Norman Mouldings, from Binham Church, Norfolk, and Peterborough.Norman Mouldings, from Binham Church, Norfolk, and Peterborough.
Q. What difference is there as to their general character and appearance between the early and late examples of Norman architecture?
A. The details of those buildings early in the style are characterized by their massiveness, simplicity, and plain appearance; the single or double-faced semicircular arches, both of doorways and windows, as well as the arches supporting the clerestory walls, are generally devoid of ornament, and the edges of the jambs and arches are square. The undercroft of Canterbury Cathedral, the work of Archbishop Lanfranc, between A. D. 1073 and A. D. 1080; the crypt and transepts of Winchester Cathedral, built by Bishop Walkelyn between A. D. 1079 and A. D. 1093; the plain Norman work of the Abbey Church at St. Alban’s, built by Abbot Paul, between 1077-1093; and the north and south aisles of the choir of Norwich Cathedral, the work of Bishop Herbert, between A. D. 1096 and A. D. 1101, not to multiply examples, may be enumerated as instances of plain and early Norman work. In buildings late in the style we find a profusion of ornamental detail of a peculiar character, and numerous semi and tripartite cylindrical mouldings on the faces and edges of arches and vaulting-ribs. The transepts of Peterborough Cathedral, built by Abbot Waterville between A. D. 1155 and A. D. 1175, exhibit vaulting-groins faced with roll mouldings, and other details of an advanced stage; whilst the Galilee, Durham Cathedral, built by Bishop Pudsey, A. D. 1180, is remarkable for the lightness and elongation of the piers, which are formed of clustered columns; and the semicircular arches which spring fromthese are enriched both on the face and soffits with the chevron or zig-zag moulding. There are many intermediate gradations between the extreme plain and massive work of early date, and the enrichments, mouldings, and elongated proportions to be found late in the style; and in detail we may perceive an almost imperceptible merging into that style which succeeded the Norman.
Base. Crypt, St. Peter's, Oxford, c. 1100.Base. Crypt, St. Peter's, Oxford, c. 1100.
52-*Defunctus autem Rex beatissimus in crastino sepultus est Londini, in Ecclesia, quam ipse novo compositionis genere construxerat, a qua post, multi Ecclesias construentes, exemplum adepti, opus illud expensis œmulabantur sumptuosis.—Matt. Paris.
52-*Defunctus autem Rex beatissimus in crastino sepultus est Londini, in Ecclesia, quam ipse novo compositionis genere construxerat, a qua post, multi Ecclesias construentes, exemplum adepti, opus illud expensis œmulabantur sumptuosis.—Matt. Paris.
Vesica Piscis in the tympan of the south doorway, Ely CathedralVesica Piscis in the tympan of the south doorway, Ely Cathedral
OF THE SEMI-NORMAN STYLE.
Q. Whatis the Semi-Norman style?
A. It is that style of transition which, without superseding the Norman style, prevailed more or less, in conjunction with it, during the latter part of the twelfth century, and probably even from an earlier period, and gradually led to the complete adoption, in the succeeding century, of the earlypointed style in a pure state, and to the general disuse of the semicircular arch.
Q. By what is this style chiefly denoted?
A. By the intersection of semicircular arches, the frequent intermixture of the pointed arch in its incipient state with the semicircular arch, and the pointed arch with its accompaniments of features, mouldings, and ornamental accessories, exactly similar to those of the Norman style, both in its earlier and later gradations, and from which it appears to have differed only in the contour or form of the arch.
Early specimen of intersecting Arches, St. Botolph's Priory, Colchester. (12th cent.)Early specimen of intersecting Arches, St. Botolph's Priory, Colchester. (12th cent.)
Q. Whence are we to derive the origin of the pointed arch?
A. Many conjectural opinions on this much-contested question have been entertained, yet it still remains to be satisfactorily elucidated. Some would derive it from the East and ascribe its introduction to the Crusaders; some maintain that it was suggested by the intersection of semicircular arches, which intersection we frequently find in ornamental arcades; others contend that it originated from the mode of quadripartite vaulting adopted by the Normans, the segmental groins of which, crossing diagonally, produce to appearance the pointed arch; whilst some imagine it may have been derived from that mystical figure of a pointed oval form, theVesicaPiscis76-*.Butwhatever its origin, it appears to have been imperceptibly brought into partial use towards the middle of the twelfth century.
Semi-Norman double Piscina, Jesus College Chapel, Cambridge.Semi-Norman double Piscina, Jesus College Chapel, Cambridge.
Q. What are the characteristics of this style?
A. In large buildings massive cylindrical piers support pointed arches, above which we often find round-headed clerestory windows, as at Buildwas Abbey Church, Salop; or semicircular arches forming the triforium, as at MalmesburyAbbey Church, Wilts. Sometimes we meet with successive tiers of arcades, in which the pointed arch is surmounted both by intersecting and semicircular arches, as in a portion of the west front of Croyland Abbey Church, Lincolnshire, now in ruins. The ornamental details and mouldings of this style generally partake of late Norman character; and the zig-zag and semicylindrical mouldings on the faces of arches appear to predominate, though other Norman mouldings are common; but we also frequently meet with specimens in the Semi-Norman style in which extreme plainness prevails, and the character is of that nature as to induce us to ascribe such buildings to rather an early period. Single and double, and sometimes even triple-faced arches, with the edges left square, distinguish plain specimens of this style from the plain-pointed double-faced arches of the succeeding century, the edges of which are splayed or chamfered. In late instances of this, as of the cotemporaneous Norman style, we observe in the details a gradual tendency to merge into those of the style of the thirteenth century, when the pointed arch had attained maturity, and the peculiar features and decorative mouldings and sculptures of Norman character had fallen intoisuse.
Q. What specimen of this style is there of apparently early date?
Semi-Norman Arch, Abbey Church, Malmesbury.Semi-Norman Arch, Abbey Church, Malmesbury.
A. The church, now in ruins, of Buildwas Abbey, Salop, founded A. D.113579-*,is an early specimen of the Semi-Norman style, in which, with the incipient pointed arch, Norman features and details are blended. The nave is divided from the aisles by plain double-faced pointed arches, with square edges, and hood mouldings over, which spring from massive cylindrical piers with square bases and capitals; whilst the clerestory windows above (for there is no triforium)are semicircular-headed. The general features of early Norman character, the absence of decorative mouldings, and the plain appearance this church exhibits throughout, are such as perhaps to warrant the presumption that this church is the same structure mentioned in the charter of confirmation granted to this abbey by Stephen, A. D. 1138-9.
Q. What other noted specimens are there of this style?
Intersecting Window Arches, St. Cross Church, Winchester.Intersecting Window Arches, St. Cross Church, Winchester.
A. The church of the Hospital of St. Cross, near Winchester, presents an interesting combination of semicircular, intersecting, and pointed arches, of cotemporaneous date, enriched with the zig-zag and other Norman decorative mouldings, and is a structure, in appearance and detail, of much later date than the church at Buildwas Abbey, though the same early era has been assigned to each.
St. Joseph’s Chapel, Glastonbury, now in ruins, supposed to have been erected in the reigns of Henry the Second and Richard the First, is perhaps the richest specimen now remaining of the Semi-Norman or transition style, and is remarkable for the profusion of sculptured detail and combination of round and intersecting arches. In the remains of Malmesbury Abbey Church a Norman triforium with semicircular arches is supported on pointed arches which are enriched with Norman mouldings, and spring from massive cylindrical Norman piers. The interior of Rothwell Church, Northamptonshire, has much of Semi-Norman character: the aisles are divided from the nave by four lofty, plain, and triple-faced pointed arches, with square edges, springing from square piers with attached semicylindrical shafts on each side, and banded round midway between the bases and capitals; and the latter, which are enriched with sculptured foliage, are surmounted by square abaci; the west doorway is also of Semi-Norman character, and pointed, and is set within a projecting mass of masonry resemblingthe shallow Norman buttress. The circular part of St. Sepulchre’s Church, Northampton, has early pointed arches, plain in design, springing from Norman cylindrical piers. In the circular part of the Temple Church, London, dedicated A. D. 1185, the piers consist of four clustered columns banded round midway between the bases and capitals, and approximating the Early English style of the thirteenth century; and these support pointed arches, over which and continued round the clerestory wall is an arcade of intersecting semicircular arches, and above these are round-headed windows.
Semi-Norman Window, Oxford Cathedral.Semi-Norman Window, Oxford Cathedral.
Q. What particular specimen of the Semi-Norman style has been noticed by any cotemporaneous author, and the date of it clearly defined?
A. The eastern part of Canterbury Cathedral, consisting of Trinity Chapel and the circular adjunct called Becket’s Crown. The building of these commenced the year following the fire which occurred A. D. 1174, and was carried on without intermission for several successive years. Gervase, a monk of the cathedral, and an eyewitness of this re-edification, wrote a long and detailed description of the work in progress, and a comparison between that and the more ancient structure which was burnt; he does not, however, notice in any clear and precise terms the general adoption of the pointed arch and partial disuse of the round arch in the new building, from which we may perhaps infer they were at that period indifferently used, or rather that the pointed arch was gradually gaining theascendancy83-*.
Q. How long does the Semi or Mixed Norman style appear to have prevailed?
Semi-Norman Arch, St. Cross Church, Winchester.Semi-Norman Arch, St. Cross Church, Winchester.
A. Though we can neither trace satisfactorily the exact period of its introduction, or even that of its final extinction, (for it appears to have merged gradually into the pure and unmixedpointed style of the thirteenth century,) we have perhaps no remains of this kind to which we can attribute an earlier date than that included between the years 1130 and 1140, unless we except the intersecting arches at St. Botulph’s, Priory Church, Colchester, which may be a few years earlier; and it appears to have prevailed, in conjunction or intermixed with the Norman style, from thence to the close of the twelfth century, and probably to a somewhat later period.
Arcade, Christ Church, Oxford.Arcade, Christ Church, Oxford.
76-*The figure of a fish, whence the formvesica piscisoriginated, was one of the most ancient of the Christian symbols, emblematically significant of the wordἴχθυς,which contained the initial letters of the name and titles of our Saviour. The symbolic representation of a fish we find sculptured on some of the sarcophagi of the early Christians discovered in the catacombs at Rome; but the actual figure of a fish afterwards gave place to an oval-shaped compartment, pointed at both extremities, bearing the same mystical signification as the fish itself, and formed by two circles intersecting each other in the centre. This was the most common symbol used in the middle ages, and thus delineated it abounds in Anglo-Saxon illuminated manuscripts. Every where we meet with it during the middle ages, in religious sculptures, in painted glass, on encaustic tiles, and on seals; and in the latter, that is, in those of many of the ecclesiastical courts, the form is yet retained. Even with respect to the origin of the pointed arch, thatvexata quæstioof antiquaries, with what degree of probability may it not be attributed to this mystical form? It is indeed in this symbolical figure that we see the outline of the pointed arch plainly developed at least a century and half before the appearance of it in architectonic form. And in that age full of mystical significations, the twelfth century, when every part of a church was symbolized, it appears nothing strange if this typical form should have had its weight towards originating and determining the adoption of the pointed arch.—Internal Decorations of English Churches, British Critic, April, 1839.79-*The date of thefoundationof an abbey or church must not, however, be confounded with that of its actualerection, which was often many years later, and the only certain guide to which is the date of theConsecration.83-*In the minute and circumstantial account which Gervase gives of the partial destruction of this cathedral by fire, A. D. 1174, and its after restoration, he seems to allude, though in obscure language, to the altered form of the vaulting in the aisles of the choir (in circuitu extra chorum); and his comparison, with reference to this building, between early and late Norman architecture is altogether so curious and exact as to deserve being transcribed:—“Dictum est in superioribus quod post combustionem illam vetera fere omnia chori diruta sunt, et in quandam augustioris formæ transierunt novitatem. Nunc autem quæ sit operis utriusque differentia dicendum est. Pilariorum igitur tam veterum quam novorum una forma est, una et grossitudo, sed longitudo dissimilis. Elongati sunt enim pilarii novi longitudine pedum fere duodecim. In capitellis veteribus opus erat planum, in novis sculptura subtilis. Ibi in chori ambitu pilarii viginti duo, hic autem viginti octo. Ibi arcus et cætera omnia plana utpote sculpta secure et non scisello, his in omnibus fere sculptura idonea. Ibi columpna nulla marmorea, hic innumeræ. Ibi in circuitu extra chorum fornices planæ, hic arcuatæ sunt et clavatæ. Ibi murus super pilarios directus cruces a choro sequestrabat, hic vero nullo intersticio cruces a choro divisæ in unam clavem quæ in medio fornicis magnæ consistit, quæ quatuor pilariis principalibus innititur, convenire videntur. Ibi cœlum ligneum egregia pictura decoratum, hic fornix ex lapide et tofo levi decenter composita est. Ibi triforium unum, hic duo in choro, et in ala ecclesiæ tercium.”—De Combust. et Repar. Cant. Ecclesiæ.
76-*The figure of a fish, whence the formvesica piscisoriginated, was one of the most ancient of the Christian symbols, emblematically significant of the wordἴχθυς,which contained the initial letters of the name and titles of our Saviour. The symbolic representation of a fish we find sculptured on some of the sarcophagi of the early Christians discovered in the catacombs at Rome; but the actual figure of a fish afterwards gave place to an oval-shaped compartment, pointed at both extremities, bearing the same mystical signification as the fish itself, and formed by two circles intersecting each other in the centre. This was the most common symbol used in the middle ages, and thus delineated it abounds in Anglo-Saxon illuminated manuscripts. Every where we meet with it during the middle ages, in religious sculptures, in painted glass, on encaustic tiles, and on seals; and in the latter, that is, in those of many of the ecclesiastical courts, the form is yet retained. Even with respect to the origin of the pointed arch, thatvexata quæstioof antiquaries, with what degree of probability may it not be attributed to this mystical form? It is indeed in this symbolical figure that we see the outline of the pointed arch plainly developed at least a century and half before the appearance of it in architectonic form. And in that age full of mystical significations, the twelfth century, when every part of a church was symbolized, it appears nothing strange if this typical form should have had its weight towards originating and determining the adoption of the pointed arch.—Internal Decorations of English Churches, British Critic, April, 1839.
79-*The date of thefoundationof an abbey or church must not, however, be confounded with that of its actualerection, which was often many years later, and the only certain guide to which is the date of theConsecration.
83-*In the minute and circumstantial account which Gervase gives of the partial destruction of this cathedral by fire, A. D. 1174, and its after restoration, he seems to allude, though in obscure language, to the altered form of the vaulting in the aisles of the choir (in circuitu extra chorum); and his comparison, with reference to this building, between early and late Norman architecture is altogether so curious and exact as to deserve being transcribed:—
“Dictum est in superioribus quod post combustionem illam vetera fere omnia chori diruta sunt, et in quandam augustioris formæ transierunt novitatem. Nunc autem quæ sit operis utriusque differentia dicendum est. Pilariorum igitur tam veterum quam novorum una forma est, una et grossitudo, sed longitudo dissimilis. Elongati sunt enim pilarii novi longitudine pedum fere duodecim. In capitellis veteribus opus erat planum, in novis sculptura subtilis. Ibi in chori ambitu pilarii viginti duo, hic autem viginti octo. Ibi arcus et cætera omnia plana utpote sculpta secure et non scisello, his in omnibus fere sculptura idonea. Ibi columpna nulla marmorea, hic innumeræ. Ibi in circuitu extra chorum fornices planæ, hic arcuatæ sunt et clavatæ. Ibi murus super pilarios directus cruces a choro sequestrabat, hic vero nullo intersticio cruces a choro divisæ in unam clavem quæ in medio fornicis magnæ consistit, quæ quatuor pilariis principalibus innititur, convenire videntur. Ibi cœlum ligneum egregia pictura decoratum, hic fornix ex lapide et tofo levi decenter composita est. Ibi triforium unum, hic duo in choro, et in ala ecclesiæ tercium.”—De Combust. et Repar. Cant. Ecclesiæ.
Doorway, Paulscray Church, Kent.Doorway, Paulscray Church, Kent.
OF THE EARLY ENGLISH STYLE.
Q. Duringwhat era did the Early English style prevail?
A. It may be said to have prevailed generally throughout the thirteenthcentury86-*.
Q. How is it distinguished from the Norman and Semi-Norman styles?
A. The semicircular-headed arch, with its peculiar mouldings, was almost entirely discarded, and superseded by the pointed arch, with plain chamfered edges or mouldings of a different character. The segmental arch, nearly flat, was still however used in doorways, and occasionally the semicircular also, as in the arches of the Retrochoir, Chichester Cathedral.
Q. Of what three kinds were the pointed arches of this era?
A. The lancet, the equilateral, and the obtuse-angled arch.
Q. Which of these arches were most in use?
A. In large buildings the lancet and the equilateral-shaped arch were prevalent, as appears in Westminster Abbey, where the lancet arch predominates, and Salisbury Cathedral, where the equilateral arch is principally used; but in small country churches the obtuse-angled arch is most frequently found. All these arches are struck from two centres, and are formed from segmentsof a circle. In large buildings the architrave is faced with a succession of roll mouldings and deep hollows, in which the tooth ornament is sometimes inserted. In small churches the arches, which are double-faced, have merely plain chamfered edges.
Q. What was the difference of the piers between this and an earlier era?
A. Instead of the massive Norman, the Early English piers were, in large buildings, composed of an insulated column surrounded by slender detached shafts, all uniting together under one capital; these shafts were divided into parts by horizontal bands or fillets; but in small churches a plain octagonal pier, which can, however, scarcely be distinguished from that of a later style, predominated.
Q. How are the capitals distinguished?
A. They are simple in comparison with those of a later style, and are often bell-shaped, with a bead moulding round the neck, and a capping, with a series of mouldings, above; a very elegant and beautiful capital is frequently formed of stiffly sculptured foliage. The capital surmounting the multangular-shaped pier is also multangular in form, but plain, with a neck, and cap mouldings, and is difficult to be discerned from that of thesucceeding style; the cap mouldings are, however, in general not so numerous as those of a later period.
Capital, Chapter House, Southwell.Capital, Chapter House, Southwell.
Q. How are the doorways of this style distinguished?
A. The small doorways have generally a single detached shaft on each side, with a plain moulded bell-shaped capital, which is sometimes covered with foliage; and the architrave mouldings consist of a few simple members, with a hood moulding or label over, terminated by heads. We also find richer doorways with two or more detached shafts at the sides, and architrave mouldings composed of numerous members. Large doorways of the Early English style were sometimes double, being divided into two arched openings by a shaft, either single or clustered; and abovethis a quatrefoil was generally inserted, but sometimes the head was filled with sculptured detail. Examples of the double doorway occur in the cathedrals of Ely, Chichester, Wells, Salisbury, Lincoln, and Lichfield; also at Christchurch and St. Cross, Hants; Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire; and in other large churches in this style.
Doorway, Baginton Church, Warwickshire. (13th cent.)Doorway, Baginton Church, Warwickshire. (13th cent.)
Q. What kind of windows were prevalent?
Window, Beverley Minster. (13th cent.)Window, Beverley Minster. (13th cent.)
A. In the early stages of this style the lancet arch-headed window, very long and narrow, was prevalent; frequently two, three, or more of these were connected together by hood mouldings, the middle window rising higher than those at thesides; sometimes they were unconnected, and without hood mouldings. In the east wall of Early English chancels three lancet windows, thus arranged, are frequently displayed. At a later period a broader window, divided into two lights by a plain mullion, finished at the top with a lozenge or circle, was used; and sometimes a window divided into three lights, the middle one higher than the others, and comprised under one hood moulding, was in use; windows of four and even five lancet lights, thus disposed, are to be met with, but are not common; the sides of the windows were in general simply splayed,without mouldings, and increased in width inwardly, but slender shafts were sometimes annexed; and we also find, in the interior of rich buildings of this style, detached shafts standing out in front of the stonework forming the window jambs, and supporting the arch of the window. Towards the close of this style the windows assumed a more ornamental cast, and became much larger, being frequently divided into two or four principal lights, with one or three circles in the heads; both the lights and circles are foliated, and these evince the transition inprogress to the next, or Decorated style. Beneath the windows a string-course is generally carried horizontally along the wall; and a roll moulding, similar to the upper members of the string-course of Merton College Chapel, Oxford, is most commonly met with, as the string-course.
Interior of Window, St. Giles's, Oxford.Interior of Window, St. Giles's, Oxford.
Q. How is the buttress of this age distinguished?
A. In general by its plain triangular or pedimental head, its projecting more from thebuilding than the Norman buttress, and from its being less in breadth. It is also sometimes carried up above the parapet wall. The edges of the buttresses are sometimes chamfered; and plain buttresses in stages finished with simple slopes are not uncommon. We very rarely find buttresses of this style disposed at the angles of buildings, though such disposition was common in the succeeding style; but two buttresses placed at right angles with each other, and with the face of the wall, generally occur at the angles of churches in this style. Flying buttresses were sometimes used to strengthen the clerestory walls of large buildings, and have a light and elegant effect.
String-Course, Merton College Chapel, Oxford.String-Course, Merton College Chapel, Oxford.
Q. Were the walls differently built?
A. They were not so thick as those of an earlier period, which occasioned the want of stronger buttresses to support them.
Q. Were the Early English roofs of a different construction from those of a later style?
Groining Rib, Salisbury Cathedral.Groining Rib, Salisbury Cathedral.
A. The Norman and Early English roofs were high and acutely pointed. The original roofs ofmost of our old churches, from their exposure to the weather, have long since fallen to decay, and been replaced by others of a more obtuse shape; but in general the height and angular form of the original roof may be ascertained by the weather moulding still remaining on the side of the tower or steeple. The interior vaulting of stone roofs was composed of fewer parts and ribs, which were often not more numerous than those of Norman vaulting, and does not present that complexity of arrangement which occurs in the vaulting-ribs of subsequent styles. In the cathedral of Salisbury also in the nave of Wells Cathedral are simple and good examples of Early English vaulting. A curious groined roof, in which the ribs are ofwood—plain, cut with chamfered edges—and the cells of the vaulting are covered with boards, is to be met with in the church of Warmington, Northamptonshire, a very rich, perfect, and interesting specimen of this style.
Q. Was not the spire introduced at this period?
A. Yes, many spires were then built; among which was that of old St. Paul’s Cathedral, more than five hundred feet high, and which was destroyed by fire, A. D. 1561. The spire of Oxford Cathedral is also of this style. Early English spires are generally what are called Broach spires, and spring at once from the external face of the walls of the tower, without any intervening parapet.
Q. Whence did the spire take its origin?
A. It appears to have been suggested by the Norman pinnacle, which, at first a conical capping, afterwards became polygonal, and ribbed at the angles, thus presenting the prototype of the spire.
Dog-tooth ornament
Q. What ornament is peculiar, or nearly so, to this style?
A. That called the tooth or dog-tooth ornament, a kind of pyramidal-shaped flower of four leaves, which is generally inserted in a hollow moulding, and, when seen in profile, presents a zig-zag or serrated appearance. The tooth moulding appears to have been introduced towards the close of the twelfth century; and an early instance where it occurs is on a late Norman doorway, at Whitwell Church, Rutlandshire: we do not, however, meet with it in buildings of a later style than that of the thirteenth century. It is sometimes found used in great profusion in doorways, windows, and other ornamental details; but many churches of this style are entirely devoid of this ornament. The ball-flower, though introduced in the thirteenth century, is not a common ornament until the fourteenth, to which era it may be said more particularly to belong; we find it in cornice mouldings, and sometimes on capitals.
Q. What may be observed of the sculptured foliage of this style?
A. As applied to capitals, bases, crockets, and other ornamental detail, we find the general design and appearance of the sculptured foliage of this style to be stiff and formal compared with that of the succeeding style, when the arrangement of the foliage more closely approximatednature, and a greater freedom both in conception and execution was evinced.
Boss of Sculptured Foliage, Warmington Church, Northamptonshire.Boss of Sculptured Foliage, Warmington Church, Northamptonshire.
Q. How are the parapets distinguished?
A. They are often plain and embattled; but sometimes a simple horizontal parapet is used, supported by a corbel table, as in the tower of Haddenham Church, Buckinghamshire, and on that of Brize Norton Church, Oxfordshire. At Salisbury Cathedral the parapet is relieved by a series of blank trefoil headedpannels,sunk in the face.
Q. What may be said in general terms of the style of the thirteenth century, in comparing itwith the styles which immediately preceded and followed it?
Parapet, Salisbury Cathedral.Parapet, Salisbury Cathedral.
A. In comparison with the Norman style, with its heavy concomitants and enrichments, the style of the thirteenth century is light and simple, and the details possess much elegance of contour. These, in small buildings, are generally plain; but in large buildings they exhibit numerous mouldings, combined with a certain degree of decorative embellishment. This style is, however, far from presenting that extreme beauty of outline and tasteful conception, combined with the pure and chaste ornamental accessories, which prevail in the designs of the fourteenth century.
Q. What particular structures may be noticed as belonging to this style?
A. Salisbury Cathedral, built by Bishop Poorebetween A. D. 1220 and 1260, is perhaps the most perfect specimen, on a large scale, of this style in its early state, with narrow lancet windows; the nave and transepts of Westminster Abbey, commenced in 1245, exhibit this style in a more advanced stage; whilst Lincoln Cathedral is, for the most part, a rich specimen of this style in its late or transition state. The west front of Wells Cathedral, erected by the munificence of Bishop Joceline, between A. D. 1213 and A. D. 1239, is covered with blank arcades and a number of trefoil-headed niches, surmounted by plain pedimental canopies, which contain specimens of statuary remarkable for their extreme beauty and freedom of design.
Corbel, Wells Cathedral.Corbel, Wells Cathedral.
86-*From the economic principles on which our modern churches are, with few exceptions, planned, they are mostly designed after and are intended to resemble in style those of the thirteenth century, in which more detail can be dispensed with than in any other style. Hence it follows that the just proportions and adaptation of the different parts and the minutest details and mouldings in ancient churches of this style required to be carefully studied, more so perhaps for practical purposes than in churches of any other style.
86-*From the economic principles on which our modern churches are, with few exceptions, planned, they are mostly designed after and are intended to resemble in style those of the thirteenth century, in which more detail can be dispensed with than in any other style. Hence it follows that the just proportions and adaptation of the different parts and the minutest details and mouldings in ancient churches of this style required to be carefully studied, more so perhaps for practical purposes than in churches of any other style.
Dunchurch Church, Warwickshire.Dunchurch Church, Warwickshire.
OF THE DECORATED ENGLISH STYLE.
Q. Whendid the Decorated English style commence, and how long did it prevail?
A. It may be said to have commenced in the latter part of the thirteenth century, or reign of Edward the First, and to have prevailed about a century. The transition from the Early English style to this, and again from this to the succeeding style, was however so extremely gradual, thatit is difficult to affix any precise date for the termination of one style, or the introduction of another.
Bracket, York Cathedral.Bracket, York Cathedral.
Q. Whence does it derive its appellation?
A. From there being a greater redundancy of chaste ornament in this than in the preceding style; and though it does not exhibit that extreme multiplicity of decorative detail as the style of the fifteenth century, the general contours and forms which this style presents, and the principal lines of composition, which verge pyramidically rather than vertically or horizontally, are infinitely more pleasing; and it is justly consideredas the most beautiful style of English ecclesiastical architecture.
Q. What difference is there between the arches of this style, which support the clerestory, and those of an earlier period?
A. The lancet arch is seldom seen; the equilateral arch is generally, though not always, used. Both this and the obtuse-angled arch are, taken exclusively, difficult to be distinguished from those of an earlier period. In small buildings the edges of the pier arches are plain and chamfered. In large churches a series of quarter-round or roll-mouldings, which have often a square-edged fillet attached, are applied to the sub-arch, edges, and facing.
Section of Piers from Grendon Church, Warwickshire, and Austrey Church, Warwickshire.Section of PiersromGrendon Church, Warwickshire, and Austrey Church, Warwickshire.
Q. What difference occurs in the piers from which these arches spring?
A. In large buildings piers of this style were composed of a cluster of slender cylindrical shafts, not standing detached from each other, as in the Early English style, but closely united. A common pier of this kind is formed of four shafts thus united, without bands, with a square-edged fillet running vertically up the face of each shaft. Sometimes a simple cylindrical pier is found. The octagonal pier, with plain sides, is very prevalent in small churches, and does not differ materially from the Early English pier of the same kind. The capitals are either bell-shaped, clustered, or octagonal, to correspond with the shape of the piers; but the cap mouldings are more numerous than in the earlier style. Sometimes the capitals are sculptured. In the churches of Monkskirby, Warwickshire, and of Cropredy, Oxfordshire, the arches which support the clerestory spring at once from the piers, without any intervening capitals, a practice not uncommon in the style of the fifteenth century, but very rare in this.
Q. How are the vaulted roofs of this style distinguished?
A. Of the large stone vaulted roofs each bay is intersected by longitudinal, transverse, and diagonal ribs, with shorter ribs springing from the bearing shafts intervening; thus forming aseries of vaulting cells more numerous than are to be met with in the Early English style, though not subdivided to the excess observable in the vaulted roofs of the fifteenth century. Sculptured bosses often occur at the intersections. In the nave of York Cathedral, finished about A. D. 1330, the groining of the roof is less complicated than that of the choir of the same cathedral, constructed between A. D. 1360 and A. D.1370106-*.Small structures are more simply vaulted. In a chantry chapel adjoining the north side of the chancel of Willingham Church, Cambridgeshire, is a very acute-pointed angular-shaped stone roof, the plain surface of the vaulting of which is supported by two pointed arches springing from corbels projecting from the walls; and these sustain straight-sided stone vaulting ribs, obliquely disposed to conform with the angle of the roof, and which act as principals; and above each arch, and between that and the ridge-line of the oblique ribs or principals, the space is filled with an open quatrefoil and other tracery. The north transept of Limington Church, Somersetshire, has a high pitched stone roof supported by groined ribs.
Q. Are there many wooden roofs of this style remaining?
A. We find comparatively few original wooden roofs in structures of the fourteenth century, for such have generally been superseded by roofs of a later date and of a more obtuse form. The high and acute pitch of the original roof is, however, still generally discernible by the weather moulding on the east wall of the tower. In the nave of Higham Ferrars Church, Northamptonshire, is a wooden roof which apparently belongs to this style: the roof is angular-pointed and open to the ridge-line, the walls are connected by tie-beams, and under each of these is a wooden arch formed of two ribs or beams springing from stone corbels.
Q. In what respect do the doors of this style differ?
Window, Dunchurch Church, Warwickshire.Window, Dunchurch Church, Warwickshire.
A. Large doorways of this style have lateral shafts, with capitals, and between the shafts architrave mouldings intervene, which run without stop into the base tablet: of such the south doorway of St. Martin’s Church, Leicester, is an instance. Small doorways are generally without shafts, but have a series of quarter-round, semicylindrical, and tripartite roll mouldings at the sides, which are continuous with the architravemouldings; and these have sometimes a square-edged fillet on the face. The doorways of this style are frequently enriched with pedimental and ogee-shaped canopies, ornamented with crockets and finials; of which the north doorway of Exeter Cathedral and the south doorway of Everdon Church, Northamptonshire, may be cited as examples. Large doorways have sometimes a double opening, divided by a clustered shaft, as in theentrance to the Chapter House, York Cathedral. In some instances the head of the doorway is foliated, and we observe in detail an approximation to the succeeding style. The west doorway of Dunchurch Church, Warwickshire, is in this stage of transition.
Q. How are the windows of this style known?