Most authorities date medieval architecture as terminating in England in 1558 with the accession of Elizabeth to the throne. But it was not as simple as that. On the contrary, the vast majority of British buildings after 1558 continued to be built in the Tudor or Late Medieval manner, even as late as Queen Anne and the year 1702 or thereabouts. It was this long and widespread persistence of the traditional manner of building which greatly influenced Virginia architecture in the seventeenth century. [Illustration: A Medieval House in England · Pyramid Chimney · · Crow-steps · · Half-timber Work · · Lattice Casements ·] Furthermore, there came upon the English scene in Elizabeth's time, an architecture called "Early Renaissance," comprising two styles, the Elizabethan (1558-1603) and the Jacobean (1603-1625). The "Early Renaissance" was followed by the "High Renaissance" in architecture, a subject which has little to do with this essay, but which has much to do with Williamsburg. But in spite of the penetrating wedge of the "Early Renaissance" into the great mass of English medieval construction, Britain remained a place where medieval building traditions, especially in the rural areas, remained powerful and overwhelmingly popular throughout the seventeenth century. The situation was, for all purposes, like a grain of Renaissance sand in a medieval bucket. _That_ we should remember when we survey the early architecture of Virginia. The significant aspect of the transposition of the English Medieval Style to Virginia was that the "lag"--meaning the delay caused at that period by an architectural style crossing an ocean--served only to bring Virginia closer to the heart of medievalism. This lag in fact gave a new lease on life to the Medieval Style flourishing within the Old Dominion. [Illustration: A BRANDING IRON FROM JAMESTOWN. This implement for marking cattle or hogsheads with the initials _R L N_ came to light in the ruins of the First State House. On the right is shown the side view, with most of the twelve-inch handle excluded.] III THE ENGLISH STYLES OF ARCHITECTURE IN VIRGINIA