Cound Hall
Encyclopedia
Cound Hall, in Cound
, Shropshire
, England, is a Grade I listed building. It is a large vernacular Baroque
house, with a basement and two storeys of tall slender windows topped by a half-storey, built of red brick with stone dressings. The house was built in 1703-04 for Edward Cressett by John Prince of Shrewsbury
.
Cound Hall is a prime example of the rendering of the English Baroque
manner in a deeply countrified setting in the Welsh Marches
, showing some reflection of the work of Francis Smith of Warwick. The west and east facade
s are very similar but not quite identical. The house is made notable for its giant order of stop-fluted Corinthian
pilaster
s with richly carved capitals
, which Colvin found "ambitious but inept" and suggested that the inspiration was the King William block at Greenwich Hospital, designed by Christopher Wren
. The East front also has a pediment
, which breaks back in its centre; it is decorated with abaci
and fragments of entablature
above pilasters that stand on rusticated
bases.
The piece de resistance of the house is arguably the staircase, a fascinating alteration which can be dated to the late 18th century. The concept of the staircase was to gain more room where the original staircase had been whilst giving more perceived spaciousness. The staircase has a delicate metal handrail and runs through both storeys along three sides of an open well. The clever structure of the staircase is that it is not attached along the back wall of the hall but leaves a space there and flies upward independently of the back wall. The staircase rests on two beautiful fluted columns. There is light Neo-Elizabethan
plaster work on the underside of the staircase.
Cound
Cound is a village and civil parish on the west bank of the River Severn in the English county of Shropshire, 6.7 miles south east of the county town Shrewsbury...
, Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
, England, is a Grade I listed building. It is a large vernacular Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
house, with a basement and two storeys of tall slender windows topped by a half-storey, built of red brick with stone dressings. The house was built in 1703-04 for Edward Cressett by John Prince of Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
.
Cound Hall is a prime example of the rendering of the English Baroque
English Baroque
English Baroque is a term sometimes used to refer to the developments in English architecture that were parallel to the evolution of Baroque architecture in continental Europe between the Great Fire of London and the Treaty of Utrecht ....
manner in a deeply countrified setting in the Welsh Marches
Welsh Marches
The Welsh Marches is a term which, in modern usage, denotes an imprecisely defined area along and around the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods...
, showing some reflection of the work of Francis Smith of Warwick. The west and east facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
s are very similar but not quite identical. The house is made notable for its giant order of stop-fluted Corinthian
Corinthian order
The Corinthian order is one of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric and Ionic. When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to the canon, the Tuscan order and the Composite order...
pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s with richly carved capitals
Capital (architecture)
In architecture the capital forms the topmost member of a column . It mediates between the column and the load thrusting down upon it, broadening the area of the column's supporting surface...
, which Colvin found "ambitious but inept" and suggested that the inspiration was the King William block at Greenwich Hospital, designed by Christopher Wren
Christopher Wren
Sir Christopher Wren FRS is one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history.He used to be accorded responsibility for rebuilding 51 churches in the City of London after the Great Fire in 1666, including his masterpiece, St. Paul's Cathedral, on Ludgate Hill, completed in 1710...
. The East front also has a pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
, which breaks back in its centre; it is decorated with abaci
Abacus
The abacus, also called a counting frame, is a calculating tool used primarily in parts of Asia for performing arithmetic processes. Today, abaci are often constructed as a bamboo frame with beads sliding on wires, but originally they were beans or stones moved in grooves in sand or on tablets of...
and fragments of entablature
Entablature
An entablature refers to the superstructure of moldings and bands which lie horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and are commonly divided into the architrave , the frieze ,...
above pilasters that stand on rusticated
Rustication (architecture)
thumb|upright|Two different styles of rustication in the [[Palazzo Medici-Riccardi]] in [[Florence]].In classical architecture rustication is an architectural feature that contrasts in texture with the smoothly finished, squared block masonry surfaces called ashlar...
bases.
The piece de resistance of the house is arguably the staircase, a fascinating alteration which can be dated to the late 18th century. The concept of the staircase was to gain more room where the original staircase had been whilst giving more perceived spaciousness. The staircase has a delicate metal handrail and runs through both storeys along three sides of an open well. The clever structure of the staircase is that it is not attached along the back wall of the hall but leaves a space there and flies upward independently of the back wall. The staircase rests on two beautiful fluted columns. There is light Neo-Elizabethan
Jacobethan
Jacobethan is the style designation coined in 1933 by John Betjeman to describe the mixed national Renaissance revival style that was made popular in England from the late 1820s, which derived most of its inspiration and its repertory from the English Renaissance , with elements of Elizabethan and...
plaster work on the underside of the staircase.