ABSTRACT
This introduction sets out to address the idea of the cottage as manifested in English architectural design and discourse between 1760 and 1860. From Poland to Massachusetts, the idea of the cottage in English architecture both drew on and influenced architecture and landscape design far beyond England. Though the focus is on the architect-designed cottage in English practice and its articulation in the English architectural press. The book examines the literary origins of the idea of the cottage and its various manifestations in eighteenth-century culture. It establishes links between the cottage in eighteenth-century literature and its specific articulation in architectural discourse. It also examines the specifics of form, space and ornament in the design of early architect-designed cottages, built and unbuilt. The Cottage in Arcadia, the architect-designed cottage is located within the context of landscape design and the aesthetics of observation and the imagination. Finally, an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book is presented.
