They were
not cramped for space, nor for money; they were not 'tied for time;' and
they had not to fight against, and make compromises with, the two great
enemies of modern architects--Economy and Iron.
At Lisieux, as at Pont Audemer, we cannot help being struck with the
extreme simplicity of the method of building, and with the
_possibilities_ of Gothic for domestic purposes. We see it here, in its
pure and natural development, as opposed to the rather unnatural
adoption of mediaeval art in England, in the latter half of the 19th
century. This last is, to quote a well-known writer on art, 'the worship
of Gothic-run-mad' in architecture. It instals itself wherever it can,
in mediaevally-devised houses, fitted up with mediaeval chairs and tables,
presses and cupboards, wall papers, and window hangings, all 'brand-new,
and intensely old;' which feeds its fancy on old pictures and old
poetry, its faith on old legend and ceremonial, and would fain dress
itself in the garb of the 15th century--the natural reaction in a
certain class of minds against the mean and prosaic aspects of
contemporary work-a-day life.
The quiet contemplation of the old buildings in such towns as Pont
Audemer, Lisieux, and Bayeux, must, we should think, convince the most
enthusiastic admirers of the archaic school, that the mere isolated
reproduction of these houses in the midst of modern streets (such as we
are accustomed to in London or Paris) is of little use, and is, in fact,
beginning at the wrong end.
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