VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE IN ENGLAND
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VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE IN ENGLAND lL was agreed at the ICOMOS rn eet in g in Plovdiv in Jun e 1978 that eac h par ticipa nt sho uld produ ce a bri e[ ana l ys is a nd de finiti on of ve rna c ular architecLurc . It is probabl e Lhat t here wi 11 be br oad ag r ee me nt about t hc genera I rn ca ning of thr tcrrn , but that its ap pli cat ion will vary g reaLly from counLry to counLry . 'v Vhat follows is an aLLe mpt to appl y t he tenn t·o E ngli sh houses, to de Le rmin e whi ch buildings arc a ncl which are n ot vernacular, a nd to suggest h ow Lhis may co nLribuLe to the st udy of Eng li sh histor y. lL ma y be that such a su rvey w i li be use fu I t o st uden ts of vernacu Iar a rch i- Lectu re in ot her co untri es . ince th is is written for a Euro- pean aucliencc I sho uld ernph as ise t haL I am disc ussing E n- g la nd ancl not Lhe U nit ed Kingdom, a ncl Lh at I sha ll ha ve n ot hin g to say about lr e la nd , Scot l and and \1'Ta les. Further , 1 shou Id po int o ut Lhat I a rn dea ling w i Lh vc rna cu Iar a rch i- tec lur e in the coun tryside only , and not in t he towns. Jn one wa y Lh erc is lilt le diffi c ult y about t he defiuiLion of vc rnacu I ar a rch itect u re: of the co rn mou peop le , the o pp o- s ite of 'po lile' architecture, t he architecturc of Lh e upp cr c lasses . But h av ing sa id that, Lh e problem rcmains o[ dec idin g who were th e cornrnon p eop le and h ow, in the absencc of d oc ume nts, Lh eir houscs ca n be idc nlil 'ied. Of co ur se, :rnyone ca n teii Lh c difl'erence bc tw een a peasa nL a ncl a prin ce a nd between a cottage a nd a cast le , bu L al interm e diat e leve ls the distinct ion bctwce n 'vernacular ' a nd ' po liLc' is o l'Len far fr om cicar. The aUe rnpt has ma cl e to cli st in g uish vern ac u Ia r bui ldings [rom po lite ones on th e b as is t hat Lh c form er are buil t of traditiona l mat e rials in a traditional way Lo a tra- diti ona l form and with tr a diti o nal ornament. But until Lh e end of the Middle Ages , and we ll beyond, all buildin gs in E ng land wcre tradiliona I and in north ern and western En- g la nd many upp er class buildin gs were Lrad itional until th e end of thc 17Lh cc ntury. Nea rly a l! vernacu lar buildings a rr ind ced traditiona l, but „tracl iti o nal " and ,.vc rn ac ular'' are n ot sy no nymou s terms. Vernacu lar houses havc a lso been defin ed as „regio nal " houses, Lhat is houses which helong to a type whi ch is co rn - 111 0 11 wiLhin and pec uli ar to a limiled par t of Lhe co untr y. Vernacu lar houscs ce rt a inly tencl tobe reg io nal , but again th at does not differ e nliate Lh em from poliLe houses, fo r rnany of these rernained reg ional un Li I well into th e 18th ce ntur y. A nd on th e ot her hancl rnany vernacu I ar houses bclo ng to types whi ch are too wid es pr ead to he ca ll ed r eg ion a l. Other c riteri a have been a dv ance d: that vernacu I ar houses a re s rna 11 and mea n; thn t thcy ar e bui lt in a c rud e way by the owner or his peers and not by cra fl s rn e n; that th eir form is delerrnined by the ir func Li on. BuL many ve rna cular hous es in south cast E ng la nd are equ a l in acco mmod a tion and in di spl ay to co nle mp orary manor houses in man y part s of the co untry a nd su per i or to thc ma nor houses of some other pa rls; a nd these hous es were ce rt a i n ly not erec t.ed by the ownc r but by craftsrnen of the sarne s kill as t hosc working on polite hou- ses . It is truc that t he ir form wa s d ete rmin ed by their fun c- ti on , but so was t he form of rnany po liLe hous es as late as the 18 Lh ce ntu ry. Vernacu lar hous e ca nn ot he ide nlifi ed by arc hiLect ural c rit e ria; th ey are a socio logica! a nd not an arc hit ec tural catego ry a nd if I rn ay be imrnodest e nough to quot e my own worcls fr om English \!emacu lar Houses they are " those which be long to a typ e whi ch is common within a given area at a give n time. It follows that a kincl of building may at any one time be „vern ac u Ia r" in one a r ea a nd „non-v e rnacu Ia r" in another, and in a ny one a rea may cha nge in the course of tim e from non-v e rnacu la r" to vernacu la r" . In other words no bui!d.i';1g is or is not for its own qua-. li ties bu t is so by virtue of those which it shares with ma ny otbers, aud the icl e utifi ca tion of „vernacu Iar" buildings is very much a matt er of relat ive numb ers" . 114 mur: MEUCEn When they are id e nlificd in thi s way Lhe signi[ica nce of s urvivin g ea rly vern ac ular houscs becomcs a ppar en t. Many ve rn ac ular hou scs which onc secs Loda y ha ve survived [rom Lh e 18th ce ntur y at Lh e !atest; rn a ny havc s ur vived [rom t hc lGth a nd 17Lh ce nLuri f's , a ncl many ha ve survived from thc l 5t h ce ntur y. No-onc w ill do ubt Lhat builclings ca pabl c of c nduring ce nturi es of Eng lish wind and weather must h ave been vcry s u bs La nli a ll y bui It i n thc f irst p Iace. Bu t su bsta n- Lia l buildin gs are expcnsi ve buildin gs a nd Lh cir a pp ea ra nce in large numb ers in a sma ll area s uggests Lh e rxislence o[ a broad class o l' comparaLively wealthy men. Ev idencc [rom the cxcavat ions of me di eva I rura I s ites, howeve r, show Lhat evc rywh ere unt il Lh e talc Middle Agcs , and in so rn e parts long a ft erwards, t he houses of Lh e vi ll agers wcre built of flim sy materi a ls Lh al had Lo be renewed eve ry gcne rati on or so. WiLh thaL in minei it is not unr easonable to s uppos e t hat Lhe large numh er of rural houscs in south easlern Eng land dating [rom c. 1450 Lo c. 1550 rel'l ect the fir st appearancc of a class, or stra lum , ol' wea l thy pcasa nts . Some lim cs as many as Len suc h houses s ur v iv c in a s in g le v ill agc and wc may bc co nfidenl thaL Lh ese werc noL the houses of a ge ntr y. But whethcr Lh ey wcre th c hous es of a min o rity arnong Lh e vil- lage rs or of ordinary vill age rs we ca nnot te ii from Lh e ir pr e- scnt numb ers a lonc , l'or wc do n oL know how man y hnvc [a iled Lo s ur v iv('. 'v\T e can say howevn !hal man y o[ Lht•m are as large as ni<1nor hous es a nd thal. Lh eir owncrs rnusL ha \'r been at a co rnparabl c l eve i of wealth. It is unlik e ly t hal l.h ey co uld have accurnulnLe cl Lh a L mu c h wea llh al Lh aL tim c hy Lh e la b o ur o[ their own hand s and iL is prob a bl c Lh at Lh ey were cxp lo itin g the lahour of [ellow p easa nls , of t heso ns ancl dau- g hl ers of s mallhold c rs whose own land wou ld not [ull y s upp o rt a ll Lh cir c hildr cn, and eve n of poorer pcasa nl s with liltle land wh o ha cl to work for ol her men for part o l' Lh e ir Li me. Furth er we kn ow l'r o m Lr ave llers' di sc ripti ons of thc .llilh , 17Lh a nd 18Lh ce nturi es t h aL the houses of many mcn in Lhe countr ys id e were st il! of muci or simi lar ma l. crial s. Wc know too LhaL in Lh e north wcsL it was sLi ll co mmon in the 18th cc ntur y for Lhe friends and relat ions of a new ly- ma rri ed co u p le to asse rnb le 011 the wedd in?" da y a nd bui Id a house for them before cl a rkn ess fe ll. Throughout rnu ch of E ng land in t he 17Lh and 18th ce nturi es it was a popul ar be li e[ a mong t he peasa nt s Lhat if anyo ne co uld huild a hous eo nth e 111 anoria lw aste b etwee nd a wnand suns ethc es tablish ed a title and co ulcl li ve there unrnolest ed . Th e heli ef was mistak e n, but lik e t he norlh-w estern c ustom, it illu strates what flimsy st ru ct ur es the „houses" of many peo pl e sli ll we re at a tirne when rn a ny s ub sta ntia I vernacu la r hous es were a lrea dy th ere. It is therefore lik e ly that on ly a minority of the p easa ntry , cve n if a la rge rninority, li ved in thos e kincls of vernacu lar houses which were w e ll enough built to hav e survived. The ph enomen observed in the South East in Lhe late M ielei le Ages occurrecl elsewhcre at that pe riod in one or two small ar eas . At a later dat e, and at a lower leve i of accom- mod a tion, it occurred throughoul mu ch of so uth ern a nd mid- lancl Eng la nd in thc 16th ce nlury, and in north e rn Eng la nd in t he co urs e of thc 17th. The soc ia l histor y of th e Eng li sh peasa ntr y is not well docum e nted since m ost of th e clocurnents were drawn up for and refl ect Lh e interests of the upp er classes, but hy st ud y in g vernacu Ia r architect ure we may tr ace the dev e lo pme nt t hr oughout the country a nd over se- vera l ce nturi es of th at u pper sec li on a rnong th c p easa ntry who were to play an import a nt , a nd sometimes decisiv e, ro le in Eng li sh hist ory from the 15t h century to the 18th. Th ese were th e yeornanry and the surviving exa rnples of Eng lish vernacu la r architecture of a date pri or to c. 1750 ar e rnostly the homes of y eo men . Just as one ma y trace Lh e ris c of the yeomen by a study of surviving vernacn lar houses of a date prior to c. 1750 http://patrimoniu.gov.ro
Transcript of VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE IN ENGLAND
VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE IN ENGLAND
lL was agreed at the ICOMOS rn eet ing in P lovdiv in June 1978 that each part icipa nt sh ould produ ce a brie[ ana lys is a nd definiti on of ve rna cular architecLurc . It is probable Lhat t here wi 11 be broad agreement about t hc genera I rn caning of thr tcrrn , but that its ap pli cat ion will vary g reaLly from counLry to counLry . 'vVhat follows is an aLLempt to apply t he tenn t·o E nglish houses, to deLermine whi ch buildings a rc ancl which are not vernacular, a nd to suggest h ow Lhis may co nLribuLe to the study of Eng lis h his tory. lL may be that such a su rvey w i li be usefu I t o stud en ts of vernacu Iar a rch iLectu re in other countries . ince th is is written for a European aucliencc I should ernph as ise t haL I am discussing E ng la nd ancl not Lhe United Kingdom, a ncl Lhat I sha ll ha ve nothing to say about lre land , Scot land and \1'Ta les. Further , 1 shou Id p oint out Lhat I a rn dea ling w i Lh vc rna cu Ia r a rch itec lure in the coun tryside only , a nd not in t he towns.
Jn one wa y Lh erc is lilt le diffi culty about t he defiuiLion of vc rnacu Iar a rch itectu re: of the co rn mou peop le , the opp osite of 'po lile' architecture, t he architecturc of Lh e uppcr c lasses . But hav ing sa id that, Lhe problem rcma ins o[ dec iding who were the cornrnon p eop le and h ow, in the absencc of documents, Lh e ir h ouscs ca n b e id cnlil' ied. Of co urse, :rnyone ca n teii Lh c difl'e rence bctween a peasa nL a ncl a prince a nd between a cottage and a cast le , bu L al intermediate leve ls the distinct ion bctwcen 'vernacular ' a nd ' po liLc' is o l'Len far from c ica r .
The aUernpt has ~)een m acl e to clist in guish vernacu Iar bui ldings [rom p olite ones on th e b as is t hat Lh c form er are built of traditiona l materials in a traditional way Lo a traditi ona l form and with traditi onal ornament. But until Lh e end of the Middle Ages , and well beyond, all buildings in E ng land wcre tradiliona I and in north ern and western Eng la nd ma ny upper c lass buildings were Lrad itional until th e end of thc 17Lh ccntury. N ea rly a l! vernacu lar buildings arr indced traditiona l, but „tracl itional " and ,.vcrnacul a r'' are not sy nonymou s terms.
Vernacu la r hou ses havc a lso been defin ed as „ reg ional" houses , Lhat is houses w hich h e long to a type whi ch is co rn-111 0 11 wiLhin and peculia r to a limiled par t of Lhe country. Vernacu lar houscs certa inly tencl tobe reg ional , but again that does not differenliate Lh em from poliLe houses, fo r rnany of these rernained regiona l un Li I we ll into th e 18th ce ntury . And on th e other hancl rnany vernacu Iar h ouses bc long to types which are too wid espread to h e ca lled region a l.
Other criteria have b een adva nced: that vernacu Iar houses a re s rna 11 and mea n; thn t thcy are bui lt in a crude way by the ow ner or his peers and not by cra fls rnen; t hat th e ir form is de lerrnined by the ir fun c Li on. BuL ma ny verna cula r houses in south cast E ng la nd are equ a l in acco mmod a tion and in display to conlempora ry ma nor houses in many parts of the country a nd su peri or to thc ma nor houses of some other pa rls; a nd these h ouses were certa i n ly not erect.ed by the ownc r but by craftsrn en of the sarne skill as t hosc working on polite houses . It is truc that t he ir form was determined by their fun cti on , but so was t he form of rnany po liLe houses as late as the 18 Lh centu ry.
Vernacu lar house cann ot h e idenlified by a rchiLectural criteria; th ey are a socio logica! a nd not an a rchitec tural category and if I rn ay b e imrnodest enough to quote my own worcls from English \!emacu lar Houses they are " those which b e long to a type which is common within a g ive n area at a g iven time. It follows that a kincl of building may at any one time b e „vern acu Ia r" in one a rea and „non-vernacu Ia r" in another, and in a ny one a rea may cha nge in the cou rse of time from non-v ernacu la r" to vernacu la r" . In other words no bui!d.i';1g is or is not „verna~ular" for its own qua-. lities but is so by virtue of those which it shares with ma ny otbers, aud the icleutification of „vernacu Iar" buildings is very much a matter of r e lative numbers" .
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mur: MEUCEn
When they are id enlificd in this way Lhe s igni[ica nce of s urviving ea rly ve rnacular houscs beco mcs a pparen t. Many vern acular hou scs which onc secs Loday have survived [rom Lh e 18th century at Lh e !atest; rn a ny havc surv ived [rom t hc lGth a nd 17Lh cenLuri f's , a ncl many ha ve survived from t hc l 5th century. No-onc w ill doubt Lhat builclings ca pablc of cnduring centuries of Eng lish wind and weather must have been vcry su bs La nlia ll y bui I t i n thc f irst p Iace. Bu t su bsta nLia l buildings are ex pcns ive buildings a nd Lhc ir a ppea ra nce in large numbers in a sma ll a rea suggests Lh e rxislence o[ a broad c lass ol' co mparaLive ly wealthy men . Ev ide ncc [rom t he cxcavat ions of medieva I rura I s ites , however , show Lhat evcrywh ere unt il Lh e talc Middle Agcs , and in so rne parts long afterwa rds , t he h ouses of Lh e vi ll age rs wcre built of flimsy materia ls Lh a l had Lo be re newed every gcnerati on or so.
WiLh thaL in minei it is not unreaso na ble to suppose t hat Lhe la rge numher of rural houscs in south eas lern Eng land dating [rom c. 1450 Lo c. 1550 rel'l ect the first appearancc of a c lass, or stra lum , ol' wea lthy pcasa nts . So melimcs as ma ny as Len suc h houses surv ivc in a s ing le v illagc and wc may bc confidenl thaL Lh ese werc noL th e houses of a gentry . But whethcr Lh ey wcre th c houses of a min ority a rnong Lh e v illage rs or of ordinary v illage rs we ca nnot te ii from Lh e ir prescn t numbers a lonc , l'or wc do noL know how many hnvc [a iled Lo surv iv('.
'v\Te can say howevn !h a l many o[ Lht•m are as large as ni<1nor houses a nd thal. Lh e ir owncrs rnu s L ha \'r been at a cornparablc leve i of wealth. It is unlike ly t hal l.h ey could hav e accurnulnLecl Lh a L mu ch wea llh a l Lh a L tim c hy Lh e lab our o[ their own hand s and iL is proba blc Lh a t Lh ey were cxp lo iting the la hour of [ellow p easa nls , of t heso ns ancl daughlers of smallhold crs w hose ow n land wou ld not [ully support a ll Lhc ir childrcn , and even of poorer pcasa nls with liltle land wh o ha cl to work for olher men for part ol' Lh e ir Li me . Further we know l'rom Lrave llers' discriptions of thc .llilh , 17Lh a nd 18Lh centuries t haL th e houses of ma ny mcn in Lhe coun trys id e were st il! of muci or simi lar ma l.cri a ls. Wc kn ow too LhaL in Lh e north wcs L it was sLi ll co mmon in t he 18th ccntury for Lhe fri end s a nd re lat ions of a new lyma rri ed co u p le to asse rnb le 011 th e wedd in?" day a nd bui Id a house for them before cla rkness fe ll. Throughout rnu ch of E ng land in t he 17Lh and 18th centuries it was a popula r be lie [ a mong t he peasa nts Lhat if a nyo ne could huild a houseonth e 111 a noria lwaste betweendawnand sunsethc es tablish ed a title and coulcl live there unrnolested . Th e helief was mistaken, but like t he norlh-west ern custom, it illustrates what flimsy stru ctures the „hou ses" of many people sli ll we re at a tirne when rnany subs ta ntia I vernacu la r houses were a lready there. It is therefore like ly that on ly a minority of the peasantry , cven if a la rge rninority, lived in those kincls of vernacu lar houses which were we ll enough built to have survived.
The phenomen observed in the South East in Lhe late Mielei le Ages occurrecl e lsewhcre at that period in one or two sma ll a reas . At a later date, and at a lower leve i of accommodation, it occurred throughoul mu ch of south ern a nd midlancl Eng land in thc 16th cenlury, and in northern Eng land in t he course of thc 17th. The soc ia l history of th e Eng lish peasa ntry is not we ll documented since m ost of the clocurnents were drawn up for and reflect Lh e interes ts of the upper c lasses, but hy study ing vernacu Ia r architecture we may trace the deve lopment t hroughout the country a nd over severa l centuries of that u pper secli on a rnong thc peasa ntry who were to play an important , and sometimes decisive, ro le in Eng lish history from the 15th century to the 18th. These were th e yeornanry and the surviving exa rnples of Eng lish vernacu la r architecture of a date prior to c . 1750 are rnostly the homes of y eomen .
Just as one may trace Lhe risc of the yeomen by a study of surviving vernacn la r houses of a date prior to c. 1750
http://patrimoniu.gov.ro
su loo îs lhcir des lru ction reYca led în l he nrw vcrnncu Ia r archilccturc of lh e rnid-1 8 1h cc nlury onwa rds. At lhal lîrne l hr re n ppea red lhroughout most or E ng lnnd , a n a lrn os t. ·s land a rd Jarmhou sc whi ch w as a copy or llw po lîl e houses or lh c wc llt.o-do mPrcha nts a nd pro ress îona I rnen in lh • towns. /\ lm osl s imulta ncous ly Lh e re a l ·o appca rccl în l he co un lrys id c rows or cotlages w h ich wc rc CO LI ntc rpa rls o r I he s lrccts or worke rs' houses în I.he new luwns. Th e u ld rural soc ie ly, far fr om ega li tarian bul exlremc ly homogenous, was g iv in g way lo t hc new one or ca pila lisl fa rmers a ncl ag ri cullura l prole t.ari a 1· .
J\ kn ow ledge or ve rn acular archi tccturC' îs lh c reforc nol mr rc ly an r nd în ilsc lr. impo rta n t lhough Llrnl îs, bui. a lso a mca ns loward s a g rca ler e nd : llw uncl c rs landing of lhe dev<'lopme nl or rural soc il'Ly and cspccia ll y of L11 ose aspec ls which a rc nol we ll d ocumcnled. B ui. iL is proba bil' t hal by thc c ncl or lh c ccn lury rnos l sun· iv in g \'e rn acu Ia r bui ldings in E ng la nd w i 11 havc been deslroycd or clsc haH bC'e n a ILe rr cl beyo ncl rccor1n il io n in ordcr Load op I t hr rn Lo modern cond iLio ns . Th e ir
ra ~a d es or t he ra 9a des o r ma ny ol' Lhem , may havc been kept and some wh o le b uildings rnay b e prese rved in mu seum co ndili ons , and th ey may s lill play a pa rt in g iv ing chnra c ler to n la ndsca pe a nd în attrac lin g t hc to urisl. But the in te ri ors or most ol' t hem wi ll havr been guLtecl a ncl lh ey will no longe r h e w haL lh ey arc 11 ow , hi s lo ri ca l cl ocum e nls o[ cqu a l va lu e in t hc ir sp herc Io Lh ose slucli cd by ma ny gene ra li ons or ma ny hislo rians. The slud y of E ng li sh vern acula r nr chilec turc is t hcrefo re as urgent a proble m fo r lh e h islorians as its prcservation , or lh e preservali on or as mu ·h as poss ible, is a n 11rge nl La sk for Lhe pla nner a ncl t he c iti zen . W hat is lru c of Eng la nd m ay a lso h e lru e, mulalis mulandis, o[ othcr coun-1 ri es raced w ilh Lhe dilemm as o[ cha nge a ncl deve lopm e nt in Lhc late 20th c·enlury. Ench count ry w ill so lve, or ra il lo so lvc, th e problem o[ s ludy ing a nd prese rv ing ils herilage o[ venrn cula r archiLec Lure in ils own way, b ut it is prohab le t hal each ca n lra rn so methin g rro m lh e kn ow lcdgc o[ lh c d i!Ticul l ies o[ a ll lh e olhcrs .
SUR L 'ARCHITECTURE VERNA CULAIRE IRLANDAISE
B ic n quc d ' un rorm a I reclu i L, Ies clcu x rece n Ls ou v rages ci o nt nous d onno ns c i-cl essous un apc rs u pn:·sentrnt un intc rct parliculirr lanL par la ri chesse de leur ('O nl enu qu e par le fait qu ' ils lra ilcnl cl 'un sec lcur de l'a rchilec lurc vc rna cula irc europee nn r rc· la li ve menl pru co nnu . du mo ins e n Roumanie, ce lui de l ' Irla nd e. Nous devo ns so uli gner des le debul qu e si ce con lenu es l. a uss i ri che, c 'esl pa rcr qu c, loul. co mm e no lre pays . I ' lr la nd e a co nse rY(· ju squ ' i1 C('S dc rn ic res dcce n nirs u n
Maiso 11 de paysan aisc dt1 \f JJJ 0 s ii:c/e it Ca/lan , com i c de Ki!ke11n y (lrc ln nll 's Vcr nn c 11 Jn r J\rclli l cc t11rc, p. :J:l) .
Tou r d 'babila lio11 ci Achill So wul , comi c de 1'/auo ( l rcl ". :•r"s \lcrnncul ur A rchilcclnrc, p. 1 5).
------- HJ\U lJ CHETEI\ NU
ca rac lere rura l tres prononce, eL ce la nulanl dan la H e pub liq1 1r d ' Irland e qu c d a ns l ' Irl a ncl e du No rd.
Kevin Dana her (Cao imhin O Danacha ir) , Irelanrl 's Ver-1111cular A rchilec lure, Cork , s. d. (co llec t io n „ Irish L ife a nd Cullurc"), 82 p . + U8 illu s lrali ons en no ir e l b lan c.
Kevin Dana her - qui est a uss i le coo rcl o nn aleur el e la co llccl ion - t raile d ans ce vo lume-ci el e la Hcpubliqu e d 'lr la nd e. Ce qui frapp e tout ele suile le lecte ur , c'est le caractere cxtrcmement vn ric du malc ri e l, fait explicab lc pu i que l 'a rchi tccture \'P J'll<J C' Ul a ire pe 11 t (•t re def'ini e CO mm c Ce lle rea li Ce pa r chac:u n „sr lon ses gou l.s, avec ses ressources pcrso nnc lles ct pour sa l is la irr scs b eso ins personn e ls, sa ns l' inLe rven l ion d ' uu a rchilec lr el e me l irr, sn ns sty lc rorme l ni tenclan ce [r s ui vre ln mode" (p. 5). F. la nL dnnne celle va riete, l 'a uteur a opte pour la ro rrnulc se lo n nous la plu s incliquee d nns ce genre cl 'ent rep riscs: une breve inlroclu cl. ion s ui v ic ci un gra ncl n ombre cl ' i llu s lralion s acco mpagnccs cl 'a mples co mm en ta ircs, chnc un e
Ul' un· page qui rorm c n ins i un c ve rilah le prese nlaL ion . L'arch ilccLure vc rn ac ul <1irc irla ncl a i ·e pcul c lrc cli v is;c
c n troi s ca l«gori es de co ns lru c lions: cl omest iqucs ( la de meure pro pre mcnl dilc du fe rmier ou de l 'a rtisa n), ag ri co les ( Ies bf1Li111en ls a nn excs el e la fe rm e) ct inclustrie lles (ate lie rs, [orgcs moulins ::1 cau el <'1 ve ni. , ins la ll a li o ns Lcchni 1u cs qu i o n t p rfrc cl c la revo lul io n inclustric llc, rlc .). La p r mie re ca tego ri e es t de lo in la mi cux rcp rcse nlce e l la p lu s inlc ressn nlc . U n c le me nt cl onl· ii co nv ie nt el e lc nir co mple es t le l' nc teur soc ia l, p lu s prrc isc me nl la le nd a nce mnrquec, da ns un e soc iete co nsr rvn lri ce e t „c lass-co nsc ious" , a mn in ten ir Ies app nrcnces, sans ve rse r pour a uta nt da ns Ies el e penses excess ives 0 11 da ns l 'os lcnla li on . Crpcncl anl , l 'e lr mc nl cletc rmin anl , sur lequ e l l 'a ulcur Jo u rn il. d 'a mp les d(' la ils, rsl. Ic m a leriau e l. d onc , indirl' c Lrme nl , Ies procccl(•s de cons lru c li o n. Sou li g nons ă ce l cga rd un e diff'erc nce essenli c lle enlre l 'a rchilcc lurc ve rnac ulairc d ' lrla ncl c ct ce lle ele Ro um a ni e : da ns les rn cm es condil ions d 'emp lo i presquc rxc lu s ir des mat e ri a ux loca ux , e n rai so n des d il:ri cullrs el e transporl, l ' Jrla nd c, conlra irem en t :'! cc qu i s 'esl passe chcz nous , bâLiL Ic p lu s sou ven t en p ier rc (avcc ou sa n m or licr) , a rg il t• el da ns unc moinelrc mcsure en b rique , ma is n ulili se qu e for l p eu Ic b o is, foit quc l 'a uleur rnrl Cil li n ison avec ]a cl estru c li on des ro rc ls irlanda ises a u XV 1° et a u XV II" s icc les, pour des ra iso11 s mili ta ires d 'aborcl rt cornrn crc ia les ensuite (p. 8) . II ex iste nca nm ois un c lcm enl el e constru ct ion cornmun pour Ies deux pays, ce son t Ies couve rlures ele lo il en ch aurn , Lres repanclu es e n Jrlancl e e l qui ab oulissent souvent ::1 des formcs e laborees, notamm en t da ns Ies „thatchecl rnansions" , maisons ~1 ci ux nivea ux et to it e n ·h a umc, a ns cl oule cl cr ivees de m a isons de v iile ofr le rcz-clc
chau ssce c tait l'CSel'VC ~I l 'exercice cl ' un melie r OU d ' un COmrner-
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