Sir Henry Wotton

NOTES: Sir Henry Wotton was a distinguished diplomat and writer on architecture. He was the author of the famous remark that an ambassador was an honest man sent to lie abroad for the good of his country. Wotton took advantage of his postings to develop his passionate interest in architecture. He was the first person to bring drawings by Palladio to England (in 1612). In 1624, Wotton wrote The Elements of Architecture, a brief but highly influential work that has been described as 'the first significant British contribution to architectural theory'. The text is erudite and pithy and includes the oft-quoted Vitruvian definition of the qualities of good architecture as being 'firmness, commodity and delight'.