Mansion

A mansion is a large and stately dwelling house. The word itself derives (through Old French) from the Latin word mansus the past participle of manere "to dwell". The English word "manse" originally defined a property large enough for the parish priest 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 is easy to see how the word 'Mansion' came to have its meaning.

19th century development

The 19th century saw particularly in the U.S.A a new type of mansion being built, often smaller than the older European mansions, but in their own way just as beautiful, The Breakers on Rhode Island is a fine example, as is the nearby, but completely different, Watts Sherman House.

Related Topics:
19th century - U.S.A - The Breakers - Rhode Island - Watts Sherman House

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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 remodelled during this era still survive.

Related Topics:
Fifth Avenue - New York - Gothic - Boulevard - Paris - London - Rome

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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.

Related Topics:
Château - Ferrières - France - Mentmore Towers - Wollaton Hall - Arts and crafts - Italian - Renaissance - Palazzo - Waddesdon Manor - Buckinghamshire - Palladian - 18th century - Gothic - Fonthill Abbey - Mediaeval - Abbey - Dissolution of the monasteries - 16th century

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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. Where as before this era most owners of mansions were the old aristocracy who would never have sullied their hands by, as they saw it, demeaning work.

Related Topics:
Businessmen - Railway - City - Aristocracy

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