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PREFACE.
ATER Renaissance Architecture in England is a title chosen by the Editors to
denote those buildings which, as the outcome of the more experimental work of the
earlier period, embody Renaissance principles and methods in their highest form.
Fine examples of this later work occur all over England, and are always found to
be not only marked by local characteristics, but also closely adapted to the materials
available and to the position occupied.
No attempt has been made to classify them, or to arrange them in chronological order, or to trace by
example the growth or development of Renaissance Architecture. The Editors have rather sought
to illustrate its adaptability to every purpose, large or small, monumental or domestic. They have,
therefore, not always selected the largest or best known works, but have in many cases given preference
to obscure and smaller buildings, as being likely to prove of greater value to students of domestic work;
small town houses, the houses of the people, city buildings and shops all being represented in the
selection. They may have omitted examples more worthy of illustration than some of those given;
indeed a few such have been brought to their knowledge too late to be included. Many buildings,
however, suggested to them as desirable subjects, and which they therefore visited, or of which they
obtained illustrations, proved on examination to be of very little interest; others, good in themselves,
were found to be so very similar to examples already selected, that it was not desirable to include them,
since to do so must have caused others, showing greater variety of treatment, to be excluded.
It is by no means claimed that all the examples illustrated are perfect, but in every instance they
have been selected on account of some special feature worthy of study. Attention has therefore been
directed in the 'Analytical and Descriptive Notes' to these special features, which otherwise might
perhaps escape notice; on the other hand, those details which appear faulty in effect or method are also
pointed out.
The more nearly perfect an example may be, the more difficult it is to analyse the effects produced.
There is in it no advertisement of motive, no forcing of the attention to any part, but such uniform
restraint that any addition or omission would upset the balance of the whole. Where effects are subtle
and not readily discoverable, a work is apt to be regarded superficially, or pronounced unattractive,
whereas it may really be rich in just those qualities which are most worthy of admiration.
The Architecture of the 'Later Renaissance' period is marked by modesty and restraint, purity and
dignity, and examination will show that the charm and repose which distinguish it are mainly secured
by a just regard for proportion, and a careful consideration of the value and relation of colour and
texture.
Some of the effects thus obtained photography fails to convey, and it may be confidently asserted
that with few exceptions the beauty and refinement of the actual building illustrated by its means exceed