted from the pleasing appearance of the house. The diamond paned windows that were imported from England have been removed. Inside, the smoothly finished beams, the great fireplaces with panelled sides, the heavy doors, the broad, low steps, the fine woodwork in staircase and mantel, all speak of former pride and prosperity. ”

“ He can put up a house-front with a door, and if needed, a porch. He can put up a shop, or for that matter, a couple of adjacent shops. He can put up the arched gates of a city or castle. These are comparatively shallow structures. But he can also take advantage of the whole depth of the space, and arrange a chamber, a cave, or a bower, furnishing it as he pleases, and adding doors at the back or side, or a back window, which would enable him to give more light, even if only borrowed light from the tire-house, to an interior scene. ”

“ A smaller door, just big enough for a horse, has been opened in one of them, admitting to the castle proper. Despite the earlier scrutiny at the barbican, one now catches a watchful eye at the small window in the turret close beside the portcullis. The chief porter has a very responsible position. Many a fortress has been lost because he has been careless or unfaithful. ”

“ Top-light and side-light come into general use. With the appearance of the square wooden house of three stories, soon after the Revolution, these historic doorways and porches may be said to reach almost their full development, the genius of Samuel McIntire carrying this on to its peak, the full fruition of his work being seen in the entrances to the red-brick mansions of the beginning of the nineteenth century, against whose mellow background the pure white classic forms of porch and doorway stand out in striking and delightful contrast. ”

“ As early as the year 1012 B.C., straight hanging portières for connecting doorways were employed in the temple built by King Solomon. In a modern house, portières are almost as important as doors. Aside from the ready-made portières, which are manufactured in a variety of patterns and materials, the demand for portière curtains specially adapted to various rooms has resulted in a profusion of made-to-order styles, a few of which we illustrate. ”

“ Wings and kitchens built out, beyond a house, very much increase expense, both in building and warming them.
Piazzas and porticoes are very expensive; and their [Pg 260] cost would secure far more comfort, if devoted to additional nursery or kitchen conveniences. Many kinds of porticoes cost as much as one additional room in the house. Houses can be so constructed, that one staircase will answer for both kitchen and parlour use, as may be seen in the engraving on page 269, (Fig. 27.) This saves the expense and labor usually devoted to a large hall and front staircase. ”