56 TUDOR HOUSES IN DORSET. 



date from this early Tudor period, which commenced in the 

 middle of the fifteenth century, and lasted until about 1540. 



Athelhampton, Wolfeton and Forde are the best examples 

 in our county. The style was eminently indigenous, our 

 isolated position tending to stamp our architecture with special 

 national characteristics, unlike anything on the continent. 

 Henry VIII, having inherited the enormous wealth (1,800,000) 

 accumulated by his father, was in a position to indulge his 

 taste for splendour and magnificence. The sale of confiscated 

 church lands in 1535-40 also brought in sums equal to 

 15,000,000 of our time. The King invited over foreign 

 artists and workmen, who, bringing with them the new style 

 of the Italian and French Renaissance, were employed in 

 erecting his numerous palaces, and the large mansions of the 

 nobility. 



The first work was the tomb of Henry VII in Westminster 

 Abbey in 1516. Screens in Winchester Cathedral 1525, St. 

 Cross 1528, the Salisbury Chantry in Christ Church 1529, all 

 visited by our club, are strongly Italian in their carving. The 

 octagonal S.E. tower at Laycock Abbey and the stone tables 

 and tiles are dated 1540-53. At Bingham's Melcombe is a 

 charming gable of mixed English and Italian detail. It must 

 be recollected that the old style went out of use gradually, not 

 suddenly. With the close of the first half of the century we 

 come to the end of the pronounced Italian and French detail. 



In the second half Dutch influence prevailed, and strap work, 

 fruit, foliage, cartouches and caryatides were freely displayed. 

 The smaller houses of the country gentry continued to be 

 erected by local masons and builders, in the old traditional 

 English style, the foreign fashion being more slowly adopted. 

 In fact for many years the plan remained unchanged, only the 

 decorations exhibiting foreign influence. 



The dissolution of the monasteries, having transferred some 

 of the best lands and possessions, at moderate prices, to 

 secular hands, led to a great development of domestic 

 architecture. 



