Inigo Jones

The elegance and beauty of the Renaissance was revolutionary. Technology, in particular, evolved dramatically during this time period and did so for the better. While the Renaissance saw advances in nearly every area of thought, discovery, creativity and innovation, there were numerous ground-breaking advances in design and construction technology that forever influenced building and architectural style in England.
Inigo Jones was one of many archers during the renaissance period, but was regarded as the first and one of the best. Jones began his career in design but not architecture. At some point before 1603 a rich patron (possibly the Earl of Pembroke or the Earl of Rutland) sent him to Italy to study drawing after being impressed by the
quality of his sketches. From Italy he travelled to Denmark where he worked for King Christian on the design of the palaces of Rosenborg and Frederiksborg. (“Inigo Jones.”). Over 450 drawings for the scenery and costumes survive, demonstrating Jones's virtuosity as a draughtsman and his development between 1605 and 1609 from initially showing "no knowledge of Renaissance draughtsmanship" to exhibiting an "accomplished Italianate manner" and understanding of Italian set design, particularly that of Alfonso and Giulio Parigi. (“Inigo Jones.”). He had studied architecture in Italy where the influence of Palladio was very strong. Jones's first recorded architectural design is for a monument to Lady Cotton, circa 1608, showing early signs of his classical intentions. Around this time, Jones also produced drawings for the New Exchange in the Strand and the central tower of St. Paul's Cathedral, displaying a similar practical architectural inexperience and immature handling of themes from sources including Palladio, Serlio and Sangallo. (“Inigo Jones.”). Jones returned to England full of enthusiasm for the new movement and immediately began to design such buildings as the Queen's House at Greenwich in 1616 and the Banqueting House at Whitehall (“Renaissance Architecture.” Encyclopædia Britannica). These are among the more famous of the buildings created by Jones and were built to stand for centuries upon end.
And there are many examples of Architecture from the renaissance period still standing today. For example the Queen's House is a former royal residence built between 1616–1635 in Greenwich, then a few miles down-river from London and now a district of the city. Its architect was Inigo Jones, for whom it was a crucial early commission, for Anne of Denmark, the queen of King James I. Queen's House is one of the most important buildings in British architectural history, being the first consciously classical building to have been constructed in the country. (“Queens House.”). It was Jones's first major commission after returning from his 1613–1615 grand tour of Roman, Renaissance and Palladian architecture in Italy. (“Queens House.”). Some earlier English buildings, such as Longleat and Burghley House, had made borrowings from the classical style; but these were restricted to small details not applied in a systematic way, or the building may be of a mix of different styles. Furthermore, the form of these buildings was not informed by an understanding of classical precedents. (“Queens House.”). Queen's House would have appeared revolutionary to English eyes in its day. Jones is credited with the introduction of Palladianism with the construction of Queen's House, although it diverges from the mathematical constraints of Palladio and it is likely that the immediate precedent for the H shaped plan straddling a road (“Queens House.”). Today the building is both a Grade I listed building and a scheduled ancient monument, a status which includes the 115-foot-wide (35 m), axial vista to the River Thames. The house now forms part of the National Maritime Museum and is used to display parts of their substantial collection of maritime paintings and portraits.(“Queens House.”). The Banqueting House, Whitehall, is the grandest and best known survivor of the architectural genre of banqueting house and the only remaining component of the Palace of Whitehall in London. The building is important in the history of English architecture as the first structure to be completed in the neo-classical style, which was to transform English architecture. (“Banqueting House, Whitehall.”). The design of the Banqueting House is classical in concept. It introduced a refined Italianate Renaissance style that was unparalleled in the free and picturesque Jacobean architecture of England, where Renaissance motifs were still filtered through the engravings of Flemish Mannerist designers. The roof is essentially flat and the roofline is defined by a balustrade. On the street façade, the engaged columns, of the Corinthian and Ionic orders, the former above the latter, stand atop a high, rusticated basement and divide the seven bays of windows. (“Banqueting House, Whitehall.”). Begun in 1619 and designed by Inigo Jones in a style influenced by Andrea Palladio, the Banqueting House was completed in 1622 at a cost of £15,618, 27 years before King Charles I of England was beheaded on a scaffold in front of it in January 1649. The building was controversially re-faced in Portland stone in the 19th century, though the details of the original façade were faithfully preserved. (“Banqueting House, Whitehall.”). Today, the Banqueting House is a national monument, open to the public and preserved as a Grade I listed building. It is cared for by an independent charity—Historic Royal Palaces—which receives no funding from the British government or the Crown. (“Banqueting House, Whitehall.”) Despite no funding from the british government the designs and detail of the architecture didn't show it.
Compared to architecture in modern times, there was truly fascinating details architecture consisted of during this time.
“The English Renaissance is mixture of elements, motifs and styles from French, Flemish, Italian and native English concepts. The English Renaissance is primarily concerned with Domestic/secular design.” The details used on the exterior designs of the architecture were truly elegant.
The Roman orders of columns are used:- Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian and Composite. The orders can either be structural, supporting an arcade or architrave, or purely decorative, set against a wall in the form of pilasters. During the Renaissance, architects aimed to use columns, pilasters, and entablatures as an integrated system. (“ Renaissance Architecture” Wikipedia). Windows may be paired and set within a semi-circular arch. They may have square lintels and triangular or segmental pediments, which are often used alternately.a high semi-circular topped opening flanked with two lower square-topped openings. The west window of Bath Abbey, is a fine example of the way that the vertical supports within the window, the difference between the high Gothic style of the fourteenth century and the late Gothic of fifteenth century England can be seen by comparing the techniques used in vaulting. (“Late English Gothic.”). Windows are used to bring light into the building and in domestic architecture, to give views. Stained glass, although sometimes present, is not a feature. (“ Renaissance Architecture, Essentials Humanities.”). The details used on the interior were also considered extravagant at the time. Doors usually have square lintels. They may be set within an arch or surmounted by a triangular or segmental pediment. Openings that do not have doors are usually arched and frequently have
a large or decorative keystone. Courses, mouldings and all decorative details are carved with great precision. Studying and mastering the details of the ancient Romans was one of the important aspects of Renaissance theory. The different orders each required different sets of details. Some architects were stricter in their use of classical details than others, but there was also a good deal of innovation in solving problems, especially at corners. ( Renaissance Architecture” Wikipedia) The only problem that architects ran into with these elegant designs is the time they took to build.
Although architecture was extravagant, they took a long time to construct. Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire, is an architecturally significant Elizabethan country house in England, Built from 1590 and 1597 for the formidable Bess of Hardwick. The Queen's house began in 1616 but work on the house stopped in April 1618 when Anne became ill and died the next year. Work restarted when the house was given to the queen consort Henrietta Maria in 1629 by King Charles I, and the house was structurally complete by 1635. ( “ English Renaissance ”). The Longleat house was built by Sir John Thynne and was designed mainly by Robert Smythson, after the original priory was destroyed by fire in 1567. It took 12 years to complete and is widely regarded as one of the finest examples of Elizabethan architecture in Britain. ( “ English Renaissance “) They took a long time to build not only because of the designs but also because of the new materials they were using to build them.
Unlike the Buildings today, Renaissance architecture was made of many different materials.
Greater reliance on classical elements and Mannerist concepts. Horizontal emphasis, regularity, larger scale but still highly individualistic in appearance. ( “ English Renaissance ”). Brick in elaborate patterns and brick with stone quoins, Timber, Local Stone and Plaster. Growing importance of the staircase, Bay and Oriel windows and concept of comfort. External walls are generally constructed of brick, rendered, or faced with stone in highly finished ashlar masonry, laid in straight courses. The corners of buildings are often emphasised by rusticated quoins. Basements and ground floors were often rusticated, Internal walls are smoothly plastered and surfaced with lime wash. For more formal spaces, internal surfaces are decorated with frescoes. Tends to be massive, heavy proportions, carved and or inlayed. Little use of either painted or gilded surfaces. Relies on textiles and surface decoration for interest.. Increased use of Upholstery and the introduction of sets with matching fabrics. ( “Renaissance Architecture” Wikipedia”). The boss is the round decoration where the lines of the vault meet. Those in St. Mary Redcliffe are intricately decorated with gold, though they can scarcely be seen from the ground. ( “Renaissance Architecture” Wikipedia”). Vaults do not have ribs. They are semi-circular or segmental and on a square plan, unlike the Gothic vault which is frequently
rectangular. The barrel vault is returned to architectural vocabulary as at the St. Andrea in Mantua.( “ Renaissance Architecture Essentials Humanities.”). Fan vaulting is peculiar to England, the only example approaching it in France being the pendant of the Lady-chapel at Caudebec, in Normandy. ( “Vault architecture”). Fan vault is that over the staircase leading to the hall of Christ Church, Oxford, and here the complete conoid is displayed in its centre carried on a central column. This vault, not built until 1640, is an exceptional example of the long continuance of traditional workmanship, probably in Oxford transmitted in consequence of the late vaulting of the entrance gateways to the colleges. ( “Vault architecture”)
Renaissance Architecture was an explosion of ground-breaking advances in design and construction technology that forever influenced building and architectural style in England. Everything from Inigo Jones bringing the new idea of elegance to architecture in england to its everlasting construction and design. As well as the elegant exterior and interior design and materials they used and the years and years of construction it took to create them. Renaissance architecture truly left its mark on the generations of people and architecture to come.