tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post5177196595193024279..comments2024-03-25T15:10:13.792+00:00Comments on English Buildings: Brewood, StaffordshirePhilip Wilkinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04893714514416441572noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-6821009371985822632013-08-08T09:29:28.668+01:002013-08-08T09:29:28.668+01:00Stag: It's an interesting book, isn't it? ...Stag: It's an interesting book, isn't it? Thanks for the link. The beautifully detailed plates made it easy for builders to copy Langley's 'improved' Gothic designs, and, of course, they did.Philip Wilkinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04893714514416441572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-37541449266683275532013-08-08T05:32:02.665+01:002013-08-08T05:32:02.665+01:00This is the book you referenced "on line"...This is the book you referenced "on line".<br /><br />http://archive.org/stream/architectureimpro00lang#page/n7/mode/2up<br /><br />It will keep me enthralled for hours, I am certain of it.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680700783923382336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-25885570815715462972013-07-25T17:59:18.781+01:002013-07-25T17:59:18.781+01:00I'm still working away on my gothic cottage an...I'm still working away on my gothic cottage and I'm now working on window treatments. If you could do a post on hood labels and stop ends it could be of some help.Thudhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18320037763190473684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-39518463394803727402013-07-21T11:51:08.149+01:002013-07-21T11:51:08.149+01:00Robert: This building seems to be all things to al...Robert: This building seems to be all things to all people.<br /><br />The acceptance of whimsy is perfectly compatible with Englishness, so long as the acceptance is kept within reasonable bounds! Philip Wilkinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04893714514416441572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-43339489137632911582013-07-20T10:29:46.905+01:002013-07-20T10:29:46.905+01:00What an unusual looking building. This 'spiced...What an unusual looking building. This 'spiced-up' somewhat unrefined Gothic however doesn't quite do it for me. Isn't that too much window? And I'm quite sure it is sacrilege for me to say this, but I feel the strange looking door needs jacking up. Having said that, the adjacent buildings appear completely thwarted by it.<br /><br />For me, it instantly conjures up India and the Taj Mahal. The way the arches curve 's' shaped first out and then in towards a peek capped with a sphere. It even has a flat roof similar to the flanks of the Taj Mahal, and seems to echo the shaping of those flanks. The 'horns' to the door can be seen in inlay artwork on the Taj Mahal, as can elements of the nicely executed symmetrical window tracery.<br /><br />Am I being fanciful? possibly. Heretical it may be for me to say this, but I think this building would work well as The Taj Mahal curry house, although the Chinese Chippendale staircase could jar. Anyone for vindaloo?<br /><br />A note for my diary: 'Must strive to be less straight-laced and more accepting of the whimsical'. Oh dear! will this make me less English?Robert Slackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05150704777267563113noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-65300055865142661352013-07-19T17:18:06.863+01:002013-07-19T17:18:06.863+01:00James: Maybe Gothic with a Chinese accent would be...James: Maybe Gothic with a Chinese accent would be nearer the mark. <br /><br />They must be very light rooms, with all that glass – my impression is that the building faces roughly north, so the bay windows must help what might otherwise have been a dark interior, at least on this side of the house.Philip Wilkinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04893714514416441572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-363817573497490422013-07-19T15:50:49.596+01:002013-07-19T15:50:49.596+01:00Isn't there an element of the Chinese style in...Isn't there an element of the Chinese style in the EXTERIOR? What about the "horns" on the porch, and the pattern of the glazing of some of the windows, and the bluish "frill" on the top of the window over the door?<br />Also, I am not satisfied that someone trying to do "gothic" would finish the tops of the windows with either a ball or a keystone. Wouldn't a stylised fleur-de-lis be more predictable? Even if the windows look rather heavy and fussy, from a practical point of view the canted bays must let in a great quantity of light, and would be very pleasant places to pull up an armchair and watch the world go by! Joseph Biddulph (Publisher)https://www.blogger.com/profile/08655472675410890012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-42204967830476914702013-07-18T09:30:21.674+01:002013-07-18T09:30:21.674+01:00Stephen: Yes, I think people are apt to mock Batty...Stephen: Yes, I think people are apt to mock Batty Langley because of his name – but his whimsical versions of Gothic would have raised a smile even if they'd been published by someone called John Smith. Gibbs <i>does</i> get some criticism from architectural historians for the way he combined steeple and portico at St Martin's, but also gets a lot of respect – in part perhaps because of the high quality of much of his actual architectural work.<br /><br />I don't know what the interior of Speedwell Castle is like except that the house apparently has a Chinese Chippendale staircase. Philip Wilkinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04893714514416441572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-76783633538346559852013-07-18T09:20:40.632+01:002013-07-18T09:20:40.632+01:00I have pictures of this before and it is an enchan...I have pictures of this before and it is an enchanting building which breaks all the rules. I wonder if the interior is as eccentric as the exterior?<br /><br />Do you think Batty Langley gets a poor press on account of his rather unfortunate first name. One feels that a lot of people used his books as a source of inspiration without neccessarily giving him the credit. Architectural history of the period does not seem to accord him the same respect as say James Gibbs receives for his Book of Architecture, even when he inserts a tower and spire into a classical temple as at St Martin's in the Fields.Stephen Barkernoreply@blogger.com