English architecture: detail

Chimneys at Hampton Court. Photograph Michael Best.

Cardinal Wolsey's splendid indulgence, Hampton Court, which he later gave to Henry VIII, was decorated in typically ingenious and elaborate Tudor style.

Here the scalloped edge of the wall is for decoration rather than protection while shooting arrows, while the chimneys express the exuberance of the Tudor workmen who made sure that the brickwork on each was different.

A guardian gryphon...