TUDOR PERIOD, in architecture and the decorative arts, a loose term covering the final phase of Perpendicular Gothic and the earlier phases of Elizabethan or even Jacobean work, from which it is usually differentiated by the fact that those examples in which the Gothic influence predominates are termed Tudor, while those in which classic influence is more noticeable are known as Elizabethan or Jacobean. Since the Gothic tradition per sisted in various parts of England and especially in Oxford and Cambridge until late in the 17th century, it is difficult to assign date limits to the Tudor style. In ecclesiastical architecture the Tudor period saw the climax of Perpendicular development. (See PERPENDICULAR PERIOD.) The characteristics in exterior secular work are : large groups of rectangular windows; rich oriel or bay windows; interesting and sometimes fantastic chimney treat ments; complex roofs with many gables; much brickwork, fre quently in patterns and lavish half-timber (q.v.). In interior secular work this period saw an extraordinary development of wood panelling which was frequently used to cover all four sides of a room, and often enriched with linen-fold (q.v.) decoration
and occasional naïve travesties of classic forms and the lavish use of moulded plaster-work for ceilings, cornices and walls. Char acteristic examples of the style are : the older portions of Hamp ton Court palace (1515-25) ; Layer Marney (1522-25) ; Moreton Old Hall, Cheshire (155o) ; Compton Winyates (c. 1520) ; Bur ton Agnes (1602-1o) ; Ford's hospital, Coventry (begun 1529) ; at Oxford, Corpus Christi college (1516), the Founder's tower (1492-1505) and the hall (1541) at Magdalen, the tower of the old examination schools (c. 162o) and the chapel of Oriel (1637) ; at Cambridge, Queens' college (c. 1450), the two earliest courts of S. John's (between 1511 and 1600), and the King's gateway and Great Court at Trinity (built between 1518 and 1605).
(T. F. H.)