Vanbrugh's Travels
'One Storey high, one postern Door,
And one small Chamber on a Floor.'
'He saw the edifice, and smiled,
Vowed it was pretty for a child:’
'Thrice happy poet, who may trail
Thy house about thee, like a snail;
Or harnessed to a nag, at ease,
Take journeys in it like a chaise;
Or in a boat, whene'er thou wilt
Canst make it serve thee for a tilt'
Swift's fictional history for Vanbrugh's 'Goose-pie' house, (poems of 1703, 1709 and 1710).
'a wooden chamber of sixteen foot square, and twelve high, with sash windows, a door, and two closets, like a London bed-chamber...'
‘...not much bigger than what I have seen in a London toy-shop, for the furniture of a baby-house.'
'In journeys, a servant on horseback would buckle my box, and place it on a cushion before him... My box... floated about five foot deep in water... they had. seen a swimming house... he laughed at their folly.'
Swift's Fictional History for Gullivers 'Little' house, Book II, 1726.
To continue reading this article you need to purchase a subscription, available from only £5.
Start my trial subscription now
If you have already purchased access, or are a print & archive subscriber, please ensure you are logged in.
Please email digital@historytoday.com if you have any problems.
