Category Archives: Montacute

The Gateway at Montacute Pavilion and the Palazzo del Te

Posted on December 5, 2018 by

Although the gateway arch was initially intended to have been based on Serlio’s Libro Estraordinario, as it has unfolded it has become the Mannerist Gateway. The inside façade is based on Michelangelo’s Porta Pia, the outside one on Giulio Romano’s … Continue reading →

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On Natural Timber Finishes

Posted on February 6, 2018 by

My experience with using natural timber finishes on the Montacute carport and other projects. Continue reading →

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Silvertop Ash Cladding on Montacute

Posted on February 6, 2018 by

On cladding Montacute. How to handle silvertop ash shiplap cladding. Continue reading →

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The Monkey Puzzle Parterre at Biddulph Grange

Posted on November 13, 2017 by

At the National Trust’s Biddulph Grange garden in England they have a little terraced gardens in the section called ‘Italy’ which has four small monkey puzzle trees in a little box-edged parterre centred on a stone vase (Figs 1–3). This … Continue reading →

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On Water-spouts. Chastleton House

Posted on October 9, 2017 by

At Chastleton House there is a dovecote in the field over the road that is all that remains of another house there (Fig. 1). It dates from 1762. It is square in plan, with four arches on the ground floor … Continue reading →

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More Dragon Spouts: Schwäbische Hall

Posted on December 16, 2016 by

The Rathaus at Schwäbische Hall has some splendid dragon spouts (Fig. 1). The main channel is only half-round, with the top of the jaw completing it. It clarifies the ornamental ‘ears’. At Krakow there are both ‘ears’ and wings.  Here … Continue reading →

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The Scale of Schloss Luisium in the Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm

Posted on May 4, 2016 by

Looking at Montacute through the autumn leaves I was reminded of Schloss Luisium near Wörlitz. I have always like the way this little vertical building is tucked away in the woods. It struck me as a delightful miniature building, and … Continue reading →

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The Bridge on the River Kwai

Posted on March 27, 2016 by

I was reading an article about the 1974 V&A exhibition about the Destruction of the Country House. It cited a Guardian review of the time, to the effect that why should we care that the houses of wealthy (or once … Continue reading →

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On Dragon Spouts

Posted on March 21, 2016 by

I first noticed dragon spouts in Krakow, in the Wavel castle courtyard, and have kept an eye out for them since. You can just see them in the general view of this amazing courtyard, with it loggia supported on classical … Continue reading →

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On Elizabethan Windows

Posted on March 19, 2016 by

Elizabethan windows can for practical purposes be defined as windows, often in the form of a bay, divided into tall vertical strips by mullions, and normally crossed by a single horizontal mullion high up, so that the upper panels are … Continue reading →

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