along the front of the house began to be
provided, that fences came into vogue, except in the suburbs, where a
small front yard was sometimes surrounded by an iron fence.

[Illustration: PLATE LVI.--Hall and Staircase, Mount Pleasant; Second
Floor Hall Archway and Palladian Window, Mount Pleasant.]

[Illustration: PLATE LVII.--Hall and Staircase, Cliveden; Staircase
Detail, Cliveden.]

Stoops divide themselves into four principal classes, of which the
first, consisting only of a single broad stone step before the doorway,
perhaps hardly warrants the term. As at Grumblethorpe and the Morris
house, these broad stone steps often had no ironwork other than a foot
scraper set in one end or in the sidewalk near by. Again, as at the
entrance to the Wistar house, there were iron handrails or balustrades
at both sides. Less common, though by no means infrequent, were the
stoops of this sort with a single handrail at one side.

These handrails or balustrades, replacing the stone parapets so common
in other American cities, are patterned after the cathedral grilles and
screens of the Middle Ages and consist of both Gothic and Classic detail
utilized with ingenuity and good taste. Most of the earlier designs are
hand wrought. Later, cast iron came into use, and much of the most
interesting ironwork combines the two. The balustrade at the Wistar
house just referred to is a typical example of excellent cast-iron work,
the design consisting of a diaper pattern of Gothic tracery with
harmonious decorative bands above and below.

The Germantown farmhouse presents another variant of this first and
simplest type of stoop with a hooded penthouse roof above and quaint
side seats flanking the doorway. As at the Johnson house, the broad
stone step was sometimes flush with the sidewalk pavement.

The second type of stoop consists of a broad stone step or platform
before the door with a straight flight of stone steps leading up to it.
Cliveden, Mount Pleasant and Doctor Denton's house are notable
instances of such stoops without handrails of any sort. The Powel house
stoop of this type has one of the simplest wrought-iron rails in the
city, while that of the house at Number 224 South Eighth Street, with
its effective Gothic detail, combines wrought and cast iron. Two very
effective wrought-iron handrails for stoops of this type, depending
almost entirely upon scroll work at the top and bottom for their
elaboration, are to be seen at Numbe