Wilton House, Wilts.                                    61
only look smaller, but also fail to present a sufficient contrast. Again, the wide intercolumniation of the
sides of the portico seems ill-considered, and the abrupt way in which the architrave and frieze of the
main cornice abut on the wall causes them to present the appearance of being stuck on. The side
projection with attached columns, entablature, and attic storey is fine in itself, but does not look like an
integral part of the building. In this side projection the second-floor windows are finished with brackets
which project beyond the facia and architrave and carry no cornice-an arrangement which is neither
happy nor necessary. The scroll keystones are weak and thin in section. That which has affected
the appearance and scale of the house more than any other alteration is the introduction of plate glass
in single sheets-a style of glazing for which the windows were not designed and are certainly ill-adapted.
The chimney stacks are bold, and form important features in the composition, which was originally
crowned by a central cupola.
WILTON HOUSE, WILTS.
PLATES LXXVII.-LXXX.
A FTER the fire which destroyed a.large part of the old house in 1648, Inigo Jones was employed in
the rebuilding of the south front, represented on Plate LXXVII. This forms a most dignified
fajade on a grand scale, designed with great care and wonderful restraint. The outline and grouping are
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FiG. 83.-PI AN OF THE ITALIAN GARDEN, WILTON.-J. BELCHER del
of a character unusual in English work, and give evidence of the master's studies in Italy, where the
Villa Medici, for instance, and the Barbarini Palace present similar features. Each part and detail has
been well studied both independently and also in respect of the position it occupies in the design as a
whole. Notably good is the central feature, with its concentrated ornament with shield and supporting
figures, the whole group completed by the lead figure so full of grace and charm on the parapet. The
central balcony is repeated on the wings, where the windows, with their sweeping side scrolls, have
been models for many subsequent designs. The fine spacing of the windows should be observed, and
R
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