© songquan dengArchitecture
Arguably the greatest influences on London’s long architectural history have been the church and the monarch. Long before the Palace of Westminster we see today had any democratic power, it was a royal palace and home of the King. Westminster Hall was constructed before the Norman Conquest and features a wooden hammerbeam roof. Westminster Abbey was originally constructed in 1050 and rebuilt in 1245 in the gothic style. Lambeth Palace and the Tower of London were built in the 12th century for the church and the king respectively.
When Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries and consolidated his power in the 16th century, he took over many palaces and buildings from the church. The greatest architects of the day were put to work to create and extend such properties. Inigo Jones brought Palladian architecture from the continent to London and designed the Queen's House for Elizabeth I, Henry's daughter. The style was employed in the building of the Palace of Whitehall, from which only Banqueting House remains. Later architects built Marble Hill House and Chiswick House in the Palladian style. Hampton Court Palace, St James’s Palace and Somerset House were all built or extended under the guidance of Henry and his relatives. Regular housing in London consisted mostly of wooden framed houses tightly packed together caused by unregulated construction. This caused the Great Fire of London in 1666 to destroy a large area of the city and presented an opportunity for a redesign. Over 70 churches were built, including the rebuilding of St Paul's Cathedral by Sir Christopher Wren. The 17th century saw the English Baroque style employed by Christopher Wren and Nicholas Hawksmoor in many churches across London as well as the Old Royal Naval College, the Royal Observatory and the Royal Hospital Chelsea. The 18th century brought large, white stucco Neoclassical buildings by John Nash, Decimus Burton and Robert Adam. These included Carlton House Terrace, Park Crescent and Kenwood House. John Nash’s plan to connect Regent’s Park with The Mall created the grand sweep of buildings that we see today. The 19th century saw the gothic revivalist style in buildings such as St Pancras Railway Station and the Houses of Parliament; by George Gilbert Scott and Charles Barry respectively. In the 20th century, London is increasingly becoming a playground for modern architects. The structural expressionist style can be seen in buildings such as the Lloyd’s Building and ‘the Cheesegrater’. Architects are pushing the boundaries of design in projects such as the Millennium Bridge, the first lateral suspension bridge in the world. Architecture as sculpture seems to be the theme in Renzo Piano’s Shard. Investment in London property continues apace and along with it come opportunities for architects to realize their own vision for the city. {Architectural Style: Item / Year of Construction}:
Tudor Lambeth Palace 1440 Eltham Palace 1483 Fulham Palace 1495 Jacobean Kensington Palace and Gardens 1605 Palladian Banqueting House 1622 Queen's House Greenwich 1635 Chiswick House 1729 Marble Hill House 1729 English Baroque Royal Observatory Greenwich 1676 Old Royal Naval College 1694 Royal Hospital Chelsea 1695 St. Paul's Cathedral 1697 St. George's, Bloomsbury 1730 Neoclassical Bank of England 1734 Spencer House 1766 Somerset House 1776 Kenwood House 1779 Park Crescent 1821 Marble Arch 1827 Wellington Arch 1827 Carlton House Terrace 1832 Royal Exchange 1844 Royal Institute of British Architects 1934 Senate House 1937 Georgian Little Green Street 1780 Gothic Revival Houses of Parliament 1835 St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel 1868 Albert Memorial 1872 Royal Courts of Justice 1882 Tower Bridge 1894 Italianate Foreign and Commonwealth Office 1868 Byzantine Revival St. Sophia's Cathedral 1879 Edwardian Baroque London County Hall 1922 Art Deco Oxo Tower 1929 Broadcasting House 1932 Queen's Cinema 1932 Battersea Power Station 1933 Hoover Building 1933 Isokon Gallery 1934 Modernist 2 Willow Road 1939 Brutalist Trellick Tower 1972 High Tech Lloyd's Building 1986 The Leadenhall Building 2010 Modern 30 St. Mary Axe 2001 The City Hall 2002 The Shard 2009 Bridges Albert Bridge 1873 Millennium Bridge 2000 Rolling Bridge 2004 |
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