Illustration [419] shows another mantel in Manor Hall of a less ornate type, very dignified and fine with its simple pilasters and the smaller ones at the sides of the panel. The cornice over the doors is one that was used often in fine houses. These doorways and mantels are restored, but the greater part was intact or simply out of repair. Illustration [420] shows the beautiful panelled arch to the doorway, and the stairs in Independence Hall in Philadelphia, with a glimpse of the frame of the window upon the landing.
Illus. 421.—Stairs at “Graeme Park,” Horsham.
The balusters are plain and substantial, with a mahogany rail, and the rise of the stairs is very gradual. The thickness of the wall allows wide panels in the inside of the arch, and the doorway and the pillars at the side are of imposing height.
Illus. 422.—Mantel and Doorways, Graeme Park.
Illustration [421] shows the stairway at “Graeme Park,” the house built in 1722 by Sir William Keith, Governor of Penn’s Colony, at Horsham, Pennsylvania. The place is named from Dr. Graeme, who married the step-daughter of Gov. Keith, and occupied the house after 1727. Gov. Keith lived here in great style, with a large household, as his inventory implies, with “60 bedsteads, 144 chairs, 32 tables and 15 looking-glasses.” The discrepancy between the number of bedsteads and looking-glasses is accounted for by the price of glass, and the probability that many of the sixty occupants of the bedsteads were servants or slaves, whose toilet was not important, and who did not live in the mansion, but in the outbuildings around it. The house was built in accordance with the manner of life of the Governor, and contained large rooms, handsomely panelled and finished in oak, unpainted. The stairs in Illustration [421] are all of oak, stairs, balusters, and rail, and are of an entirely different style from the twisted balusters and newels of the northern seaport towns, but of a solidity and simplicity that is attractive.
Illustration [422] shows the side wall of a chamber at Graeme Park, also of oak. The fireplace is surrounded by tiles, and the chimney-piece is panelled above, but there is no shelf. The doorways at each side of the mantel are charming, with the arch above and the semicircular window. The old hinges and latches are still upon the doors.
The doorway in Illustration [423] is from the Chase house in Annapolis, Maryland, and is in a room with several doors and windows, all with their deeply carved frames, painted white, with solid mahogany doors, and hinges and latches of silver. The heavy wooden inside shutters have large rosettes carved upon them, and the effect of all this carving is extremely rich. The Chase house was built in 1769, by Samuel Chase, afterwards a Signer of the Declaration of Independence, and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.