Cathedral Cities of England Part 1

Cathedral Cities of England.

by George Gilbert.

Introductory

In the following accounts of the Cathedral Cities of England, technical architectural terms will necessarily appear, and to the end that they should be comprehensive, I give here a slight sketch of the origin of the various forms, and the reasons for their naming, together with dates; and to the end that I may supply a glossary of easy reference, I place as side headings in this introduction the various expressions which will be met with throughout the book.

This, I hope, may relieve the reader of the tedium of having to turn to books of reference at each moment, and being subjected to a constant reiteration of the terms, which must necessarily be frequently employed.

The Cathedrals of England may be said to comprise ill.u.s.trations of Anglo-Saxon, Gothic, and Norman, with their variations and combinations.

_Constantine_, A.D. 306-337.--_Romanesque._--With the establishment of Christianity, more especially when recognised in Rome during the time of Constantine, arose the marvellous development of architecture, founded upon the basis of cla.s.sical remains. This "Romanesque," as this period of architecture came to be called, permeated later the whole of Western Europe.

_Basilica._--Relieved from immediate fear of persecution, the Christian architects straightway commenced to convert the "basilica" remains to suit the requirements of the "New Faith." The Basilica, as its derivation from the Greek ?as????? ("the royal house") implies, "was the King's Bench" of the Romans. It was a long rectangular building, with sometimes rows of columns introduced to divide the s.p.a.ce into a nave and aisles. One end terminated in an "apse," of semi-circular formation, where the judge and his a.s.sessors were accustomed to sit. This apse the Christians utilised as a chancel. The approach to the building was the "atrium," or forecourt, somewhat similar to the English Cathedral cloister, but differently situated.

A chief characteristic of the Roman buildings was the "round arch,"

mainly composed of brick or stone work. This the Romans for many years had used more in a decorative way than for utility, but which became of more structural significance in the hands of the Christians.

_Romanesque._--_Sixth to Twelfth Century._--In this wise, from the remains of the Basilica, with the further development of the "round arch" to the "semi-circular arch," the Christian Romans gradually evolved the style of architecture called "Romanesque," _i.e._, in the Roman Style. This style became prevalent throughout Western Europe from the beginning of the sixth to the close of the twelfth century. In process of time transepts were added and the choir prolonged, giving the outline, as it were, of a cross, the Holy Symbol of Christianity.

_Anglo-Saxon._--500-1066.--Thus Romanesque may be said to be the fountain-head of Anglo-Saxon, Norman Proper, Anglo-Norman, and Gothic Architecture.

During the Roman occupation of England, missionaries came to her from Rome, the metropolis, and made converts, as they did in other countries, and as missionaries do nowadays in China and elsewhere. They and travelling merchants insensibly introduced the style of architecture then prevalent in Italy, namely, the Romanesque. Owing to the untutored nature of the Anglo-Saxons, their first attempts at imitating what would appear to them entirely new, together with the difficulty of procuring skilled labour, were necessarily crude.

These first attempts may justly come under the heading of "Anglo-Saxon."

When the Campanile or tall bell-towers came into existence in Italy, England imitated.

_Anglo-Norman._--1066.--The Normans, at the Conquest, introduced their rendering of architecture, which they had borrowed from the Romanesque, with a suspicion of Lombardic, and even Byzantine styles intermingled.

As they could not entirely at first uproot the local peculiarities of the Anglo-Saxon treatment of style which they found in the country, they in a way grafted the Norman architecture on to the existing style. Thus it came to be called "Anglo-Norman." At first the work was heavier in character than the Norman proper, but it became lighter towards the close of the twelfth century.

_Norman Peculiarities._--The Norman peculiarities were the building of the church on a cruciform plan, with a square tower placed over the transepts where they cross the nave; the ma.s.sive cylindrical nave piers.

To relieve the heaviness of these ma.s.sive nave piers and doorways, the chevron, or zigzag pattern, spiral and other groovings were cut. The mouldings were of the same character as in France, but towards the close of the twelfth century they were by degrees disused.

In the transition period, 1154-1189, the dog-tooth ornament appears, and occurs in combination with the "billet," a circular roll with s.p.a.ces cut away at intervals, as at Canterbury.

The Normans also greatly employed arcades, both blank and open. The interlacing of arcades was frequently used by them. They were formed by semi-circular arches, intersecting each other regularly. This interlacing is supposed by many authorities to have been the origin of the "pointed lancet arch." The Norman arcades form a prominent feature in the internal and external decoration of their buildings. The internal arrangement of the larger churches consisted of three stages or tiers.

The ground stage carried semi-circular arches, above that came the triforium, or second stage of two smaller arches supported by a column, and within a larger arch. Above this again, came the third stage or clerestory, with two or more semi-circular arches, one of which was pierced to admit the light.

The nave was usually covered by a flat ceiling, and not vaulted. The crypts and aisles were vaulted.

The doorways appear to have been a special feature with the Normans, for they were generally very richly ornamented, and were greatly recessed.

The windows were narrow and small in proportion to the rest of the building. At a late period of the style the small circular windows became greatly enlarged, and it became necessary to divide up the s.p.a.ce by the introduction of slender columns radiating from the centre.

In England the semi-circular apse, towards the close of the style, gradually gave place to the square apse, which was more generally adopted.

_Gothic._--_Fourth to Twelfth Century._--Another great and early factor in ecclesiastical architecture is the Gothic. In the early stages of Christianity, the Goths, a Teutonic race, dwelt between the Elbe and the Vistula. They subverted the Rome Empire. They, like other countries, received the Christian religion from Rome. Each country after its own fas.h.i.+on endeavoured to imitate the architecture of Rome. As these countries were semi-barbarous and unpolished, their work was necessarily rude. This, in conjunction with the invasions of Italy by the Goths, led to the term "Gothic." This period commenced in the fourth century, and was entirely changed in the twelfth, by the introduction of the pointed arch.

_Gothic._--1145-1550.--This marked a new era, and established a new style of architecture, the transition from the Norman, or Romanesque, to the Mediaeval Gothic. Several attempts were made to introduce new names in lieu of Gothic, for to name anything Gothic was looked upon with askance.

Characteristics

ANGLO-SAXON.--Anglo-Saxon may be briefly summed up as an inferior style of Romanesque, more especially the latter part, when it was considered necessary to build in imitation of the Roman way. In the early years of this period the advantages of stone, due to inconvenience of its carriage or lack of skill, were not widely known in England. For the most part the buildings were composed of wood with a thatched roof.

Though it is true several buildings were also constructed of stone, and gla.s.s was used, yet it was only with advanced knowledge, introduced by Continental workmen, who came over in the seventh century, that architecture approached anything like a definite style.

It reached this stage just a few years before the Norman Conquest. The arches were usually plain, and always semi-circular. The columns were cylindrical, hexagonal, or octagonal, and thick in proportion to their height. The towers, as a rule, were square, and not very lofty. They were strongly but crudely worked, strip pilasters, _i. e._, slender columns, being introduced. Circular-headed openings served as upper windows of these towers. They were divided into two lights by rounded bal.u.s.ters, sometimes with caps heavily projected.

_Norman_.--The Norman churches were mostly cruciform in plan, with a central tower. The east end was frequently terminated by an apse. Vast columns, either circular, octagonal, or simply cl.u.s.tered, separated the aisles from the naves. The arches were chiefly semi-circular, the round arch being used everywhere for ornament. The Norman towers are also generally square, with a somewhat stunted appearance. Many have no b.u.t.tresses whatever, whilst others are served with broad, flat, shallow projections, which a.s.sert themselves more for show than for utility. The reason for this is that the Normans built their buildings with walls immensely thick with an eye to stability. The heavy appearance of their towers is cleverly relieved by the introduction of arcades around them, as at St. Albans, and occasionally richly ornamented, as shown at Norwich and Winchester.

At one of the angles there is frequently a stone staircase. The upper windows of these towers differ little from the Anglo-Saxon, except in that the two lights are separated by a shaft or short column in place of the rounded bal.u.s.ter.

The Norman doorways are a great feature. They are generally adorned with a series of columns with enriched arch mouldings spanning from capital to capital.

Their vaults were heavily constructed at no great height from the ground, and generally applied to the aisles of churches. They exerted a greater thrust on the walls than the later Gothic vaults.

_Norman_.--These churches are generally to be found perched on commanding sites, chosen as natural places of defence. Often a river wound round the base, and where it led short, a moat was constructed on the landward side, and borrowed its water from the river.

The activity of the Norman builders is astounding, and forms a great contrast to the few years before their advent. For a short time architecture suffered a paralysis. Not till the much-dreaded Millennium (1000 A.D.), when it was thought the world would certainly come to an end, had pa.s.sed did people take heart again, and architects make up for lost time.

_Early English_.--In this period the ma.s.sive Norman walls gave way to walls reduced in thickness. The b.u.t.tresses became of more structural significance. Also, flying-b.u.t.tresses gradually came into use to strengthen the weakness of the upper works, caused by the reduction of the walls in thickness. The pillars were elongated, and of slight construction. The doorways, windows and arcades were built with polished marble obtained from the Isle of Purbeck.

The science of vaulting became more advanced.

The towers were taller and more elegant, with plain parapets. They were generally furnished with windows. The lower ones resembled much the arrow-slit formation of the Norman style. The upper windows were grouped in twos and threes.

The broach-spire now came into notice. It was added on to the square tower, and at the early part of this style was low in height, but gradually became taller.

The circular-headed windows of the Normans gave place to the narrow-pointed lancets of the Early English. These admitted little light, and necessitated a greater number of windows, which were grouped into couplets or triplets.

_Geometrical_.--The window, by the gradual process of piercing the vacant s.p.a.ces in the window-head, carrying mouldings around the tracery (or ornamental filling-in), and adding cusps (the point where foliations of tracery intersect), gave rise to Geometrical work.

The earliest work of this kind is found in Westminster Abbey.

_Decorated_.--The towers are made to appear lighter by the parapets being either embattled or pierced with elegant designs, and pinnacles placed on them.

The broach-spires gave place to spires springing at once from the octagon. The b.u.t.tresses are set angularly. In this period the architects failed to maintain the vigour of the Geometrical period. The Decorated windows are formed of portions of circles, with their centres falling on the intersection of certain geometrical figures.

There is a glorious example afforded by the west window at York.

_Perpendicular_.--The towers are generally richly panelled throughout; the b.u.t.tresses project boldly--sometimes square, or sometimes set at an angle, but not close to each other.

The pinnacles are often richly canopied. The battlements panelled, and frequently pierced. In the middle of the parapet now and then is placed a pinnacle or a canopied niche.