Issue 21

Lambert Barnard was a prolific, ambitious and extremely talented artist who transformed the buildings on which he painted with designs of breathtaking scale and vivid colour. Dr Owen Emmerson guides us through the surviving works of arguably the most remarkable painter of regional art in Tudor England.

Situated in the middle of modern central London, St James’s Palace is a wonderful anomaly and a reminder of the area’s Tudor past. Built for Henry VIII, and intended as a residence for his children, it is, remarkably, still in use today. Dr Elizabeth Norton explores the fascinating history of London’s oldest working royal palace.

One of the last of the great Suffolk churches to be built before the Reformation, St Peter and St Paul’s Church in Lavenham is an outstanding example of late medieval architecture. Julian Humphrys describes how wealth, piety and even a little guilt created one of England’s finest parish churches.

Today, only a remnant of one wing remains of the Old Manor of Langley in Oxfordshire, once a royal hunting lodge conveniently located close to Woodstock Palace. Sarah Morris delves into the history of the manor house, its Tudor connections and the fragments of it which survive.

Mount Grace Priory in North Yorkshire offers a revealing case study of post-Dissolution architectural transformation, from conversion as a monastic guesthouse into a private residence, and later restoration under the Arts and Crafts movement. Dr Emma J. Wells explores how changing attitudes have shaped the house’s form and meaning to this day.

Rushton Triangular Lodge, designed by Sir Thomas Tresham, a staunch Roman Catholic who spent much of the late Elizabethan period in prison or paying substantial fines for his strongly-held beliefs, is an intriguing structure. India Wright explores the design, architecture and symbolism of this interesting building.