Tudor Architecture

Tudor architecture describes the building style of England, and to a lesser extent Wales, Ireland and the English exclave of Calais, during the reign of the Tudor dynasty from 1485 to 1603. It was a period of transition in which the Gothic Perpendicular style was gradually replaced by a Renaissance aesthetic arriving from Italy by way of France and the Low Countries, visible in the low pointed Tudor arch and in increasingly elaborate oriel windows. The Dissolution of the Monasteries redistributed land and building materials, largely ending church construction while fueling a boom in secular building. Under Henry VIII, Italian artists introduced Renaissance ornament at sites such as Hampton Court Palace and Layer Marney Tower, and by the reign of Elizabeth I a Northern Mannerist style spread through pattern books, encouraging wealthy courtiers to build large prodigy houses meant to host the queen on her royal progresses. Brick construction spread from an exotic luxury to common use across eastern England during the period, though timber framing remained standard for ordinary buildings.