Architecture
The architecture of the United Kingdom includes many features that precede
the creation of the United Kingdom in 1707, from as early as Skara
Brae and Stonehenge to the Giant's Ring, Avebury and Roman ruins. In most
towns and villages the parish church is an indication of the age of the
settlement. Many castles remain from the medieval period such as; Windsor
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Castle (longest-occupied castle in Europe),
Stirling Castle (one of the largest
and most important in Scotland),
Bodiam Castle (moated castle),
and Warwick Castle. Over the two centuries following the Norman conquest
of England of 1066, and the building of the Tower of London, castles such
as Caernarfon Castle in Wales and Carrickfergus Castle in Ireland were built.
English Gothic architecture flourished from the 12th to the early 16th
century, and famous examples include Westminster Abbey, the traditional
place of coronation for the British monarch, which also has a long tradition as
a venue for royal weddings;
Canterbury Cathedral, one of the oldest and most
famous Christian structures in England; Salisbury Cathedral, which has the
tallest church spire in the UK;
and Winchester Cathedral, which contains the
longest nave and overall length of any Gothic cathedral in Europe.
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a building or other structure
officially designated as being of special architectural, historical or cultural
significance. About half a million buildings in the UK have "listed" status.
In the 1680s, Downing Street was built by Sir George Downing, and its most
famous address 10 Downing Street, became the residence of the Prime
Minister in 1730. One of the best known English architects working at the
time of the foundation of the United Kingdom was Sir Christopher Wren. He
was employed to design and rebuild many of the ruined ancient churches of
London following the Great Fire of London. His masterpiece, St Paul's
Cathedral,
was
completed
in
the
early
years
of
the
United
Kingdom. Buckingham Palace, the official London residence of the British
monarch, was built in 1705.
In the early 18th century baroque architecture – popular in Europe –
was introduced, and Blenheim Palace was built in this era. However, baroque
was quickly 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.
Among the many architects of this form of architecture and its
successors, neoclassical and romantic,
were Robert
Adam,
Sir William
Chambers, and James Wyatt. The aristocratic stately home continued the
tradition of the first large gracious unfortified mansions such as
the Elizabethan Montacute Houseand Hatfield House. During the 18th and
19th centuries to the highest echelons of British society, the English country
house served as a place for relaxing, hunting and running the countryside.
Many stately homes have become open to the public; Knebworth House, now
a major venue for open air rock and pop concerts Alton Towers, theme park
and the most popular in the UK,
and Longleat, the world's first safari
park outside Africa.
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 British architecture embraced many
new methods of construction, but ironically in style, such architects as August
Puginensured it remained firmly in the past.
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 George Devey, was
championed by Edwin Lutyens. Arts and crafts in architecture is symbolised
by
an
informal,
non-symmetrical
form,
often
with mullioned or lattice windows, multiple gables and tall chimneys. This
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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, Bracknelltown centre being a case in point. However, in the
immediate post-War years many thousands (perhaps hundreds of thousands)
of council houses in vernacular style were built, giving working-class people
their first experience of private gardens and indoor sanitation.
Modernism remains a significant force in UK architecture, although its
influence is felt predominantly in commercial buildings. The two most
prominent proponents are Lord Rogers of Riverside and Norman Foster.
Rogers' iconic London buildings are probably Lloyd's Building and
the Millennium Dome, while Foster created the 'Gherkin' and the City Hall.
Completed in 2012, the Shard London Bridge is the tallest building in the
European Union.
Other major skyscrapers under construction in London
include The Pinnacle, and Heron Tower.
Modernist architect Nicholas
Grimshaw designed the Eden Project in Cornwall, which is the world's largest
greenhouse.
Many ancient standing stone monuments were erected during the prehistoric
period, amongst the best known are Stonehenge, Devil's Arrows, Rudston
Monolith and
Castlerigg. With
the
introduction
of Ancient
Roman
architecture there
was
a
development
of basilicas, baths, amphitheatres, triumphal
arches, villas, Roman
temples, Roman roads, Roman forts, stockades and aqueducts.
It was the
Romans who founded the first cities and towns such as London, Bath, York,
Chester and St Albans. Perhaps the best known example is Hadrian's
Wall stretching right across northern England.
Another well preserved
example
is
the Roman
Baths at Bath,
Somerset.
Early
Medieval
architecture's secular
buildings
were
simple
constructions
mainly
using timber with thatch for roofing. Ecclesiastical architecture ranged from a
synthesis of Hiberno—Saxonmonasticism,
to Early Christian basilica and
architecture characterised by pilaster-strips, blank arcading, baluster shafts
and triangular headed openings. After the Norman conquest in 1066
various Castles in England were created so law lords could uphold their
authority and in the north to protect from invasion. Some of the best known
medieval castles include the Tower of London, Warwick Castle, Durham
Castle and Windsor Castle amongst others.
Throughout
the
Plantagenet
era
an English
Gothic
architecture flourished—the medieval
cathedrals such
as Canterbury
Cathedral, Westminster
Abbey and York
Minster are
prime
examples.
[17]
Expanding
on
the Norman
base there
was
also castles, palaces, great houses, universities andparish churches. Medieval
architecture was completed with the 16th century Tudor style; the four-
centred arch, now known as the Tudor arch, was a defining feature as
were wattle
and
daub houses
domestically.
In
the
aftermath
of
the Renaissance,
the English
Baroque style
appeared,
which
architect Christopher Wren particularly championed.
[18]
English Baroque is a
casual term, sometimes used to refer to the developments in English
architecture that were parallel to the evolution of Baroque architecture in
continental Europe between the Great Fire of London (1666) and the Treaty
of Utrecht (1713). Queen Anne Style architecture flourished in England from
about 1660 to about 1720, even though the Queen's reign covered only the
period 1702-1714. Buildings in the Queen Anne style are strongly influenced
by Dutch domestic architecture: typically, they are simple rectilinear designs
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in red brick, with an undemonstrative charm. Georgian architecture followed
in a more refined style, evoking a simple Palladian form; the Royal
Crescent at Bath is one of the best examples of this. With the emergence
of romanticism during Victorian period, a Gothic Revival was launched—in
addition to this around the same time the Industrial Revolution paved the way
for
buildings
such
as The
Crystal
Palace.
Since
the
1930s
various modernist forms
have
appeared
whose
reception
is
often
controversial, though traditionalist resistance movements continue with
support in influential places.
Prehistoric architecture is found throughout Scotland. Skara Brae is a
large stone-built neolithic settlement, located on the Bay of Skaill on the west
coast of Mainland, Orkney. Nicknamed the "British Pompeii",
Skara Brae
is Europe's most complete neolithic village and the level of preservation is
such that it has gained UNESCO World Heritage Sitestatus in 1999. Celtic
tribes during the Bronze Age left few physical remnants of their dwellings,
but
stone
Christian
monuments
and Celtic
crosses have
endured
erosion.Protohistorical Scotland during the Roman Empire was, unlike the
rest of Great Britain, broadly untouched by the Romans, but there are the
remains of Roman forts at
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