B e l l a r m i n e H a l lC an architectural overview of c

L e t t e r f r o m t h e P r e s i d e n t

Dear Friends:

On the occasion of my inauguration as the eighth president

of Fairfield University, I am pleased to share with you one of

the University’s new publications, An Architectural Overview of

Bellarmine Hall.

When Mr. and Mrs. Walter B. Lashar had the house custom-built in 1921, they incorporated

an array of styles and features they had seen and noted during their extensive travels abroad.

Unfortunately, they lost the home they had called Hearthstone Hall to taxes during the

Depression. In 1942, Fairfield’s founding Jesuits acquired the estate – five buildings on

105 acres – from the Town of Fairfield, with a $100 deposit on the $62,000 purchase price.

Each two-page section herein features a photo of an originally furnished room, with a descrip-

tion of its key architectural features on the facing page. Also included is an invoice detailing

the price paid for some of the furniture and draperies and, on the inside back cover, a key to

the architectural terms used in this guide.

As one who has spent a lifetime involved in the study of history, I hope you will enjoy com-

ing to know a bit more about the history of a building so central to Fairfield University today.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey P. von Arx, S.J.

President

C 1 c

O riginally the residence of a five-member fam-

ily, and subsequently the on-campus home of

Fairfield University’s Jesuit community, Bellarmine Hall

has, since 1981, housed the office of the University

President and other administrative departments.

The 44-room

mansion was designed

and built for Mr. and

Mrs. Walter B. Lashar

in 1921, on the highest

point of a 105-acre plot

of land that included

a commanding view

of Long Island Sound.

They named their family home Hearthstone Hall, a reflec-

tion of its 13 fireplaces. Mr. Lashar was president of the

highly profitable American Chain and Cable Company at

a time when the United States was experiencing incredible

growth and prosperity. Bridges, ships, and buildings were

all in need of Mr. Lashar’s chains and cables.

Mr. and Mrs. Lashar were world travelers and enjoyed

choosing exterior and interior finishes based on styles

they had observed while touring Europe and Asia. The

rooms include a potpourri of decorative styles ranging

from Tudor to Adam to chinoiserie.

The interior was built off-site in sections by the

Haydon Company of Bridgeport, Conn. These were then

brought to the hill and reassembled. Architects in Europe

were employed as advisors on reproducing many of the

decorative features of England’s great manor houses.

Oak flooring in the house is, for the most part, laid in a

French herringbone pattern, and most lighting fixtures

and hardware are original to the house.

From 1922 to 1929, Hearthstone Hall was the site

of many elegant social gatherings. However, Mr. Lashar

lost much of his fortune in the stock market crash and,

as a result, the house was turned over to the Town of

Fairfield.

In March 1942, the New England Province of the

Society of Jesus bought Hearthstone Hall and its acreage

from the Town for $62,000.

The Jesuits renamed the mansion, dedicating it as

St. Robert Bellarmine Hall in honor of the 16th-century

Jesuit theologian who became a cardinal and saint.

Some rooms became classrooms for the newly chartered

Fairfield College Preparatory

School, while the rest of the man-

sion housed Jesuits. Prep classes

ultimately moved to permanent

facilities across campus, and the

Fairfield Jesuit Community con-

tinued using Bellarmine Hall

as its residence until 1981.St. Robert Bellarmine, S.J.

1542-1601

I n t r o d u c t i o n

Walter and Aurelia Lashar

E x t e r i o r

T he 44-room mansion originally known as

Hearthstone Hall reflects the style of an English

manor house. Built of Weymouth granite, its design is

modified Tudor and Gothic, and typifies the many revival

mansions built throughout the United States in the 1920s.

Gargoyles poised at the main entrance and above win-

dows on the building’s north, west, and south sides stare

fiercely to ward off evil spirits. This hybrid architectural

feature adds charm to the façade.

The south side of the building features a stone terrace

set between the wings formed by the dining room and

solarium. Stone steps with carved newels and balusters

lead down to a perennial garden, walled in by a low

stone fence.

To the west of the building, a Japanese garden built

in the late 1920s features three bridges spanning several

small pools, each cascading to another over properly

placed stones. The garden includes several lanterns

and statues, among them a miniature replica of Mount

Fujiyama that had the capacity to give off smoke. The

garden’s designer, Arthur Shurcliff, had previously recre-

ated the gardens of Williamsburg, Va.

The Lashars paid great attention to the landscaping

and included a wide variety of trees to show off their

home. Among these were: mugo-mugo trees from China,

placed to the east and west of the stone driveway leading

to the front doors; Kwansan and weeping cherry trees;

Norway spruce; ginkgo; and in the Japanese garden area,

a cedar of Lebanon.

• Exterior: Weymouth granite.

• Windows: original to the house.

• Roof: slate.

• Gargoyles: perched at the upper corners of

the front, west, and rear entrances.

• Terrace: slate terrace facing south

with small embedded garden.

• Gardens: perennial in rear,

surrounded by low stone wall;

Japanese garden to the west,

designed by world-famous

landscape architect.

• Landscaping: many unusual

ornamental trees, including

mugo-mugos from China.

ExtErior

C 3 c

E n t r a n c e a n d V e s t i b u l e

gray; circular-headed sidewall niches to display

sculpture.

• Vestibule: barrel-vaulted and decorated with plas-

ter flat-strap work of squares and circles. Various

devices – portcullis, lion’s head, Tudor rose, thistle,

brass lamp, and castle – are modeled in low relief

within the squares and circles, and are painted in blue

and gold.

• Inner Doors: glass, wood, and wrought iron.

• STEPS: granite steps lead to Main Hall.

• Main Hall: beamed corridor, oak paneled.

• Columns: of stone, copied from Bolsover Castle,

Derbyshire, England.

• Lighting: antique bronze lighting fixture in the

form of an old sailing ship; wall sconces of decorative

metalwork.

• Floors: granite.

T he Lashars discovered the motif for the nail-

studded oak entrance doors at Blickling Hall

(Norfolk, England), which stands on land that was

owned by Ann Boleyn’s family during the reign of

Henry VIII. The vestibule is of stone, and includes a

stone cornice to the height of the circular-headed door’s

spring line.

To give interest to the walls, the Lashars introduced

circular-headed niches set into each sidewall, similar to

those in the entrance porch at Mapperton House (Dorset,

England). This niche design dates to around 1618.

The inner doors of the vestibule – of glass, wood,

and wrought iron – are similar in design to doors in the

cloister of Hatfield House (Hertfordshire), built about

1611. In the original doors, the fleur-de-lis ornaments

were of wood, but here they have been reproduced in

wrought iron. The hinges and locks, also wrought iron,

reflect the English originals as well.

Granite steps lead from the vestibule up to the

center of the Main Hall. To the right and left, the hall

becomes a beamed corridor, paneled in oak to a height

of seven feet.

Two large stone columns, copied from those in the

Pillar Room of Bolsover Castle (Derbyshire, England),

are its main feature. Their arches blend with six orna-

mental pilasters. A bronze lighting fixture in the form of

an old sailing ship hangs in the corridor. The decorative

metalwork wall sconces are original to the house as well.

• Entrance Doors: nail-studded oak.

• Walls: rough case plaster originally tinted a warm

C 5 c

EntrancE and VEstibulE

M a i n S t a i r c a s e

T he staircase in the Main Hall is copied from The

Charterhouse, London, which dates to before

1560. The balusters terminate in male and female forms,

from which spring arches suggestive of rusticated stone-

work.

The plaster ceiling above the stairwell, with its incred-

ible detail, is modeled on one found in Loseley Hall

(Surrey, England).

The register plates in the

sills of the landing windows

are made of pierced brass, with

wood-pierced register openings

beneath them. At the second

story level, carved oak arches

separate the staircase hall from

the second story hall.

• Staircase: oak.

• The balustrades: carved

with male and female busts.

• The newels: intricately

carved motifs depicting

battle equipment, musical

instruments, exotic animals,

mythical birds, flowers, and

strap and ribbon patterns.

• Stair landing: typical

English manor house design.

• Register plates: pierced

brass.

C 7 c

Main staircasE

• Columns and arches at top of stairwell:

carved oak, typical English manor house design.

• Stairwell ceiling: plaster with molded ribs ter-

minating in fleur-de-lis and floral ornaments, bosses,

leafwork at the intersections, and quaint figures of

birds in diamond panels.

• Lighting: the suspended star lamp, a particular

favorite of Mrs. Lashar, added a 1920s touch.

T h e G r e a t H a l l

T he design of the Great Hall was inspired by English

manor houses of the early 16th century. The rafters

that divide this room into three bays frame the bowed,

coffered oak ceiling and are supported on carved corbels

and further strengthened by curved braces.

One large window floods the room with light. It

consists of 15 separate leaded windows, constructed in

Tudor style with three rows of five windows each. The

room’s paneling features an unusual linen-fold pattern

– the earliest form of ornamental panel – styled to resem-

ble a piece of symmetrically folded linen.

An overhanging room above, lighted by five small

leaded windows, was a musicians’ gallery, and was used

when the Lashars entertained in the Great Hall. It also

allowed the Lashars to determine which guests had

arrived so they could plan their entrance down the main

staircase. An entry on the second floor provided access to

the gallery, but that access has now been removed.

• Entrance: accented by three pilastered and arched

stone doorways. Floor is of stone paving.

• Paneling: unusual linen-fold pattern (the earliest

form of ornamental panel).

• Wainscot: oak, with

carvings of grape clus-

ters, leaves, vines, and

Tudor roses. Copied from

panels in Haddon Hall,

Derbyshire.

• Spandrels: contain intricately carved pierced Gothic

tracery of wood.

• Musician’s gal-

lery: overhangs east

fireplace; used by musi-

cians when the Lashars

entertained.

• Two fireplaces:

hearths repeat Gothic

shape of the ceiling.

Like most others in the

manor, the firewalls are

faced with intricate

patterns of brickwork in

varied sizes. Their stone mantels and surrounds are

carved with shields and interwoven patterns.

• West fireplace: surrounded by the linen-fold

paneling; reliefs of a Renaissance man and woman.

• East fireplace: recessed under an overhanging

area of Tudor-style half-timber and stucco.

• Ceiling: bowed and coffered oak, with intricate

brackets of crowned kings.

• Principal rafters: divide ceiling into three bays,

each supported by carved brackets and curved braces.

• Windows: Tudor-style; 15 separate leaded windows

in three rows of five windows each.

• Double doors: oak, lead to stone terrace overlook-

ing the expansive rear lawn and gardens.

• Hardware: lighting fixtures, door locks, and

hinges are original to the room.

• Floor: stone.

thE GrEat hall Room 115

C 9 c

T h e D i n i n g R o o m

T he scheme for this room – formerly the Lashars’

dining room – stems from the latter part of the

17th century, and reflects the school of Christopher

Wren, one of England’s most famous architects. The

rich walnut paneling is very different in design from the

Main and Great Halls, with large decorative panels that

lift to within a foot of the ceiling.

The Hayden Furniture Company of New York, the

interior decorator of Hearthstone Hall, commissioned a

London architect to make drawings of rooms at Belton

House (England) with permission of its owner, Earl

Brownlow. Although this room was not reproduced

exactly as at Belton, the details of the moldings and of

the hardware on the doors are very similar.

The large opening for the south window is treated

with carved brackets and impost supporting the beam

above. The details are copied from St. Paul’s Cathedral,

London, Wren’s great masterpiece.

• Paneling: richly decorated walnut, with dado

around the lower part of the room and paneling

above reaching in full height to the cornice.

• Cornice around the room: reflects that in

Kensington Palace.

• Coved ceiling: oval band of fruit and flowers in

the Grinling Gibbons manner. Floral borders were

partly modeled with some leaves and flowers cast

separately and inserted into pattern. Cartouches with

marine motifs are on the central oval axis lines.

• Fireplace mantel treatment: characteristic

leaf work of the Wren period.

• Carved fruit and flower decoration: in

the style of the School of Grinling Gibbons, famous

woodcarver employed by Wren on most of his impor-

tant work. Lower part of the mantel also typical of

the Wren School — heavily molded variegated marble

in what is known as the “bolection” molding, without

shelf or frieze above.

• Fireback: copied from a

Charles II cast-iron version in

Whitehall Palace.

• Silver sconces at the

mantel: original to the room.

• Wall sconces: delicately

carved wood, composed of

drapery and festoons in

character with the Grinling

Gibbons carving of the period.

• South windows: carved

brackets and impost support

the beam above and are copied

from St. Paul’s Cathedral, London. The register open-

ings are of carved wood, done in the Gibbons style.

• Doors to the hall and pantry: classical

molded architrave, with carved frieze and circular

pediments. Original model in South Kensington

Museum, England.

• Door hardware: engraved locks copied from

those at Belton House; bird motif from Lashar crest is

introduced.

• Floor: oak, laid in herringbone pattern.

C 11 c

thE dininG rooM Admission/Board Room

Room 114

T h e L i b r a r y

D esigned as a private retreat area, the Tudor-style

library’s unusual entrance separated it from the

more social rooms of the house. A large oak structure,

known as a corner porch, was a feature of many old

houses and served as an entry passage that screened the

user from view. The one pictured here (since removed)

was copied from a home in Westmorland, England.

The library’s primary feature is its heavy beam work,

which not only carries the full width of the room in

front of the windows, but also forms the recess for the

bookshelf to its right. Other recesses are formed by

bringing the upper wall – supported by heavy beams

– out to the face of the bookcases and fireplace. The

height of the room adds to the effect.

The walls reflect the uneven texture of old plas-

tering, which was meant to give an artistic effect.

Stonework around the fireplace opening is Tudor –

arched, molded, and carved.

• Entrance: an entrance “porch” separated the

library from the main corridor. Original is now in

South Kensington Museum.

• Walls: Tudor-style, uneven plastering and half-

beams.

• Bookcases: three walls of recessed shelving backed

by paneling and topped by heavy beam.

• Fireplace: ornately carved and arched. The origi-

nal firebacks, made in Sussex, England, of cast iron,

protected the herringbone brickwork and also threw

heat into the room.

• Mantel: early Renaissance style, in oak, with fluted

pilasters and arched panels.

• Ceiling: raised, with oak crossbeams.

• Chandelier: original to house.

• Windows: Tudor-style leaded windows.

• Floor: oak, laid in irregular-width planks.

The entrance porch

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thE library Conference Room

Room 113

E n c l o s e d P o r c h

T his large room, which the Lashars used as an

“enclosed porch,” gives full play to color decora-

tion on its walls and ceiling. Originally, the walls above

the five-foot mark were decorated with Gothic scroll-

work with quaint figures of the “chase” taken from the

old castles in the Tyrol.

The ceiling’s large wood crossbeams have smaller

beams framed into them, and their sides and soffits are

decorated in the French Renaissance manner.

The mantel, similar to one in the 14th-century Cobham

College (Kent, England), is an example of the hooded

Gothic style, with molded jambs projecting to support the

heavy stone lintel and sloping plaster hood above.

The original raised and curved hearthstone gave

importance to the fireplace and set off its accessories

– the andirons and a triple-arched fireback. The latter

(since removed) dates to late-17th century Dutch design

that depicted scriptural subjects, in this case featuring

Rebecca at the Well. A new hearthstone has since been

installed.

• Walls: originally featured Gothic scrollwork illus-

trating figures of the “chase.”

• Arched niche: on north wall over wrought iron

heat outlet. The Lashars displayed sculpture in the

niche.

• Mantel: hooded Gothic style, with molded jambs

projecting in corbel form to support the heavy stone

lintel and sloping plaster hood above.

• Firewall: brick backs and cheeks laid in herring-

bone and straight courses.

• Ceiling: large wood crossbeams, with smaller beams

framed into these, decorated in color in the French

Renaissance manner. Cartouches on large beams

feature painted landscapes; between these are birds

and floral decoration. Smaller beams are divided into

panels with lines, scroll ornaments, and floral sprays.

• Windows: Palladian.

• Door Hardware: wrought-iron hinges, handles,

and locks are original to the house.

• Floor: stone.

C 15 c

EnclosEd Porch President’s Reception Room

Room 123

Entrance Suite – Office of the President

Three rooms comprise the suite that is now the Office of the President: the entrance and reception room (west); the President’s office (south); and the Executive Assistant to the President’s office (north). During the Lashar ten-ure, these functioned respectively as an enclosed porch, a drawing room, and a reception room.

T h e D r a w i n g R o o m

T his room offers an excellent example of an early

17th-century paneled room. The difference

between its plain wood paneling and the Great Hall’s

linenfold carving illustrates the contrast between 17th-

and 16th-century design. Earlier panelwork was almost

never the full height of the room, but this later style has

been carried almost to the ceiling. The space above it is

treated as a cove in plaster.

The pilasters dividing the wainscot into bays were

also a innovation of the day, and were often decorated

with a finely carved strapwork design; the replications

here can be found in a room at 17 Fleet Street, London.

The cornice is copied from woodwork at St. John’s

College, Oxford. Its dentil molding, bracketed frieze,

and raised panel ornamentation also reflect the 17th

century.

The large stone mantel, richly carved, was copied

from one in the ruined Donegal Castle, Ireland. In

place of the Donegal coat-of-arms, the upper panels are

carved with the coat-of-arms of Lashar and his wife.

• Walls: early 17th-century paneling.

• Cornice: dentil molding and bracketed frieze,

ornamented with raised panels. Copied from

St. John’s College, Oxford.

• Mantel: stone, richly carved. Replicates one from

Donegal Castle, Ireland.

• Coved ceiling: plaster, richly ornamented, with

circles and squares of molded ribs, sprays of flowers,

oak trees, and oak leaves.

• Lintel across bay window: separates ceiling of

room from that in bay – the latter being flat and lower

than in main room, but ornamented in the same fashion.

• Heat outlets: pierced flat balusters.

• Oak double-doors: surrounded by arched,

Tudor-style stonework. Spandrels in upper corners of

doorframe show Lashars’ coats-of-arms.

• Solarium: through south door, with an outdoor

stone terrace adjacent.

• Lighting fixtures, door hardware: original

to the room, wrought in metal.

• Floor: irregular-width planking in oak.

C 17 c

thE drawinG rooM The President’s Office

Room 124

T h e R e c e p t i o n R o o m

Used by the Lashars as a reception room, this office

reflects the Adam style of decoration, an influence

of the late 18th century. Robert and James Adam (1728-

1784) came from a Scottish family of noted architects

and their united influence was felt in the decorative arts.

Besides designing exteriors and interiors of their build-

ings, they designed furniture, carpets, fire grates, door

hardware, and so forth, to accent and blend with their

architectural style.

The cream-colored marble mantel is beautifully inlaid

with accents of green marble. The carved frame above,

surrounding the old Italian painting, is a characteristic

Adam treatment. The painting is original to the house.

Further reflecting the Adam style are the dado

around the room, with its carved cap and base, the door

trim with carved frieze and cornice, and the mahogany

doors with richly carved moldings and finely veneered

panels. The ceiling, of delicate ornamental plasterwork,

is also classic Adam design.

The cornice, with frieze ornamented with vases and

honeysuckle, is copied from a door head in the South

Kensington Museum.

• Dado and door trim: carved in Adam style.

• Carved painting frame: characteristic Adam

treatment, surrounds an Italian painting original to

room.

• Cornice: frieze ornamented with vases and honey-

suckle. Copied from South Kensington Museum.

• Mantel: cream-colored marble, inlaid with accents

of green marble.

• Ceiling: delicate ornamental plasterwork.

• Windows: carved, heart-shaped pilasters and cornice

with ornamental lunette above. Heat registers of cast

metal.

• Lighting fixtures: gilt and enamel.

• Doors: mahogany moldings and veneered panels.

• Door hardware: specially made in England, scroll

hardware and mortise locks replace bolt locks of

earlier years.

• Floor: oak, laid in herringbone pattern.

C 19 c

thE rEcEPtion rooM Office of Executive Assistant to the President

Room 121

T h e D r e s s i n g R o o m

T his room is a fine example of the lacquer work,

or chinoiserie, which was much in vogue from

1680 to 1750. Growing trade with the East had brought

more and more Chinese art to Europe, and shells of

cabinets, clocks, and other pieces were frequently sent

to China to be decorated by lacquerers there. This art

form soon found ready imitators in Holland, France,

and England.

The wainscot from floor to ceiling is of a warm,

biscuit or mustard-toned lacquer, with landscapes,

pagodas, oriental figures, flowers, and foliage cleverly

introduced. Parts of this detail stand out in heavy relief,

adding richness to the effect.

On the north wall, double doors with a pierced panel

above open to reveal triple dressing mirrors that were

lighted from above by an electrical fixture. The pierced

panel served as a vent to the closet, and similar panels

occur over other closet doors.

Other doors in the room opened to large walk-in

closets, lingerie drawers, hat and glove storage, and

a safe containing Mrs. Lashar’s valuables and jewels.

Another in the south wall leads to what was Mrs.

Lashar’s solarium (today an office) with an expansive

view of Long Island Sound.

• Chinoiserie

décor.

• Wainscot:

warm biscuit- or

mustard-toned

lacquer, with

painted images

cleverly intro-

duced from floor

to ceiling, many

in raised relief.

• Double

doors: triple-

mirrored

dressing area

behind them.

Pierced panel above served as a vent to closet.

• Other doors: opened to large walk-in closets, lin-

gerie drawers, hat and glove storage, a safe containing

Mrs. Lashar’s valuables.

• Solarium: through south door, offered an expan-

sive view of Long Island Sound.

• Door jambs and arched moldings: solid

wood, carved in character with the period’s stone

molding and held together by wooden pegs.

• Lighting fixtures: decorated lacquer in keeping

with décor.

• Register plates: Chinese lattice design made of

metal, finished to match woodwork.

• Floor: oak, laid in herringbone pattern.

C 21 c

Mrs. lashar’s drEssinG rooM Advancement Office

Room 228

Second Floor

Family bedrooms, guest bedrooms, and servants’ quarters occupied the second and third floors. Several of the rooms still bear strong evidence of the Lashars’ choice of design.

T h e L a s h a r s ’ B e d r o o m

L ong before the middle of the 18th century, the

value of stucco decoration for wall surfaces was

fully realized by architects of the day. The decora-

tive scheme could be successful, however, only if the

architect and furniture maker worked in conjunction

to ensure proper scale between the two elements.

Craftsmen of the Georgian period, as reflected in this

room, achieved excellent results.

The walls above the dado are carried out in

stucco and served as a suitable background for the

Chippendale furniture the Lashars chose for their bed-

room. The French influence is reflected in ornamental

panels of the walls, with festoons of fruit and flowers

above the arched openings and “drops” of fruit and

flower decoration on the wide upright stiles.

The cornice is in the same material and the lower

members are of pendant form. This combination of

Chinese detail and Louis XV leaf work is one of the

characteristics of the Chippendale school, a style car-

ried through in the wall lights and the mirror frame

over the mantel.

The arched opening to the passage is balanced by

a similar shaped door opening on the southwest wall

of the room that once led to a bathroom. The large

openings to the windows are treated with classical

ornamental architraves.

The wood mantel combines Chinese lattice decora-

tion with classical ornament. The facing is of Siena

marble, with white linings, and the same colors are

repeated in the paneled white marble hearth.

• Entrance hall and passage between

bedroom and dressing room: paneled in simple

Georgian style. Four original architectural renderings

of Hearthstone Hall, in pen, ink, and watercolor, are

mounted in hall.

• Walls: stucco

above the dado;

ornamental panels

have French influ-

ence, with festoons

of fruit and flowers

above arched open-

ings and “drops”

of fruit and flower

decoration on wide

upright stiles.

• Cornice: lower

members take a

pendant form. Its

combination of

Chinese detail and Louis XV leaf work is a character-

istic of the Chippendale School.

• Mantel: wood with Chinese lattice decoration com-

bined with classical ornament; Siena marble facing

with white linings and a white marble hearth.

• Windows: large openings have classical ornamental

architraves.

• Register plates: Chinese lattice design, made in

metal and painted in with the woodwork.

• Floor: oak, laid in herringbone pattern.

C 23 c

thE lashars’ bEdrooM Vice President for Advancement

Room 225

T he $285,791 invoice at the

left offers a window into the

world of wealth enjoyed by the

Lashar family during the 1920s,

and shows the ways they made

Hearthstone Hall a place they

could call home.

Included in this particular

invoice are charges for plas-

terwork ($146,651); antique

oriental rugs, hand-woven

in Persia, Turkey, Kurdistan

($13,120); custom-made and

antique furniture primarily of

oak, mahogany, and walnut

($34,425); bedroom/solarium

furniture (4 rooms; $16,695);

nursery furniture ($1,515);

and accessories for the home’s

13 fireplaces ($3,894).

Of particular interest

is the staggering amount

spent on curtains – $15,780

for the main hall alone –

in “1921 dollars,” no less.

Sadly, the Lashars lost

most of their reported

$80 million fortune

in the stock market

crash of 1929.

C 24 c

T h e B i l l

Architrave: in classical design, the lowest member resting on a column (pages 11, 23)

Baluster: the vertical post in a balustrade (pages 3, 7)

Balustrade: the collection of rails and posts with a rail along the top that form the waist-height wall to the sides of stairs or to a terrace or balcony (page 7)

Boss: ornamental projecting block (page 7)

Bowed: shaped like a bow (page 9)

Brace: see “bracket” (page 9)

Bracket: projecting wall support, beneath a ceiling or overhang; in masonry, known as a corbel (page 9)

Cartouche: ornate or ornamental frame (page 11)

Chinoiserie: style of art or decoration, including colors and lacquer-work, reflecting Chinese style or motif (page 21)

Coffered ceiling: ceiling with recessed panels (page 9)

Corbel: similar to a bracket but more often made of stone; rises upward and outward from vertical surface (pages 9, 15)

Cornice: a molded and projecting horizontal frame, often decorated, that crowns an architectural composition, frequently along the top of a wall (pages 5, 11, 17, 19, 23)

Cove: architectural member with a concave cross-section; a rounded area where walls meet ceiling (pages 11, 17)

Dado: lower part of an interior wall when specially decorated or faced (pages 11, 19, 23)

Dentil: Small projecting blocks, like teeth, beneath a cornice (page 17)

Fireback: decorative, upright cast iron screen inside hearth; used to reflect heat (pages 13, 15)

Firewall: inside walls of a hearth, including back and cheeks (page 9)

Frieze: sculptured or richly ornamented band that lies between the architrave and cornice of an entablature; found along the top of a classical building (pages 11, 17, 19)

Gargoyle: a grotesquely carved figure, often projecting from a roof gutter to throw rainwater clear of a building (page 3)

Georgian: a style of architecture that has refined and symmetrical features and a decorative crown; named after English royalty (pages 5, 23)

Gothic: a style marked by windows with pointed arches, exposed framing timbers, and steep, vaulted roofs (page 3)

Impost: block, capital, or molding from which an arch springs (page 11)

Lacquerwork: the layering of numerous coats of varnish, sanding in between coats to create a smooth, lustrous effect (page 21)

Lintel: a supporting piece found above a window or door, usually made of wood or stone (page 15)

Lunette: crescent-shaped area (page 19)

Newel: upright post at the foot of a staircase or on a landing (page 7)

Pediment: a triangular, rounded, or otherwise shaped structure over a portico, door, window or niche, usually filled with ornamentation in the classical style (page 11)

Pilaster: square column or pillar generally attached to a wall, from which it projects a third, forth, fifth or a sixth of its breadth (pages 9, 13, 17, 19)

Portcullis: grating of iron hung over the gateway of a fortified place; often at the entrance to a castle after the drawbridge (page 5)

Relief: mode of sculpture in which forms and figures protrude from or are carved into surrounding plane surface (pages 5, 9, 21)

Rusticated: a facing of rough-surfaced masonry blocks with beveled or rebated edges that create pronounced joints (page 7)

Soffit: underside of a part or member of a building, such as a beam, arch, eave, overhang, or dropped ceiling (page 15)

Spandrel: ornamental part of a wall adjoining an arch or below an upper-level window; the part of a porch facade that reflects the balustrade (pages 9, 17)

Stile: one of the vertical members of a frame or panel into which the secondary members are fitted (page 23)

Tracery: architectural ornamental work with branching lines, such as decorative openwork (page 9)

Tudor: features half-timbering, and facades dominated by one or more steeply pitched cross gables (pages 3, 5, 9, 13)

Wainscot: lower three or four feet of an interior wall, usually finished differently from remainder of wall (pages 9, 17, 21)

Key to architectural terms

1073 North Benson Road, Fairfield, CT 06824-5157www.fairfield.edu

This booklet is based on research done by the Rev. Charles F. Duffy, S.J. (1912-1992), who came to Fairfield Prep in 1945

and joined the University two years later. There he served first as bookstore supervisor and then as registrar until 1977. In

retirement, Fr. Duffy spent hours and hours in the University Archives compiling information about Fairfield’s early days,

including the 20-page, single-spaced document distilled herein. He also authored Volume I of The Chronicles of Fairfield

University, published shortly before his death.

Linda Gustavson ’00, who graduated through University College with a degree in art history, further researched and edited

this volume while working as publications assistant in the Office of Public Relations. Margaret Galeano designed the guide.

C CREDITS c