1^4

IIISrOIlY OF
ARCHITECTURE.
Boo I,
CHAP.
III.
AKCIIITECTUUE
OF J511ITAIN.
Sect. I.
EAllLY HOUSES AND AKCIIITECTU KE OF THE BRITONS.
.3"9.
On tlie invasion of Britain by Julius Cajsar, in tlie year 55 b. c, the inhabitants
dwelt in lunises resembling those of Gaul
;
and in Kent, and other southern parts of the
island, their houses were more substantial and convenient than those in the north. Caves
or earth houses seem to have been tlieir original shelter
;
to which had preceded the wicker
enclosure, whose sides were incrusted with clay. These were thatched with straw. The
wooden houses of the ancient Gauls and Hritons were circular, with high ta])ering roofs,
at whose summit was an a\)erture for the admission of light and emission of smoke. 'I'hese,
where the edifices were grander than ordinary, were placed upon foundations of stone.
There is no instruction to be derived from pursuing this subject further. 'J'hat the arts at
tlie period in question scarcely existed, is ipiite certain
;
and Caractacus may, when carried
prisoner to Rome, have well expressed surprise that the Romans, who had such inagniticent
palaces of their own, should envy the wretched cabins of the Rritons.
:i80. If the Britons were so uninformed in architecture as to be satisfied with such
structures for their dwellings as we have named, it will hardly be contended that they were
tlie builders of so stupendous a fabric as Stonehenge. On this subject we have already
stated our opinion in Chaj). II. From the distant period at which we believe this and
similar edifices to
have been erected up to that of which we are S])eaking many cen-
tin-ies must have elapsed, during which tlie mechanical knowledge which was employed in
their erection might have been lost, and indeed must have been, from the condition of the
inhabitants, of wliich mention has been made.
:i81. The Romans, after their invasion of the island, soon formed settlements and ])lanted
colonies; and it is not dilflcult to imagine the change which took place iu its architecture.
Tlie first Roman colony was at Camalodunum. This, when it was afterwards destroyed
by the Britons in the great revolt under Boadicea, apjiears to have been a large and well-
built town, adorned with statues, temjiles, theatres, and other public edifices.
(
Tacit.
Annul, lib. xiv. c. 32.) In the account given of the prodigies said to have haiipened at
this jilace, and to have announced its approaching fall, it is mentioned that the statue of
\'ictory fell down without any visible violence ;
in the hall of iniblic business, the confased
niiuMiiurs of strangers were perceived, and dismal bowlings were heard in the theatre. At
Camalodunum the temple of Claudius was large enough to contain the whole garrison,
who, after the destruction of the town, took refuge in it
;
and so strong was it, that they
were enabled to hold out therein against the whole British army for a ])eriod of two days.
London, however, exhibited a more striking examjilo of the rajiid ])rogress of Roman
architecture in Britain. At the time of the first Roman invasion it was little more than a
British town or enclosed forest ; and there, seems to be ground for sujiposing that at the
time of the second invasion, under Claudius, it was not much improved. But when, about
sixteen years afterwards, it came into the iiossession of the Romans, it became a rich, ]>o-
pulous, and beautiful city. Not only did the Romans raise a vast number of solid and
magnificent structures for their own accommodation, but they taught the arts to the Britons,
and thus civilised them. Agricola, of all tlie Roman governors, took means for that pur-
pose. That they might become less and less attached to a roaming and unsettled life, and
accustomed to a more agreeable mode of living, he took all opportunities of rendering them
a&sistance in erecting houses and temples, and other public buildings. He did all in his
power to excite an emulation amongst them ; so that at last they were not content without
structures for ornament and pleasure, such as baths, porticoes, galleries, banqueting houses,
iS:e. FVom this time (a. n. 80) up
"
to the middle of the fourth century," siys Henry
{Hist,
of
England),
"
architecture, and all the arts immediately connected with it, greatly
flourished in this island
;
and the same taste for erecting solid, convenient, and beautiful
buildings which had long prevailed in Italy, was introduced into Britain. Every Roman
colony and free city (of which there was a great mnnber in this country) was a little Rome,
encompassed with strong walls, adorned with temples, palaces, courts, halls, basilica?, bath.s,
markets, aqueducts, and many other fine buildings both for use and orn.ament Tlie
country every where abounded with well-built villages, towns, forts, and stations
;
and the
whole was defended by that high and strong wall, wiih its many towers and castles, which
reached from the mouth of the river Tync on the cast to the Solway Firth on the west.