II 



THE CHANGE IN STYLE 



DURING the seventeenth century a very significant change took 

 place in architectural design. All through the mediaeval period 

 design seems, so far as our knowledge enables us to form an 

 opinion, to have been impersonal, the result of a number of men 

 working together, each concerned with the portion affecting his 

 particular trade. It is probably true that some one individual 

 controlled the general scheme, and gave an oversight to the 

 work of the others ; but not in such a sense as to have been 

 entitled to be called the " architect," as we understand the term. 

 To us the architect is the individual who not only provides the 

 plan, not only puts into practicable form the ideas of the 

 employer, but also designs most of the details. He not only 

 informs the various artificers that particular work is required in 

 particular places, but he also provides them with drawings show- 

 ing what the work is to be, and how it is to be fashioned. His 

 influence to-day is much wider and much more intimate than 

 it was in the Middle Ages, the ages which produced our cathedrals, 

 our ancient churches, castles, and manor-houses. 



The term " architect " occurs very seldom either in literature 

 or in documents previous to the seventeenth century. Shake- 

 speare uses the word once ; in contracts of Elizabeth's time it 

 appears seldom, if ever ; although the documents refer to the 

 provision of design as well as workmanship. In the numerous 

 books published for the guidance of designers in building 

 matters during the reigns of Elizabeth and James, it appears 

 now and then : but the appeals which these books made on their 

 title-pages and in their prefaces to those for whom they were 

 written, were addressed primarily to artificers and only incident- 

 ally to architects, who seem to have been included in order to 

 catch a possible purchaser. The reason for the absence of the 



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