![Western end of Wimpole Hall - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/Western_end_of_Wimpole_Hall_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1735894.jpg)
A Gibbs surround or Gibbs Surround is a type of architectural frame surrounding a door, window or
niche
Niche may refer to:
Science
*Developmental niche, a concept for understanding the cultural context of child development
*Ecological niche, a term describing the relational position of an organism's species
*Niche differentiation, in ecology, the ...
in the tradition of
classical architecture
Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the works of the Roman architect ...
otherwise known as a
rusticated doorway or window. The formula is not fixed, but several of the following elements will be found. The door is surrounded by an
architrave, or perhaps consists of, or is flanked by,
pilaster
In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wal ...
s or columns. These are with "blocking", where rectangular blocks stick out at intervals, usually alternating to represent half the surround. Above the opening there are large rusticated
voussoir
A voussoir () is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, which is used in building an arch or vault.
Although each unit in an arch or vault is a voussoir, two units are of distinct functional importance: the keystone and the springer. The ...
s and a
keystone and a
pediment
Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape.
Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds.
A pedim ...
above that.
[Loth] The most essential element is the alternation of blocking with non-blocking elements. Some definitions extend to including arches or square openings merely with alternate blocked elements that continue round the top in the same manner as the sides, as in the rectangular windows of the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
's north front basement level.
[
Though intended for ]masonry
Masonry is the building of structures from individual units, which are often laid in and bound together by mortar; the term ''masonry'' can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are bricks, building ...
in stone, the motif can be executed in other materials, especially brick, often masked in stucco, wood, or just paint.[ British vernacular housing of the late 19th century often uses alternating coloured blocks, with little or no projection from the main wall plane, but emphasized by a different colour from the main wall. These can be seen even on small ]terraced house
In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house ( UK) or townhouse ( US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings share side walls. In the United State ...
s, often using cast stone
Cast stone or reconstructed stone is a highly refined building material, a form of precast concrete used as masonry intended to simulate natural-cut stone. It is used for architectural features: trim, or ornament; facing buildings or other st ...
, and used on both the door and ground floor windows.
History
Gibbs surround is named after the architect James Gibbs
James Gibbs (23 December 1682 – 5 August 1754) was one of Britain's most influential architects. Born in Aberdeen, he trained as an architect in Rome, and practised mainly in England. He is an important figure whose work spanned the transi ...
, who often used it and popularized it in England, for example at St Martin-in-the-Fields
St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. It is dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. There has been a church on the site since at least the mediev ...
in London. Here the side doors have surrounds with all the details including pediments, while the round-topped windows along the sides have Gibbs surrounds if the broadest definition is used. However, Gibbs certainly did not invent it.[ The formula can be found in ]Ancient Roman architecture
Ancient Roman architecture adopted the external language of classical Ancient Greek Architecture, Greek architecture for the purposes of the ancient Romans, but was different from Greek buildings, becoming a new architecture, architectural style ...
, and became popular in Renaissance architecture
Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of Ancient Greece, ancient Greek and ...
from the early 16th century. Gibbs illustrated a version in his pattern-book ''A Book of Architecture'' (1728), though there the blocking stopped at the edge of the architrave. More often the blocking overlies it. This was swiftly plagiarized by rival books such as William Salmon's ''Palladio Londinensis'' (1734), which credits Andrea Palladio
Andrea Palladio ( ; ; 30 November 1508 – 19 August 1580) was an Italian Renaissance architect active in the Venetian Republic. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily Vitruvius, is widely considered to be one of ...
(d. 1580) with the origin of what Salmon calls a "Rustick Window and door".[
The name is mainly used in Britain and other English-speaking countries, where the type was also most popular and long-lasting. As a relatively simple but effective way of ornamenting an opening it was widely used for minor doors or windows in grand buildings, and the main door of more modest ones.][ The front door of Gibbs' medium-sized country house, ]Ditchley House
Ditchley Park is a country house near Charlbury in Oxfordshire, England. The estate was once the site of a Roman villa. Later it became a royal hunting ground, and then the property of Sir Henry Lee of Ditchley. The 2nd Earl of Lichfield buil ...
, uses the device, which he also used in the Fellows' Building of King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...
and Wimpole Hall
Wimpole Estate is a large estate containing Wimpole Hall, a country house located within the civil parish of Wimpole, Cambridgeshire, England, about southwest of Cambridge. The house, begun in 1640, and its of parkland and farmland are owned ...
, Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the ...
.
A version with columns rather than a moulded architrave was illustrated by Sebastiano Serlio
Sebastiano Serlio (6 September 1475 – c. 1554) was an Italian Mannerist architect, who was part of the Italian team building the Palace of Fontainebleau. Serlio helped canonize the classical orders of architecture in his influential trea ...
in 1537, where the voussoirs but not the keystone push up past the bottom edge of the pediment. Variations of this style are seen, for example, in the upper-floor windows of Palazzo Thiene
Palazzo Thiene is a 15th-16th-century palace in Vicenza, northern Italy, designed for Marcantonio and Adriano Thiene, probably by Giulio Romano, in 1542,Andrew Hopkins, 2002. ''Italian Architecture from Michelangelo to Borromini''; p. 21. and revi ...
in Vicenza
Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan.
Vicenza is a thr ...
(apparently part of the additions by Palladio), where only the keystone breaks into the pediment.[ The effect of a Gibbs surround is achieved round the doors of the south front of the ]Petit Trianon
The Petit Trianon (; French for "small Trianon") is a Neoclassical style château located on the grounds of the Palace of Versailles in Versailles, France. It was built between 1762 and 1768 during the reign of King Louis XV of France. ...
by stopping the horizontally banded rustication short in alternate levels.
Early examples in America, derived from the many English pattern-books used there, include the Aquia Church
Aquia Church is a historic church and congregation at 2938 Richmond Highway ( US 1 at VA 610) in Stafford, Virginia, USA. It is an Episcopal congregation founded in 1711, that meets in an architecturally exceptional Georgian brick building th ...
in Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
of the 1750s and St. Paul's Chapel in Manhattan, completed in 1766.[
Serlio XXIX.jpg, ]Serlio
Sebastiano Serlio (6 September 1475 – c. 1554) was an Italian Mannerist architect, who was part of the Italian team building the Palace of Fontainebleau. Serlio helped canonize the classical orders of architecture in his influential treat ...
, rusticated doorway with columns, 1537
Vicenza 51 (8187090475).jpg, Palazzo Thiene
Palazzo Thiene is a 15th-16th-century palace in Vicenza, northern Italy, designed for Marcantonio and Adriano Thiene, probably by Giulio Romano, in 1542,Andrew Hopkins, 2002. ''Italian Architecture from Michelangelo to Borromini''; p. 21. and revi ...
in Vicenza
Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan.
Vicenza is a thr ...
, Palladio, mid-16th century
Church of SS. Peter and Paul, Drumcondra - geograph.org.uk - 544266.jpg, Church door in Ireland with a Gibbs surround
Ленина 58 - окно.JPG, Russian window, Yekaterinburg, using Corinthian Corinthian or Corinthians may refer to:
*Several Pauline epistles, books of the New Testament of the Bible:
**First Epistle to the Corinthians
**Second Epistle to the Corinthians
**Third Epistle to the Corinthians (Orthodox)
*A demonym relating to ...
pilasters
Aquia Church 2012-09-11 11-11-22.jpg, Aquia Church
Aquia Church is a historic church and congregation at 2938 Richmond Highway ( US 1 at VA 610) in Stafford, Virginia, USA. It is an Episcopal congregation founded in 1711, that meets in an architecturally exceptional Georgian brick building th ...
, Virginia, 1750s
Guesten and Edgar Tower, Worcester - geograph.org.uk - 194968.jpg, Georgian house in Worcester Cathedral
Worcester Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Worcester, in Worcestershire, England, situated on a bank overlooking the River Severn. It is the seat of the Bishop of Worcester. Its official name is the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Bles ...
Close
Oxford Botanic Garden wall nr entrance.JPG, Oxford Botanic Garden
The University of Oxford Botanic Garden is the oldest botanic garden in Great Britain and one of the oldest scientific gardens in the world. The garden was founded in 1621 as a physic garden growing plants for medicinal research. Today it cont ...
; vermiculated blocks, and no room for a pediment, predating Gibbs
Somerset House courtyard (06).JPG, Somerset House, with vermiculated blocks
Derby Assembly Room facade - Tramway Street, Crich Tramway Village - National Tramway Museum - Crich (15355622746).jpg, Version with columns, National Tramway Museum
The National Tramway Museum (trading as Crich Tramway Village) is a tram museum located at Crich (), Derbyshire, England. The museum contains over 60 (mainly British) trams built between 1873 and 1982 and is set within a recreated period vil ...
. Relocated facade of the old Derby
Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...
Assembly Rooms, completed 1774.National Tramway Museum
/ref>
Former public library, Manresa Road.jpg, On the broadest definition, the ground floor windows and the upper round window here have Gibbs surrounds
Strood Byelaw houses 9029.JPG, Byelaw terraced house
A byelaw terraced house is a type of dwelling built to comply with the Public Health Act 1875. It is a type of British terraced house at the opposite end of the social scale from the aristocratic townhouse, but a marked improvement on the pre ...
in Strood, using cast stone
Cast stone or reconstructed stone is a highly refined building material, a form of precast concrete used as masonry intended to simulate natural-cut stone. It is used for architectural features: trim, or ornament; facing buildings or other st ...
Strood Byelaw houses RW Wickham Street end terrace 9025.JPG, Another Strood house, 1896. Both of these have rusticated surface patterning on the shorter blocks.
Notes
References
*Chitham, Robert, ''The Classical Orders of Architecture'' (2007) Routledge
google books
*Fleming, John, Hugh Honour, Nikolaus Pevsner (1998) ''The Penguin Dictionary of architecture and landscape architecture,'' Penguin Books, 5th edition
Loth, Calder, "CLASSICAL COMMENTS: THE GIBBS SURROUND"
Institute of Classical Architecture & Art
English Heritage Thesaurus
External links
*{{Commons category-inline
Columns and entablature
Georgian architecture
Door furniture
Windows