New project: Cupid’s House.

This month we delved into the history of Cupid’s House and gathered traces of past stories embedded in its fabric to understand its present fragile balance in order to prepare for its future hosting a busy family of five.

Why Cupid? Well, his adorable face appears in the deep shell of the porch canopy; the house is said to have been gifted by the Bishop to the woman he loved.

The house is set in a quiet West Berkshire village on the edge of the prehistoric Ridgeway. Built in 1701, it showcases key components of Queen Anne Architecture, a phase of English Baroque Architecture (with considerable French influences) that spanned a brief period before and after Queen Anne’s reign (1702- 1714). The Queen Anne style is often a denomination referred to mainly for domestic buildings.

Within the domestic Queen Anne style many Architectural characteristics are shared with Royal commissions of the time such as Christopher Wren’s Royal Hospital Chelsea, Hampton Court, Nicolas Hawksmoor’s Kensington Orangery or Winde Buckingham House (later Palace).

From 1720 onwards the Palladian influence began to surpass the Queen Anne Style, and although it remained relevant, its duration can be said to have lasted about 30 years. The French link to the Queen Anne style cannot be denied and is witnessed by Louis Le Vau’s influence on Wren’s work.

Houses and manors built in the Queen Anne Style are often composed in a symmetrical way and their proportions are modest and humane. Their designs are delicate: French style Portland stone ornaments contrast with red brick, sometimes with bonds of different colours or finishes. Cupid’s House features flint and brown brick in a checkerboard pattern contrasting with radiant reds.

One of the most distinct features of this style is the stone pedimented front door porch and sweep of steps, which in Cupid’s House is expressed as a concave shell on acanthus scrolled leaves and semicircular steps in Cupid’s house. The plan is typically on a double pile two rooms deep, and the sash windows boxes are set flush with the brick.

The lintel bricks are gauged with a stone plateband subdividing the façade. The houses are covered by a hipped roof and can have rear wings with Dutch gables and expressed chimney conduits.

It is interesting to look at the furniture that would have furnished Queen Anne Houses, as it also showcases a very distinctive style.

Walnut replaced oak in furniture and most of the time was used plain, with vein expressed, such as for chests of drawers, cabinets and tables. The most recognizable element is the cabriole leg, its curves both pleasing to the eye and structurally sophisticated. This is found on consoles and chairs, a new commodity required for the “Tea time” habit newly instigated by Queen Anne.

Silverware was influenced by French Huguenots craftsmen and reflected simple lines, geometry and architectural solidity. One can easily complete the picture with the new fashion for mirrors and the use of cosmetic powder, together with the new uses of ornament such as oriental figures, plants and animals… a feast for the imagination.