The new ideas in Elizabeth’s reign led to a period known as the ‘Great Rebuilding’.  Elizabeth herself did not have the money to be a great builder but many of her subjects did.  They built extravagant country houses which reflect the wealth and stability of the era.

 

Strong government had an impact on design as residences no longer need to include defence features such as moats and drawbridges, instead decorative gardens were created. Robert Smythson was a leading architect responsible for building houses such as Longleat House in Wiltshire and Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire.  Often the new buildings were made of stone or brick (depending on what was available locally).  They were designed to amaze all who saw them in terms of their scales and style.

 

Elizabethan houses were very different from previous Gothic styles as they were based on Italian Renaissance architecture.  The design focused on symmetry and size.  Houses had intricate chimney stacks and expensive leaded glass in mullioned windows. Often houses were built with an ‘E’ shaped floorplan, perhaps in honour of the Queen.

 

The new houses were also very different on the inside as rooms were made very light by the use of glass.  Bedrooms were put upstairs for the first time and the houses were more comfortable than before with oak-panelled walls, impressive fireplaces, tapestries and libraries.

 

The medieval Great Hall was no longer popular and instead Elizabethan houses had a long gallery on an upper floor which was used for entertaining and to display art collections