Virtuous interiors in 17th century English Houses

Sik, Daniel [UCL]

In 1577 William Harrison’s description of England boasted that it was “common in England, contrary to the customs of all other nations, that many of our greatest houses have outwardly been very simple and plain to sight, which inwardly have been able to receive a duke with his whole train, and lodge them at their ease.” In the century that followed, the stylistic growth of Jacobean Mannerism and English Palladianism saw the application of new and curious ornaments to the exteriors of houses. Consequently a reactionary body of literature arose which aimed to stress the importance of the interior over an ‘outward beautiful prospective.’ This was not simply a matter of aesthetics, but was a grave moral concern. Renaissance interpretations of the Aristotelian virtue of Magnificence were seeing increased circulation in England. Espoused by theorists like Timoteo Maffei and embodied by patrons like Cosimo di’ Medici, this theory of Magnificence asserted that an owner’s virtues could shine through the appearance of their house - as Aristotle writes “...even a house is a sort of public ornament.” To counter this, authors like Thomas Gainsford and William Camden sought to turn this moralising gaze away from the exterior, away from the magnificence of the edifice. Rather, they urged the reader to delve inside, seeking instead the virtuous display of hospitality. Two rooms in particular seem to be the focus of this moral discourse, namely: the kitchen and the buttery. Notably, this period coincides with the introduction of the basement kitchen and buttery into England from France and Italy. The first instance of an English basement kitchen is in Whitehall in Shropshire, built in 1582, most likely necessitated by the compactness of its footprint. Later instances of kitchens in basements or half-basements also show Italian influence in their planning; for example Holland house in 1605 and Ham house in 1610. My theory is that the anxiety generated by this influx of continental architecture and philosophy caused an impetus to (symbolically and literally) elevate the kitchen and buttery as functional symbols of English virtue. This is reflected in the interiors of both city and country houses which are perceived as lithifying a certain tension between magnificent display and hospitable display, most notably in the prominence and accessibility of said kitchen and buttery.