Page:The castellated and domestic architecture of Scotland from the twelfth to the eighteenth century (1887) - Volume 1.djvu/77

 ENGLISH EXAMPLES 5? INTRODUCTION erected in the neighbourhood of Fontainebleau in 1527, and was taken down and re-erected on its present site in 1 626, in terms of the inscription which it bears. We here see a design in which perfect symmetry prevails, and although the general forms of the windows, niches, canopies, parapets, etc., are Gothic, the details are completely Renaissance in design. In the larger drawing of the window-shafts, we see some remains of the late Gothic feature of " interpenetration " of mouldings and caps, mixed up with the Renaissance features of baluster-shaped shafts and caps with wreaths and other classic details. The heads of kings and queens (which in this case bear the names and dates of the originals) are very characteristic ornaments of the period. There is scarcely a single building of this time, especially amongst the numerous examples in the country of the Loire, which is not adorned with the heads of the Roman Caesars or of the Kings of France, a feature which we shall afterwards see King James v. of Scotland imported into his country along with his Queen, Madelaine, daughter of Francis i. In England, as we have observed, the process of conversion of castles into dwelling-houses had begun much sooner than in France, and in the fifteenth century we may say that the process was completed. Manners and the mode of living had so entirely changed, that a large hall was no longer necessary. The nation had made great progress, and commerce and wealth had greatly increased. The towns had risen in importance, and many of the wealthy merchants vied with the nobles in their state. Guilds had also grown up among the tradesmen, and many of the trades which used to be carried on within the walls of the castle were now practised by the burghers in the towns. The feudal lord thus no longer required or maintained the same number of retainers and tradesmen within his castle, and as his state and retinue declined, the hall declined with them. The introduction of gunpowder further materially hastened the pro- cess of conversion of the castle into the mansion. But in England, as in France, the old forms and features were long retained as ornaments after their original use was forgotten and abandoned. Towers and battlements, moats, drawbridges, and other early features, still continued to be erected, although the residential character of the houses was developed. Of these castles we have a fine example in Hurstmonceaux, Sussex (Fig. 43), which combines the castellated features of moat and loopholes, crenelated towers and frowning gateway, with the large windows and oriels and extended accommodation of the later mansions. But these castellated features are merely for show, not for use. The only really defensive features of this mansion are the moat (now drained) and the shot-holes at the entrance gateway. The interior is un- fortunately so much destroyed that the plan cannot now be distinctly