Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
a freeman of the Tylers and Bricklayers Company; who had spent time as
a soldier in Flanders fighting the Spanish. His love of the English language
and Drama (Smith, 2003, 12-14) meant he did not ultimately pursue his
craft. Nevertheless his experience working with the trowel, and military time
in the Low Countries, where he would have observed Flemish buildings and
brickwork, must have been of interest and value to Inigo Jones too; and it
seems inconceivable that they would not have discussed the use of brick in
buildings.
This was a radical change in the control of design and execution of English
architecture. From this point onwards the influence of the architect as
opposed to the master builder on the design and control of a new building,
was becoming more significant. It was important that someone with under-
standing and knowledge of the subject was in charge, although the client in
consultation with his skilled craftsman traditionally decided details as the
building progressed.
The Artisan Mannerist Movement
Master craftsmen were not going to release easily the privileged status that they
had historically enjoyed and were determined to acquaint themselves with the
pattern topics arriving into seventeenth-century England 'via the free interpret-
ations of the Low Countries' (Airs, 1995, 35).
Mowl and Earnshaw (1995, 8) suggest:
This problem of the iconography of a style had arisen partly from the wider use
of brick as a building medium and partly from the innovations of Inigo Jones. In
1623 the London church of St. Giles, Cripplegate had been re-built in rubbed
brick but to the design of…an Perpendicular gothic church….
Dutch influence was especially strong, in the 'Artisan Mannerist' style, with skil-
ful handling of brick to shape and build columns, pilasters, moulded openings,
architraves, and pediments, following mainly classical profiles. These displayed
a wealth of finer brickwork advancing the skills previously required for the prep-
aration of Gothic-styled Tudor tracery, arch labels, and ornate chimney stacks.
The Dutch House, Kew Gardens (London) (
c.
1631), is an influential example
of the style. Others are Cromwell House in Highgate (London) (
c.
1637-40),
Broome Park (Kent) (1635-38), Swakeleys (Middlesex) (1638), Balls Park
(Hertfordshire) (
c.
1640), and Tyttenhanger Park (Hertfordshire) (
c.
1655).
The 'Dutch House' in London, as it was called for over a century after it was
built, is known today as 'Kew Palace'. It was built for a wealthy merchant of
Dutch origin called Samuel Fortrey, and is frequently given as the earliest
example of English gauged brickwork (Lloyd, 1925, 15; Brunskill and Clifton
