History of English Country Houses

Evolution of the British Country House

Tudor Period and the Renaissance influence

The Renaissance inspired a revival of Classical culture as it spread across Europe in the fifteenth century, and this began to influence English architecture during the Tudor period. To begin with this influence was relatively small, but would take hold in England during the Stuart era. (The Tudor style includes such characteristics as the Gothic-inspired depressed arch.)

Classical details such as small-scale temples and Greco-Roman columns can be found in Tudor gatehouses of the period. These influences began to transform buildings into dramatic architectural statements.

Economic developments help to explain this change in design. Tudor monarchs had begun to bring much wealth and prosperity to Britain. This wealth was then invested into architecture by the landowners, as visual symbols of their growing power and prestige.


Henry VIII was inspired by Renaissance features in some of the buildings he designed, including the use of Italian motifs. These ideas began to spread among the wealthy nobility, including the Duke of Somerset, who incorporated Renaissance-inspired style and symmetry into the design of Longleat House. Completed in 1580, it exemplifies the confidence of Tudor architecture, looking outwards, rather than inwards and including carved busts of Roman emperors.

The Reformation and Dissolution of the Monasteries

Henry VIII's split from the Roman church in 1536 and the subsequent Dissolution of the Monasteries led to the closure of all the monastic houses during the 1530s.

Having commissioned a survey which revealed the true extent of the wealth of the monasteries, Henry VIII could not resist the temptation to exert his control. This was to lead to a huge change in power and ownership. Some former monastic buildings such as Lacock Abbey in Wiltshire, were converted into private lodgings, while others were demolished altogether and their estates taken over by surrounding landowners. The landed gentry were able to extend existing estates and build new housing on the newly-acquired land.

The subsequent Reformation led to a move away from ecclesiastical architecture to other Protestant-inspired ideas. Craftsmen and pattern-books came over the Protestant low countries to influence late Tudor buildings.