By 1360 the Perpendicular style was established as the successor to Decorated architecture. During the subsequent one hundred and eighty years, until the Reformation, major building work was carried out at four great churches in the south west of England. The complete reconstructions of St Mary Redcliffe, Sherborne Abbey and Bath Abbey, and considerable work to the precinct at Wells Cathedral during this period, form the basis for this thesis. Through a study of each of these major centres, the issues of workshop identity and stylistic trendsetters are considered. It is shown how the interpretation of documentary evidence has impeded an understanding of these buildings, which can be revealed by an analysis of the fabric. Based primarily on a methodology of buildings archaeology and assessment of moulding profiles, traditional assumptions concerning the chronology and patronage are challenged. The new chronology for works at Sherborne Abbey, and the redating of the commencement of Bath Abbey further our understanding of the nature of masons' workshops, patronage and stylistic development within a regional context. Introspection in masons' workshops during the 15th century, and retrospection in later design in the region, demonstrates a reliance on the innovations of the 14th century, and the significance of the parish church tradition in the region, respectively. The thesis concludes with a discussion on the influence of major church workshops on domestic architecture, and the impact of the dissemination of the lodges in the early 16th century.

Between 1933 and 1940 between sixty and ninety German architects arrived in Britain as émigrés fleeing from Nazi oppression. The Germany which they left had, until Hitler's intervention, been the centre of European architectural modernism. Making their passage into Britain, they encountered a country whose architectural climate was altogether more traditional. When the first German architects arrived in 1933, architectural modernism was only just taking root, but only a few years later Britain's architectural culture boasted a thriving modernist scene. This coincidence has led historians to draw a direct connection between the presence of German architects and the establishment of modernism in Britain. This thesis, however, advances the current historiography by showing that the role of German émigrés was, rather than to initiate British architectural modernism, to support a development which had taken root before their arrival. Through examination of a number of sources - including personal papers, drawings, photographs, archive material, buildings, and personal interviews - it explores processes of acculturation as evidenced by the work of the émigré architects. A number of in-depth case studies reveal that the new environment in Britain provoked a variety of responses among the German architects, whose work frequently digressed into the realms of British architectural traditions (taking particular inspiration from the architecture of the Georgian period). Looking beyond well-known figures such as Mendelsohn and Gropius, the thesis concludes that the story of architectural migration from Germany to Britain cannot be told in terms of modernism alone. It shows that responses to the émigré situation were highly dependent on the individual architect's background, his or her experience, age, standing and time of arrival, but reveals that, disregarding these differences, all émigré architects to some degree adapted to their new working environment, a tendency which has been described as New Contextualism. Although submitted in the field of History of Art, the scope of this thesis is methodologically and epistemologically wider than might usually be associated with this field. Despite being strongly visually based in its main analysis, the work is inter-disciplinary in approach, incorporating elements of biography, history, sociology, and exile studies, therefore expanding the boundaries of art historical study.

My case study of the building of Sudbury Hall, Derbyshire, is a landmark volume within the fields of architectural and social history in the context of the development of houses of English landed gentry in the seventeenth century.

This thesis explores the ways in which theatrical performances that take place within cathedrals are indelibly shaped by the space of the cathedral from the very beginning of the production process through to audience reception. Drawing on extensive archival research, the Records of Early English Drama, personal interviews, first hand experience as an audience member, and rehearsal observations, this work seeks to understand how these impacts are made and how best to understand the role of the cathedral in shaping such performances. Henri Lefebvre’s theory of the monument will be presented as a way in which one may look at cathedral performance, helping to explain how and why the space acts upon the production. Lefebvre’s theory also helps to situate the cathedral as a social identifier, showing how such performances can act to bring a community together, thereby further influencing the production. This thesis offers insights into how not only the tangible aspects of space affect performance (architecture, art, et cetera), but also how intangible qualities such as history, social identity, emotions, and spirituality/religion impact productions to the same, or similar, degree. Such performances leave indelible marks on the production including the shaping of texts, designs, staging, and the audience’s reception of the final piece; all of which are discussed in detail, with particular attention to case studies. The research concludes by demonstrating that one must not view the cathedral as a neutral vessel, but one that acts upon all aspects of the production of theatre, and in so doing unavoidably alters the performance in a way not possible in other spaces.

The purpose of this study is ultimately to analyze the influence of cultural attitudes on the treatment of the Scottish estate in the first half of the 18th century (c.1715 – c.1776), making particular reference to the ideology of improvement, through the use of Sir Archibald Grant of Monymusk as a case study. Grant’s improvement of his estate is not understood as literally agricultural or economic development alone, but as a complex ideological commitment to the transformation of land, landscape and society. Whilst Grant of Monymusk has been discussed with reference to economic improvement, the relationship between his role as a publically acknowledged improver and his patronage of art and architecture, as well as his attempts at publication, has not been subject to similar interest. This thesis uses an innovative interdisciplinary approach which draws on archaeological as well as art historical methodologies. It discusses a wider range of estate commissions, in particular Grant’s patronage of the portrait artists John Smibert and William Robertson, the poet John Ogilvie, his commission of the architectural surveyors Alexander Jaffray and Robert Robinson, as well as his work to construct planned villages at Kirktown of Monymusk and Archiestown. The thesis attempts to place these commissions within the context of recent studies of improvement which emphasize its role as an ideology with cultural implications. The use of an individual case study allows for a more in depth discussion of specific reactions to historical and ideological change, providing a narrative of a specific site and thus creating an individual response towards broader cultural and scientific developments.