Chap. III. CA III' ENTRY.

621
tlie boards are laid down parallel to one of tlic sides of the room, and form tlie upper side
of the floor, bein<;, however, well nailed to those below. Tlie whole of tliein are yruovcd
and toiu/ned together, forming a solid Hoor 4^ inches thick. In this examjjle is an instance
well worthy tlie study of the architect, as respects a scientific connection of parts, and the
great advantage of a well-disposed bond. The floor in question is, in fact, a tliin plate,
well supported round the edges, the strengths of the plates being directly as the squares of
their thicknesses, e(|ually strong to btar a weight in the middle, whatever tluir benring;
tliougli if the load be uniformly distributed, the strength will be inveisely as the area of
the space.
'iO'J.^a. The flooring of the Middle Ages, as used for upper rooms, were constructed
with largo sipiare limbers resting on wood plates, which formed the cornice to the
rooms
;
sometimes tliey had stone cornices under them. Occnsion.dly the under sides of
tlie joists were covered with boarding, and tliis was divided into panels by small ribs, wiih
l)osses at the intersections, carved witli foliage, or with shields of arms, or other ornaments.
An example of the 15lli century exists at Winghain, in Kent; Park(?r, Doin. Arch. iii.
I '27. These were usually coloured in distemper. The ceiling of the nave and of the
eastern part of St. Albau's Abbey church is a remarkable example of a fine flat ceiling of
early date, as is also that in tlie toner of the church at St. Cross, in Hampshire, ar.d
that of the lilirary, 15th century (and foimerly in the chajjel) of Merton College, Oxford.
In Engl.ind, in the l;3th century, the ceilings (which were of wood) were frequently
painted the same as on the wainscot, in green and gold, and were sometimes also decor.itcd
with historical subjects and with gilded bosses.
20236. The joists that came upon a beam were placed upon it, and, being cut, were
pinned into corresponding blocks. If the beam took two sets of jdists, the blocks might
be made long enough to connect the ends of the two sets. But by tlie Hth century the
system of girders, binders, and joists was jierfected
;
boarding one inch and a half thick,
rebated oa lioth ed.es, was laid with the wider face downward, and connected by rebatid
battens, fixed upon stop-moulded joists, and these were dovetailed for iialf their depth
into moulded binders, that were dovetailed three-fifths of their depth into moulded girdeis,
the backs of all l)eing flnsii for the boarding, which received the moitar and tile floor.
202,30. Whether in cak or fir, this latter system was ajiparently never enriched itii
painting, but moulded and carved
;
indeed the inevitable towel decoration makes its
appearance in panels fonued by moulded strutting. 'I'hese panels are let into r.b tes on
the back of the struts and joists and binders, so as to leave a space between the panels and
the flush floor, receiving the plaster or the tiles upon plastering. Another effective practice
was to rebate the backs of the joists sufficiently deep to allow the apjiarent ceiling to
consist of short pieces of board that were decorated on the two edges, laid close together,
forming a pattern of circles, diamonds, foils, &c., cut in open work, witii a ground formed
l)y laying a plank over tlie whole length between the joists; over this came the finished
one, or three coated floor. In the 15th and 16'ti) centurii.'s, pendentives hanging by key.s
to timber ceiling-joists, between binders, formed an entirely new arrangement of decoiation,
wbicli rivalled in its complexity of drops and cofftrs the inost elaborate works of Saracenic
ceilings. In the time of Henry VIII., the ceilings were cominonly of plaster, with a
great variety of patterns stamped in thein. Tlie ceiling of the chapel of the Savoy Palace
in the Strand is a lich example of panelling only.
'202.]d. Some of the titnber houses built in Troyes at the commencement of the 15tli
century afford good specimens of the manner in which the construction of the floors was
rendered oinamental. The studs of the framing carry the usual head-piece, which is
moulded; and on this are notched down the ceiling joists, which have their ends cut as
cantilevers: upon these rests a board, or plank, having its edge moulded, wliich is kept m
place by the ciiantlates at the feet of the rafters. At other times the sill is separated from
tiie joists; because tiiey rest upon stanchions, upon which are planted brackets carrying
the ends of the joists: between the ends, which are grooved, there is a ])iece of carved
woodwork, so that the ends of the joists, in conjunction with a moulded ])la!e resting upon
them and receiving the tie beams or ceiling joists, form a sort of coibel-tabie. (Fig. 7011
)
2023e. Another method of forming a floor, with its ceiling, into decorated construction, is
due to the I5th century. This consisted in cutting balks of timber diagonally and laying
them with the angles downward close together. The ends were notched into the gii ders
or binders, leaving flusli backs. If not sightly enough, triangular fillets were put in
between them
;
and the sliaip angle might even be taken from off the an is or under edge
of the balks. Floors were also composed of brick segment arches (the bricks being set
herring-bone) between balks of timber laid with one corner upwards, so as to form a
skew-back for the arclies.
202,3/^ For these few remarks we are indebted to Viollet le Due's admirable Dictionnaire.
As the systems therein shown will scarcely be adopted in England in general practice, the
student will do well to refer to the work should he reijuire any illustrations. Avery