developed in both stone and brick work. The cement they used was so exceedingly hard that many of their structures, even in our time, are almost as good as new and they will probably be standing for many centuries to come.
Masonry, then, is a very ancient mode of construction and has come down to us with practically no change in material or in method. However, both stone and brick are such flexible materials that they may be laid up in many ways and patterns without in any way affecting their structural strength. The peasant dwellings of France show many examples of brick and stone work which demonstrate the fanciful imagination and taste of the builders.
Perhaps the most noticeable characteristic of French provincial architecture, next to its grace and balance of mass, is the variety of materials used. One often finds all of the common building materials, brick, stone, stucco and wood, used on the same building, in close contact with each other. This is bound to result in a richness of surface not often found where a single substance is used. To be sure, if brick, stone, wood and stucco are used without a certain restraint and delicacy, the result is a mere hodgepodge of unrelated surfaces, but this fault the French builders of past times seem to have
avoided most cleverly and successfully. Take, for example, the photograph of a barn wall at the Ferme de Toupts. The foundation is of brick laid in stretcher and header courses; above this are alternate bands of a soft chalky limestone and brick. This sounds simple, almost trite in description, but, if one studies the photograph carefully, one notices certain subtilties which raise the wall above mediocrity. The brick foundation is set in stretcher courses with a few irregularly spaced header courses. The three bands of stone, each one of three courses, are of different widths, diminishing toward the top. The lower band of brick has two courses, the higher one three. This higher brick band cuts across the small window, slightly more than half way between the lintel and the sill. The lintel of the window is gently cambered, as a variation from the horizontal bands of the wall. The door frame is of wood, but its sill is stone. The irregularity of the eavesline may be inferred from the shadow across the upper part of the picture. All these niceties in proportion were probably achieved unconsciously by the builder, and are undoubtedly imperceptible to most people. A wall of such satisfying proportions results not from logic or rule, but from freedom from convention and an innate sense of beauty. The builders of such
A HOUSE ON THE WALLS OF ST. MICHEL, FRANCE
AN EXAMPLE OF FINE MASONRY OF IRREGULAR SIZED STONES
Masonry, then, is a very ancient mode of construction and has come down to us with practically no change in material or in method. However, both stone and brick are such flexible materials that they may be laid up in many ways and patterns without in any way affecting their structural strength. The peasant dwellings of France show many examples of brick and stone work which demonstrate the fanciful imagination and taste of the builders.
Perhaps the most noticeable characteristic of French provincial architecture, next to its grace and balance of mass, is the variety of materials used. One often finds all of the common building materials, brick, stone, stucco and wood, used on the same building, in close contact with each other. This is bound to result in a richness of surface not often found where a single substance is used. To be sure, if brick, stone, wood and stucco are used without a certain restraint and delicacy, the result is a mere hodgepodge of unrelated surfaces, but this fault the French builders of past times seem to have
avoided most cleverly and successfully. Take, for example, the photograph of a barn wall at the Ferme de Toupts. The foundation is of brick laid in stretcher and header courses; above this are alternate bands of a soft chalky limestone and brick. This sounds simple, almost trite in description, but, if one studies the photograph carefully, one notices certain subtilties which raise the wall above mediocrity. The brick foundation is set in stretcher courses with a few irregularly spaced header courses. The three bands of stone, each one of three courses, are of different widths, diminishing toward the top. The lower band of brick has two courses, the higher one three. This higher brick band cuts across the small window, slightly more than half way between the lintel and the sill. The lintel of the window is gently cambered, as a variation from the horizontal bands of the wall. The door frame is of wood, but its sill is stone. The irregularity of the eavesline may be inferred from the shadow across the upper part of the picture. All these niceties in proportion were probably achieved unconsciously by the builder, and are undoubtedly imperceptible to most people. A wall of such satisfying proportions results not from logic or rule, but from freedom from convention and an innate sense of beauty. The builders of such
A HOUSE ON THE WALLS OF ST. MICHEL, FRANCE
AN EXAMPLE OF FINE MASONRY OF IRREGULAR SIZED STONES