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PRE-ROMAN ARCHITECTURE The earliest known examples of Architecture in the United Kingdom are the many Neolithic monuments such as those at Stonehenge and Avebury . ROMAN ARCHITECTURE The earliest domestic architecture is that bequeathed to the country by the Romans , who occupied Britain from 43 until 406 . The Romans built the first cities and towns, which included Chester , St. Albans , London and Bath . Many fine examples of Roman architecture remain, or especial not are the ruins of the Spa in Bath. Following the Roman's departure architecture seems to have regressed and little remains of the period immediately after the roman withdraw. ANGLO-SAXON ARCHITECTURE Following the battle of Mons Badonicus in 500 , and the beginning of the Anglo Saxon period a few isolated examples of architecture begin to appear; most notably some saxon churches such as those at Stewkley and Wing both in Buckinghamshire . MEDIEVAL ARCHITECTURE After the Norman invasion of 1066 , more consistent forms of design began to regularly appear. William I and his law lords built numerous Castle s and garrisons to uphold their authority. Often these were built initially of wood, speed of erection being of greater concern than design or appearance; the most well known of these is the Tower Of London . However during the following two centuries of the Norman period further and even larger castles such as Caernarfon Castle in Wales and Carrickfergus Castle in Ireland were built to suppress the natives. Not all Norman architecture was of a military nature, many churches and cathedral also have their origins in this period. Many Castle s remain from these Medieval times and in most Town s and Village s the Parish Church is an indication of the age of the settlement, built as they were from stone rather than the traditional Wattle And Daub . TUDOR ARCHITECTURE One of the first unfortified houses to be built completely from new]]Large houses continued to be fortified until the Tudor period, when the first of the large gracious unfortified mansions such as the Elizabethan Montacute House and Hatfield House were built. STUART ARCHITECTURE The Civil War 1642 — 49 proved to be the last time in British history that houses had to survive a Siege . Corfe Castle was destroyed following an attack by Oliver Cromwell 's army, but Compton Wynyates survived a similar eventamondo. After this date houses were built purely for living, and design and appearance were for ever more important than defense. Just prior to the Civil War, Inigo Jones , who is regarded as the first significant British Architect , came to prominence. He was responsible for importing the Palladian manner of architecture to Britain from Italy ; the Queen's House at Greenwich is perhaps his best surviving work. of St. Paul's cathedral designed by Sir Christopher Wren ]]Following the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 and the Great Fire Of London in 1666 an opportunity was missed in London to create a new Metropolitan City , featuring modern architectural styles. Although one of the best known British architects, Sir Christopher Wren , was employed to design and rebuild many of the ruined ancient churches of London, his master plan for rebuilding London as a whole was rejected. It was in this period that he designed the building that he is perhaps best known for, St Paul's Cathedral . In the early 18th Century Baroque architecture, a style exemplified by heavy embellishment and mass, popular in Europe, was introduced, the first baroque house in England was Chatsworth House by William Talman in the 1690 . However, it is Sir John Vanbrugh who is remembered as the English master of baroque, his design for Castle Howard of 1699 is that of the first truly baroque house in England, dominated by it cylindrical domed drum tower it would not be in out of place in Dresden or Würzburg . Vanbrugh then evolved the style to suit the more solid English taste this he perfected at Blenheim Palace and later Seaton Delaval Hall . GEORGIAN ARCHITECTURE In spite of Vanbrugh's efforts and those of his colleague and contemporary Nicholas Hawksmoor baroque was never truly to the English taste, and well before the time of Vanbrugh's death in 1724 baroque was being replaced by a return of the Palladian form. The Georgian Architecture of the 18th Century was an evolved form of Palladianism. Many existing buildings such as Woburn Abbey and Kedleston Hall are in this style. It was during this period that comfort and style became truly popular, and many of England's old fortified houses were rebuilt or remodelled, this is why today it is not uncommon to see Country House s with facades in different styles, often the front of a castellated castle would be rebuilt in the palladian style complete with portico, while at one end of the same facade a medieval tower would remain untouched Brympton D'Evercy in Somerset is typical of a house partly modernised at this time. Among the many architects practising in this era were Robert Adam , Sir William Chambers , and James Wyatt . VICTORIAN ARCHITECTURE Victorian gothic completed in 1870 . Designed by Sir Charles Barry and August Pugin ]] In the early 19th Century the romantic Medieval Gothic style appeared as a backlash to the Symmetry of Palladianism, and such buildings as Fonthill Abbey were built. By the middle of the 19th Century , as a result of new Technology , construction was able to develop incorporating Steel as a building component; one of the greatest exponents of this was Joseph Paxton , architect of The Crystal Palace . Paxton also continued to build such houses as Mentmore Towers , in the still popular retrospective Renaissance styles. In this era of prosperity and development English architecture embraced many new methods of construction, but ironically in style, such architects as August Pugin ensured it remained firmly in the past. In Scotland , Alexander Thomson was a pioneer in the use of Cast Iron and Steel for commercial buildings, blending neo-classical conventionality with Egyptian and oriental themes to produce many truly original structures. TWENTIETH CENTURY ARCHITECTURE At the beginning of the 20th Century a new form of design Arts And Crafts became popular, the architectural form of this style, which had evolved from the 19th Century designs of such architects as Charles Rennie Mackintosh and George Devey , was championed by Edwin Lutyens . Arts and crafts in architecture is symbolized by an informal, non symmetrical form, often with Mullion ed or Lattice windows, multiple Gable s and tall chimneys. This style continued to evolve until World War II . Following the Second World War reconstruction went through a variety of phases, but was heavily influenced by Modernism , especially from the late 1950s to the early 1970s . Many bleak town centre redevelopments—criticised for featuring hostile, Concrete -lined "windswept plazas"—were the fruit of this interest, as were many equally bleak public buildings, such as the Hayward Gallery . Many Modernist inspired town centres are today in the process of being redeveloped, Bracknell town centre being a case in point. . Late 20th Century ]]However, it should not be forgotten that in the immediate post-War years many thousands (perhaps hundreds of thousands) of Council House s in vernacular style were built, giving Working Class people their first experience of private Garden s and indoor Sanitation . Modernism remains a significant force in U.K. architecture, although its influence is felt predominantly in commercial buildings. The two most prominent proponents are Lord Rogers Of Riverside and Lord Foster Of Thames Bank . Rogers' iconic London buildings are probably Lloyd's Building and the Millennium Dome , while Foster created the Swiss Re Buildings (aka The Gherkin) and the Greater London Authority H.Q . SEE ALSO The full story of the United Kingdom's architecture can best be traced through the following architects and buildings:- Early buildings Anglo-Saxon architecture Norman architecture Early Gothic Decorated and perpendicular Tudor and Jacobean architecture Palladianism Baroque Classical revival
Victorian architecture
20th century architecture
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