Coade Stone Keystones
Coade Stone Keystones are decorative headpieces to arched doorways in buildings from the 17th and 18th Century. Very often featuring a face or a protruding head, the keystones rarely have a structural function of a normal arch keystone. The heads sometimes represent historical figures or mythical characters such as the Green Man or, In London, Father Thames. Coade stone was not really a 'stone', but a tough ceramic compound fired in a kiln. It was patented by Mrs Coade, who set up a factory producing it at Lambeth in London. It provided a cheaper alternative to costly stone-carving in architectural decoration.
Coade Stone[edit]
“ Coade Stone” was invented in 1793 by 'Coade's Artificial Stone Manufactory' which was run by Miss Eleanor Coade. There is some debate about whether Elenor Coade actually invented the material, or whether she acquired the recipe when she bought the company, however she was the marketing genius behind its rapid adoption in Georgian Britain. Mrs Coade called the invention ‘Lithodypyra’ literally meaning twice-fired stone. It was a very skilled process to get the firing temperatures prolonged and correct in the kilns of the day.
One of the more striking features of Coade stone is its incredible resistance to weathering, often faring better than most types of stone in Britain's harsh weather. The ease with which the product could be moulded into complex shapes made it ideal for large statues, sculptures and sculptural façades.
The Keystones[edit]
These became popular after the London Building Act of 1774 when unnecessary exterior wood was banned to reduce the risk of fire <ref>http://look-uplondon.tumblr.com/post/105768760413/in-the-backstreets-off-edgware-road-theres-a</ref>, so people looked for alternative decoration. Georgian housebuilding had adopted a simplified Anglo-Palladian Classical style in which arches and doorways were decorated with fake stonework and motifs. The keystone became a feature on which a small amount of detailed decoration could be added, without debasing the architectural simplicity of the buildings. Coade stone's ability to deliver finely detailed faces and other features made it the ideal material for the keystone fad. It was also remarkably resistant to weather and pollution (although not so good in seaside towns with the high salt content). Moulds were often kept for many years, for repeated use, and so familiar Coade Stone Keystones appear in numerous buildings around London and the other great Georgian cities.
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Coade Stone Keystone in Ceredigion, West Wales
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Coade Stone Keystone near Edgware Road, London via Look-UpLondpon
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Coade Stone Keystone near Edgware Road, London via Look-UpLondpon
See Also In Chimni[edit]
ChimniWiki Page: Is My House 'Georgian Anglo-Palladian Classical'?
ChimniWiki Page: Georgian
ChimniWiki Page: Regency
ChimniWiki Page: William Kent
See Also[edit]
The Coade Stone Heads at Hafod, Ceredigion, West Wales http://www.letterfromaberystwyth.co.uk/the-coade-stone-heads-at-hafod/
Coade Stone Keystones in London http://look-uplondon.tumblr.com/post/105768760413/in-the-backstreets-off-edgware-road-theres-a
Wikipedia Article 'Coade Stone' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coade_stone
Other Interesting Web Sites[edit]
A Schedule of 'Art Deco' Houses in London
Books We Liked[edit]
References[edit]
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