vi PREFACE 



work, however correct and refined, those qualities which 

 make for supreme achievement. On the other hand, it 

 is held that the designers of Elizabeth's time were 

 hampered in their efforts at architectural expression by 

 a lack of knowledge ; that they discarded many of the 

 old ideas without appreciating the full significance of 

 the new ideas which they were anxious to adopt ; and 

 that as they gained wider knowledge, so did their archi- 

 tecture improve. 



Much can be said for either of these views, which 

 indeed are not wholly inconsistent with each other ; but 

 it is my desire in the following pages to avoid contro- 

 versy, and to present the domestic side of the subject 

 throughout the period under review in a sympathetic 

 spirit. 



During the nineteenth century an increase of 

 acquaintance with the past led to the adoption of so 

 many different phases of style as almost to eliminate 

 the interest derived from historical continuity. But the 

 study of the past need not necessarily have this effect ; 

 if rightly directed, the inventive genius of the present 

 will find in the past a great help for the future. 



I have to express my thanks to many persons who 

 have assisted by supplying material for the illustrations, 

 and especially to the owners of the various houses who 

 have kindly permitted them to be photographed. Of the 

 numerous drawings which have been reproduced, some, 

 connected with Inigo Jones, are from the collection at 

 Chatsworth House, by the kindness of the Duke of 

 Devonshire ; and others by Jones and John Webb are 

 from the Burlington- Devonshire Collection, in the posses- 

 sion of the Royal Institute of British Architects, by 

 permission of the Council. For leave to include other 

 contemporary drawings I have to thank the Provost of 

 Worcester College, Oxford ; the Warden of All Souls 

 College, Oxford ; and the authorities of the Bodleian 



