The English country house in its landscaped setting was one of the most exciting and original developments of the 16th century. Liberated from the need to build for defence by the establishment of domestic peace and financed by a buoyant economy, the Tudor and Jacobean aristocracy indulged in a frenzy of competitive building which radically changed the face of the countryside. Stimulated by the Elizabethan Court, architecture became a matter of passionate interest and social rivalry, characterized by symbolism, allegory and fantasy.