 Channel-Norman Architecture
The architectural design of the Ewing Manor in Bloomington, Illinois,
was patterned after the Channel-Norman style seen primarily in
England and France. The Ewings brought many sketches and ideas
back from their world tour and hired architect Phil Hooten to design
the manor in the historical style that they loved.
Although the Ewing Manor was built between 1927 and 1929, the
Norman style of architecture is actually much older. Dating back
to the period just before the Norman conquest of England in 1066
A.D., buildings in this style are typically built of stone and
have multiple towers.
The general long shape of the Ewing Manor is characteristic of
buildings designed both before and after the Norman conquest. This
design allowed windows to be placed on both sides of the building
to maximize light inside. Because of this practice, buildings designed
in this style often look more grand on the outside than they are
on the inside. This is true of the Ewing Manor as well, which has
a smaller and warmer feel to the interior than would be supposed
by the grandiose exterior.
One unique element of the Norman churches in particular that was
included in the Ewing Manor is the use of open timber roofs. The
Ewings took this idea and modified it in their own home, including
highly unusual concrete beams in the ceiling of their main living
room. Because Mr. Ewing was the head of the concrete company in
Bloomington at the time, this choice of materials seems fitting.
Wooden beams were used in the top levels of the residential and
stable wings of the house, and they were left exposed in these
rooms.
Staircases in Norman times were either built as one straight flight
between two walls or as a continuous spiral within a circular tower.
The spiral form of the staircases can either wind around the outside
edge of a tower leaving space in the center or have a tighter rotation
around a central newel. The Ewing Manor has examples of each of
these staircase designs. The east turret, which holds the main
entrance to the manor, holds the wide spiral staircase that extends
from the basement to the third floor of the house. The west turret,
which is in the stable portion of the manor, has a tightly wound
spiral staircase that is also characteristic of the late Gothic
and early Tudor architectural periods.
The main material used in building the Ewing Manor was limestone,
which the Ewings purchased from both Wisconsin and Joliet. Using
materials that were native to the environment was a way that designers
of this type of building achieve the goal of creating a structure
that fits well with its environment. Although the Ewing Manor is
made primarily of limestone, it is also covered with a hand-hewn
cypress timber framing.
The stone was delivered to the property, strewn with iron shavings,
and left exposed to the weather for a winter. The hand-hewn cypress
timbers were sandblasted to achieve a weathered appearance. Bricks
from the Wochner brewery, which was an abandoned local brewery,
were used in the courtyard. These techniques were all employed
to add to the rustic appearance of the property and to reinforce
the references to a very old style of architecture
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