English Baroque architecture

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English Baroque is the name given to English architecture that followed Baroque ideas from the time of the Great Fire of London in 1666 until about 1720. It was followed by a shift to the simpler, rule-based Neo-classical style known as Palladianism. The main English Baroque builders were Christopher Wren, Nicholas Hawksmoor, John Vanbrugh, and James Gibbs, with some other architects like Thomas Archer also contributing.

In houses and interior design, Baroque elements show up in the late Restoration period and in early Georgian styles such as William and Mary, Queen Anne, and the early Georgians. Wren led the early English Baroque, which looked different from continental Baroque in its clear designs, less busy carving, and a respect for classical roots. After the Great Fire, he rebuilt fifty-three churches, where the Baroque feel comes through in dynamic shapes and changing viewpoints. His grandest work is St Paul’s Cathedral, which combines Palladian ideas with Baroque energy.

There were some attempts to add a Bernini-influenced drama to churches (for example, in St John's, Smith Square, and St Paul’s, Deptford), but these were limited. The first fully Baroque English country house was Chatsworth, designed by William Talman and begun in 1687.

The peak of English Baroque comes with Vanbrugh and Hawksmoor, who worked on major projects like Castle Howard, the Kensington Palace Orangery, and Blenheim Palace. Appuldurcombe House is another example. Seaton Delaval Hall, built by Vanbrugh in 1718, shows his bold, stage-like style and his connection to Restoration drama.

By the 1720s, Baroque fell out of fashion in England. It was linked with Tory politics while Whigs favored the newer Palladian style, popularized in Colen Campbell’s Vitruvius Britannicus. Tastes could change quickly: Wentworth Woodhouse was rebuilt in a strong Baroque manner in the 1720s, but then a long Palladian wing was added, concealing the old house from the park.