Through the policy of seeking foreign princesses as brides for the English kings, foreign influences crept in, and had a marked effect on the development of style. Moreover, increasing commercial intercourse with the Continent paved the way for the introduction of the new ideas of the Renaissance then beginning to dawn in Italy. The Wars of the Roses checked progress in many ways, but this was but the more rapid when peace was restored with the advent of Henry VII. _The House_ There was a great change in the character of the dwelling-house, which though still built on defensive lines, was also arranged with a view to domestic comfort and convenience. The commonest form of plan was that in which the buildings were grouped round a central court and surrounded by a moat. These buildings consisted of hall, parlour, kitchen and domestic offices. The hall itself was lofty, had an open-timbered roof, and was usually lighted from both sides. One end of the hall was invariably screened off, and as the screen did not reach to the roof the musicians’ gallery was placed above it. The fireplace was set in one of the side walls. The windows, as a rule, had few lights, and these had pointed and cusped heads. The upper rooms were accessible by staircases. A not uncommon feature on the upper floor was the long gallery, which generally traversed the whole length of the building immediately under the roof. The rooms were panelled most often to about two-thirds the height of the wall, while the remaining third was of plaster. The ceiling also was of plaster, which was moulded into intersecting ribs arranged geometrically, sometimes with stalactite pendants at the intersections. Fireplaces were made of stone, and chimney-pieces sometimes of wood. Furniture was beginning to assume some of its modern forms, as shown by the chairs, which were railed, and copied from Italian models. Buffets or sideboards with closed cupboards were in use. Table legs were carved or turned, and connected by stretchers. Windows were now glazed with leaded panes, and when made to open were of the casement type, with iron frames which were hinged and furnished with turnbuckle fastenings. Doors seldom had locks, but usually shut with latches of wrought iron. The hinges also were of wrought iron, and though simple in form were often quite ornamental. Henry VII and his successor were responsible for various country residences, an example which was followed by the nobility. During the latter monarch’s reign it became the fashion to arrange the plan of the mansion in the form of the letter H; that is, in two parallel wings connected at a right angle. In the reign of Elizabeth this was modified into a plan resembling the letter E, otherwise a façade, with wings bent at right angles, with a central projection forming the main entrance. In the domestic Tudor style the Arch was in vogue for window openings, etc., but much flattened in form.