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Aubrey, John, 1626-1697

"The Natural History of Wiltshire"

The pavement of the
chapell there is of bricks, annealed or painted yellow, with their
coat and rebus; sc. a tower and a tunne. These enamelled bricks have
not been in use these last hundred yeares. The old paving of Our Lady
Church at Salisbury was of such; and the choire of Gloucester church
is paved with admirable bricks of this fashion. A little chapell at
Merton, in the Earle of Shaftesbury's house, is paved with such tiles,
whereon are annealed or enamelled the coate and quarterings of Horsey.
It is pity that this fashion is not revived; they are handsome and far
more wholesome than marble paving in our could climate, and much
cheaper. They have been disused ever since King Edward the Sixth's
time. [Aubrey would have rejoiced to witness the success which has
attended the revived use of ornamental paving tiles within the last
few years. Messrs. Copeland and Garrett, and Mr. Minton, of Stoke-
upon-Trent, as well as the Messrs. Chamberlain of Worcester, are
engaged in making large numbers of these tiles, which are now
extensively employed by church architects. Those individuals have
produced tiles equal in excellence and beauty to the ancient
specimens.-J. B.]
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Heretofore all gentlemen's houses had fish ponds, and their houses had
motes drawn about them, both for strength and for convenience of fish
on fasting days.
The architecture of an old English gentleman's house, especially in
Wiltshire and thereabout, was a good high strong wall, a gate house, a
great hall and parlour, and within the little green court where you
come in, stood on one side the barne: they then thought not the noise
of the threshold ill musique.


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