The English Renascence period began during the reign of Henry VIII., and was contemporary with that of France under Francis I. It was Torrigiano, a contemporary of Michel Angelo, who about 1519 brought this new Renascence style into repute by erecting the tomb of Henry VII., and that of the Countess of Richmond, in Westminster Abbey.

English Renascence was further developed by Hans Holbein (1498-1554), who came into this country in 1526, followed by craftsmen from Flanders, Germany and Italy. This intermingling of Flemish, German and Italian styles with the traditional Gothic of our own country, distinguishes English Renascence from that of France and Italy. The marked prevalence of interlacing strap-work, which is so characteristic of Elizabethan and Jacobean ornament, had its origin in Flemish sources.

Of English Renascence architecture, Caius College, Cambridge, (1565-74), by Theodore Hare, of Cleves, and Longleat House (1567-79), by John Thorp, are the earliest examples extant. The Wonderful Palace of Nonsuch (of which no trace remains) was erected by Henry VIII. about 1530-40, doubtless in the Renascence style, as we know that it was embellished with beautifully enriched stucco ornaments and figures by Tolo del Nunziato. Robert Smithson built Wollaton House in 1580. Hardwicke Hall and Haddon Hall are of the later Elizabethan age (1592-97). Typical buildings of the Jacobean period are Holland House (1607), Hatfield (1611), Bolsover (1613), Audley End (1616), Crewe Hall and Aston Hall (1620). These are all enriched with many beautiful examples of modelled plaster work. That at Longleat and Hardwicke being executed by Charles Williams, and at Audley End, by Bernard Jansen (1615).

English stucco-work of this period often consisted of geometrical panelling similar in style to the Tudor fan-tracery and the pendentives of the preceding century. These richly-moulded pendentives were connected together by bands of pierced strap-work decorated with arabesques in low relief. From 1615 to 1650 the panels were composed of purely geometrical forms, such as circles, squares, lozenges and interlacing quatre-foils, enriched with delicate arabesques, the ribs or mouldings frequently having a repeating pattern impressed in the soft plaster.

The many fine friezes of this period were remarkable for their boldness of conception and their skilful craftsmanship; frequently a double frieze was used, the lower part consisting of delicate arabesques and interlacing strap-work, while the upper part was of boldly modelled cartouche and delicate arabesques. During the latter part of the 17th century, owing to French influence, the stucco enrichment usually consisted of acanthus foliage and festoons.

From Charles I., (1625), to Queen Anne, (1702), the purely Italian Renascence prevailed; the Banqueting House at Whitehall, by Inigo Jones, (1572-1652), being a fine example of this period. St. Paul’s Cathedral (1675-1710) by Sir Christopher Wren (1632-1723) and his many beautiful churches in London, mark a distinct epoch of English Renascence; the tradition being carried-on by Vanbrugh (1666-1736) who built Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard. Other architects of this period were Hawksmoor (1666-1726), Kent (1684-1754), Gibbs (1674-1754), Chambers (1726-96), who built Somerset House, and Robert Adam (1725-92), who carried on the traditional method of stucco enrichment, but in a more rigid and formal classic manner. His geometrical panelling of hexagons, octagons, and ovals, was enriched with conventional renderings of the acanthus and olive leaf arranged in small units and repeated without variation over the whole of the surface. These enrichments were cast in plaster or compo and were mechanical in treatment, lacking the beautiful decorative quality of the modelled stucco of the early 17th century. The Wellington Monument in St. Paul’s Cathedral, by Alfred Stevens, is distinguished from much of the modern work by its strong vitality and architectonic treatment of the composition, and the beauty and singular grace of its detail.