It has been doubted how far a house, externally Gothic,* should internally preserve the same character; and the most ridiculous fancies have been occasionally introduced in libraries and eating-rooms, to make them appear of the same date with the towers and battlements of a castle, without considering that such rooms are of modern invention, and, consequently, the attempt becomes an anachronism: perhaps the only rooms of a house which can, with propriety, be Gothic, are the hall, the chapel, and those long passages which lead to the several apartments; and in these the most correct detail should be observed. As a specimen of internal Gothic, my son has inserted a design for a Gothic hall [omitted as unnecessary], which is supposed to occupy two stories; yet the comparative loftiness will not depress the height of the rooms, because the gallery which preserves the connexion in the chamber floor, marks a decided division in the height; and, as this hall ought not to open into any room without an intermediate and lower passage, the several apartments will appear more lofty and magnificent.
*[It has occasionally been objected to Gothic houses, that the old form of windows is less comfortable than modern sliding sashes; not considering that the square top to a window is as much a Gothic form as a pointed arch, and that to introduce sash-frames, as at DONNINGTON, we have only to suppose the mullions may have been taken out without injuring the general effect of the building; while, in some rooms, the ancient form of window with large mullions may be preserved. Those who have noticed the cheerfulness and magnificence of plate-glass in the large Gothic windows of CASHIOBURY and COBHAM, will not regret the want of modern sashes in an ancient palace.]
