Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
and Bronze ages. The remains from these periods are made of huge stones or mounds
of earth, even man-made hills, and were created as celestial calendars and for worship
or burial. Britain is crisscrossed with imaginary lines said to connect these mysterious
sights (ley lines). Iron Age people (600
B.C.
-
A.D.
50) left desolate stone forts. The Romans
thrived in Britain from
A.D.
50 to 400, building cities, walls, and roads. Evidence of Ro-
man greatness can be seen in lavish villas with ornate mosaic floors, temples uncovered
beneath great English churches, and Roman stones in medieval city walls. Roman roads
sliced across the island in straight lines. Today, unusually straight rural roads are very
likely laid directly on these ancient roads.
As Rome crumbled in the fifth century, so did Roman Britain. Little architecture sur-
vives from Dark Ages England, the Saxon period from 500 to 1000. Architecturally, the
light was switched on with the Norman Conquest in 1066. As William earned his title “the
Conqueror,” his French architects built churches and castles in the European Romanesque
style.
English Romanesque is called Norman (1066-1200). Norman churches had round
arches, thick walls, and small windows; Durham Cathedral and the Chapel of St. John in
the Tower of London are prime examples. The Tower of London, with its square keep,
small windows, and spiral stone stairways, is a typical Norman castle. You can see plenty
of Norman castles around England—all built to secure the conquest of these invaders from
Normandy.
