Decorative Plasterwork in Great Britain, by Geoffrey
Beard.Donhead, £38
BOOKS
The Fixtures and Fittings of Period Houses, 1714-1939, by Janet Collings. Crowood Press, £25
TO this day I recall my childish pleasure in spotting a thatched wall in Hampshire, one of the highest scoring and most elusive features in my I-Spy booklet. Janet Collings’ compendium of hundreds of different types of building details brought this to mind. The 231 pages of colour photographs of typical and less typical doors, shutters, tiles, balconies, grates, and all the various parts of 18th- to 20th-century houses prompt the same instinct to try to identify the details shown. Readers will get pleasure from finding examples that are familiar to them. The book is definitely not a
systematic academic study of vernacular building elements. Nor is it a mere coffee table book, however enjoyable it is to pore over the numerous photographs. Instead, its aim is to use “examples from the wide range of building materials and details that are found on houses in the United Kingdom, so that owners are able to identify, enjoy and appreciate the beauty and craftsmanship that they have inherited with their house.” Inevitably some regions, such
as EastAnglia and the South East, seem rather better represented than elsewhere such asWales and Scotland. But there appears to be enough regional variety to support the book’s intentions. None of the examples state where they are, which is a slight disadvantage bearing in mind that some are clearly characteristic of a particular geographical area. The author is a former SPAB
Scholar and Committee member, so the introduction has clear messages about the importance of retaining what survives from the various phases of a house’s history; about careful repair; and the value of regular
maintenance.Most
82 Cornerstone, Vol 32, No 2 2011
“
...FOR let one find never so just a Faultwith aWorkman, be the same of whatMystery soever, immediately he shall reply, Sir, I do not come hither to be taughtmy Trade. I have served an Apprenticeship, and have wrought e'er nowwith Gentlemen that have been satisfied withmy work.” John Evelyn's complaint is one of
themany voiceswhich enliven Dr Beard's research, and I read this book with the same amusement and (yes) excitement as on first acquaintance. Almost 40 years after its first publication this remains the definitive history of plasterwork in Great Britain, and is a very welcome addition to Donhead's series of classic out-of-print books on plaster. Millar, Bankart, Jourdain and Turner notwithstanding, when it appeared this bookwas of unprecedented breadth and depth and has since incited an greater interest in the field. The impetus for newwork, the
Window catches at the extraordinary Charles Brooking Collection of architectural fixtures
importantly the book is not intended to be a Restorer’s catalogue, and does not encourage owners to replicate attractive items they pluck from its pages. The main parts of the book
cover, in turn, exterior and interior features, with a slightly odd few pages at the end on sustainability and energy conservation. The title is also a bit misleading as the illustrations cover much more than the conventional idea of fixtures and fittings, but that is an advantage. So we see examples of different types of brickwork, tile hanging, stone slates, and flintwork. The much shorter section on interiors includes staircases and fireplaces, plasterwork and services, among other things. Where possible the captions
make wider points. Of one door the caption says “Doors are said to have acquired one lock for every hundred years of their life.” They also encourage the owner to look at
and appreciate how their house was put together. Of one bay window the caption explains that some apparently decorative parts are in fact mass produced cast iron structural columns, painted to match the rest of the window. For me the appeal of the book
is in the often forgotten details – the oval ceramic door numbers, the garden gates, bell pulls, garage doors, Victorian coat hooks, even old lead joints in pipework. Occasionally this seems to stray a bit beyond its remit, with images of old pillar boxes, a dew pond, and types of hedge. Obviously no book like this can
hope to include examples of everything, even when mass production and the railway started standardising building components. That is the joy of the varied and local nature of our building heritage. But the high quality of the illustrations makes this a very good starting point.
PhilipVenning
means by which to do it, the sources for design and available architectural treatises are all examined in a clear narrative on stylistic development. Dr Beard gives close attention to the individual craftsman, his environment andmovements be they regional or international;most notably he has traced the shadowy passage of the Comasque stuccatori of the 18th century and their influence on native plasterers. Pertinent extracts frombills, contracts, letters and other documents reveal, for example, squabbling between the Guilds or tardy payment by theOffice ofWorks which sound all too contemporary. The indices on plasterers and
houses are invaluable. A Select List of Plasterers is the edited result of an immense documentary travail over years which has proved a sound basis and reference work for research by others in varied disciplines. The plasterers whoworked onmajor houses are listedwith their known works, payments and areas of activity. Dr Beard has studied the work of the craftsman inmany areas and championed himthroughout his career. In light of which, I begmention of Plate 51, a ceiling design for Gubbinswhich, although attributed to James Gibbs, is thoughtmore likely to be a submission to himby a plasterer working to his
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