SMYTHSON, Robert

Hardwick Hall is an Elizabethan country house in England, a leading example of the Elizabethan prodigy house. Built between 1590 and 1597 for the formidable Bess of Hardwick, it was designed by the architect Robert Smythson, an exponent of the Renaissance style of architecture. Hardwick Hall is one of the earliest examples of the English interpretation of this style, which came into fashion having slowly spread from Florence. Its arrival in Britain coincided with the period when it was no longer necessary or legal to fortify a domestic dwelling.

Bess of Hardwick (c. 1527-1608) was the richest woman in England after Queen Elizabeth I, and her house was conceived to be a conspicuous statement of her wealth and power. The windows are exceptionally large and numerous at a time when glass was a luxury. The Hall’s chimneys are built into the internal walls of the structure, in order to give more scope for huge windows without weakening the exterior walls.

Hardwick Hall was the culmination of Smythson’s first stylistic phase, even though his responsibility for the house must have been less comprehensive than at Wollaton. The plan of Hardwick is clearly derived from that of Worksop Manor, but the forms are simpler: a rectangular block with six projecting towers that rise above the main roof. Externally the detail is pared to a minimum, and the uncompromising severity of the great windows makes them very reminiscent of Perpendicular Gothic fenestration. These windows increase in height towards the top of the house, expressing the disposition of the great rooms, the high great chamber and the gallery, on the second floor.

The ingenuity of the planning, particularly of the two meandering staircases contrived behind symmetrical fa�ades, is characteristic of Smythson, while the position of the hall, placed across the house and entered axially at one end, may also have been suggested by him. This marks an advance over Wollaton but was not to be maintained in subsequent houses. With the possible exceptions of chimney-pieces derived from Serlio and Vredeman de Vries, the architectural decoration is unlikely to be of Smythson’s choosing, for he did not oversee the building work.

View the floor plans of Hardwick Hall.

Hardwick Hall is an Elizabethan country house in England, a leading example of the Elizabethan prodigy house. Built between 1590 and 1597 for the formidable Bess of Hardwick, it was designed by the architect Robert Smythson, an exponent of the Renaissance style of architecture. Hardwick Hall is one of the earliest examples of the English interpretation of this style, which came into fashion having slowly spread from Florence. Its arrival in Britain coincided with the period when it was no longer necessary or legal to fortify a domestic dwelling.

Bess of Hardwick (c. 1527-1608) was the richest woman in England after Queen Elizabeth I, and her house was conceived to be a conspicuous statement of her wealth and power. The windows are exceptionally large and numerous at a time when glass was a luxury. The Hall’s chimneys are built into the internal walls of the structure, in order to give more scope for huge windows without weakening the exterior walls.

Hardwick Hall was the culmination of Smythson’s first stylistic phase, even though his responsibility for the house must have been less comprehensive than at Wollaton. The plan of Hardwick is clearly derived from that of Worksop Manor, but the forms are simpler: a rectangular block with six projecting towers that rise above the main roof. Externally the detail is pared to a minimum, and the uncompromising severity of the great windows makes them very reminiscent of Perpendicular Gothic fenestration. These windows increase in height towards the top of the house, expressing the disposition of the great rooms, the high great chamber and the gallery, on the second floor.

The ingenuity of the planning, particularly of the two meandering staircases contrived behind symmetrical fa�ades, is characteristic of Smythson, while the position of the hall, placed across the house and entered axially at one end, may also have been suggested by him. This marks an advance over Wollaton but was not to be maintained in subsequent houses. With the possible exceptions of chimney-pieces derived from Serlio and Vredeman de Vries, the architectural decoration is unlikely to be of Smythson’s choosing, for he did not oversee the building work.

View the floor plans of Hardwick Hall.

Hardwick Hall is an Elizabethan country house in England, a leading example of the Elizabethan prodigy house. Built between 1590 and 1597 for the formidable Bess of Hardwick, it was designed by the architect Robert Smythson, an exponent of the Renaissance style of architecture. Hardwick Hall is one of the earliest examples of the English interpretation of this style, which came into fashion having slowly spread from Florence. Its arrival in Britain coincided with the period when it was no longer necessary or legal to fortify a domestic dwelling.

Bess of Hardwick (c. 1527-1608) was the richest woman in England after Queen Elizabeth I, and her house was conceived to be a conspicuous statement of her wealth and power. The windows are exceptionally large and numerous at a time when glass was a luxury. The Hall’s chimneys are built into the internal walls of the structure, in order to give more scope for huge windows without weakening the exterior walls.

Hardwick Hall was the culmination of Smythson’s first stylistic phase, even though his responsibility for the house must have been less comprehensive than at Wollaton. The plan of Hardwick is clearly derived from that of Worksop Manor, but the forms are simpler: a rectangular block with six projecting towers that rise above the main roof. Externally the detail is pared to a minimum, and the uncompromising severity of the great windows makes them very reminiscent of Perpendicular Gothic fenestration. These windows increase in height towards the top of the house, expressing the disposition of the great rooms, the high great chamber and the gallery, on the second floor.

The ingenuity of the planning, particularly of the two meandering staircases contrived behind symmetrical fa�ades, is characteristic of Smythson, while the position of the hall, placed across the house and entered axially at one end, may also have been suggested by him. This marks an advance over Wollaton but was not to be maintained in subsequent houses. With the possible exceptions of chimney-pieces derived from Serlio and Vredeman de Vries, the architectural decoration is unlikely to be of Smythson’s choosing, for he did not oversee the building work.

View the floor plans of Hardwick Hall.

The first phase of Smythson’s work (1568-90) was moulded by his association with Longleat and his partnership there with Alan Maynard (active 1563-c. 1584 in England). Because he arrived there comparatively late, nothing of the plan was Smythson’s, but he absorbed its exterior compactness and symmetry to the extent that these characteristics are the unifying thread that runs through all his work during this period. He was probably responsible for some of the classical banqueting-houses on the roof of Longleat and, with Maynard, for the design and execution of the bay windows.

The symmetrical three-story house was built by Sir John Thynne (c. 1515-1580), who employed Robert Smythson and French architect Allan Maynard. The house stands as a splendid focal point in the 900 acres of parkland landscaped by Capability Brown.

Thynne finished his grand home in 1580, shortly before his death. Though the exterior maintains its exquisite Tudor fa�ade, the interior has been much altered to follow the changing dictates of comfort and fashion. The great hall still boasts its Tudor hammerbeam roof and carved fireplace, but the rest of the furnishings are Victorian.

View the ground plan of Longleat House (engraving by Jefry Wyatt, 1766-1840).

Robert Smythson, who aided Sir John Thynne at Longleat, later designed and built several notable houses, the finest being Wollaton Hall (1580-88) near Nottingham. Wollaton has a magnificent site on a small hill overlooking a large park. The plan of the house is a square with four square corner towers, resembling a plan in the treatise on architecture by Serlio, whose book was influential in English Renaissance architecture. The great hall is in the centre of the square; it rises an extra story above the whole building. The house has a low basement story that contained the kitchens and service rooms; it is one of the first buildings to use this arrangement, which became common in the history of later English and American architecture.

On the exterior the massing is that of a rectangular block the rectilinear quality of which is further emphasized by the numerous many-mullioned rectangular windows. The decoration is completely Classical, with superimposed pilasters, round-arched niches, and Classical balustrades, but it shows touches of Italian Mannerism, which came into England primarily from Flanders. The pilasters and half columns have raised bands across their middles, and the gables crowning the corner towers are decorated with Flemish strapwork (i.e., bands raised in relief assuming curvilinear forms suggestive of leather straps).

The photo shows the front (south) fa�ade of Wollaton Hall.

View the ground plan of Wollaton Hall.

Robert Smythson, who aided Sir John Thynne at Longleat, later designed and built several notable houses, the finest being Wollaton Hall (1580-88) near Nottingham. Wollaton has a magnificent site on a small hill overlooking a large park. The plan of the house is a square with four square corner towers, resembling a plan in the treatise on architecture by Serlio, whose book was influential in English Renaissance architecture. The great hall is in the centre of the square; it rises an extra story above the whole building. The house has a low basement story that contained the kitchens and service rooms; it is one of the first buildings to use this arrangement, which became common in the history of later English and American architecture.

On the exterior the massing is that of a rectangular block the rectilinear quality of which is further emphasized by the numerous many-mullioned rectangular windows. The decoration is completely Classical, with superimposed pilasters, round-arched niches, and Classical balustrades, but it shows touches of Italian Mannerism, which came into England primarily from Flanders. The pilasters and half columns have raised bands across their middles, and the gables crowning the corner towers are decorated with Flemish strapwork (i.e., bands raised in relief assuming curvilinear forms suggestive of leather straps).

The photo shows the fa�ade on the park side of the building.

View the ground plan of Wollaton Hall.

Hardwick Hall is an Elizabethan country house in England, a leading example of the Elizabethan prodigy house. Built between 1590 and 1597 for the formidable Bess of Hardwick, it was designed by the architect Robert Smythson, an exponent of the Renaissance style of architecture. Hardwick Hall is one of the earliest examples of the English interpretation of this style, which came into fashion having slowly spread from Florence. Its arrival in Britain coincided with the period when it was no longer necessary or legal to fortify a domestic dwelling.

Bess of Hardwick (c. 1527-1608) was the richest woman in England after Queen Elizabeth I, and her house was conceived to be a conspicuous statement of her wealth and power. The windows are exceptionally large and numerous at a time when glass was a luxury. The Hall’s chimneys are built into the internal walls of the structure, in order to give more scope for huge windows without weakening the exterior walls.

Hardwick Hall was the culmination of Smythson’s first stylistic phase, even though his responsibility for the house must have been less comprehensive than at Wollaton. The plan of Hardwick is clearly derived from that of Worksop Manor, but the forms are simpler: a rectangular block with six projecting towers that rise above the main roof. Externally the detail is pared to a minimum, and the uncompromising severity of the great windows makes them very reminiscent of Perpendicular Gothic fenestration. These windows increase in height towards the top of the house, expressing the disposition of the great rooms, the high great chamber and the gallery, on the second floor.

The ingenuity of the planning, particularly of the two meandering staircases contrived behind symmetrical fa�ades, is characteristic of Smythson, while the position of the hall, placed across the house and entered axially at one end, may also have been suggested by him. This marks an advance over Wollaton but was not to be maintained in subsequent houses. With the possible exceptions of chimney-pieces derived from Serlio and Vredeman de Vries, the architectural decoration is unlikely to be of Smythson’s choosing, for he did not oversee the building work.

The photo shows the main fa�ade.