Review by Candace Robb, author/independent researcher, for H-Albion
<candacer@halcyon.com>
John Schofield. MEDIEVAL LONDON HOUSES. New Haven and London: Yale
University Press for The Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art,
1995. 272 pp. 300 b/w illus. & 10 colorplates, gazetteer, appendix, maps,
notes, sources & bibliography, and index. $60.00 ea. (cloth).
In MEDIEVAL LONDON HOUSES John Schofield presents a survey of domestic
architecture in London from 1200 to 1600 based on the surviving evidence.
What is left of medieval and Tudor London? Very little in the way of
archaeological evidence. As Schofield explains, it is "rich only in certain
areas, such as along the waterfront or increasingly in the area in the
north-east of the city, unaffected by the Great Fire." And of these sites
the remains are often merely the underpinnings of a more recent structure.
But Schofield uses "documentary records, panoramas, engravings and
contemporary surveys (particularly those of John Stow and Ralph
Treswell)...to illuminate each other..." (p. 5) as well as the surviving
fragments and excavations. The author sticks to facts; the farthest he goes
towards speculation is to use evidence from another city of the
period.
After an introduction and survey of sources, Schofield proceeds by
summarising the
evidence in a series of chapters. The Topographical Setting discusses the
physical
restraints of the site and how they affected the growth of the city; the
suburbs and
Westminster; defences; the waterfront; castles, religious houses and parish
churches
insofar as they were in effect boundaries or defined neighbourhoods; public
buildings
and works; the Dissolution and its effects. Properties and Buildings
explains the
evolution of properties such as large estates later subdivided then moves
closer to
examine the four basic domestic types of house found in the city: larger
private houses
(Type 4), medium-sized and narrow properties (Types 3 and 2), the smallest
houses (Type 1), as well as victualling houses, shops, and almshouses.
Development of Rooms and Open Spaces describes the evolution of features
such as courtyards, gates and porches, halls, solars, parlours, butteries,
pantries, counting houses, cellars and undercrofts, closets, studies,
garrets, and stairs. Fabric and Furnishings considers roof
structures, roof coverings, doors, floors, hearths and chimneys, gutters
and drains,
glazing, panelling, lighting, as well as furniture. Construction of
Medieval and Tudor
Houses in London analyses building techniques as well as materials and styles.
Following these chapters, which comprise half the book, Schofield provides
a "Selective Gazetteer of Sites", a detailed listing of 201 individual
sites including a history of ownership where known and a description of
remains: anyone wishing to visualise London during the 400 years covered
will find this an invaluable resource, complete with maps, sketches and
plans where available, and lists of sources.
The result is a fascinating, detailed study of the evolution of the city of
London.
Particular properties grew, dramatically changed shape, acquired more space
during the
drop in population after the plague, changed purpose, were subdivided. And the
buildings themselves, originally focusing on a central hall, were gradually
broken up
into specialised rooms--solars, parlours, butteries, porches, etc. The original
purposes of these rooms are often surprising: "...the main purpose of the
closet was to
be a small chamber off the bedroom, where the occupant could retire for
privacy or rest
(81)." Regulations speak volumes: time and again the city government would
try to
enforce regulations against additions that jettied dangerously over city
streets or
opened into them. In 1276 jetties, pentices and gutters were henceforth to
be "at least
9 ft above the ground so as not to impede horsemen (147)." "In 1422 the
entrances to
many cellars in central or major streets were indicted either for
protruding too far
into the street or for unsafe doors; some must have been trap-doors (79)."
During the
period covered the waterfront continued to expand, suburbs spreading east
and west,
north and south of the river. With the Dissolution large building complexes
became
available and were subdivided into rows of shops, inns, private houses.
This is not an easy book to use. It is not intended as a primer on medieval
architecture--no glossary is provided, illustrations are generous but largely
unexplained. The reader must have a rudimentary knowledge of medieval and
Tudor
architecture (a book such as Margaret Wood's *The English Mediaeval House*
is helpful to keep nearby). I also found it helpful (and also enjoyable) to
look at *The London Surveys of Ralph Treswell, edited by Schofield and to
which he frequently refers.
With its gazetteer, this book is obviously not intended to be read through and
digested, but referred to on occasion, and thus two sets of keys should
have been
summarised in a table for quick reference: the key to the letters
designating functions
of rooms in the plans and a brief description of building types 1-4. The
"key to
functions of rooms and open spaces on the plans" is at the end of the
preface and
acknowledgements: as these letters are critical to understanding the plans
as discussed
in the text and the gazetteer, they should have been more prominently
displayed. A
similar problem arises with the building Types 1-4, which Schofield
describes in
chapter 3, and refers to thenceforward by number. Also, page numbers are
often omitted
in order to fit illustrations on pages; in such a large book this can be
aggravating.
But these are minor quibbles. I came away from this study confident that
what there is
to know about domestic architecture in London of the period is in this
book. And thus
this is a book that accomplishes precisely what the author set out to do,
no more, no
less. Quite an achievement.
This is an essential book for anyone wishing to describe medieval and Tudor
London, to
investigate the history of a particular site, to study the growth of the
city, or to
understand the evolution of London domestic architecture.
References:
*The London Surveys of Ralph Treswell*, J. Schofield ed., London
Topographical Society, 135, 1987.
*The English Mediaeval House*, by Margaret Wood, New York: Harper Colophon
Books, 1983.
Review by Candace Robb, author/independent researcher, for H-Albion
<candacer@halcyon.com>
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