In Praise of The Pargetter's Art (updated)

Pargetting can be very bold in concept & execution, as seen in this example.

Pargetting is one of the less-common elements found in Tudor and Elizabethan buildings. Perhaps the inherent nature of exterior plasterwork and its comparative durability vs. brick, timber and stone makes this inevitable - but there are still existing examples to be found dating from the 16th and 17th centuries. New or old, it is always a delightful feature whenever it is found.

Any number of natural or stylized designs and motifs can be found in plaster.

The term Pargetting derives from the word 'parget', an old Middle English term that is probably derived from the ancient French 'pargeter' / 'parjeter', which means to to throw about, or 'porgeter'- to roughcast a wall. With the ‘wattle and daub’ method of construction (since pargetting is really best suitable for a lathed and timbered backing) the craft became an important and integral part of the building trade until bricks became more freely available. The term is more usually applied only to the decoration in relief of the plastering between the studwork on the outside of half-timber houses, or sometimes covering the whole wall.

VISITS: Highlights of Highclere Castle

Back in May, I provided a brief overview of this year’s UK trip, which centered around London and areas close by. One of our stops was at Highclere Castle, the home of Lord and Lady Carnarvon, and the house made famous by the Downton Abbey TV Series. Thankfully, the great success of the show has increased the number of visitors over the years to such an extent that many needed repairs have been made. Ongoing restoration continues, and many educational and tourist programs have been added as well.

A little rain shower did not diminish my daughter's enthusiasm for the tour.

While perhaps not my first choice, I succumbed to the desires of my wife and daughter to go see the house, which I had first read about in Mark Girouard’s book, The Victorian Country House. Designed by architect Charles Barry, and featuring a park designed by Capability Brown. The 5,000-acre estate is in Hampshire, about 5 miles south of Newbury, Berkshire. Reportedly the original site of the home was recorded in the Domesday Book, and the first house was built on the foundations of the medieval palace of the Bishops of Winchester, who owned this estate from the 8th century. Highclere has been home to the Earls of Carnarvon and their forebears since 1679.

Twin Cities' Governor's Mansion Celebrates 100 Years

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First built as a lumber baron's private home,  the state-owned house at 1006 Summit Avenue has served as Minnesota's official governor's residence for almost five decades. The current tenant of the of the $2.9 million mansion is Gov. Mark Dayton.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune has a great article celebrating the 100th anniversary of this notable Jacobean-Revival house, which  lived a quiet private life during the decades it was home to the Irvine family. But after it was donated to the state in 1965, it became Minnesota's version of "Upstairs, Downstairs," only in reverse. While governors and their families make their home in the second-floor living quarters, the first floor and lower level are official ones, used to host visiting dignitaries and gubernatorial staff meetings.

The home will be celebrating its 100th anniversary with expanded tours and festive events,

"We're using the whole year as a catalyst for fundraising and community outreach," said Kristin Parrish of the 1006 Summit Avenue Society, a nonprofit group dedicated to preserving the residence. She is co-chairing the 100th anniversary celebration.

Read More HERE.
Via Star-Tribune. Photo courtesy of Star Tribune.

Weston Hall Stands Empty as its Future in Doubt

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For now, callers to Weston Hall will find that the telephone goes unanswered--as the popular wedding venue near Stafford has been empty for two weeks and the telephone line is dead. This development comes just two months after an earlier attempt to save the business. The future of facility is now in doubt today its apparent closing.

The Grade II-listed Jacobean building is owned by local businessman Paul Reynolds, who has not responded to contact efforts by the local media. Manchester-based businessman Seyed Deraviz was brought in last year to run the facility after it had been closed for a week, following the departure of Weston Halls’s previous operating staff.

So...What is a Long Gallery, Anyway?

The Long Gallery at Haddon Hall.

In practical terms, a Long Gallery was a type of room popular in great Elizabethan or Jacobean houses of the prodigy type, sometimes the width of a façade, as at Hatfield House, (1607–11), and Hardwick Hall, (1590–7). Usually well lit by means of large, lavish windows and sumptuously appointed with chimney-surrounds, panelling, and finely-moulded ceilings, it was an extrordinary environment for the times, primarily devoted to hanging tapestries and portraits, entertainment, games and even excercise in bad weather. It was chiefly during this period that the long gallery became the primary reception room in many great houses.

When we chose The Long Gallery as the name of our website, we were really looking at it as a metaphor. The long gallery of an Elizabethan house was used as a place of delight, and as a place for prominently displaying art and other valued objects so that the owner might take joy in them and show them off to others. In essence, it was a special place, created to feature and highlight all that was especially fine, interesting, or worthy of comment and observation.

Our website was developed to fulfill much the same role. Whether it is Medieval, Elizabethan, Jacobean, or Victorian Revival architecture, style, art, or design (or relevant history) - we seek to bring you the best examples from the past and the present. Whether you're protecting and preserving a building of this type, trying to recreate the feeling of the period in your home, or incorporating something of this period into your lifestyle, we want to be a resource for you. We hope you'll visit us often and walk through our Long Gallery to see what we have found.

In this post, we wanted to share some photographic examples of various long galleries that we have come across. We hope you will enjoy them. If you have any examples you would like to share with us, please send them along to us.

MS

Tudor Oak: Using Original Techniques to Create Inspired Reproductions

Founded in 1970 by Richard Foreman, Tudor Oak is a specialist UK manufacturer of not only fine English Oak reproduction furniture, but also makes some selected pieces in English Cherry, Walnut and Yew wood. The company's high-quality, hand finished pieces are fully distressed and colored to simulate the warmth and character of genuine antiques. Tudor Oak also offers an very comprehensive selection, with over 350 different designs available.

One of the first examples of their work which we'd like to highlight is this excellent #472 bookcase and display unit, which features 6-pane glazed top doors, 3 panelled lower doors, highly detailed hand carving, and bun feet. It's a useful and substantial piece that - while certainly echoing Tudor designs - isn't so period-specific that you couldn't use it in many different situations.

The #5 oak chair we have pictured is a very traditional Late Tudor or Jacobean design, with an ornately-carved back panel. It's solid piece that may not be for every situation, but which would certainly deserve pride-of-place in a foyer or library.

Lastly, we've included the #105 sideboard from their Parsonage Collection, which offers something a little different from their more traditional Tudor-styled furniture designs. Produced in a lighter oak, the design of this range is less ornate and much simpler, yet the general lines we see reflect an appreciation of the arts-and-crafts period, and thus are quite appropriate for Olde English style homes as well as more contemporary interiors.

Tudor Oak can either offer standard or heavy distressing of select pieces, depending on how "old" you prefer them to appear; they can also match color at an additional cost. It's also good to know that in addition to manufacturing fine furniture, Tudor Oak also undertake specialist period architectural joinery - working closely with architects, specifiers and builders to create custom designs using their traditional skills and kiln-dried timber.

To find out more about their lines and pricing, visit Tudor Oak's website HERE.

Happy Guy Fawkes Night

For 400 years, bonfires have burned across England on November 5th to celebrate the failure of the famous "Gunpowder Plot" in 1605. On the very night that the plot was foiled, bonfires were set alight to celebrate the safety of the King. Since then, November 5th has become known as Bonfire Night and is commemorated every year with fireworks and burning effigies of Guy Fawkes on a bonfire.

Remember, remember the Fifth of November,

The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,

I know of no reason

Why Gunpowder Treason

Should ever be forgot.

Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t’was his intent

To blow up King and Parliament.

Three-score barrels of powder below

To prove old England’s overthrow;

By God’s providence he was catch’d

With a dark lantern and burning match.

Holloa boys, holloa boys, let the bells ring.

Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!