View source for Architecture of England

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[[Image:Gherkin st helens.jpg|thumb|right|250px|[[Norman Foster (architect)|Norman Foster]]'s [[30 St Mary Axe|'Gherkin']] (2004) rises above the sixteenth century [[St Andrew Undershaft]] in the [[City of London]]]]

The '''architecture of England''' is the [[architecture]] of the historic [[Kingdom of England]] up to 1707, and of [[England]] since then, but is deemed to include buildings created under English influence or by English architects in other parts of the world, particularly in the [[English overseas possessions]] and the later  [[British Empire]], which developed into the present-day [[Commonwealth of Nations]].

Apart from [[Anglo-Saxon architecture]], the major non-[[vernacular architecture|vernacular]] forms employed in England before 1900 originated elsewhere in [[western Europe]], chiefly in France and Italy, while 20th-century [[Modernist architecture]] derived from both European and [[United States of America|American]] influences. Each of these foreign modes became assimilated within English architectural culture and gave rise to local variation and innovation, producing distinctive national forms. Among the most characteristic styles originating in England are the [[Perpendicular Gothic]] of the late [[Middle Ages]], [[High Victorian Gothic]] and the [[Queen Anne style architecture|Queen Anne style]].<ref name=Davidson-Cragoel>{{Cite book |title=How to read buildings |last=Davidson-Cragoe |first=Carol |publisher=Herbart Press |location=London |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-7136-8672-2}}</ref>

==Prehistoric architecture==
[[Image:Stonehenge      back wide.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Stonehenge]]
The earliest known examples of architecture in England are the [[megalithic]] tombs of the [[Neolithic]], such as those at [[Wayland's Smithy]] and the [[West Kennet Long Barrow]].<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Davies |editor1-first=John |editor1-link=John Davies (historian) |editor2-last=Jenkins |editor2-first=Nigel |editor2-link=Nigel Jenkins |editor3-last=Baines |editor3-first=Menna |editor4-last=Lynch |editor4-first=Peredur |editor4-link=Peredur Lynch |quote=The principal monuments of the Neolithic Age are megalithic tombs – the earliest surviving examples of architecture in Britain |title=[[Encyclopaedia of Wales|The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales]] |publisher=[[University of Wales Press]] |year=2008 |location=Cardiff |isbn=978-0-7083-1953-6}}</ref> These ''[[Dolmen|cromlech]]i'' are common over much of [[Atlantic Europe]]: present day Spain; Brittany; Great Britain; and Ireland. [[Radiocarbon dating]] has shown them to be, as historian [[John Davies (historian)|John Davies]] says, "the first substantial, permanent constructions of man and that the earliest of them are nearly 1,500 years older than the first of the pyramids of Egypt."<ref>{{cite book |last=Davies |first=John |author-link=John Davies (historian) |title=A History of Wales |quote=Another revelation of carbon-14 is that there were fairly numerous communities of agriculturalists in Britain by 4000 BC ... There is a conflict of views concerning the relationship between the Mesolithic and the Neolithic peoples. According to one interpretation, the scanty Mesolithic population was swept aside ... According to another interpretation, the relationship was highly creative, for it was in precisely those areas where the intrusive farmers met the indigenous population that architecture was born. The western extremities of Europe – Spain, Brittany, Britain and Ireland – are dotted with megalithic structures usually known as ''cromlechi'', although it should be remembered that to the archaeologist the ''cromlech'' is only one version of such structures. It used to be assumed that the inspiration to build the ''cromlechi'' came from the Near East, but through another of the revelations of carbon-14 it has been proved that they are the first substantial, permanent constructions of man and that the earliest of them are nearly 1500 years older than the first of the pyramids of Egypt. |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |year=1994 |page=7 |location=London |isbn= 0-14-014581-8}}</ref> The Neolithic [[henge]]s of [[Avebury]] and [[Stonehenge]] are two of the largest and most famous megalithic monuments in the world. The structure is an annual calendar, but the reason for the massive size is unknown with any certainty, suggestions include agriculture, ceremonial use and interpreting the cosmos. With other nearby sites, including [[Silbury Hill]], [[Beckhampton Avenue]], and [[West Kennet Avenue]], they form a [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]] called [[Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites]].<ref name="Avebury">{{citation|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/373 |title=Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=22 July 2011}}</ref>

Numerous examples of [[Bronze Age Britain|Bronze Age]] and [[British Iron Age|Iron Age]] architecture can be seen in England. [[Megalithic]] burial monuments, either individual [[tumulus|barrows]] (also known, and marked on modern British [[Ordnance Survey]] maps, as Tumuli,) or occasionally [[cist]]s covered by [[cairn]]s, are one form. The other is the defensive earthworks known as [[hill fort]]s, such as [[Maiden Castle, Dorset|Maiden Castle]] and [[Cadbury Castle, Somerset|Cadbury Castle]]. Archaeological evidence suggests that British Iron Age domestic architecture had a tendency towards circular dwellings, known as [[roundhouse (dwelling)|roundhouses]].

==Roman architecture==
The [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] period brought the construction of the first large-scale buildings in Britain, but very little survives above ground besides fortifications. These include sections of [[Hadrian's Wall]], [[Chester city walls]] and coastal forts such as those at [[Portus Adurni|Portchester]], [[Anderitum|Pevensey]] and [[Burgh Castle Roman Site|Burgh Castle]], which have survived through incorporation into later [[castle]]s. Other structures still standing include a lighthouse at [[Dover Castle]], now part of a church. In most cases, only foundations, floors and the bases of walls attest to the structure of former buildings. Some of these were on a grand scale, such as the [[Fishbourne Roman Palace|palace at Fishbourne]] and the [[Roman Baths (Bath)|''thermae'' at Bath]]. The more substantial buildings of the Roman period adhered closely to the style of Roman structures elsewhere, although traditional Iron Age building methods remained in general use for humbler dwellings, especially in rural areas.

==Medieval architecture==

===Anglo-Saxon architecture===
{{Main|Anglo-Saxon architecture}}
[[Image:EarlsBartonChurch.JPG|thumb|left|200px|[[All Saints' Church, Earls Barton]]]]

Architecture of the [[Anglo-Saxon]] period exists only in the form of churches, the only structures commonly built in stone apart from fortifications. The earliest examples date from the 7th century, notably at [[Church of St Peter-on-the-Wall, Bradwell-on-Sea|Bradwell-on-Sea]] and [[Escomb Church|Escomb]], but the majority from the 10th and 11th centuries. Due to the systematic destruction and replacement of English [[cathedrals]] and [[monasteries]] by the [[Normans]], no major Anglo-Saxon churches survive; the largest extant example is at [[All Saints' Church, Brixworth|Brixworth]].

The main material is [[ashlar]] masonry, sometimes accompanied by details in reused Roman brick. Anglo-Saxon churches are typically high and narrow and consist of a [[nave]] and a narrower [[chancel]]; these are often accompanied by a west tower. Some feature ''[[porticus]]'' (projecting chambers) to the west or to the north and south, creating a cruciform plan. Characteristic features include [[Quoin (architecture)|quoins]] in "long-and-short work" (alternating vertical and horizontal blocks) and small windows with rounded or triangular tops, deeply splayed or in groups of two or three divided by squat columns. The most common form of external decoration is [[lesene]] strips (thin vertical or horizontal strips of projecting stone), typically combined with [[blind arcade|blind arcading]]. Notable examples of this exist at [[All Saints' Church, Earls Barton|Earls Barton]], [[St Laurence's Church, Bradford-on-Avon|Bradford-on-Avon]] and [[St Peter's Church, Barton-upon-Humber|Barton-upon-Humber]].

===Norman architecture===
{{Main|Norman architecture}}
[[File:Norwich Castle keep, 2009.jpg|thumb|right|250px|[[Norwich Castle]]: round arches are characteristic of the [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] style]]
In the 11th century the Normans were among Europe's leading exponents of [[Romanesque architecture]], a style which had begun to influence English church building before 1066, but became the predominant mode in England with the huge wave of construction that followed the [[Norman Conquest]].<ref name=Pragnall>{{Cite book |title=Styles of English Architecture |last=Pragnall |first=Hubert |publisher=Batsford |location=Frome |year=1984 |isbn=0-7134-3768-5 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/stylesofenglisha00prag }}</ref> The Normans destroyed a large proportion of England's churches and built Romanesque replacements, a process which encompassed all of England's cathedrals. Most of the latter were later partially or wholly rebuilt in [[Gothic architecture|Gothic style]], and although many still preserve substantial Romanesque portions, only [[Durham Cathedral]] remains a predominantly Romanesque structure (along with [[St Alban's cathedral|St Alban's]] and [[Southwell cathedral|Southwell]], abbey churches in the medieval period). Even Durham displays significant transitional features leading towards the emergence of Gothic.<ref name=ServiceAngloCh6>{{Cite book |title=Anglo-Saxon and Norman : A guide and Gazetteer |series=The Buildings of Britain |year=1982 |chapter=6 |last=Service |first=Alastair |isbn=0-09-150130-X}}</ref> Romanesque churches are characterised by rounded arches, [[arcade (architecture)|arcade]]s supported by massive cylindrical [[pier (architecture)|piers]], [[groin vault]]s and low-relief sculptural decoration. Distinctively Norman features include decorative chevron patterns.

In the wake of the invasion [[William I of England|William I]] and his lords built numerous wooden [[motte-and-bailey]] [[castle]]s to impose their control on the native population. Many were subsequently rebuilt in stone, beginning with the [[Tower of London]].
There are also a very small number of domestic Norman buildings still standing, for example [[Jew's House]], Lincoln; [[manor houses]] at [[Saltford]] and [[Boothby Pagnall]]; and fortified manor houses such as [[Oakham Castle]].<ref name="ServiceAngloCh4">{{Cite book |title=Anglo-Saxon and Norman : A guide and Gazetteer |series=The Buildings of Britain |year=1982 |chapter=4 |last=Service |first=Alastair |isbn=0-09-150130-X}}</ref>
[[File:Gloucester Cathedral 11.jpg|left|thumb|[[Perpendicular Gothic]] [[lady chapel]] of [[Gloucester Cathedral]]]]

=== Gothic architecture ===
{{Main|English Gothic architecture}}
The major buildings of the [[Late Middle Ages]] and the first centuries of the [[Early Modern Period]] were constructed in the predominant late medieval European style of [[Gothic architecture]]. Art-historical periodisations are [[Early English (architecture)|Early English]] or ''First Pointed'' (late 12th–late 13th centuries), [[Decorated Gothic]] or ''Second Pointed'' (late 13th–late 14th centuries), and [[Perpendicular Gothic]] or ''Third Pointed'' (14th–17th centuries).<ref name=":1">{{Citation|last=Schurr|first=Marc Carel|title=art and architecture: Gothic|url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198662624.001.0001/acref-9780198662624-e-0540|work=The Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages|year=2010|editor-last=Bork|editor-first=Robert E.|publisher=Oxford University Press|language=en|doi=10.1093/acref/9780198662624.001.0001|isbn=978-0-19-866262-4|quote=Early to High Gothic and Early English (c.1130–c.1240) Rayonnant Gothic and Decorated Style (c.1240–c.1350) Late Gothic: flamboyant and perpendicular (c.1350–c.1500)|access-date=9 April 2020|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Citation|title=Gothic|date=2015|url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199674985.001.0001/acref-9780199674985-e-2072|work=A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture|editor-last=Curl|editor-first=James Stevens|edition=3rd|publisher=Oxford University Press|language=en|doi=10.1093/acref/9780199674985.001.0001|isbn=978-0-19-967498-5|quote=First Pointed (Early English) was used from the end of C12 to the end of C13, though most of its characteristics were present in the lower part of the chevet of the Abbey Church of St-Denis, near Paris (c.1135–44). ... Once First Pointed evolved with Geometrical tracery it became known as Middle Pointed. Second-Pointed work of C14 saw an ever-increasing invention in bar-tracery of the Curvilinear, Flowing, and Reticulated types, ... culminating in the Flamboyant style (from c.1375) of the Continent. Second Pointed was relatively short-lived in England, and was superseded by Perp[endicular] (or Third Pointed) from c.1332, although the two styles overlapped for some time.|access-date=9 April 2020|editor2-last=Wilson|editor2-first=Susan|url-access=subscription}}</ref> The architect and art historian [[Thomas Rickman]]'s ''Attempt to Discriminate the Style of Architecture in England'', first published in 1812, divided Gothic architecture in the British Isles into three stylistic periods.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last=Rickman|first=Thomas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6JO3AAAAIAAJ|title=An Attempt to Discriminate the Styles of Architecture in England: From the Conquest to the Reformation|publisher=J. H. Parker|year=1848|edition=5th|location=London|pages=lxiii|language=en|author-link=Thomas Rickman|orig-year=1812}}</ref> Rickman identified the period of architecture from [[William the Conqueror]] ({{Reign|1066|87}}) to [[Henry II of England|Henry II]] ({{Reign|1154|89}}) as ''Norman''; from [[Richard the Lionheart]] ({{Reign|1189|99}}) to [[Edward I of England|Edward I]] ({{Reign|1272|1307}}) as ''Early English''; the reigns of [[Edward II of England|Edward II]] ({{Reign|1307|27}}) and [[Edward III of England|Edward III]] ({{Reign|1327|77}}) as ''Decorated'', and from [[Richard II of England|Richard II]] ({{Reign|1377|99}}) to [[Henry VIII]] ({{Reign|1509|47}}) as ''Perpendicular''.<ref name=":2" />

From the 15th century, under the [[House of Tudor]], the prevailing Gothic style is commonly known as [[Tudor architecture]], being ultimately succeeded by [[Elizabethan architecture]] and [[Renaissance architecture]] under [[Elizabeth I]] ({{Reign|1558|1603}}).<ref name=":04">{{Citation|title=Tudor|date=2015|url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199674985.001.0001/acref-9780199674985-e-4821|work=A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture|editor-last=Curl|editor-first=James Stevens|edition=3rd|publisher=Oxford University Press|language=en|doi=10.1093/acref/9780199674985.001.0001|isbn=978-0-19-967498-5|access-date=9 April 2020|editor2-last=Wilson|editor2-first=Susan|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Rickman excluded from his scheme most new buildings after Henry VIII's reign, calling the style of "additions and rebuilding" in the later 16th and earlier 17th centuries "often much debased".<ref name=":2" /> Architect and art historian [[Edmund Sharpe]] published in 1851 ''The Seven Periods of English Architecture'', in which he identified a pre-Gothic ''Transitional Period'' (1145–90) after the ''Norman'' period, in which pointed arches and round arches were employed together.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|last=Sharpe|first=Edmund|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_sgnAAAAYAAJ|title=The Seven Periods of English Architecture Defined and Illustrated|publisher=E. & F. N. Spon|year=1871|location=London|pages=8|language=en|orig-year=1851}}</ref> Focusing on the windows, Sharpe dubbed Rickman's first Gothic style the ''Lancet Period'' (1190–1245); divided the second into first the ''Geometrical'' (1245–1315) and then the ''Curvilinear'' (1315–1360); and named the third style ''Rectilinear'' (1360–1550).<ref name=":3" />

This last Gothic style was typified by large windows, [[Four-centred arch|four-centred arches]], straight vertical and horizontal lines in the [[tracery]], and regular arch-topped rectangular panelling.<ref name=":4">{{Citation|title=Perpendicular|url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199674985.001.0001/acref-9780199674985-e-3451|work=A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture|year=2015|editor-last=Curl|editor-first=James Stevens|edition=3rd|publisher=Oxford University Press|language=en|doi=10.1093/acref/9780199674985.001.0001|isbn=978-0-19-967498-5|access-date=16 May 2020|editor2-last=Wilson|editor2-first=Susan|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name=":02">{{Citation|title=Perpendicular Gothic|date=2018|url=https://www.bloomsburyarchitecturelibrary.com/dictionary-article?docid=b-9781350122741&tocid=b-9781350122741-gloss-0001815|work=Sir Banister Fletcher Glossary|editor-last=Fraser|editor-first=Murray|publisher=[[Royal Institute of British Architects]] and the [[University of London]]|language=en|doi=10.5040/9781350122741.1001816|isbn=978-1-350-12274-1|quote=English idiom from about 1330 to 1640, characterised by large windows, regularity of ornate detailing, and grids of panelling that extend over walls, windows and vaults.|access-date=26 August 2020|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Perpendicular was the prevailing style of [[Late Gothic architecture]] in England from the 14th century to the 17th century.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":02" /> Perpendicular was unique to the country: no equivalent arose in [[Continental Europe]] or elsewhere in the [[British Isles]].<ref name=":4" /> Of all the Gothic [[architectural styles]], Perpendicular was the first to experience a second wave of popularity from the 18th century on in [[Gothic Revival architecture]].<ref name=":4" />

=== Vernacular architecture ===
[[File:Hall - Alfriston Clergy House - Alfriston, East Sussex, England - DSC05105.jpg|thumb|Hall in [[Alfriston Clergy House]], 14th-century]]
Little survives of the [[vernacular architecture]] of the medieval period due to the use of perishable materials for the great majority of buildings. Most domestic buildings were built on [[timber framing|timber frames]], usually with [[wattle and daub]] infill. Roofs were typically covered with [[thatching|thatch]]; wooden [[roof shingle|shingles]] were also employed, and from the 12th century [[tile]] and [[slate]] came into use in some areas.<ref name=ServiceAngloCh4/>  Also around the 12th century, the [[cruck]] frame was introduced, increasing the size of timber-framed vernacular buildings.<ref name=ServiceAngloCh4/> Typically, larger houses of this period were based around a [[great hall]] open from floor to roof. One bay at each end was split into two storeys and used for service rooms and private rooms for the owner.<ref name=Quiney>{{Cite book |title=Period Houses, a guide to authentic architectural features |year=1989 |isbn=0-540-01173-8 |last=Quiney |first=Anthony |publisher=George Phillip |location=London}}</ref>  Even quite high up the social scale houses were small by modern standards, except for the very wealthy.<ref>Aslet and Powers, 15</ref>

Buildings surviving from this period included [[moat]]ed [[manor house]]s of which [[Ightham Mote]] is a notable late medieval example, and [[Wealden hall house]]s such as [[Alfriston Clergy House]].  [[Tintagel Old Post Office]] is a 14th-century manor house in a part of the country where stone was the typical building material for better houses.  [[Little Moreton Hall]], a large manor house begun in 1504-08 and later extended, is a famous showpiece of decorative [[half-timbering]].<ref>Aslet and Powers, 13-15, 40</ref>  Near the dangerous Scottish border, the [[peel tower]] was a type of [[tower house]] or small castle; in Scotland they were even more common.  The [[bastle house]] was a two-storey version, continuing what had been a common form of house for the better-off across the country in the late Anglo-Saxon and Norman periods.<ref>Aslet and Powers, 20-24</ref>

==Tudor transition==
{{Main|Tudor architecture|Prodigy house|Elizabethan architecture}}
[[File:Montacute House Apr 2002.JPG|thumb|left|250px|[[Montacute House]], near [[Yeovil]], [[Somerset]]. Built 1598]]
The Tudor period constitutes a transitional phase, in which the organic continuity and technical innovation of the medieval era gave way to centuries in which architecture was dominated by a succession of attempts to revive earlier styles.

The Perpendicular Gothic style reached its culmination in the reign of [[Henry VII of England|Henry VII]] and the early years of [[Henry VIII]], with the construction of [[King's College Chapel, Cambridge]] and [[Henry VII Lady Chapel|Henry VII's Chapel]] at [[Westminster Abbey]]. However, the [[Reformation]] brought an effective halt to church-building in England which continued in most parts of the country until the 19th century.

By the time of Henry VII's accession castle-building in England had come to an end and under the Tudors ostentatious unfortified country houses and palaces became widespread, built either in stone or in brick, which first became a common building material in England in this period. Characteristic features of the early Tudor style included imposing gatehouses (a vestige of the castle), [[Tudor arch|flattened pointed arches]] in the Perpendicular Gothic manner, square-headed windows, decoratively shaped [[gable]]s and large ornate chimneys. Outstanding surviving examples of early Tudor palatial architecture include [[Hampton Court Palace]] and [[Layer Marney Tower]].

Over the course of the 16th century [[Classical architecture|Classical]] features derived from the [[Renaissance architecture]] of Italy exerted an increasing influence, initially on surface decoration but in time shaping the entire design of buildings, while the use of medieval features declined. This development gave rise to palatial stone dwellings or [[prodigy house]]s such as [[Hardwick Hall]] and [[Montacute House]].

==Style revivals==

===Stuart architecture===
{{Main|Jacobean architecture|Restoration style|English Baroque}}
[[Image:Queens House 2006.jpg|thumb|200px|right|The Queen's House, Greenwich]]
During the 17th century, the continuing advance of Classical forms overrode the eclecticism of English Renaissance architecture, which gave way to a more uniform style derived from continental models, chiefly from Italy. This entailed a retreat from the structural sophistication of Gothic architecture to forms derived from the more primitive construction methods of Classical antiquity. The style was typified by square or round-headed windows and doors, flat ceilings, [[colonnade]]s, [[pilaster]]s, [[pediment]]s and [[dome]]s. Classical architecture in England tended to be relatively plain and simple in comparison with the contemporaneous [[Baroque architecture]] of the continent, being influenced above all by the [[Palladian architecture|Palladian style]] of Italy. This was first introduced to England by [[Inigo Jones]] and typified by his [[Queen's House]] at [[Greenwich, London|Greenwich]].

[[Image:St Paul's Cathedral dome from Paternoster Square - London - 240404.jpg|thumb|left|200px|The [[dome]] of St Paul's Cathedral, designed by Sir [[Christopher Wren]]]]
The [[Great Fire of London]] in 1666 forced the reconstruction of much of the city, which was the only part of the country to see a significant amount of church-building between the Reformation and the 19th century. Sir [[Christopher Wren]] was employed to replace many of the destroyed churches, but his master plan for rebuilding London as a whole was rejected. Wren's churches exemplify the distinctive English approach to church-building in the Classical manner, which largely rejected the domes that typified the continental Baroque and employed a wide range of different forms of [[steeple (architecture)|steeple]], experimental efforts to find a substitute for the Gothic [[spire]] within a Classical mode. However, a dome featured very prominently in Wren's grandest construction, [[St Paul's Cathedral]], the only English cathedral in any permutation of the Classical tradition.

The later 17th century saw Baroque architecture – a version of Classicism characterised by heavy massing and ostentatiously elaborate decoration – become widespread in England. Grand Baroque-style country houses began to appear in England during the 1690s, exemplified by [[Chatsworth House]] and [[Castle Howard]]. The most significant English Baroque architects after Wren were Sir [[John Vanbrugh]] and [[Nicholas Hawksmoor]], who adapted the Baroque style to fit English tastes in houses such as [[Blenheim Palace]], [[Seaton Delaval Hall]] and [[Easton Neston house|Easton Neston]].

===Georgian architecture===
{{Main|Georgian architecture}}
[[Image:the.circus.bath.arp.jpg|thumb|right|[[The Circus (Bath)]]]]
The 18th century saw a turn away from Baroque elaboration and a reversion to a more austere approach to Classicism. This shift initially brought a return to the Italian Palladianism that had characterised the earliest manifestations of Classical architecture in England. Later [[Neoclassical architecture]] increasingly idealised ancient Greek forms, which were viewed as representing Classicism in its original "purity", as against Roman forms. Country houses representing this style include [[Woburn Abbey]] and [[Kedleston Hall]]. This period also saw the emergence of an increasingly planned approach to urban expansion, and the systematic, simultaneous construction of whole streets or squares, or even of entire districts, gave rise to new forms of domestic construction, the [[terrace (architecture)|terrace]] and the [[crescent (architecture)|crescent]], as exemplified in [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]] and in [[Bloomsbury]] and [[Mayfair]] in [[London]].  Among the notable architects practising in this era were [[Robert Adam]], Sir [[William Chambers (architect)|William Chambers]], [[John Wood, the Younger|John Wood]] and [[James Wyatt]].

===Victorian architecture===
{{Main|Victorian architecture}}
[[Image:palace.of.westminster.arp.jpg|thumb|right|250px|The [[Palace of Westminster]], completed in 1870. Designed by Sir [[Charles Barry]] and [[Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin|A. W. N. Pugin]]]]
The 19th century saw a fragmentation of English architecture, as Classical forms continued in widespread use but were challenged by a series of distinctively English revivals of other styles, drawing chiefly on Gothic, Renaissance and vernacular traditions but incorporating other elements as well. This ongoing historicism was counterposed by a resumption of technical innovation, which had been largely in abeyance since the Renaissance but was now fuelled by new materials and techniques derived from the [[Industrial Revolution]], particularly the use of iron and [[steel frame]]s, and by the demand for new types of building. The rapid growth and urbanisation of the population entailed an immense amount of new domestic and commercial construction, while the same processes combined with a religious revival to bring about a resumption of widespread church building. Mechanised manufacturing, railways and public utilities required new forms of building, while the new industrial cities invested heavily in grand civic buildings and the huge expansion and diversification of educational, cultural and leisure activities likewise created new demands on architecture.

The [[Gothic revival]] was a development which emerged in England and whose influence, except in church building, was largely restricted to the English-speaking world. It had begun on a small scale in the 18th century under the stimulus of [[Romanticism]], a trend initiated by [[Horace Walpole]]'s house [[Strawberry Hill House|Strawberry Hill]]. However, widespread Gothic construction began only in the 19th century, led by the renewal of church building but spreading to secular construction. Early Gothic revival architecture was whimsical and unsystematic, but in the Victorian era the revival developed an abstract rigour and became a movement driven by cultural, religious and social concerns which extended far beyond architecture, seeing the Gothic style and the medieval way of life as a route to the spiritual regeneration of society. The first great ideologue of this movement was [[Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin]], who together with [[Charles Barry]] designed the new [[Houses of Parliament]], the grandest work of Victorian Gothic architecture.

[[Image:St Pancras Railway Station.jpg|thumb|left|200px|[[St Pancras Station]], designed by [[George Gilbert Scott]]]]
The Parliament building's Perpendicular style reflects the predominance of the later forms of English Gothic in the early Victorian period, but this later gave way to a preference for plain Early English or French Gothic, and above all to a style derived from the architecture of medieval Italy and the [[Low Countries]]. This [[High Victorian Gothic]] was driven chiefly by the writings of [[John Ruskin]], based on his observations of the buildings of [[Venice]], while its archetypal practitioner was the church architect [[William Butterfield]]. It was characterised by heavy massing, sparse use of tracery or sculptural decoration and an emphasis on polychrome patterning created through the use of different colours of brick and stone. The Gothic revival also drove a widespread effort to restore deteriorating medieval churches, a practice which often went beyond restoration to involve [[Victorian restoration|extensive reconstruction]]. The most active exponent of this activity was also the most prolific designer of new Gothic buildings, [[George Gilbert Scott]], whose work is exemplified by [[St Pancras Station]]. Other leading Victorian Gothic architects included [[George Edmund Street|G. E. Street]], [[John Loughborough Pearson|J. F. Pearson]] and [[George Frederick Bodley|G. F. Bodley]].

The Victorian period saw a revival of interest in English vernacular building traditions, focusing chiefly on domestic architecture and employing features such as [[timber framing|half-timbering]] and tile-hanging, whose leading practitioner was [[Richard Norman Shaw]]. This development too was shaped by much wider ideological considerations, strongly influenced by [[William Morris]] and the [[Arts and Crafts Movement]]. While its ethos shared much with the Gothic revival, its preoccupations were less religious and were connected with romantic socialism and a distaste for industrialisation and urban life. On the other hand, [[British industrial architecture]] both revived old styles and developed new ones. In the later 19th century vernacular elements mingled with forms drawn from the Renaissance architecture of England and the Low Countries to produce a synthesis dubbed the [[British Queen Anne Revival architecture|Queen Anne Style]], which in fact bore very little resemblance to the architecture of that reign. While some architects of the period were ideologically committed to a particular manner, a tendency personified by Pugin, others were happy to move between styles. An exemplar of this approach was [[Alfred Waterhouse]], whose works included buildings in Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance styles and eclectic fusions between them.

[[File:Kew Gardens Palm House, London - July 2009.jpg|thumb|right|250px|The Palm House at [[Kew Gardens]], a key example of Victorian glasshouse construction]]

The new technology of iron and steel frame construction exerted an influence over many forms of building, although its use was often masked by traditional forms. It was highly prominent in two of the new forms of building that characterised Victorian architecture, railway station train sheds and glasshouses. The greatest exponent of the latter was [[Joseph Paxton]], architect of [[the Crystal Palace]].

In the 18th century a few English architects had emigrated to the colonies, but as the [[British Empire]] became firmly established in the 19th century many architects at the start of their careers made the decision to emigrate, several chose the United States but most went to Canada, Australia or New Zealand, as opportunities arose to meet the growing demand for buildings in these countries. Normally they adopted the style of architecture fashionable when they left England, though by the latter half of the century, improving transport and communications meant that even quite remote parts of the Empire had access to many publications, such as [[Building (magazine)|The Builder]] magazine. This enabled colonial architects to stay abreast of current fashion. Thus the influence of English architecture spread across the world. Several prominent 19th century architects produced designs that were executed by architects in the various colonies. For example, Sir George Gilbert Scott designed [[University of Mumbai|Bombay University]] & William Butterfield designed [[St Peter's Cathedral, Adelaide]].

===Historical styles in the 20th century===
The last great exponent of late Victorian free Renaissance eclecticism was [[Edwin Lutyens]], and his shift into the Classical mode after 1900 symbolised a wider retreat from the stylistic ferment of the 19th century to a plain and homogenous Classicism based on Georgian exemplars, an approach followed by many architects of the early 20th century, notably [[Herbert Baker]] and [[Reginald Blomfield]]. This Neo-Georgian manner, while not greatly favoured in later decades by the architectural profession or architecture critics, has remained popular with clients and conservative commentators, notably [[Charles, Prince of Wales]]. Domestic architecture throughout the 20th century and beyond has continued to be strongly influenced by a homogenised version of Victorian vernacular revival styles. Some architects responded to modernism, and economic circumstances, by producing stripped-down versions of traditional styles; the work of [[Giles Gilbert Scott]] illustrates this well.

==Modern architecture==

===International Style===
The [[International Style (architecture)|International Style]] (also known as Modernism) emerged as a reaction against the world before the First World War, including historical architectural styles. Stylistically it was functional, drawing upon objects that were designed for a specific purpose such as Oceanliners. It emerged as an idea from continental Europe, but was of interest to some English architects. However it the arrival of emigre architects such as Mendelsohn and Lubetkin  that galvanised the position of modern architecture within England.<ref name=Curtis>{{Cite book |title=Modern architecture since 1900 |last=Curtis |first=William.j.r |publisher=Phaidon |location=London |year=1996 |isbn=0-7148-3356-8}}</ref>

The bombing of English cities created a housing shortage, in the post war years. To meet this many thousands (perhaps hundreds of thousands) of [[council house]]s in mock-[[Vernacular architecture|vernacular]] style were built, giving [[working class]] people their first experience of private [[garden]]s and indoor [[sanitation]]. The demand was partly sated through the pre-fabrication of buildings within factories, giving rise to the "Pre-fab" .<ref>{{Cite book |title=The House in the 20th Century |last=Weston |first=Richard |publisher=Laurence King Publishing Ltd |location=London |year=2002 |isbn=1-85669-219-1}}</ref>

===Brutalist architecture===
{{Main|Brutalist architecture}}
The reconstruction that followed the [[Second World War]] had a major impact upon English architecture. The austerity that followed the WWII meant that cost dictated many design decisions, however significant architectural movements emerged. One such movement was the native development of Brutalism. Its look was created though the desire to express how buildings were constructed, for example through the use of exposed concrete. Significant  "New Brutalist" buildings  were the Economist Building, the [[Hayward Gallery]], the [[Barbican Arts Centre]] and the [[Royal National Theatre]].

[[Image:Lloyds building london.jpg|left|thumb|250px|[[Lloyd's Building]], [[City of London]]. Designed by [[Richard Rogers]]. Late 20th century]]

===High-tech architecture===
[[High-tech architecture]] emerged as an attempt to revitalise the language of Modernism, it drew inspiration from technology to create new architectural expression . The theorical work of [[Archigram]] provided significant inspiration of the High-tec movement. High-tech architecture is mostly associated with non-domestic buildings, perhaps due to the technological imagery. The two most prominent proponents were [[Richard Rogers]] and [[Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank|Norman Foster]]. Rogers' most iconic English building is the [[Lloyd's building]], situated nearby is Foster's most famous [[30 St Mary Axe]] building (nicknamed ''The Gherkin''). Their respective influence continues into the current century.

===Postmodern architecture===
[[Postmodern architecture]] also emerged as an attempt to enrich Modern architecture. It was especially fashionable in the 1980s, when Modernism had fallen from favour, being associated with the welfare state. Many shopping malls and office complexes for example [[Broadgate]] used this style. Notable practitioners were [[James Stirling (architect)|James Stirling]] and [[Terry Farrell (architect)|Terry Farrell]], although Farrell returned to modernism in the 1990s. A significant example of postmodernism is [[Robert Venturi]]'s Sainsbury Wing of the National Gallery.

===Contemporary architecture===
Significant recent buildings, in a variety of styles, include: [[Will Alsop]]: [[Peckham Library]], [[North Greenwich tube station]]; [[David Chipperfield]]: [[River and Rowing Museum]], [[Hepworth Wakefield]]; [[Future Systems]]: [[Lord's Media Centre]], [[Architecture of Birmingham#Recent developments|Selfridges Building, Birmingham]]; [[Zaha Hadid]], [[London Aquatics Centre]]; [[Ian Simpson (architect)|Ian Simpson]]: [[Beetham Tower, Manchester]], [[Beetham Tower, Birmingham]].

==See also==

* [[Architecture of Wales]]
* [[British industrial architecture]]
* [[List of historic buildings and architects of the United Kingdom]]
* [[List of British architects]]
* [[Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain]]
* [[:Category:Lists of Grade I listed buildings in England by county]]
* [[The Georgian Group]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

*[[Clive Aslet|Aslet, Clive]] and [[Alan Powers|Powers, Alan]], ''The National Trust book of the English House'' Penguin/Viking, 1985, {{ISBN|0670801755}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Architecture of England}}
{{Architecture of England}}
{{Architecture of Europe}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Architecture Of England}}
[[Category:Architecture in England| ]]
[[Category:Architecture in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Cultural history of England]]