The period between 1660 and 1688 is sometimes spoken of as the Jacobean, Late Jacobean, Carolean, Late Stuart or Restoration period. None of these titles is a precise definition of an important epoch in the formation of our English school of furniture. Many favourable influences were at work in that period to assist the development of the school. Walnut, which admits of finer treatment than oak, came into general use. Charles II. and members of his Court, after an exile of eleven years, brought luxurious methods of living from France and other countries. Queen Catherine of Braganza introduced Portuguese and Indian tastes, and furniture from all parts of the Continent and China was largely imported and copied by English makers. The Fire of London (1666), causing the destruction of over 13,000 houses, gave a great stimulus to furniture-making, and the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 caused some thousands of skilled French craftsmen with their patterns and tools, and among them cabinet-makers, carvers, textile and glass workers, to seek and obtain a livelihood in this country. These influences, together with the increasing wealth of the middle and upper class, gave a great impetus to the formation of the English school in the reign of Queen Anne.