Porch

A porch has had a part to play in the history of  British housing, or at least it used.

In the Victorian era it was an opportunity to be ostentatious in ceramic tiling when such things were otherwise regarded as being a bit vulgar.

A well scrubbed and polished black and white or multi-coloured chequered floor was a step up from the traditional ox-blood painted plain concrete.

Terrazzo, an Italian inlaid floor, reminiscent of a Roman Tessare was a more expensive option.

On the inner walls of an open porch were bright and gawdy glazed tiles from the continent, mostly Dutch up to a raised glazed moulding below a gloss finished plaster panel on which further fibrous plaster covings could be positioned.

The 1970's and a period of escalating domestic fuel prices heralded the enclosing of the porch as a heat saving measure. Double outer doors were popular, typically with glazed upper and lower panes but negotiating these required a bit of a shimmy and deft step particularly if there was a reluctance to open up both at the same time.

Later developments in UPVC were quite bland except where Conservation Area or Listed Building Status dictated installation of a more sympathetic architectural style fitting.

Most contemporary porch structures affixed to modern housing tend to be more of a stick-on type appendage with little thought of visual empathy or even practicality.

In some cases, however, the design and construction of a porch can be a real work of art.

Take the example below, a treasure, a rare extravagance in crafted wood with slate roof, decorative bargeboards, stained glass windows and to the recess a pair of bench seats for visitors to shelter if no-one is at home or for residents to enjoy a view of the tended garden and a sunset at the end of the working day.