The Girl's Own Paper, Vol. XX. No. 1028, September 9, 1899

Vol. XX.—No. 1028.]
SEPTEMBER 9, 1899.
AT ARMINGHALL, NORFOLK.
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At the commencement of these papers we attempted to describe the growth of English villages and their origin as the surrounding adjuncts of the villa, or residence of the proprietor of the district, or lord of the soil. In Roman times this residence was called a villa; in Saxon and Norman times it became a castle, and after that important wave of civilisation which passed over this country in the 13th century, curtailing the power of the barons, it became “the manor house.” Now although the manor house of the 14th century was a less formidable building than the Norman castle, it was generally an important structure, and at times possessed considerable architectural beauty. Very few early manor houses are perfect now, or in any way complete, as they were nearly ruined, if not destroyed, during the “Wars of the Roses.” Sometimes, however, we may still trace fragments of them attached to modern cottages or houses. The finest fragment of the kind we know is to be seen at the little village of Arminghall, about ten miles from Norwich. A cottage or small farmhouse here possesses a doorway which is, perhaps, the finest example of domestic Gothic architecture in the country. It is improbable that it was originally intended to serve its present use as an entrance to a cottage porch, and the traditions of the place point to its having been a fragment of an ancient manor house, called by the people “The Old Hall.” Little or nothing seems to be known about it, and if it really did form a portion of some ancient mansion, with the solitary exception of this arch, everything else has disappeared. As will be seen from our sketch, it is a very elaborate work of remarkable design, and from its style there can be little doubt that it dates from the reign of Edward III. Between the mouldings which enclose the arch runs a broad band of carved foliage chiefly representing a vine, with lizards looking through the leaves. On either side of the arch are very elaborate niches in two ranges filled with statues of knights and ladies. Delicately-treated pinnacles and finials adorn these niches, and the whole work is remarkable for elegance and most finished workmanship, somewhat resembling the fragment of the hall of the bishop’s palace at Norwich. The inner doorway of the porch forms no portion of this beautiful work, as it is late Tudor, and the curious slabs over the doorway look like seventeenth century carvings. Now whether this magnificent doorway is a portion of some mansion which was completed at the same time, or whether no portion of the architectural scheme, except the doorway, was carried out, or, what is perhaps still more probable, whether after the work had been abandoned for centuries, it was again resumed, and carried out in a much plainer and less costly style, of which the inner doorway is the only existing portion, it is quite impossible to say. However the case may be, there can be no doubt that this cottage at Arminghall has the most beautiful doorway of a house in England. There is nothing whatever of interest in the cottage itself apart from its entrance.