6 6 HillHouse,Helensburgh BlairCastle, BlairAtholl Hall W horrell & Moon P e r i o d P a i n t C-o n s u I t a n t s Manufacturers of traditional oil paints, distempers & limewashes offire(0S.,6 )."\7.HlOI 12 Latham Street Hrir..,·rori' Kettering :\orchants N:\14 3HD 6 Lodges inWindsor Great Park 6 BrightonPavilion ROSE of JERICHO 6 6 WrestParkOrangery LintonPark, Kent 6 Norbury Park,Surrey at St. Blaise Ltd. Traditional Mortars & Paints 6 HeskethCrescent,Torquay Lime Mortars, Plasters, Coatings & Earth Products Limewash, Distemper & Genuine Lead Paint 11~ fo1Cj1ftf ~ 11ailf t, Consultancy, Analysis, Matching Mixes and Advice Keim Mineral Paints Ltd, Muckley Cross, Marville, Nr.Bridgnorth, Shropshire WV16 4RR "B' 074 631 543 Fax: 074 631 526 lill Westhill Barn, Evershot, Dorchester, DT2 OLD. towns and villages that have not yet been restored to the immaculate and colourful state demanded by 20th century taste. It is unlikely that the external colours of ordinary houses were of much interest before the time of Inigo Jones (15 731652), when such matters became a subject for discussion; and then comments tended to be general. Jones' view was chat the 'outward ornaments' of buildings should be 'masculine and unaffected', although he was not apparently averse to including a bright green railing in his design for Sir Edward Cecil's house on the Strand, and a sober colour-wash for the rendered fat;:ades of the Chapel at St. James's, Queen's House, Greenwich. But we may assume that he did not go so far as to support Cecil's attempts to apply German-style frescoes to the exterior walls of buildings. Sir Henry Wotton was more direct in his advice, stating that colours on external walls had more delight than dignity, and recommending only black and white. The advice seems to have been taken by the owners of the half-timbered Cresswell Manor in Berkshire, shown in an oil painting of c. 1670 with whitewashed walls and all the woodwork picked out in a dark mud-brown. The colour of the latter was probably achieved by rubbing with charcoal or lamp-black, CONTEXT 40 Tel: 0935 83662 Fax: 0935 83017 a practice which developed into the use of tar, establishing the 19th century tradition of black-and-white 'magpie houses'. The custom of using red and yellow ochre for the exposed timber frames, as in France and Germany, was apparently practised only occasionally in England. While interiors provided many opportunities for the display of colour, particularly during the Baroque period, the exteriors remained relatively austere. Protection against the weather was the main reason for painting external woodwork and the colour schemes for 'vulgar painting' - as it was described - were limited to a few 'common' colours, listed by Thomas Wilsford in 1659 as: "red oaker, umber, red and white lead". Typically, colour mixes were contrived to imitate wood, stone and lead in accordance with Sir Roger Pratt's advice: "All painting ought to imitate the natural colour of the most excellent things in their kind". Colour was still being used for purposes of deception rather than for its intrinsic qualities. Although linseed oil had been a constituent of some lime-based paints, true oil paint was little developed before the 18th century. Oak needed little protection beyond charring where in contact with the earth, or rubbing with charcoal where exposed. But as oak became scarcer and softer woods began to be used, paint had to be developed for a new role. Window frames (which were occasionally of mahogany in the more expensive houses, sometimes gilded), were often painted with white lead paint. At the beginning of the century front doors were of oak treated with a mixture of oil and varnish. Later, when pine doors came into use, oil paint was used, protected by oil copal or similar varnish. Popular colours at the end of the 18th century were "grey, lead, ash, stone, buff, sage green, pea green, sea green, light and willow green, grass green, apricot, peach, orange, fine yellow, fawn, olive green, light timber and brick". During the 19th century the increased use of coal for domestic fires and industry rendered white impractical in many places. At first it was tinted with ochre or black, and lacer, windows were frequently painted chocolate brown and front doors dark green, blue or black, traditions which, like those of simulating natural materials - stone-painting, marbling and wood-graining, have survived. This article is an extract from a longer article by Michael Lancasterprinted in The Colour of the City, a private publication by the Sikkens Foundation. We are grateful to Akzo Paints pie for permission to reproduceit. 11
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