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Characteristics.

One thing which
is at once obvious
from the general
scheme is the adoption
of open spaces,
communal gardens,
and allotments in preference to the
spaces which are devoted to individual
gardens surrounding each
cottage in so many other places.
There is something to be said for
and against this. The general
amenity of the village gains by the
Port Sunlight method, whilst the
special charm of individual gardens
which enthusiastic efforts produce
is naturally lacking. In this way
we get less value of contrasts, and
lose something of that spirit of
emulation which spurs the individual
to special effort. Of one
thing, however, there can be no
doubt. The absence of the many
dividing lines of fences between
each cottage frontage produces a
breadth of effect along the lines of

13. AN ANGLE BAY IN BRIDGE
STREET.

W. & S. OWEN,

Architects.

14. SOME PARK ROAD HOUSES.

DOUGLAS AND FORDHAM,

Architects.

roadways which is in itself very pleasing. From the point of view
of the town-planner who looks for the collective result this is, of
course, very satisfactory.

Another thing which will be noticed in the illustrations is the
elevation of many of the houses above the level of the roadway.
This gives a much wider and pleasanter outlook from the windows
of the cottages, besides producing a much better effect in the buildings
from the roadway than when they are placed on the same level.
The sloping green banks leading up to terraced paths in front of
the cottages are a distinctive feature of the village. (See Pl. 4.)

It has been maintained that without a good deal of monotony
you cannot get very fine architectural results, and it must be admitted
that many examples go to prove it. There is a large surface of

15. COTTAGES IN NEW CHESTER ROAD.

W. OWEN, Architect.

monotony in the
Pyramids; there is
a marvellous monotony
of detail in the
Houses of Parliament;
there is a
boundless monotony
in the house fronts
in Gower Street, yet
all these have been
admired. So this
line of argument
might have suggested
the continued
employment of only
one architect, or at least only one type of design, for the cottages
at Port Sunlight. The great variety of designs in the cottages,
which has proved one of the attractions of the place, has, however,
in some sense at least, justified itself. Even the flamboyant Gothic
dormers and the stepped Belgian gables have a reacting influence on
some of their neighbours, though we might consider the latter rather
unpractical on the one hand, or the former too pretentious on the
other. Moreover, whilst we wonder at the generosity of view which
could bestow some of these solid oak-framed structures with their
wealth of carving and enriched plaster panellings on the working
classes of an industrial village, we cannot but feel grateful to the
hand that gave them, though we ourselves may never be able to
afford such luxuries of the building art for ourselves. May we not
accept these as symbols of some kindly gratitude with which a profitable
company decorates the homes of its industrial population?
Honestly, we cannot regret these bonnes bouches in the building
scheme, though they bravely put out of sight the counting-house
and the rates of interest! These are really very welcome ebullitions
from that solid undercurrent of practical economy which has placed
the whole concern on a sound business footing.

16. GROUP AT ANGLE OF LOWER ROAD AND CENTRAL ROAD.

J. L. SIMPSON, Architect.

This element of variety which is so marked in the design of the
cottages at Port Sunlight has been obtained without much departure
from the genuine English type. Even where a Dutch or Belgian
character appears it is carried out with something of the breadth
and simplicity which one associates with purely English work.
There is very little, if anything, that could be called freakish or odd.
The stepped gables or the flamboyant dormers which vary the treatment
are not unacceptable as variants. As to the use of oak framing
with plaster panels—the familiar Old English style—no one can
deny its charm or fail to wish there were even more of it. Nothing
is so picturesque and nothing so cheerful of aspect as the black and
white work which forms so frequent a feature in the earlier buildings
erected. One only regrets that it is difficult to justify it from a
strictly commercial point of view, especially if it is executed in a
sound and substantial manner. Whether the half-timber work is
used for the whole building, or only partially in connection with the
fine red sandstone of the district, or with bricks or flint-work, it has
an undeniable and enduring charm, and we owe much of our

17. A RECESSED GROUP IN GREENDALE ROAD.

ERNEST GEORGE AND YEATES,

Architects.

18. COTTAGES ON SEMI-CIRCULAR PLAN IN LOWER ROAD.

C. H. REILLY,

Architect.

19. FIRST COTTAGES BUILT AT PORT SUNLIGHT.

W. OWEN, Architect.

Awarded Grand Prix, Brussels Exhibition, 1910, for their reproduction there.

20. A THREE-GABLED GROUP IN NEW CHESTER ROAD.

GRAYSON AND OULD,

Architects.

21. A PICTURESQUE CORNER IN PARK ROAD SOUTH.

W. & S. OWEN,

Architects.

pleasure in the whole appearance of Port Sunlight to the liberal
views of the founder, who did not permit his vision of a beautiful
village to be obscured by the clouds of philistinism! You
cannot, of course, pretend that such gables as those shown in our
illustrations are necessary to cottage building. Nor is it surely
possible for even a Port Sunlight to be entirely built in such a way;
but the pleasure produced by such character of work is, after all,
common property, and is a valuable item in regard to the whole
scheme.