Early English Renaissance

8/13/2019 Early English Renaissance

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ENGLISH RENAISSANCE

English renaissance architecture may be divided as

follows

Early renaissance Elizabethan [1558-1603]

Jacobean [1603-25]

Late renaissance Stuart [1625-1702]

Georgian [1702-1803]



ENGLISH RENAISSANCE

Elizabethan Architecture [1558-1603]

The reign of Elizabeth witnessed the establishment of theRenaissance style in England.

Elizabethan architecture, which followed the Tudor, was a

transitional style with Gothic features and Renaissance detail.

Elizabethan architecture was secular rather than

ecclesiastical in its nature, and was the outcome of the needs

of powerful statesmen, successful merchants, and theenriched gentry required mansions suitable to their new

position, and they were built in England, mainly in the country.



ENGLISH RENAISSANCE

These great houses throughout the English country-side

displayed many new combinations of features.

Externally towers, gables, parapets, balustrades, and

chimney-stacks produced an effective skyline, and walls

were enlivened by oriel and bay-windows with mullions

and transoms.

Internally the same style, applied to fittings, furniture, and

decoration, made for repose, dignity, and uniformity.



ENGLISH RENAISSANCE

Elizabethan mansions

were set in a framework

of formal gardens in

which forecourts,

terraces, lakes, fountains,and yew hedges of

topiary work all combined

to make of the house andits surroundings one

complete and harmonious

scheme.

Wollaton Hall, Nottingham, England completed in 1588 for Sir Francis

Willoughby by the Elizabethan

architect, Robert Smythson.



ENGLISH RENAISSANCE

Hardwick hall (1590-1597)-The numerous and large mullioned windows



ENGLISH RENAISSANCE

Jacobean Architecture [1603-25]

The architecture of the reign of James I inherited

Elizabethan traditions.

As Roman literature and models became better known,

a subtle change crept in, and the sober regularity of

Classic columns and entablatures gradually supplanted

the irregularity of Elizabethan architecture.

The main lines of the design were much the same in

both periods.



ENGLISH RENAISSANCE

Buildings still continued

to be for domestic rather

than for religious use,

with considerable

latitude in detail and

ornament, not only for

buildings, but also forfittings and furniture.

A manor house



ENGLISH RENAISSANCE

As in the Elizabethan period, it is in the screens,

pulpits, and monuments, which were freely added to

Mediaeval churches, that Jacobean art found its

outlet in ecclesiastical architecture, and much of the

human interest of English Gothic churches is due to

the historical continuity supplied by these Jacobean

monuments.



ENGLISH RENAISSANCE

Notable architects of this period are

Robert Adams (1540 - 1595)

William Arnold (1595 - 1637)

Simon Basil (1590 - 1615)

Robert Lyminge (1607 - 1628)

Robert Smythson (1535 - 1614)

John Thorpe

Burghley house,

completed in 1587.



ENGLISH RENAISSANCE

Elizabethan Architecture [1558-1603]

Monuments, Tombs, and Fittings

The Early Renaissance was heralded by a number of

smaller monuments and fittings erected in existing

churches, as in other countries.

The Tomb of Henry VII (1512-18), in Westminster Abbey,

by Torrigiano, is an early and exquisite example ofRenaissance art.



ENGLISH RENAISSANCE

Elizabethan Mansions

The best-known Elizabethan mansions are

Little Moreton Hall, Cheshire (1559)

Charlecote, Warwickshire (1558)

Loseley Park, Surrey (1562)

Longleat House, Wilts (1567—80)

Kirby Hall, Northants (A.D. 1570), by John Thorpe

Penshurst Place, Kent(1570—85)

Eurghley House, Northants (1577—87);

Montacute House, Somerset (1580—1601)



ENGLISH RENAISSANCE

Wollaton Hall, Notts (1580—88), by John Thorpe and

Robert Smithson

Longford Castle, Wilts (1591), by John Thorpe

Haddon Hall, Derbyshire (long gallery) (1567—84)

Westwood House, Worcester (1590)

Bramhall Hall, Cheshire (1590—1600)

Hinchingbrooke Hall (1602)Sizergh Castle, Westmorland (1558—75) and

Lower Walterstone, Dorset (1586).



ENGLISH RENAISSANCEThese mansions show a general similarity in their

arrangement with those of the Jacobean period.

The smaller houses had a central hall flanked at one end by

kitchen and offices, and at the other by withdrawing- and

living-rooms ; while the larger type was quadrangular with

similar accommodation, but with additional rooms grouped

round the court, and with a gatehouse in the centre of the

entrance side.

Elizabethan and Jacobean architects adhered to the Tudor

plan for smaller houses, but they evolved the E-shaped plan

from the quadrangular plan by omitting one side, thus

admitting sunlight and allowing free circulation of air



ENGLISH RENAISSANCE

The gatehouse often became a detached building.

Certain features, such as the great hall, grand staircase,and long gallery, are common to the typical houses

mentioned above, many of which were framed in extensive

formal gardens.

The Great Hall

Retained its central position, connecting the various parts of

the mansion.

The walls were cased internally in oak panelling to a height

of 8 or 10 ft., surmounted by ancestral portraits, armour, and

trophies.



ENGLISH RENAISSANCE

The fireplace, with its huge

dog-grate, was an elaborate

feature flanked by columns.

The hall was covered either

by an open timber roof or

with elaborately moulded

plaster panels.

Fireplace at Little Moreton Hall, Cheshire





ENGLISH RENAISSANCE

The bay window in the hall,

Little Moreton Hall, Cheshire,

Oriel window

Interior paneling of Hatfield house



ENGLISH RENAISSANCE

The Grand Staircase

It is a prominent feature

with carved newels and

pierced balustrades,

usually adjacent to the

hall, forms a spacious

and dignified approach to

the rooms above.

Grand Staircase of Blicking hall



ENGLISH RENAISSANCEThe Long Gallery

It is perhaps the

most striking feature

of an Elizabethan

mansion, with

ornamental chimney-

pieces, panelled or

tapestried walls,

large mullionedwindows, and

modelled plaster

ceiling.

Plan of Hardwick hall showing the long gallery



ENGLISH RENAISSANCE

The Withdrawing-

room

It is often

elaborately

finished with

carved chimney-

pieces and

panelled walls.

Lyme park, Cheshire-showing an extremely ornate Elizabethan

withdrawing room with oak panelling.The fireplace is of stone. The

plaster ceiling and frieze are of a very intricate strap work design.



ENGLISH RENAISSANCEBedrooms were multiplied and private chapel was

frequently incorporated in the building

Elizabethan Colleges

These were built in the Elizabethan style, which retained

many Gothic features ; while additions were also made to

Mediaeval colleges. Thus revival of learning andRenaissance in architecture went hand in hand in our old

universities.

Elizabethan Schools

The reign of Elizabeth saw the beginning of many schools,

such as Repton (1557), Merchant Taylors (1561), Highgate

(1565), Rugby (1567), Harrow (1571), and Uppingham

(1584).



ENGLISH RENAISSANCE

Elizabethan town houses

Many interesting houses were built, not only in London, but

also in country towns.

York, Chester, Shrewsbury, Ludlow, Coventry, Canterbury,

Exeter, Truro, and many another town bear testimony to the

artistic design and craftsman-ship of the houses of this

period.





ENGLISH RENAISSANCE

Hatfield House



ENGLISH RENAISSANCE

Hatfield House, Herts (1607-11),stands pre-eminent

amongst the many noble piles of this period in displaying the

special characteristics and elaboration of treatment

considered suitable for the country mansion of a nobleman.

The house is E-shaped in plan, with central hall and

projecting symmetrical wings, and is set off by formal

gardens.

The entrance front, 225 ft. long, is of daringly plain brickwork

with stone mullioned windows, relieved by a projecting

central entrance.



ENGLISH RENAISSANCE

while the bay-windows of the wings are taken up as

small lateral towers, and the building is finished by a

flat roof and balustrade and dominated by a central

clock-turret.

The south front is much more ornate in treatment, with

Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian Orders superimposed to

form a centre-piece flanked by an arcaded ground

storey with mullioned windows and pierced parapet.



ENGLISH RENAISSANCE

The two-storeyed hall , with its large mullioned windows,

minstrels' gallery, and modelled plaster ceiling, is a fullydeveloped Renaissance edition of the traditional Mediaeval

hall ; while the long gallery, chapel, grand staircase, and

suites of private rooms all contribute to the completeness ofthis Jacobean house.

ENGLISH RENAISSANCE



ENGLISH RENAISSANCE

Blickling Hall (National Trust,1616-1627)

ENGLISH RENAISSANCE



ENGLISH RENAISSANCE

Jacobean colleges

This period saw a number of additions to colleges both at

Oxford and Cambridge. The Bodleian Library, Oxford

(1613 –18) is an example for this type.

Jacobean manor houses

Mediaeval manor houses supplied a good ground-work

for Jacobean architects to elaborate with Renaissanceadditions and fittings,.

ENGLISH RENAISSANCE



ENGLISH RENAISSANCE

Jacobean market halls

Many market halls, as at Chipping Campden, show howthe Jacobean style was applied to buildings for all

purposes in this period.

Jacobean hospitals and almshousesThe need for hospitals and almshouses, which had

already been recognized in the Mediaeval period,

became greater after the Dissolution of the Monasteries,

and many hospitals were erected in this period.

Documents

Early English Renaissance