AQA GCSE History (8145) — British Depth Studies
Students often describe a site's features without explaining WHY they were built. Always link architectural features (like large windows) back to the abstract values or constraints of the time (like wealth or the cost of glass).
In the 16-mark Question 4, use the '1+2' rule: spend your first paragraph evaluating the factor mentioned in the prompt, and the next two paragraphs evaluating alternative factors.
For top marks in AO2 (Evaluation), you must provide a counter-argument. Acknowledge that while a site may be historically significant, broader military or environmental events (like the weather in 1066) often played an equally crucial role.
When discussing historical significance, apply the '5Rs' (Remarkable, Resulted in Change, Revealing, Resonant, Remembered) to structure your evaluation effectively.
Physical Geography
The natural features, such as hills, marshes, or rivers, that influenced the construction and adaptation of a site.
Strategic Location
A site chosen for geographical advantages in controlling trade, movement, or military defense.
Function
The practical, utilitarian use of a site, such as coastal defense, administration, or as a residence.
Symbolic Purpose
The intended message or meaning a building conveys to observers, such as social status or religious authority.
Prince-Bishops
A Norman role where a bishop held both spiritual and secular (military and legal) powers to govern border territories.
Design
The architectural style and layout of a building that communicates its purpose and the owner's status.
Constraints
Factors that limit architectural design, such as available technology, financial costs, or local building materials.
Romanesque style
A massive, imposing Norman architectural style featuring high vaulted ceilings and thick pillars to project strength.
Prodigy House
A grand, ostentatious country house built during the Elizabethan era to impress the monarch and demonstrate extreme wealth.
English Baroque
An ornate, 17th-century architectural style used during the Restoration to reflect scientific advancement and rival European cities.
Great Chain of Being
The strict belief in a fixed, God-given social order ranging from the monarch down to the poorest peasants.
Social Stratification
The way a site's physical layout reflects, separates, and reinforces different social classes.
State Rooms
Grand rooms typically located on the upper floors of a house, specifically designed for entertaining high-ranking or royal guests.
Catalyst
An immediate event or specific site that triggers a significant historical change or turning point.
Counter-Argument
Factual evidence used to challenge the idea that a single site was the most important factor in a historical development.
Co-option
The strategic use of existing symbols or traditions by a new ruling power to make their authority appear legitimate.
Put your knowledge into practice — try past paper questions for History
Physical Geography
The natural features, such as hills, marshes, or rivers, that influenced the construction and adaptation of a site.
Strategic Location
A site chosen for geographical advantages in controlling trade, movement, or military defense.
Function
The practical, utilitarian use of a site, such as coastal defense, administration, or as a residence.
Symbolic Purpose
The intended message or meaning a building conveys to observers, such as social status or religious authority.
Prince-Bishops
A Norman role where a bishop held both spiritual and secular (military and legal) powers to govern border territories.
Design
The architectural style and layout of a building that communicates its purpose and the owner's status.
Constraints
Factors that limit architectural design, such as available technology, financial costs, or local building materials.
Romanesque style
A massive, imposing Norman architectural style featuring high vaulted ceilings and thick pillars to project strength.
Prodigy House
A grand, ostentatious country house built during the Elizabethan era to impress the monarch and demonstrate extreme wealth.
English Baroque
An ornate, 17th-century architectural style used during the Restoration to reflect scientific advancement and rival European cities.
Great Chain of Being
The strict belief in a fixed, God-given social order ranging from the monarch down to the poorest peasants.
Social Stratification
The way a site's physical layout reflects, separates, and reinforces different social classes.
State Rooms
Grand rooms typically located on the upper floors of a house, specifically designed for entertaining high-ranking or royal guests.
Catalyst
An immediate event or specific site that triggers a significant historical change or turning point.
Counter-Argument
Factual evidence used to challenge the idea that a single site was the most important factor in a historical development.
Co-option
The strategic use of existing symbols or traditions by a new ruling power to make their authority appear legitimate.
