Pargetting can be very bold in concept & execution, as seen in this example.

Pargetting is one of the less-common elements found in Tudor and Elizabethan buildings. Perhaps the inherent nature of exterior plasterwork and its comparative durability vs. brick, timber and stone makes this inevitable - but there are still existing examples to be found dating from the 16th and 17th centuries. New or old, it is always a delightful feature whenever it is found.

Any number of natural or stylized designs and motifs can be found in plaster.

The term Pargetting derives from the word 'parget', an old Middle English term that is probably derived from the ancient French 'pargeter' / 'parjeter', which means to to throw about, or 'porgeter'- to roughcast a wall. With the ‘wattle and daub’ method of construction (since pargetting is really best suitable for a lathed and timbered backing) the craft became an important and integral part of the building trade until bricks became more freely available. The term is more usually applied only to the decoration in relief of the plastering between the studwork on the outside of half-timber houses, or sometimes covering the whole wall.


In some cases, the pargetter would press the moulds of wet plaster (usually a mixture of slaked lime, sand, hair and the inevitable ‘secret ingredient’, known only to individual craftsmen) to the house exterior until it was fixed. In other examples, the ornate plasterwork is done in-situ totally freehand, in the still-wet lime render. In this case, the work is roughly outlined with a small trowel and then built up with the addition of hair in the lime plaster.

A particularly exuberant example of exterior pargetting.

The work is then brushed back into the wall to smooth it out and finally finished with a lime wash. Pargetting patterns came in a variety of forms including friezes (using ribbons of chevrons, scallops, fantails or dots); often there are overall frames enclosing motifs, geometrical or floral designs, and coats of arms. Occasionally devices were stamped on the wet plaster in varying degrees of relief, and work in the time of Elizabeth I of England will often represent figures, birds and foliage.

Today's craftsmen carry on an ages-old tradition. (Courtesy of The Pargetting Company)

Today, the Pargetter's art is kept alive by experienced craftsmen like Bill Sargent, based in Mid-Suffolk, who has been practicing pargetting and decorative plasterwork since the 1960's. Amongst the highest regarded pargetters in the country, Bill's work can be seen in Suffolk, Essex, Kent and Norfolk. He handles most all areas of Conservation Plasterwork and pargetting (also spelled pargeting) including conservation plastering for listed buildings, Lime washing, Lime plastering (mouldings etc.) Arches, Lime floors and Brick stone and slate work.

Note: This article was recently updated with new images, due to the fact that the original featured a gallery hosted on Jux.com, which was shut down a few years ago.

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The perfect thing to enjoy with your morning coffee can he found on Rosemary's Where Five Valleys Meet blog, where she shares a brief glimpse into some of the beautiful architecture to be found in the Cotswolds. Long known for its picturesque beauty, the region features many of England's finest stone houses, and one of the best -- Stanway - is featured here. I've always been particularly fond of the gatehouse, and there is a beautiful photo of that to accompany the post as well.

Owned by Tewkesbury Abbey for 800 years, then for 500 years by the Tracy family and their descendants, the Earls of Wemyss, Stanway House is currently the home of Lord and Lady Neidpath.  Thanks to its location, at the foot of the Cotswold escarpment, Stanway has been protected from many changes of the 20th century, but the last decade has seen the gradual restoration to its former glory of the 18th century watergarden, probably designed by the greatest of British landscape gardeners, Charles Bridgeman.

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The perfect thing to enjoy with your morning coffee can he found on Rosemary's Where Five Valleys Meet blog, where she shares a brief glimpse into some of the beautiful architecture to be found in the Cotswolds. Long known for its picturesque beauty, the region features many of England's finest stone houses, and one of the best -- Stanway - is featured here. I've always been particularly fond of the gatehouse, and there is a beautiful photo of that to accompany the post as well.


Owned by Tewkesbury Abbey for 800 years, then for 500 years by the Tracy family and their descendants, the Earls of Wemyss, Stanway House is currently the home of Lord and Lady Neidpath.  Thanks to its location, at the foot of the Cotswold escarpment, Stanway has been protected from many changes of the 20th century, but the last decade has seen the gradual restoration to its former glory of the 18th century watergarden, probably designed by the greatest of British landscape gardeners, Charles Bridgeman.

Musician Robert Hollingworth, best known for his directorial work with the brilliant ensemble I Fagiolini, has decided to set some of the most famous love poems ever written to contemporary music. Howevere, there is a twist: All the works will be performed on instruments popular at the time of Elizabeth I and her successor, King James.


Singers on the album will include folk star Eliza Carthy, and they are all backed by musicians playing replica instruments such as lutes, a type of 16-string cello called a lirone and a massive stringed instrument called a theorbo. Among the musicians involved in the project is drummer Geoff Dugmore, who dropped his rock and roll roots (having played with Rod Stewart and Tina Turner) to play renaissance drums on an album which has taken six months to record.

The arrangements on the album, which were developed by Hollingworth, have not changed any of Shakespeare's words but have repeated some lines and moved others. The sonnets include 154 poems, and were first published in 1609, just a few years before Shakespeare's death.

The album, called The Sonnets, set to be released on April 23 -- Shakespeare's birthday. Mr Hollingworth says he thinks the venture would have a certain "curiosity value" but expect it to be liked by everyone from pop music fans to poetry-lovers.

Musician Robert Hollingworth, best known for his directorial work with the brilliant ensemble I Fagiolini, has decided to set some of the most famous love poems ever written to contemporary music. Howevere, there is a twist: All the works will be performed on instruments popular at the time of Elizabeth I and her successor, King James.


Singers on the album will include folk star Eliza Carthy, and they are all backed by musicians playing replica instruments such as lutes, a type of 16-string cello called a lirone and a massive stringed instrument called a theorbo. Among the musicians involved in the project is drummer Geoff Dugmore, who dropped his rock and roll roots (having played with Rod Stewart and Tina Turner) to play renaissance drums on an album which has taken six months to record.

The arrangements on the album, which were developed by Hollingworth, have not changed any of Shakespeare's words but have repeated some lines and moved others. The sonnets include 154 poems, and were first published in 1609, just a few years before Shakespeare's death.

The album, called The Sonnets, set to be released on April 23 -- Shakespeare's birthday. Mr Hollingworth says he thinks the venture would have a certain "curiosity value" but expect it to be liked by everyone from pop music fans to poetry-lovers.

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As part of it's ongoing series of 360-degree views of outstanding architecure, The Guardian/Observer features the work of Rowan Moore, who introduces a spectacular interactive 360-degree panoramic view of this classic example of the Jacobean long gallery.
CLICK HERE OR ON THE PHOTO TO VIEW THE 360-PANORAMA.


The Guardian/Observer describes it thus:
"A smallish but satisfying example is in Chastleton House in the Cotswolds, built by a rich wool merchant (or possibly lawyer), whose family later dissipated his wealth and so were unable to alter the original building. Nikolaus Pevsner called the decoration of Chastleton "blatantly nouveau riche, even barbaric, uninhibited by any consideration of insipid good taste", but it now it looks gentle and charming, softened by wobbles in wood and plaster and the fall of light. It is also more bare than it would have been, in the absence of its original artworks and tapestries."

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As part of it's ongoing series of 360-degree views of outstanding architecure, The Guardian/Observer features the work of Rowan Moore, who introduces a spectacular interactive 360-degree panoramic view of this classic example of the Jacobean long gallery.
CLICK HERE OR ON THE PHOTO TO VIEW THE 360-PANORAMA.


The Guardian/Observer describes it thus:
"A smallish but satisfying example is in Chastleton House in the Cotswolds, built by a rich wool merchant (or possibly lawyer), whose family later dissipated his wealth and so were unable to alter the original building. Nikolaus Pevsner called the decoration of Chastleton "blatantly nouveau riche, even barbaric, uninhibited by any consideration of insipid good taste", but it now it looks gentle and charming, softened by wobbles in wood and plaster and the fall of light. It is also more bare than it would have been, in the absence of its original artworks and tapestries."

The Long Gallery at Haddon Hall.

In practical terms, a Long Gallery was a type of room popular in great Elizabethan or Jacobean houses of the prodigy type, sometimes the width of a façade, as at Hatfield House, (1607–11), and Hardwick Hall, (1590–7). Usually well lit by means of large, lavish windows and sumptuously appointed with chimney-surrounds, panelling, and finely-moulded ceilings, it was an extrordinary environment for the times, primarily devoted to hanging tapestries and portraits, entertainment, games and even excercise in bad weather. It was chiefly during this period that the long gallery became the primary reception room in many great houses.
When we chose The Long Gallery as the name of our website, we were really looking at it as a metaphor. The long gallery of an Elizabethan house was used as a place of delight, and as a place for prominently displaying art and other valued objects so that the owner might take joy in them and show them off to others. In essence, it was a special place, created to feature and highlight all that was especially fine, interesting, or worthy of comment and observation.

Our website was developed to fulfill much the same role. Whether it is Medieval, Elizabethan, Jacobean, or Victorian Revival architecture, style, art, or design (or relevant history) - we seek to bring you the best examples from the past and the present. Whether you're protecting and preserving a building of this type, trying to recreate the feeling of the period in your home, or incorporating something of this period into your lifestyle, we want to be a resource for you. We hope you'll visit us often and walk through our Long Gallery to see what we have found.

In this post, we wanted to share some photographic examples of various long galleries that we have come across. We hope you will enjoy them. If you have any examples you would like to share with us, please send them along to us.

MS

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In practical terms, a Long Gallery was a type of room popular in great Elizabethan or Jacobean houses of the prodigy type, sometimes the width of a façade, as at Hatfield House, (1607–11), and Hardwick Hall, (1590–7). Usually well lit by means of large, lavish windows and sumptuously appointed with chimney-surrounds, panelling, and finely-moulded ceilings, it was an extrordinary environment for the times, primarily devoted to hanging tapestries and portraits, entertainment, games and even excercise in bad weather. It was chiefly during this period that the long gallery became the primary reception room in many great houses.


When we chose The Long Gallery as the name of our website, we were really looking at it as a metaphor. The long gallery of an Elizabethan house was used as a place of delight, and as a place for prominently displaying art and other valued objects so that the owner might take joy in them and show them off to others. In essence, it was a special place, created to feature and highlight all that was especially fine, interesting, or worthy of comment and observation.


Our website was developed to fulfill much the same role. Whether it is Medieval, Elizabethan, Jacobean, or Victorian Revival architecture, style, art, or design (or relevant history) - we seek to bring you the best examples from the past and the present. Whether you're protecting and preserving a building of this type, trying to recreate the feeling of the period in your home, or incorporating something of this period into your lifestyle, we want to be a resource for you. We hope you'll visit us often and walk through our Long Gallery to see what we have found.

In this post, we wanted to share some photographic examples of various long galleries that we have come across. We hope you will enjoy them. If you have any examples you would like to share with us, please send them along to us.

MS

Condover Hall, near Shrewsbury, is set to become a center for learning next year. The historic property was recently purchased adventure course provider JCA. Previously owned by Priory Education Services, the house was run as a school for young people with autism. That firm decided to sell the four-storey property due to mounting maintenance costs; it's been on the market for just over a year.

Happily, about 60 jobs will be created as a result of the project. The hall will also be available for use as a conference destination, featuring a movie theater, swimming pool, sports hall, computer center and multiple meeting rooms.

The widely reported need for repairs at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon has gained much interest, and reports of new donations are continuing to come in. The main supporting beam of the chancel - the section of the church containing both the altar and Shakespeare’s burial site -needs significant repair work, after the beam’s deterioration was discovered three weeks ago by workmen on the roof.


On October 20th, a group of 34 American travel agents visited Shakespeare Country to hand over a $200 donation towards the repair of the church roof. The donation had been raised by the Anne Hudgins Shakespeare Class, a group of members who have been reading Shakespeare's works since the group formed in 1931. Members of the group had read in their local paper about the campaign to repair Shakespeare's Church roof and decided to raise money which they could hand over during their visit.

Paull Tickner of Paull Tickner and Associates who had organized the visit, explained, “I’ve brought these very experienced American travel agents for a three night experience of Shakespeare Country so they can discover how the area makes a perfect base for group tours with an interest in gardens, the visual and the performing arts."

The Times Online recently highlighted Franks Hall, an imposing Elizabethan manor house in Kent, which was a family home for centuries before it was converted into business offices in 1980. After the last resident left, the house and outbuildings were turned into a grand office space for a publishing company. The house, in Horton Kirby, currently serves as the headquarters for an office supply firm. Today, grand rooms like the Queen’s Bedroom — reputedly once the guestroom for Elizabeth I — is a showroom for high tech fax and printing equipment.


In today's economy, however, it isn't easy to justify the extra expense of having such grand company headquarters. The agent, Knight Frank, believes it is likely that the next buyer of the £5.5 million estate will restore Franks Hall as a great family home. The principal house consists of 15,000sq ft of pure Elizabethan heritage, with Tudor ceiling roses, carved stone fireplaces, and elaborately wood panelled rooms.

“Decoratively, the house is in great shape,” says agent Edward Rook, of Knight-Frank. “It just needs to be updated.”

A British theater company has announced plans to rebuild an Elizabethan playhouse using the set from hit film "Shakespeare in Love," which won seven Oscars, including best picture. The oak-timbered stage set, which was modeled on London's 16th-century Rose Theatre, was donated to the British Shakespeare Company by Judi Dench, who won an Academy Award for playing Queen Elizabeth I in the 1998 romantic comedy. The full-size replica theater was given to Dench by the filmmakers and is currently dismantled in storage.


British Shakespeare Company artistic director Robert Williamson said the actress had recently decided to donate it to the troupe for a permanent base in northern England. He added that he imagined the venue would serve as "a living history center," offering not only live performances but also a display of costumes from the film, which starred Joseph Fiennes as the playwright and Gwyneth Paltrow as his lover.


The original Rose Theater was built in 1587 on the south bank of the Thames, featuring a popular repertoire of works including plays by William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe. The British Shakespeare Company, which has been performing open-air productions of Shakespeare around the UK, is studying proposed theater locations in the northern English cities of Sheffield, Manchester and York. A charitable trust has also been created to manage the project.