Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Tudor period (1485-1560) was a time of relative peace (the Wars of the Roses
were finally over), prosperity, and renaissance. But when Henry VIII broke with the Cath-
olic Church and disbanded its monasteries, scores of Britain's greatest churches were left
as gutted shells. These hauntingly beautiful abbey ruins (Glastonbury, Tintern, Whitby,
Rievaulx, Battle, St. Augustine's in Canterbury, St. Mary's in York, and lots more), sur-
rounded by lush lawns, are now pleasant city parks.
Although few churches were built during the Tudor period, this was a time of house
and mansion construction. Heating a home was becoming popular and affordable, and Tu-
dor buildings featured small square windows and many chimneys. In towns, where land
was scarce, many Tudor houses grew up and out, getting wider with each overhanging
floor.
The Elizabethan and Jacobean periods (1560-1620) were followed by the English
Renaissance style (1620-1720). English architects mixed Gothic and classical styles, then
Baroque and classical styles. Although the ornate Baroque never really grabbed Britain,
the classical style of the Italian architect Andrea Palladio did. Inigo Jones (1573-1652),
Christopher Wren (1632-1723), and those they inspired plastered Britain with enough
columns, domes, and symmetry to please a Caesar. The Great Fire of London (1666)
cleared the way for an ambitious young Wren to put his mark on London forever with a
grand rebuilding scheme, including the great St. Paul's Cathedral and more than 50 other
churches.
The celebrants of the Boston Tea Party remember Britain's Georgian period
(1720-1840) for its lousy German kings. But in architectural terms, “Georgian” is English
for “Neoclassical.” Its architecture was rich and showed off by being very classical.
Grand ornamental doorways, fine cast-ironwork on balconies and railings, Chippendale
furniture, and white-on-blue Wedgwood ceramics graced rich homes everywhere. John
Wood Sr. and Jr. led the way, giving the trendsetting city of Bath its crescents and circles
of aristocratic Georgian row houses.
The Industrial Revolution shaped the Victorian period (1840-1890) with glass, steel,
and iron. Britain had a huge new erector set (so did France's Mr. Eiffel). This was also a
Romantic period, reviving the “more Christian” Gothic style. London's Houses of Parlia-
ment are Neo-Gothic—they're just 140 years old but look 700, except for the telltale mod-
ern precision and craftsmanship. Whereas Gothic was stone or concrete, Neo-Gothic was
often red brick. These were Britain's glory days, and there was more building in this peri-
od than in all previous ages combined.
The architecture of the mid-20th century obeyed the formula “form follows func-
tion”—it worried more about your needs than your eyes. But more recently, the dull “in-
ternational style” has been nudged aside by a more playful style, thanks to cutting-edge
architects such as Lord Norman Foster and Renzo Piano. In the last several years, London
