Very Early English
The earliest mode of building employed in England was one in which everything, including shelter, was sacrificed to obtain an effect of rugged grandeur. Simple in design, the principal buildings in this style nevertheless presented a series of exceedingly tricky problems of construction, and the labour and ingenuity required to manoeuvre the vast monoliths into position must have been considerable. The successful achievement of such feats (without the assistance of any cranes and machinery) indicates the existence, even in that remote age, of that spirit of dogged perseverance and tenacity which has done so much to make British architecture what it is to-day. Incidentally it is interesting to note that even then British architects were actuated by a profound faith, which has never subsequently wavered, in the doctrine that the best architecture is that which involves the most trouble. (Lancaster, 1938)