User:Giano/Behind the facade

This page is far from finished, so please do not rely on it, as I have yet to check all the facts!  Giacomo  22:47, 28 February 2011 (UTC)

Not every English country house fits into a neat architectural stereotype. So this page is going to attempt to explain which bit comes from where and why.

This is a rather elaborate, but light hearted Wikipedia essay addressed largely to Wikipedians living in England. Especially those who are not particularly interested in architecture, but like looking at their environment. The idea is to explain without boring and dwelling too much on too much detail.

Nikolaus Pevsner in a series of books described every single English building or note and quite a few of little note. Every single person In England lives close to a few of those buildings, but many don't realise it. I hope that editors will read this page, or even just look at the pictures, and realise that their own home, local manor house, vicarage, lunatic asylum, hospital, council offices, children's home or school may fit into one of the categories defined here, and is worth at least a two line stub. A two line stub (even unreferenced) is a good foundation for someone else to build upon.

It's my ambition to see all of Pevsner's building eventually on Wikipedia, and domestic architecture is a good place to start because people can identify with it. You don't have to be interested in architecture to notice it or appreciate it and a two line stub based on a building you realise is interesting because it's similar to something on this page is better than no page at all. You can even lift the two lines from here if you want to, as reasons for its notability which is all a page has to prove. References can all be tagged, they are not essential to create a stub. If in doubt ask me, I'll soon tell you if your hunch is right.

However, many do fit neatly into a stereotype, but a profusion of identical and non-revealing windows and doors are often a mystery to the casual observer.

Britain is rich in its great houses. Many of them have evolved from fortified castles and manors; these are often the asymmetrical houses with a profusion of towers and gables jostling for position with formal facades. However, from the 16th century it became common for the rich, and the aspiring rich, to build new architecturally designed houses to display not only their wealth and power, but also their cultivation and taste. The craze for building huge and spectacular mansions and palaces continued until the early 20th century, when following the end of the World War I the old order crumbled and those fortunate enough to remain in possession of their fortunes found it impossible to hire the staff to maintain and serve such large houses.

During the 20th century, throughout Europe thousands of grand houses were pulled down or institutionalised; those that remained were often radically reduced in size and/or opened to the paying public. To those viewing these great houses, the interiors and their functions often seem a mystery a mystery not adequately explained by the guide books. Why for instance is the best bedroom placed, seemingly inconveniently, on the reception floor next to the drawing room? Why does a house need three or even four drawing rooms? Why have two staircases in close proximity, or even no staircase at all? Or to the more practically minded, why is the kitchen half a kilometre from the dining room, and where did the 40 servants eat and sleep when there is no visible evidence of servant's quarters? Or, perhaps the most obvious question: why is the front door upstairs?

It's the intention of this page to explain in simple terms, by analysing a house from each period, why large houses, built between 1598 and 1914 are in so many different styles, shapes and forms; and to explain the activities that went on behind the profusion of identical and non-revealing windows and doors that make so many houses an oppressive mystery to the casual observer. As it's an essay, I'm not going to reference everything, you'll have to take my word. I may add a few that would make good further reading to anyone who is interested, but this page is not written with the very interested in mind, or those that want to acquire a degree in architecture: they can go elsewhere for the in-depth stuff.[1]

  1. ^ Click on the notes though because I'm going to use them to explain when I am being a little controversial or personal.