London

London was the principal city of England during the Renaissance. At the time, it consisted of the City of London, Westminster, and some suburbs. The City of London was a small, densely populated area originally developed by the Romans. By the Renaissance, the City boasted St. Paul's Cathedral, the Guildhall, the shops of rich merchants, docks, and warehouses. London Bridge connected the City with Southwark and other areas across the Thames River.

Several miles upstream a second center of population grew up around Westminster Abbey and the Palace of Westminster. Once a royal residence, the Palace of Westminster housed law courts and St. Stephen's Chapel during the Renaissance. The chapel served as a meeting place for the House of Commons, Parliament's lower house. Smaller buildings for other government offices crowded up against the palace. Most of England's business was conducted in this administrative complex.

Westminster and the City of London were linked by the Strand, the main street that paralleled the Thames River. Along the Strand stood the palaces or town houses of a number of bishops, including York Place. This was the home of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, a key adviser of Henry VIII. After Wolsey fell from power, the king had York Place converted into Whitehall Palace, which became a royal residence.

Across the Thames from the City of London, Southwark contained many theaters and other entertainment sites. These included the Bear Garden and the Globe Theater, which offered plays by William Shakespeare and others. Lambeth Palace, across the river from Westminster, had been the residence of the archbishops of Canterbury since the 1100s. Ferries and barges provided regular passage across the Thames, linking Lambeth and Westminster.

Henry VIII's break with the Roman Catholic Church brought many changes to England in the 1500s. He seized many monasteries and other religious buildings, but Westminster Abbey was too important to be touched. The site of royal coronations and funerals and the tombs of most of England's medieval* monarchs, it remained a national shrine. Most other religious buildings fell, becoming commercial sites or residences for members of the aristocracy*.

Many bishops lost their town houses at this time as well. A number of them were demolished to make space for Somerset House. A wealthy aristocrat's home, Somerset House was one of the earliest English structures to show the influence of the Renaissance and to incorporate elements of classical* architecture.

The appearance of London changed even more dramatically in the 1600s under the Stuart dynasty. Development along the Thames River and the Strand continued and increased. The earl of Bedford hired the famous English architect Inigo Jones to build a great public square based on those in France and Italy. In his design, Jones surrounded the square with elegant town houses for members of the aristocracy who wanted houses in London as well as estates in the countryside. Jones produced some of the finest houses in London. His designs established a pattern that would be widely copied in later centuries.

Jones also worked for the royal family, and his love of classical and Renaissance architecture became most apparent in his designs for the Stuarts. He drew plans for a reconstruction of Whitehall Palace, but because of a lack of finances, only one part of it was actually completed. Jones's design for this structure, known as Banqueting House, helped establish a pure classical style of architecture in England.

The population of London increased dramatically during the course of the Renaissance. With perhaps 100,000 residents in 1500, it was smaller than European cities such as Paris, Milan, Venice, and Naples. However, by 1600 London had grown to 200,000 inhabitants, and the population reached about 400,000 in 1650. This growth, the result of continuing immigration from the countryside, occurred despite very high mortality in London. By the mid-1600s, London had become the largest city in western Europe.

(See alsoArchitecture; Cities and Urban Life; England. )

see color plate 9, vol. 3

* medieval

referring to the Middle Ages, a period that began around a.d. 400 and ended around 1400 in Italy and 1500 in the rest of Europe

* aristocracy

privileged upper classes of society; nobles or the nobility

* classical

in the tradition of ancient Greece and Rome