48 C O N T E X T 1 2 4 : M A Y 2 0 1 2 Aspirational England Tudoresque: in pursuit of the ideal home Andrew Ballantyne and Andrew Law, Reaktion Books, 2011, 288pp, 79 b&w illustrations, ISBN 978 1 86189 811 1, £25 History is a messy, endlessly contested subject, but events occasionally crystallise into moments of transformation which are readily understood as pivotal. For the people who have inhabited Britain over the past 2,000 years, moments of torment arrived in 43AD, 1066 and 1642. Moments of transcendent triumph occurred in 1588 and 1940. That the defeat of the Spanish Armada coincided with the reign of an English monarch who was undeniably glamorous, capable and British (a relatively rare combination), as well as a flowering of drama and poetry which has few parallels in world history, has cemented an image of the Tudor period as a golden age in the English folk memory. Little wonder, then, that the lowland vernacular architecture of that time, at once homely and flexible, has been celebrated and revived in a succession of waves, at different times, by different people, for different reasons. In the late 18th century, aristocrats might wish to fend off disaffection, while simultaneously adorning their estates, by constructing picturesque cottages for their agricultural labourers. A handful might even seek temporary respite from their social obligations by living the peasant dream themselves in a pleasantly appointed cottage ornée. In the Victorian era, the industrial nouveau riche might wish to plant brand new country estates using an architectural style which spoke of tradition and continuity. In the 20th century, a whole new mass of middleclass aspirants would seek to stake a Tudor claim to ‘four acres and a cow’ in the modified form of a ‘tenth of an acre and a Morris Cowley’ somewhere in Metro-land, or the sprawling suburbs of Slough or Southampton. In Tudoresque the authors patiently unpick these complex strands of architectural history, folk memory and English nationalism. They use an enormous number of cultural references, both expected and unexpected, ranging from Edmund Burke through Osbert Lancaster, George Orwell and JB Priestley to A Clockwork Orange, as well as apposite architectural examples selected from over two centuries and almost every continent. From time to time the reader develops a suspicion that rather similar points are repeated to exploit a particularly fine reference, too good to waste, but overall their consistent quality certainly adds value. The sometimes hazy border between the arts and crafts movement and the much wider Tudorbethan craze is carefully explored, but the reasons why the former has come to be generally respected, while the latter has been more often ridiculed, are not entirely resolved. That Pevsner saw in the arts and crafts a kind of proto-modernism, to be perfected on the continent (even if bowdlerised by suburban imitators here), is certainly a stamp of approval in the eyes of architects. But does it explain why Premiership footballers now choose to build in a bloated interpretation of Voysey, rather than the Tudoresque? Tudoresque thoroughly explores the domestic story of the style, while largely ignoring its more urban manifestations. Rather like Banquo in Macbeth, the city of Chester takes on a strange, ghostlike presence in this book, regularly alluded to and a key to the action, but never properly visited. Similarly, that most famous Tudorbethan institution, Liberty and Co, is curiously absent. Perhaps the authors, fresh from their Tudor explorations in Belle Air and Hollywood, are holding some of the best material back in the hope of a sequel? If as good as the original, a second bite of the cherry might well be welcome. Michael Scammell is a conservation officer for the South Downs National Park Authority. 2012 IHBC Yearbook released this month The theme of this year’s yearbook, which was put together for the Communications & Outreach Committee by the IHBC national office and with the help of Cathedral Communications, is volunteering. IHBC members and others involved in all aspects of volunteering in the built heritage conservation sector share their experiences and perspectives. The usual institute structure, members lists, educational and industry references, and products and services information are also provided.
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