The Cottage in English Architecture 1760 - 1860

The Idea of the Cottage in English Architecture, 1760 - 1860

An illustrated talk by Professor Daniel Maudlin, Plymouth University. 

Devon is the epicentre of the eighteenth-century phenomenon of the architect-designed cottage: artificial cottages built for the wealthy to retire from the stresses of modern life a world away from the traditional cottages occupied by Devon country folk.  Through the course of the eighteenth-century the idea of the cottage came to the fore in English art, literature, theatre, song and design as the embodiment of the ideal of rural retreat and the simple life. The aristocratic culture that conceived and articulated the idea of the cottage was preoccupied with the study and imitation of the art, literature, and indeed language, of Rome around the reign of the emperor Augustus and which dominated eighteenth-century English education (for the wealthy) and culture (for the leisured).  Yet, when it came to buildings the ideal cottage took many forms from Gothic to Swiss, Elizabethan and, even, 'Hindoo'. Looking at examples from Sidmouth, the Duke of Bedford's Endsleigh Cottage near Tavistock and elsewhere in Devon, this talk will explore the idea of the cottage and the aristocratic retreats it spawned.

Daniel Maudlin is Professor of Early Modern History at the University of Plymouth. He has previously held positions at Plymouth School of Architecture, Design and Environment, Dalhousie University, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Glasgow. From farmhouses in Nova Scotia to aristocratic retreats on English country estates, his work focuses on the social meanings of design and the consumption of domestic architecture in the early modern British Atlantic world. He also writes on architectural theory, modern vernaculars and the everyday.

Booking is advisable and places will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.  Tickets are £5 and available in advance from the DRA office.  To reserve a seat please call Abi on 01548 830832 or email abi@dra.uk.net