James Gibbs and the Rockingham Meeting House

This blog post assumes you, the reader, are familiar with James Gibbs' architecture. If you need an introduction or a review, check the end of this blog. You will see links to what I wrote about him and his work. See also Wikipedia.

 

Did anyone in the States study James Gibbs' books?

Yes. Gibbs' On Architecture*, published in 1723, was imported to the Colonies. We know the steeple designs were studied and copied**. 

His book, RULES for DRAWING the several PARTS of ARCHITECTURE*, was also in the Colonies. 

Both books were in bookstores and private libraries. 

 

Were the rules Gibbs drew standard knowledge? Or was he simply the first to write them down? 

Did builders follow his layout instructions?  

I don't know yet. I'm studying historic doors, leaving surrounds and architraves for later research.

 

HABS has measured drawings of the Rockingham Meetinghouse in Rockingham, Vermont. It was  built from 1787 to 1797.  The Master Builder was John Fuller. The Master Joiner - who would have built the doors - is not recorded. He could have been John Fuller.

I know the Meetinghouse well. I've studied it, given tours, taught and written about the geometry of its construction as well as how the door paneling fits by the Rule of Thirds.**

 

The main door

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The HABS drawing of this door

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That drawing with the dimensions inked out in order to make James Gibbs' geometry easier to read.

2 squares.

The width divided into 6 parts, 3 noted. Then one part (1/6 the width of the door) determining the width of the surround.  

I have used the arcs and lines that Gibbs used for his door layouts. The radius of the arc is the width and height of the square. This is a builder's 'shorthand'.

This layout matches the door on the left in Gibbs' drawing shown above.

 

A line can be divided into 6 parts using the Rule of Thirds. See Part II of my post on James Gibbs and the Rockingham Meetinghouse. The link is at the bottom of this post.**

 

 The door for the right stair wing at the Rockingham Meetinghouse

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The HABS drawing for the right stair wing door

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The geometry: 

2 squares and 1/6 added to the height ( the red rectangle at the top)

This geometry matches the layout of the middle door in Gibbs' drawing of 3 doors shown above.

 

 

 

 

Then, I tried using the 1/6 part of the door width  as a radius.
I placed 3 circles on the width, the red line across the middle of the door. The dimension of the circles is the radius x 2: simple geometry.

 Beginning at the bottom of the door I stepped off 8 semi-circles up  the right hand side. They are the same width as those across the width of the door. Those semi-circles lay out the height of the door surround, the beginning of the architrave and its height.

Finally, I saw that the width of the pilasters on each side of the door was the same width as the circles. See the circle on the left pilaster.

The HABS drawings are small. The dimensions were made to record the building, not to record the geometry. Either the recorder or I may have missed nuance. This year, when the Meeting House is accessible, I will measure the doors to see how close what I've drawn is to the actual doors.

 

*James Gibbs,  On Architecture, 1728, London, Dover Press reprint

                         Rules for Drawing the several Parts of Architecture, 1753 edition through the University of Notre Dame  https://www3.nd.edu › Gibbs-Park-folio-18

**   https://www.jgrarchitect.com/2021/12/james-gibbs-book-of-architecture.html

       http://www.jgrarchitect.com/2022/02/james-gibbs-steeples.html

       https://www.jgrarchitect.com/2014/04/rockingham-meetiinghouse-rockingham-vt.html 

      https://www.jgrarchitect.com/2024/05/how-to-layout-pediment-350-years-of.html