page_title: Architecture in early modern Scotland
section_title: Commonwealth and Restoration
hierarchical_section_title: Architecture in early modern Scotland / Commonwealth and Restoration
caption_attribution_description: English: Detail of James Gordon's map of Aberdeen 1661, showing the fort erected during the Commonwealth
context_page_description: Architecture in early modern Scotland encompasses all building within the borders of the kingdom of Scotland, from the early sixteenth century to the mid-eighteenth century. The time period roughly corresponds to the early modern era in Europe, beginning with the Renaissance and Reformation and ending with the start of the Enlightenment and Industrialisation.
  Vernacular architecture made use of local materials such as stone, turf and, where available, wood. Most of the population was housed in small hamlets and isolated dwellings. The most common form of dwelling throughout Scotland was the long house, shared by humans and animals. About ten per cent of the population lived in the burghs, in a mixture of half-timbered and stone houses.
  The impact of the Renaissance on Scottish architecture began in the reign of James III in the late fifteenth century with the rebuilding of royal palaces such as Linlithgow, and reached its peak under James V. The Reformation had a major impact on ecclesiastical architecture from the mid-sixteenth century onward, resulting in simple church buildings, devoid of ornamentation.
context_section_description: During the turbulent era of the Civil Wars and the incorporation of Scotland into a Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland, significant building in Scotland was largely confined to military architecture. Polygonal fortresses with triangular bastions in the style of the trace italienne were built to house English soldiers at Ayr, Perth and Leith, and 20 smaller forts were built as far apart as Orkney and Stornoway. Control of the Highlands was secured by new strongpoints at Inverlocky and Inverness. The universities saw an improvement in their funding, as they were given income from deaneries, defunct bishoprics and the excise, allowing the completion of buildings including the college in the High Street in Glasgow. After the Restoration in 1660, large-scale building began again, influenced by a growing interest in Classicism.
caption: Detail of a map of Aberdeen in 1661, showing the fort erected during the Commonwealth
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