From the Thorpe Collection.
It is probably Beaufort House, Chelsea.
101. Beaufort House, Chelsea, Kip’s View.
102. Ground Plan (unnamed).
From the Thorpe Collection.
The next plan is of the
type, which was widely employed at this period (Fig. 102). Without entering into minute detail it will suffice to draw attention to the maintenance of the time-honoured position of the hall between the family rooms and the servants’ quarters; to the provision of a winter parlour near the kitchen; to the strict symmetry of the general plan, and to the many windows, arranged not only to give light to the rooms, but also by their ordered disposition to impart a distinctive character to the appearance of the building. To such an extent is this symmetrical treatment carried, that in the “lodging” near the winter parlour, two of the window’s are crippled by the fireplace, with the result that they become in part shams. This is a striking testimony to the change which was coming over house design. Hitherto windows had been provided for the sake of light within; now they are regarded as means of obtaining effect without. The other characteristic features to be observed are the balustraded terraces on the front and back; the arcades on either side of the porch; and the court at the back with a fountain placed on each side of the central paved walk. There is no elevation corresponding to this plan, but the general effect of the front may be gathered from a view of old Somerset House in the Strand, although this is on a rather more important scale (Fig. 103). Here also is a central porch flanked by arcades which stop against square projecting windows in the corner of the courtyard.