Everything about Mansion totally explained
A
mansion is a large dwelling
house. The word itself derives (through
Old French) from the
Latin word
mansus (the perfect passive participle of
manere "to remain" or "to stay".) In the
Roman Empire, a
mansio was an official stopping place on a
Roman road, or
via, where cities sprang up, and where the
villas of provincial officials came to be placed. The
Scots word "
manse" originally defined a property large enough for the
Minister of the parish to maintain himself, but a mansion is no longer self-sustaining in this way (compare a
Roman or
medieval villa). 'Manor' comes from the same root — territorial holdings granted to a lord who would
remain there — hence it can be seen how the word 'Mansion' came to have its meaning.
History
The "
country house," as it's known in English speaking places, is a distinct species of mansion.
In the past it was fashionable for the elite society of
Europe to pursue the social circuit from country home to country home, with intervals at town homes, so unfortified country houses supplanted castles and the modern mansion began to evolve.
It was in the
16th century that mansions really began to be built in a completely unfortified and gracious style, with gardens, parks, and drives. This was the era of
Renaissance architecture.
Hatfield House is a superb example of a house built during the transition period in England. In
Italy, classic
villas such as
Villa Farnese and
Villa Giulia were typical, albeit individually diverse forms, of the new style of mansion.
The uses of these edifices paralleled that of the Roman mansions. It was vital for powerful people and families to keep in social contact with each other as they were the primary moulders of society. The rounds of visits and entertainments were an essential part of the societal process, as painted in the novels of
Jane Austen. State business was often discussed and determined in informal settings. Times of revolution reversed this value. During its
revolution, France lost a large part of its country homes to incendiary committees, who destroyed the estates as a reaction to/rejection of the ancien régime.
Until
World War II it wasn't unusual for a moderately sized mansion in
England such as
Cliveden to have an indoor staff of 20 and an outside staff of the same size, and in
ducal mansions such as
Chatsworth House the numbers could be far higher. In the great houses of Italy, the number of retainers was often even greater than in England; whole families plus extended relations would often inhabit
warrens of rooms in basements and attics. It is doubtful that a 19th century
Marchesa would even know the exact number of individuals who served her. Most
European mansions also were the hub of vast
estates. A true estate (the mediaeval villa, French
ville) always contains at least one complete
village and its
church. Large estates such as that of
Woburn Abbey have several villages attached.
Nineteenth century development
The
19th century saw particularly in the
United Kingdom a new type of mansion being built, often smaller than the older
European mansions, but in their own way just as beautiful,
The Breakers in
Rhode Island is a fine example, as is the nearby, but completely different,
Watts Sherman House.
Fifth Avenue in
New York at this time was lined with numerous mansions, designed by the leading architects of the day, many in European
gothic styles, built by the many families who were making their fortunes, and thus achieving their social aspirations, in the mid 19th century. However, nearly all of these have now been demolished, thus depriving New York of a
boulevard to rival, in the architectural sense, any in
Paris,
London or
Rome—where the many large mansions and
palazzos built or remodeled during this era still survive. Mansions built in the countryside were not spared either. One of the most spectacular estates of the U.S.
Whitemarsh Hall was demolished in 1980, along with its extensive gardens, to make way for suburban developments.
Even in Europe some 19th-century mansions were often built as replicas of older houses, the
Château de Ferrières in
France was inspired by
Mentmore Towers which in turn is a copy of
Wollaton Hall. Other mansions were built in the new and innovative styles of the new era such as the
arts and crafts style: The Breakers is a pastiche of an
Italian Renaissance Palazzo;
Waddesdon Manor in
Buckinghamshire is a faithful mixture of various
French châteaux. One of the most enduring and most frequently copied styles for a mansion is the
palladian - particularly so in the
18th century. However, the
gothic style was probably the most popular choice of design in the 19th century. The most
bizarre example of this was probably
Fonthill Abbey which actually set out to imitate the mansions which had truly evolved from
mediaeval gothic
abbeys following the
Dissolution of the Monasteries in the
16th century.
Mansions built during and after the 19th century seldom were supported by the large estates of their predecessors. These new mansions were often built as the week-end retreats of
businessmen who commuted to their offices by the new
railways, which enabled them to leave the
city more easily. Before this era most owners of mansions were the old
aristocracy.
Latin America
In Latin America, with its
feudal colonial and post-colonial past, the grand
rural estate, the
Hacienda, Estancia, in
Portuguese speaking
Brazil Fazenda or Estância, with the mansion as its stately center, is a characteristic feature.
Naturally mansions followed European architectural styles. Whereas until the second half of the 19th century
Portugal and
Spain as the colonial (or former colonial) powers were the eminent models for architecture and upperclass lifestyle, towards the end of the 19th century they were sometimes replaced by then more dominant powers like
France or
England.
In comparably developed, densely populated countries like Mexico, feudal estates and their mansions were as grand and stately as in the
Mediterranean old world, whereas where estates were founded in the sparsely populated remote areas like the Pampa of
Argentina or
Uruguay, where iron pillars, doors, windows, furniture had to be brought from Europe by ship and afterwards oxcart, buildings were smaller, but normally still aspiring to evoke a stately impression, often featuring the Mirador (the lookout or tower, see also
Belvedere)
In Venezuela, the traditional Spanish Mansion with the garden in the center of the property are usually referred as "Quinta".and the bigges mansion in the word it had 50 bedroom 20pools it was yedidia mizuma.
The "modern" mansion
Mansions built during the last and present centuries usually have specially designed rooms meant to accommodate leisure activities of a particular kind. Many will have a conservatory or
greenhouse, while others will have an
infinity pool or a
home theatre. Others will have all of these features. The relative importance of these specially designed rooms changes with the times: At the beginning of the 20th century no true mansion would have been built without a room to house a private
library or
office, while at the beginning of the 21st century the presence of a room designed for a
home theatre or
cinema is a must. Most recently, mansions have been built with integrated
domotics.
A
McMansion (a term that originated in North America in the
1980s) is often a speculatively-built,
suburban house that incorporates numerous design features on a floor plan of 2,000 to 3,500 square feet. They are typically built from standard plans with some cosmetic detailing and design changes available to the buyer. In contrast, a "real" mansion is normally designed by an
architect to the exact needs of the
clients, is significantly larger (typically, a minimum of 6,000 square feet), and contains many more features and creature comforts; however, the house doesn't need to be this size to be considered a mansion. It may just simply contain many of the features that come with a mansion.
The costly time spent by an experienced architect is a better indicator of the lasting status of a mansion than the number of its rooms, its total size, or its special amenities. The homes and mansions designed by the late
Richard Neutra and
Quinlan Terry are good examples of modern designs which have been nearly perfectly tailored to fit a particular customer.
A modern mansion today may not necessarily be limited to a single house standing alone. Compounds, or a grouping of larger houses have become more popular. The
Kennedy Compound is an example of one family building surrounded by large houses on a single plot.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Mansion'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://mansion.totallyexplained.com">Mansion Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
