The Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London (and historically as The Tower), is a historic monument in central London. England, on the north bank of the River Thames. It is located within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and is separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space known as Tower Hill.
The Tower of London is often identified with the White tower, the original stark square fortress built by William the Conqueror in 1078. However, the tower as a whole is a complex of several buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls nut a moat.
The tower's primary function was a fortress, a royal palace, and a prison (particularly for high status and royal prisoners, such as the Princes in the Tower and the future Queen Elizabeth I), It has also served as a place of execution and torture, an armoury, a treasury, a zoo, the Royal Mint, a public records office, an observatory, and since 1303, the home of the Crown Jewels of the UK.
After a lull in church building during the 8th and 9th centuries, (mainly due to Danish invasions), it recommenced early in the 10thcentury, and between that date and the Norman conquest of England in 1066 a number of churches were erected. They used to be called Saxon, but because they represent only a cruder form of Continental Romanesque, whereas those built after 1066 are called Conquest Romanesque.
Surviving buildings of the Post Conquest Romanesque or Norman period (1066-1200), consist almost entirely of churches and castles.
Gothic architecture in Britain has been neatly divided into 4 periods, or styles.
The term "Gothic" itself needs some explaining. The original style of building - one might call it a philosophy of architecture - sprang up in the lie de France, and w as known during the Middle Ages as "the French Style".
Quick Reference:
Norman Gothic 1066-1200
Early English Gothic 1200-1275
Decorated Gothic 1275-1375
Perpendicular Gothic 1375 - 1530
Gothic architecture emphasized strong vertical lines, high vaulted ceilings, minimal wall space, pointed window and door openings, and buttressed walls. But these characteristic Gothic themes did not spring into being overnight.
The Tudor style
Tudor style descriptive of the English architecture and decoration of the first half of the 16th century, prevails during the reigns (1485-1558) of Henry VII. Henry VIII, Edward VI and Mary I. It is the first of the transitional styles between Gothic Perpendicular and Palladian architecture, the other two being Elizabethan and Jacobean The rise of new trading families to wealth and the enrichment of court favorites by Henry VIII with lands and riches derived from his suppression of monasteries resulted in the building of many manor houses. In these the fortified character of earlier times gave way to increased domesticity and privacy. Although the great hall still remained the focus of the establishment, its importance now decreased with the introduction of other rooms such as parlors, studies, bedrooms in greater number, and quarters for dining. Rooms frequently were fitted with oak paneling, often of linen-fold type; walls and ceilings received rich plaster relief ornament; and articles of furniture came into greater use. Domestic exteriors exhibited Perpendicular features in modified form, notably square-headed. mullioned windows and arched openings of the four-centered or so-called Tudor type. Other characteristics were the use of brickwork combined with half-timber, high pinnacled gables, bay or oriel windows, and numerous chimneys of decorative form. Principal Tudor examples are parts of Hampton Court Palace, begun in 1515, many colleges of Oxford and Cambridge, countrv manors include Sutton Place, Surrey; Layer Mamey, Essex; and the splendid Compton Wynyates, Warwick.