181.—Staircase at the Charterhouse.
There was no end to the variety which the workmen imparted to the simple constructional features which were the groundwork of the design. The points which were always aimed at were breadth of way, ease of ascent, massive appearance, and very frequently richness of effect. The series of stout newels going up and up in a long procession, each crowned with a handsome finial or heraldic animal, alone is enough to lend stateliness to the staircase; and when these are supplemented with quaint balusters, or a row of arches, or, as in later days, with a carved foliated filling, beyond which is seen the highly ornamented string of the upper flight, the whole effect is particularly striking. As a rule the flights were short, from six to eight steps being considered enough between the various landings, but the number varied according to the height to be attained and the space at command.
These fine staircases were clearly made for show as well as use, because it not infrequently happens that having reached the first floor, which was their chief object, they sweep upwards with equal grandeur to the next, where there are only insignificant attics. The upper staircase, however, although it leads to no important room, would be in full view of those who came to the first floor; and it was on this floor that some rooms were placed which were the resort of all who were staying in the house—namely, the Great Chamber and the Long Gallery. The great chamber was, among princes and nobles, the presence chamber, where they received guests. It was the "Great Chamber of Estate." In smaller houses it answered much the same end as the drawing-room of the present day. Even so inconsiderable a person as Slender, who was a small squire, had a great chamber in his house, which he took care to mention casually in the course of his controversy with Falstaff as to the picking of his pocket.
Plate LXXIV.
STAIRCASE AT AUDLEY END, ESSEX.
The Long Gallery.
The Long Gallery is a feature peculiarly characteristic of the times of Elizabeth and James. Mention has already been made of this apartment, and of the fact that not a few houses were specially planned so as to obtain a gallery of great length. Some of them were extravagant in this respect, the length being as much as eight and ten times the width. At Buckhurst House the gallery was 254 feet long by 16 feet wide, at Ampthill 245 feet by 22 feet, but it is not quite certain that these were not divided into two lengths each. John Thorpe shows the gallery at Slaugham Place to be 200 feet by 27 feet, Audley End probably 190 feet by 27 feet, Holdenby 140 feet by 22 feet, Aston Hall 140 feet by 18 feet, Copthall 136 feet by 22 feet, Burghley 128 feet by 18 feet, and Wollaton 100 feet by 18 feet. Others, to which there are no names, are 200 feet by 20 feet, 150 feet by 25 feet, and 150 feet by 17 feet, besides many of 80 feet in length by widths varying from 10 feet to 21 feet. The purpose of such a long apartment has never been fully explained: it may have been for exercise; it may have had its origin from reasons of display or in imitation of royal palaces, where its use as an ante-room to the royal closet is easily understood; or it may have been merely a development in planning dictated by fashion, each person vying with his neighbour to obtain a long room. But, however this may be, no Elizabethan or Jacobean house of any size was without its long gallery, which was ornamented in the same way as the great chamber, the parlours, and the hall. The walls were either hung with tapestry or panelled, the ceiling was richly moulded, the fireplaces, of which there were two or three in the length, were large and elaborate. The porch of the house was often carried up to form a bay window in the middle of the length, and advantage was taken of other opportunities to break up the extreme length by projections at the side. It was almost always on the topmost floor, where space was of less importance for other purposes; but as many of the houses were only two storeys high, it was usually easy of access, and, of course, it was approached by one, or oftener two, of the principal staircases. The room at Haddon, now called the ballroom, is in reality the long gallery (Plate [LXXV].). It is 110 feet 6 inches long by 17 feet 4 inches wide, and its extreme length is broken along one side by three large projecting bays, the middle one of which, measuring 15 feet by 11 feet 6 inches, is itself large enough for a fair-sized room. The legend of the elopement of Dorothy Vernon from this "ballroom" is a modern invention which confuses the public mind in regard to the household arrangements of that period, for Dorothy's father, who greatly embellished Haddon, lived during the prevalence of the Late Tudor style, and had no such huge apartment: it was her husband who fashioned this long gallery in Elizabeth's time, and adorned it in the manner then prevalent. This may seem a small point to insist on, and to the general public no doubt it is; but to the student, whose imagination naturally clings to the picturesque legend, it is important to realize that the work in the "ballroom" was not done by Dorothy's father, who belonged to the Tudor era, but by her husband, who belonged to the Elizabethan. But leaving this point, it may be remarked that the gallery is panelled with unusual richness, and the ceiling is felt to be in harmony with the rest of the work, although the moulded rib is but small, and the pattern it makes is simple. It may also be noted that there is but one fireplace in the whole length of 110 feet, which must have been quite inadequate, according to modern ideas.
The gallery at Aston Hall (Plate [LXXVI].) is a fine example of its kind. The walls are panelled from the floor nearly up to the ceiling, only sufficient space being left above the woodwork for a plaster frieze. The panels have an arched enrichment in each of them, in accordance with the fashion prevalent in King James's time, and they are divided into bays by shallow pilasters, fluted above, and ornamented with imitation rustic work below. The ceiling is of great richness, and itself goes a long way towards "furnishing" the room. There is a row of windows down one side, and a large one at the end. The Hall is now used as a museum, and the rail, which occupies a conspicuous position in the illustration, serves to protect the articles exhibited.
Plate LXXV.