Elphinstone Tower
From Archiplanet
 | Elphinstone Tower |
| Designer | unknown |
| Location | near Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom |
| Date | 1440 |
| Building Type | large house, tower house, small castle |
| Climate | temperate |
| Context | rural |
| Architectural Style | Medieval |
| Street Address | |
| Notes | A simple massive block form, with thick walls and rooms-in-walls. |
| At Great Buildings | http://www.GreatBuildings.com/buildings/Elphinstone_Tower.html |
Contents |
[edit] Images
[edit] Discussion
Commentary
"This tower-house is rectangular without projections of any kind. The principal apartments are one upon another, five storeys in all. They consist of a barrel-vaulted basement with a timber floor dividing it into two storeys, a vaulted hall (not divided) and two unvaulted storeys above that. All this is contained by the four walls 9 feet thick. Above this level there is an unprecedented borrowing of space from them. Stairs and mural chambers are extraordinarily numerous. Void prevails over solid. The thick-wall construction becomes hollow-wall or cellular, and the solid weight of masonry in the haunches of the vaults is burrowed into for entre-sol floors. Even the flue of the great fireplace in the hall contains a little chamber with a window overlooking the hall, opening off a private suite in the thickness of the northwest corner of the tower. This was served only by a private wheel stair from the hall, going no further."
— Stewart Cruden. The Scottish Castle. p136.
[edit] Maps
[edit] References
Roger H. Clark and Michael Pause. Precedents in Architecture. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1985. unit to whole diagram, p161.— Updated edition available at Amazon.com
Stewart Cruden. The Scottish Castle. London: Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1960. DA875.C7. section drawing, f14, p137. plan drawing of first floor, f14, p137. discussion, p136.
Sidney Toy. The Castles of Great Britain. London: William Heinemann, 1953. exterior perspective of exterior, p192a.
[edit] External Links
Elphinstone Tower — with text and a picture
