Tudor Revival

Latticed Windows in the Old Quadrangle Building, c. 1856

Latticed, or leaded light windows, were first developed in England during the Middle Ages and lasted into the Tudor period. Large sheets of glass were difficult to produce and so these windows comprised smaller panels which were usually diamond or rectangular shaped and set in lead for support. This became the most common type of window across western Europe until the seventeenth century when it was replaced by broad glass technology. It is therefore curious that we find latticed windows on the Old Quadrangle building which was first built in 1856.

The Old Quadrangle Building’s Tudor-style latticed windows can be seen in van Ostade’s The Painter
The Old Quadrangle Building’s Tudor-style latticed windows can be seen in van Ostade’s The Painter

England saw a renewed interest in Tudor architecture during the nineteenth century which was brought about by the Arts and Crafts movement. Like the etching revival that emerged towards the end of the century, this renewed enthusiasm towards the Tudor period was a reaction against modernism. Latticed windows, like the ones on the Old Quad, became a decorative statement.

The Old Quad is the oldest building on campus and was designed by Francis White who modelled his design on Oxford and Cambridge Universities. When the University of Melbourne was established, in 1853, Victoria was still a colony governed by British law. The Old Quad’s design harks centuries of English academic traditions which the university was founded under and upholds British culture as the exemplar of established civilisation.