FRENCH FARMHOUSES.
As it is the purpose of THE BROCHURE SERIES to cover as wide a field as possible in choice of subject matter for its illustrations, and at the same time hold rigidly to the idea of furnishing only what will be useful to its subscribers, it has seemed desirable to present something a little nearer our everyday life than the Italian work which has thus far formed the greater part of the plate matter.
The domestic architecture of France and England has naturally served as a model for a great deal of our American work, and especially is this noticeable during the present generation in the close relation between the French châteaux and the more pretentious American residences, as witness the recent productions of the late Mr. Hunt, which have just been published since his death. We are, to be sure, looking in all directions for suggestions, and it cannot help appearing wonderful to a thoughtful observer how many and varied these suggestions are.
Our wealthy citizens are building châteaux in the style of Francis I or of somebody else, Venetian or Florentine palaces, Roman villas, Flemish guild-halls, Elizabethan half-timber houses. All, if tastefully and skilfully designed and placed, have their special points of beauty and excellence, and all may in the hands of an architect of ability be made to harmonize with our modern ways of living and the surroundings in which they must take a part.
None of these models, however, are more adaptable to our ways than the country houses of France. This, of course, should not be understood as meaning that any of these buildings can be transplanted bodily to American soil and still be satisfactory. Architectural borrowing of this class is never satisfactory; but no architecture of which we have any knowledge is independent of precedent, and it only behooves us to adopt from the experience of others those features or ideas which are most suited to our needs. The plans and the original uses of the rooms of these French manoirs may not prove directly adaptable to our ways of living, but the general massing of the design and the rambling arrangement of plan, as well as the picturesqueness of it all, are characteristics which can well be embodied in our country houses. In their way, no better models can be found than the two manoirs from Normandy which we illustrate in this number. They have both suffered from the ravages of time and hard usage, and both are at present, and for a long time have been, used as farmhouses. The Manoir d'Ango is the finer and more important of the two, and is better preserved in some of its more interesting features.
It is one of the main beauties of the charming village of Varengeville-sur-Mer, on the north coast of Normandy. It is now converted into a farmhouse, but in it once a celebrated privateersman of Dieppe received the ambassadors of the King of Portugual. There are still many evidences of the former dignity and grandeur in its present degradation.
LXXIV. Ferme de Turpe, Normandy.
Ango was strictly a manoir in the French sense, that is, a residence of the second class—not a château, such as Chambord or Blois.
The principal part of the building consists of but one story with an open gallery beneath, supported by an arcade with columns bearing finely carved caps ornamented with female heads, angels, etc.
In the interior as well as on the exterior may be seen fragments of sculpture which show much refinement. In one of the rooms of the tower a monumental mantel carved in stone bears in its centre the bust of an old man having in his hand a globe surmounted by a cross, the imperial emblem. This may be the portrait of one of the founders of the Ango family.
LXXIII to LXXVI.
FERME DE TURPE, NORMANDY.
The Ferme de Turpe is situated near the town of Neuchatel-en-Bray, famous for its cheese. It has fewer interesting details than the Manoir d'Ango and is in even poorer repair, but in massing and general picturesque effect it offers many suggestions which can be utilized to advantage in our country houses.
Of these four views very little need be said. The charming picturesqueness of the two general views is sufficient excuse for presenting them, but they contain much more to the student of architecture who cares to look for it. The two detailed views give an excellent idea of the simple, straightforward methods of the builders.
LXXVII to LXXX.
MANOIR D'ANGO. NORMANDY.
This building was erected between the years 1530 and 1542. Its general design and especially its detail are of the François I type, and very beautifully executed, as will be seen from the larger scale details. The materials as indicated are stone and brick.
In Benoist's La Normandie Illustrie a remarkably interesting circular brick dove-cote is shown in the courtyard of this manoir, but it does not appear in any of our views, and may have been demolished since M. Benoist's sketches were made in 1852. Its walls were decorated with colored brick, laid in bands and diaper patterns.