THE GEORGIAN SOCIETY

FOR EAST

PRESIDENT: Sir Richard Sykes Bt., D.L., J.P. Hon. Sec. Colonel R. A. Alec-Smith, D.L.,J.P. ISSUE No. 1 Edited by Captain A. J. C. Hildyard.

John Carr of ~ Architect 1723 -1807 by FRANCIS F. JOHNSON F.S.A. The recent exhibition in the ing illustrated with a number of to Lairgate Hall, Beverley; devoted to Carr's other major works in the Grimston Garth and the Stables John Carr has not only done Vitruvius Brittanicus. In York at Winestead. Fangfoss Hall is timely honour, but focused at- itself his own house in probably his, and so are the tention on his important and Skelder-gate (1765) was rebuilding of Boynton Church fascinating career. Unlike many destroyed a number of years ago and alterations to the Hall there. figures of the past, Carr's reputa- but several others of importance His interiors and other features tion has never fallen into com- remain, and such public at Kilnwick were destroyed when plete oblivion; however, although buildings as the Assize Courts, that house was sacrificed. He may many have written about him, female prison (now Castle have supplied the plans for the we still await a definitive bio- Museum and Bootham Park fascinating pied-a-terre by the graphy. Hospital. All these buildings are sea known once as Hilderthorpe Born in 1723 at near robust in character and display Hall (Flat Top Farm) at Bridling- , the son of a modest Carr's uncluttered straightforward ton. This was recently bull-dozed stone mason and quarry owner, classicism. Like most architects, to the ground and nothing saved he had a somewhat meagre educa- Carr borrowed from various so far as is known. tion, but his basic training in sources, but his synthesis is his Unlike Wood, who moved to Bust of John Carr by Nollekens building skills was thorough go- own. In a number of details he Bath, or William Kent and (By kind permission of City Art ing and excellent. His ability, in- worked out what was virtually a Thomas Ripley who both went to Gallery. York and the Courtauld telligence and agreeable character formula, seen prominently in London, John Carr remained Institute of Art). ensured the rest. door-steads and certain interior firmly in the old Northern metro- Carr's grasp of the Neo-classic In 1748 he had the good for- features. polis of York, which was not idiom reaches its ultimate in the tune to be employed by Stephen Despite this there is a goodly only strategic, but also provided wonderfully elegant and refined Thompson the Banker, as over- measure of variety in his work. him with a reserve of superb interiors. seer for the building of his new When given his head, Carr was a craftsmen whom he employed John Carr was highly com- house, Kirby Hall, Great sensible and functional planner. consistently. Despite this pro- petent, industrious, fearless in his Ouseburn. Here, the greater part His staircases are good, and those vincial setting, his fame spread dealings, and forthright with his of the designing was done by made of stone or marble show far from his native county, and advice. No shadows on his Lord Burlington, aided by Roger considerable variety in shape, and possibly through his character have come down to us. Morris, both of them figures of their finely detailed iron balus- Thompson-Croft connections We know little about his married paramount importance in the trades. They are usually lighted (pointed out by Captain Hildyard) life, and one would imagine that world of Architecture at that from the top by an eye or he was invited to design a in such a busy orbit as his, there time. Burlington who took his clerestory windows. His wooden hospital in Oporto, which still could be little time for the arts title from Bridlington was a per- staircases mostly follow a rectan- stands. In Ireland he was of home. He was a Magistrate, sonality of European significance gular formula based on masonry responsible for Milton House for and twice Lord Mayor of York, widely known and appreciated forms, and are notable for their Lord Fitz-william, and at When the Architects' club was in France and elsewhere. Their daring carpentry. Touches of real Basildon in Berkshire, a new formed in London, he was the influence on John Carr can be genius appear in such things as mansion for Sir Francis Sykes. only provincial architect who was seen right through his working the grand staircase at Wentworth There are a number of houses invited to join. Many of his life. His classical buildings, lucid Woodhouse, the Saloon at west of the Pennines including commissions were princely, and and clean, are always basically Ribston, the hexagonal Dining the splendid Tabley Hall, Platt in those days there was little to Palladian. Room at Grimston Garth or the Hall and Lytham. Important prevent the architect, or his The competition in 1754 for Hall at Raby. (The last two are work was carried out in family, from contracting for parts the Grand Stand on the Gothic). The Ribston interior , of the building. His short retire- Knaves-mire at York also marks a displays in its splendour the and County Durham, and nearer ment was spent on tours, visiting further stage in his career. He was result of Carr's contact with home there were such houses as his former works with his nieces, fortunate again in winning this, , who did the in- Heath, Harewood and Burton who benefited greatly after his and the fame it brought in its train terior decoration at Harewood Constable. The full list is a very death, as he had become, de- launched him on his fashionable where Carr himself designed both long one. servedly, very wealthy. His body practice. the house and the beautiful Towards the close of his pro- was laid to rest in the beautiful The list of his public works village. fessional life came Farnley Hall church which he designed and includes the Town Halls of In the East Riding, we have near Leeds, with its severely built, at his own expense, in his Chesterfield and Newark, the not many of John Carr's im- simple exterior, the main feature native Horbury; a fitting mauso- latter a very distinguished build- portant works, but the best are of which is one of Carr's favourite leum for a great man. Everingham Park; the wing added octangular bays. Inside this house The Restoration of tion was the solution of the iment meanwhile being tempor- stability of the north facing wall. arily shored up. These columns Formerly Blaydes House had a have been carefully repaired and and it’s Particular Problems By ALAN K. BRAY R.l.B.A. neighbour building, built up are at present being made ready shoulder to shoulder on its north for refitting into the repaired side. Possibly, over the years, it portico, thus restoring former had had other neighbours, de- glory. molished and rebuilt but event- A man may consider that if he ually events conspired that the owns a building, he is entitled to property to the north was pulled alter it according to his wishes. down and was not to be rebuilt, Certainly this happened in the and Blaydes House was left with case of Blaydes House. On the an open wound. Some of the ground and first floor the graceful brickwork from the adjoining Georgian box frames and sashes property was temporarily left to were removed and new round provide the support which headed openings to Victorian Blaydes House had had so long taste made. The results seem that it had become used to it and eccentric to the onlooker today relied on it — the more so as its but were no doubt pleasing to the own gable wall was a pitiful 4'/1" then owner. Little did he know thick from ground to apex. With that one day his building would great care the temporary supports be acquired by the Georgian were removed, a new foundation Society, and these follies made and the old wall thickened removed. Already the windows on out and knitted in to the old one side of the frontage have been with metal anchors and ties, and so restored and a start made on using a supply of bricks which those on the other side. had been acquired from demoli- There remains much more to BEFORE RESTORA TION tion of a building further down do. Facing the Staithe to the the High Street, that of the old south are areas of decayed brick- Many buildings, during their lifetime, sometimes extending through Weights & Measures Office south work to be rebuilt and decayed hundreds of years, survive a variety of changes. These might be of Alfred Gelder Street. joinery to renew. In improving changes of use, structural alterations and additions, improvements Acquisition of these bricks had weather the whole roof is to be (or so considered by their owners) repair works resulting in some thoroughly overhauled, layers of change in appearance, changes in the external environment by been no light matter. Careful development of the area around, repercussions of social events, strikes, wars and fires, alteration in social customs, growth of trees, repercussions from traffic growth, and dilapidation, wear and tear. A great many men and events have influenced Blaydes House over the years, some dealing it not mortal blows but certainly deep injury. Some influences have persisted. Blaydes House has always been a town house, and in particular a house concerned with the sea trade of the . Above all, the influence of the original designer has not been lost - - though only saved by determination on the part of your Society. The outset of the rescuing operations, for it was indeed a rescue, had to be preceded by a complex series of liaisons with the various interested Authorities and responsible bodies in connection with legal procedures, with the Historic Buildings Council and within the Society and its Executive Committee, and the Trustees, with grants, with permissions, with conveyances, with all the paperwork surrounding operations connected with building in the nineteen seventies - rather more than in the eighteenth century. Problems of Conservation. First it is important to arrest the ravages of decay, to make secure, and to make wind and weatherproof. These are first priority measures, but such are no more than first aid. Next we must look a little further into the future and consider how long 18th CENTURY VIEW these measures will last and to what extent first aid should be ex- tended into more structural repair, perhaps involving not just ex- measurements had been taken to encrusted yellow and brown paint ternals but the bones as well. But the aim is not to produce a establish their suitability for cor- to be removed from a fine stair- building exactly as it existed when first built - if that, then easier to rect coursing, correct appearance case, the fine staircase Venetian pull down and reproduce in new material, like a reproduction and correct period. window to restore, flooring to antique. The word is conserve. If overhaul and protect against rot a stone cill is worn, then no The Portico and beetle, and a host of minor matter, but if it is cracked then The entrance porch of Blaydes works to attend to. the crack must be cut out and House, a Doric portico, is one of This is slow work, yet not so sealed to prevent further deterior- the finest in the area, but al- slow that the occasional passerby ation. If this cannot be done, though this portico survived Vic- cannot readily perceive progress only then must a new cill be torian attentions and later wars and already though the work considered. If the crack can be and bombs, and fire, it was fin- was started in September, 1973, successfully made good then this ally dealt a serious blow by a the view from the north is is a better result than heavy lorry in 1969 which damaged its already seemly and the house handed and needless replacement; fine Doric columns. These were taking on again its Georgian a piece of history will have been hastily removed at the time by dignity and air of well being, a preserved. arrangement of the Georgian vast change from the cowed and Society and placed in safekeeping hopeless appearance it presented The most immediate and pressing until the time came for compre- immediately before the work AFTER RESTORATION problem of the repair opera- hensive building repairs, the ped- commenced. THE BLAYDES FAMILY AND The Restoration of the Wrought Iron Balustrade of THEIR HOUSE IN THE HIGH STREET, MAISTER HOUSE . The High Street, Kingston upon Hull By by Col. R. A. ALEC-SMITH Blaydes House (No.6 High Street, Hull), which had probably belonged to the family for several generations took its present form in the mid-18th century in the time of Alderman Benjamin Blaydes, whose monogram appears in stucco on the hall ceilings, (see the illustration of this in the Society's Transactions, Vol.111, Part 111, 1954, fig. 12). The Alderman served the office of Sheriff of Hull in 1768, and that of Mayor in 1771 and 1788. Benjamin was very much a family name of the Blaydes and at least three members of this name served the usual civic offices in the 18th and early 19th centuries, whilst Joseph Blaides (sic.) was Mayor in 1636. This Joseph is said to have married Anne Booth, of Killingholme, and it was their son, James Blaydes who married Andrew Marvell's sister, Anne. It is from James that the merchant line in Hull descended. The business partnership with which Alderman Benjamin Blaydes was associated was that of Messrs. Blaydes, Loft, Gee and Company, shipowners and general merchants. BEFORE RESTORA TION Thomas Haworth, a progenitor of the Haworth-Booth family of Hullbank ALAN K. BRAY R.I.B.A. ough paint treatment. married in 1713 Mary Blaydes, a daughter and co-heiress of an earlier The main balustrade however, In early 1971 it was decided very carefully and covered the required very extensive repair and Benjamin Blaydes, possibly the by the National Trust that the lowest 11 units and enabled a Benjamin who was Sheriff in 1702. this involved careful removal of wrought iron balustrade at more accurate assessment of the the units to the Contractor's work At the Hullbank sale in 1936 a number remedial work required. Subse- of Blaydes family portraits were sold, Maister House was in need of place and re-erection on com- including a full-length of Mary, as a comprehensive repair and quently, prices for the restora- pletion, including also the re- child in a pink dress, and another of redecoration. tion work required to the iron- moval and afterwards re-fixing her brother, Joseph - a full length This fine ironwork by work were obtained from Con- of the wood handrail, very showing the boy in blue coat and Bakewell, after 227 years of tractors having the necessary thorough paint protection of all breeches, with red stockings and service appeared at a first glance specialist experience, based on a buckled shoes, standing in a land- the metalwork against corrosion still in reasonable condition. specification of the work required and final decoration and gilding. scape. The former is now in the Close inspection revealed that and eventually a tender agreed possession of Mr. Adrian It is of interest to note that while the basic structure re- and a firm of Contractors careful paint stripping revealed Haworth-Booth in Surrey, and the appointed. latter at The Old Rectory, mained sound, the more de- that the original colour of the Winestead. corative portion with slender leaf The balustrade around the balustrade was white, than later Another line of the Blaydes, now and foliage shapes, and cover gallery at second floor level is it was peacock blue, then red represented by the family of and joint ornament, was in a also of wrought iron construction and gilded and after that black Page-Turner of Ambrosden, serious state of disrepair. Wear but due to its much simpler on a number of occasions. Oxfordshire, were described as of High and tear over the years had design (that is to say without fine All the work is now complete Paull House in Holderness (this later resulted in dilapidation which if ornament or slender shapes) and and the balustrade can be seen belonged to Alderman Anthony not halted, would have lead to also due to its isolation, had Bannister, and was demolished against a background of walls more general decay. received much less wear and did freshly redecorated. many years ago, though one of its not require any remedial work lodges still stands) and of Ranby Hall In the 38 decorated baluster in Nottinghamshire. units forming the balustrading of other than stripping and thor- The Blaydes bore for Arms, Azure the ground to first floor stairway a saltire between four pheons argent and first floor landing, a leaf on a chief or a lion passant gules, with motif appears on each side of the motto Pro Deo rege et patria. each unit, that is 76 in all, and These arms differenced are borne out of these, 30 leaves were also by Lord Ebbisham, whose father missing, and of the remainder formerly Sir Rowland Blades, of the some were loose, some damaged well-known printers, Blades, East and and a few only in reasonably Blades, was Lord Mayor of London in 1926-27, and was raised to the peerage original form. All the applied in 1928. decoration could be said to have been in need of repair in this ************************** ratio. To some extent the precise In 1971, condition of the ironwork was Messrs. Gilyott and Scott heavily disguised by paint coat- very generously presented ings applied over the years, and Blaydes House it was decided to strip the paint to the Georgian coats from a number of baluster Society of East Yorkshire. units in order more closely to ascertain the true condition of AFTER RESTORATION ************************** the ironwork, and this was done FENESTRATION 1660-1830 by FRANCIS F. JOHNSON F.S.A.

This is a brief account of a PART 1 unless the arrangement was an feature which was of great im- alteration. In numerous houses portance in Georgian Architect- forerunners, when three or four Sir John Vanbrugh, and others of an older date this has been ure. At the time of writing, lights were common, and any- of his school, often used a square done, and at the same time the windows have come to consist thing up to ten possible. A very patera either carved or plain to sashes which had to be renewed of limitless plate glass, or their fine example of this late Stuart cover the meeting. Not only was due to the increased width of conception in smaller units, is fenestration can be seen at the sliding sash a success archit- the wooden frame, were made based on the appearance of mov- Hebblethwaite House, Bridling- ecturally but it has always been in the newer more delicate ing vehicles such as buses. The ton, now the Midland Bank in one of the best windows for fashion with fewer panes of glass. less schematic their arrangement, Westgate (fig. 1). keeping out driving rain and also The result of this alteration the better. This anarchy of de- With William and Mary, the for ventilation. The openings architecturally in a house of the sign due to modern technical Dutch vertical sliding sash win- containing the windows were time of Anne or the early advances is in direct contradiction dow with counter weights made usually arched over with beauti- Georges can be disappointing to the approach of the Classical its appearance here, and was fully rubbed brickwork, or simple -though not always. masters and the infinite care and something of a revolution, (fig.2) lintols in the stone districts. The close grouping of the subtlety they devoted to the It was completely successful and The great fire of London in early sash windows in the Dutch shapes, details and arrangement by the early 18th Century had 1666 brought about stringent fashion was radically changed by of their windows. taken the building world by building regulations in the City. the revival of Palladianism, here The general proportions of storm. Made of wood, it was One of these was the recessing the Italian climate, in which this the classical window came to us style was cradled, had dictated in this country with such archi- more wall than window to avoid tects as Inigo Jones, and through the entry of excess heat and the study of published works glare. This point was not without such as the treatises of Serlio, some significance in our northern Palladio and Scamozzi. Despite climate where cold equally needs the Baroque intervention served exclusion. "more by architects like Sir Christopher window than wall", was unin- Wren, Thomas Archer, Nicholas habitable in an English winter. Hawksmoor, Sir John Vanbrugh An early result of the Italian and others, the accepted system point of view can be seen in of proportions seems to have rather exaggerated form at been crystallised by the second Clandon where the architect decade of the 18th Century when Giocomo Leoni has definitely Palladianism was coming to the under-windowed the house where fore, thanks to Colin Campbell's the interests of light are con- publication Vitruvius Brittanicus' cerned. A good balance was and the influence of the 3rd Earl eventually reached by our native of Burlington (Bridlington). architects and the greater pre- The windows themselves were ponderance of wall did provide to some extent standardised but the buildings with a quality of it is astonishing how much variety repose and serenity. and subtlety was possible within The British Palladians may the accepted canons. Proportions have been castigated as puritan- carefully worked out by the ical and uninspired, but they theoretitions such as Sir William were perfectionists. At its worst Chambers, were often subjected their work is acceptable, and at to empirical treatment to fit in its best has a dignity, simple with practical considerations, and beauty and sweetness of character in this connection not infrequent- which is unequalled. Windows ly, the blind window was utilised could be perfectly plain relying to preserve form and pattern in entirely on proportions or they an elevation. These blind win- could be embellished with archi- dows are rarely the result of the traves (fig.5) friezes and cornices window tax, since in most in- (fig.6) or consoles and pediments stances the owners of a good (fig.7). The last were either tri house were quite able to pay angular or segmental (fig.7A). this without embarrassment. Windows dressed in this fashion During the ages of Inigo Jones could be used for central em- and Wren the traditional method phasis, or on buildings of greater of glazing inherited from the perhaps the most logical infilling importance in rows, often altern- Middle Ages was continued. The of a classically proportioned win- of the frames of the new sash ated. The broken pediment as a small panes of glass or quarries dow yet invented. The lead cames windows 4W from the outer setting for a cartouche, busto, or were contained in lead cames as disappeared and wooden glazing face of the wall. This recession urn, which was beloved of the before but instead of being ar- bars now took their place with though not practiced generally earlier Baroque school, was ranged diagonally, lattice fashion, correspondingly larger panes of in the country, due to the wish relegated to the interior and the quarries were rectangular glass. The employment of this to provide shutters in the thick- treated with their long axes vertical. simple wooden grillage was highly ness of the wall, did lead to the logically as a more fanciful These leaded lights were con- successful aesthetically, usually later habit of completely recess- decorative form. Occasionally tained more usually now within resulting in windows three to five ing and hiding the sash boxings, windows had pilasters and applied painted wooden mullions and panes wide, three panes being whereby a much increased area columns but these are only found transoms than in stone, and were generally the most satisfactory. of glazing was obtained and in the richest and most important in a great majority of instances The glazing bars were moulded architecturally an effect of crisp compositions. There is an in composed as units of two lights inside and were usually 2" thick. refinement (fig. 3). In London finite variety to be found in the in contrast to their Elizabethan At the intersections of the bars, the reveals were usually plastered decorative detail of these win- the mouldings were mitred, but and painted, but not elsewhere dows. (To be concluded) Printed by Fretwells