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Architectural Drawing

1863
Artist/Maker

Philip Webb designed Arisaig House for Francis Dunkinfield Palmer Astley in 1863. It was his first country home and one of his largest projects. Constructed in Iverness-shire, Scotland, the house was made in two types of local stone: blue-grey granite and dark brown basalt. The isolated location of Arisaig presented difficulties in transporting materials, but the house was nonetheless completed in just one year. The project was one of the first occasions on which Webb designed every aspect of the house, including the interior furnishings. This commitment to achieving an overall aesthetic throughout the house later became a defining characteristic of Webb’s work.

Object details

Categories
Object type
Brief description
Design for a house at Arisaig for F.D.P. Astley by Philip Webb, 1863
Physical description
Contract drawing in pencil, pen and coloured wash showing the ground plan of Arisaig House and outbuildings. The plan shows the rooms of the ground floor arranged around a large central living hall, with the domestic service rooms in the north east quarter and the domestic service buildings-- coal house, shoe house, bakehouse, washhouse, etc.-- around a kitchen yard to the north west of the house. The sheet is marked 'No. 3' and is signed by Webb, several contractors and two witnesses.
Production typeUnique
Summary
Philip Webb designed Arisaig House for Francis Dunkinfield Palmer Astley in 1863. It was his first country home and one of his largest projects. Constructed in Iverness-shire, Scotland, the house was made in two types of local stone: blue-grey granite and dark brown basalt. The isolated location of Arisaig presented difficulties in transporting materials, but the house was nonetheless completed in just one year. The project was one of the first occasions on which Webb designed every aspect of the house, including the interior furnishings. This commitment to achieving an overall aesthetic throughout the house later became a defining characteristic of Webb’s work.
Bibliographic reference
Arisaig is discussed in detail in Sheila Kirk, 'Philip Webb: Pioneer of Arts and Crafts Architecture', (Wiley, 2005), pp.104-11.
Collection
Accession number
E.117-1916

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Record createdJune 30, 2009
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