SNN111245 - Examination and analysis of the principal characteristics of 17th and 18th-century minor domestic architecture of Flore, Northamptonshire, and comparison with the regional pattern and development

Postgraduate Certificate in Architectural History 2017; Submitted 5th September 2017. This dissertation comprises an examination and assessment of the architectural character and principal features of the 17th and 18th-century minor domestic houses and vernacular cottages of Flore, Northamptonshire, and compares the results with the wider regional pattern. The study group consisted of 42 houses chosen to represent a range of building types across the social scale in order to provide a balanced overview of the built environment. Using external and internal evidence it was possible to identify a characteristic building style and commonality of form and feature which developed from earlier building traditions during the mid to late 17th century and became the established building style during the 18th century. This was not just a fashionable veneer of external elements but was accompanied by an evolution of medieval house form at a time of greater wealth and a higher quality of life across the community. The trend for renewal or rebuilding of farmhouses and smaller dwellings began among the wealthy yeomanry in the 16th century and took influence from the houses of the gentry and nobility on which the display of imported classical and Renaissance motifs were fashionable. The traditional medieval house form persisted however, due to both economy and conservatism, particularly among the smaller dwellings, but developed a hybridised character as it was adapted to new standards of living. This was not a localised trend but has been noted throughout the Midlands and is prevalent in areas of rural nucleated settlement such as the Banbury region.