Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
form eventually forming a fine glass paper-like surface on the leaf. Carvers, like
Grinling Gibbons (1648-1721) used 'Dutch Rush' which abrades particularly
strongly when worked sideways, frequently leaving its tell-tale striations; espe-
cially noticeable in areas having restricted access.
Taking into consideration the nature of the rubbing brick, when carved it
was considered good practice not to so undercut it as to leave half a brick unat-
tached. Although the white lead and shellac (or other earlier craft 'cements')
made an ideal 'iron hard' adhesive, it would have been foolish to expect an
exposed over-hanging part of a rubber to withstand our British climate for long.
To prevent damage by the elements all the top edges of the external carving
had to be 'weathered', that is rounded, or sloped away, so as to throw off the
rain. Recesses or hollows where water could collect would lead to frost 'blowing'
any projections. The upper surfaces of most upper projections were generally
protected by a lead flashing to prevent flushing-out of the cross-joints and satura-
tion of the carving, which would most certainly have led to a rapid deterioration.
Eighteenth-Century Gauged Brickwork in
Colonial America
As stated earlier, the influence of classical English gauged work began to be seen
in the early 1700s in Colonial America. By the middle of the eighteenth century
the fashion for building in brick with gauged work dressings in the Anglo-Dutch
style had really took hold and reached a high-quality of execution. Examples
of this can be seen on the flat ('jack') arches and rubbed string courses at the
Courthouse (1768) in Edenton, North Carolina. 'Hammond-Harwood House'
(1774), Annapolis, Maryland, an outstanding elegant “Anglo-Palladian villa”,
built for Matthias Hammond by English joiner/architect William Buckland
(1734-74), has similar gauged brickwork detailing (Fig. 113). According to Carl
Lounsbury (2006), rubbed and gauged work appear:
In Charleston, South Carolina, and on a few outlying plantations, from about the
1730s through the 1760s. Good examples are Drayton Hall (
c
.1740) on the Ashley
River; and in the city the pre-eminent example is the Miles Brewton House, from
the late 1760s, with fine arches. After this time, Charlestonians turned to stucco in
a big way.
There is some nice gauged 'jack' arches and a 'belt course' on the façade of
'Liberty Hall' (1796), Frankfort, Kentucky, home of John Brown; the state's
first senator. As Lounsbury (2006) states, 'There is not much rubbed work
north of the Chesapeake [River]. Here and there are buildings with rubbed
corners and 'jack' arches, but very little gauged work of the quality found in
Virginia'. Virginia has several wonderful examples that are worthy of note and
