Gibbs was a scholarly architect, possessing that thorough train ing in Palladian design which is characteristic of the 18th century designers, but he found in Wren a source of vitality which counter acted, to some extent at least, the frigidity of the master of Vincenza. Gibbs' contemporaries were often less fortunate : Lord Burlington, a wealthy amateur whose actual accomplishments are still a subject of controversy; Colin Campbell (d. his protégé and the author of the Vitruvius Britannicus; and William Kent (1684-1748), who resided in Burlington House, form a group of academic architects to whom adherence to the Italian model seemed more to be desired than individuality of manner or a continuation of the English tradition of Wren. All were builders of great country houses.
Kedleston Hall, by James Paine (1716-89), recovers to some extent the spirit of Vanbrugh, speaking the language of abstract architectonic form, rather than that of ornament. It is planned in the grand manner, with a porticoed central block flanked by smaller blocks, in which all the parts echo those of the centre. On the major axis are two Roman rooms, one peristyled and one domed. Harewood House, Yorkshire, by Carr of York (1723-80), in which there is, as at Kedleston, a central block flanked by wings, illustrates further the rigid purity of the classic taste of the middle of the century, when the tradition of Wren was disappearing and correct proportion was allowed to take the place of inspiration.
The Palladian bridge at Wilton, by Robert Morris, and the house at Prior park, Bath, by John Wood, are other examples.
The last of the Renaissance architects were William Chambers (1726-86) and Robert Adam (1728-92). To the former fell the greatest opportunity of the century, the building of the immense Somerset palace in London. A man of pure taste and of unusual executive powers, he succeeded in creating one of the finest pala tial facades in Europe ; a facade, however, which has the excel lence of scholarliness and of technique rather than that of inspira tion and power. Adams, who practised in partnership with his brother James, was even more academic in his outlook; his style is, on his exterior designs, simple, tenuous and dry in the extreme. His interiors, which often take unusual shapes in plan and in the modelling of ceilings, are enriched by a delicate and graceful sys tem of decoration which, when skilfully executed, attains a unique loveliness. His influence was enormous and under his leadership the architecture of the Renaissance came to an end.