in the nave and choir; at Hereford, in the transept tower and choir; at Wells, in the nave and choir; at Chester, in the Chapter House; at Chichester, in the presbytery; at Peterborough, in the transept. In the conventuul churches, for examples we may refer the reader to Llantony, near Monmouth; the nave and west front of Fountains, Yorkshire; the nave and chapel of St. Joseph, at Glastonbury; the west front at Selby, in Yorkshire; many parts at St. Alban's; the choir at Wenlock, in Shropshire; Cartmell, in Lancashire; Furness; West End, at Byland, with the wheel window, and the south transept; parts of Bolton, in Yorkshire; part of Brinkbourn, in Northumberland; part of Edmondsbury, in Suffolk; and St. John's Church, at Chester. For examples of parochial churches, Melton, Suffolk; Sotterton and Sleaford, Lincolnshire; Chris'church, Hampshire; Sherbourn Minster, Dorset; Winchelsea, Steyning, and New Shoreham, Sussex; chancel of St. Peter's, Oxford; Earl's Barton Tower, Northamptonshire; West Walton Tower, Norfolk; Iffley, Oxfordshire; Castle Rising Norfolk; St. Margaret's Porch, at York; St. Peter's Church, Northampton; besides several round or polygonal bell-towers, both in Suffolk and Norfolk, Ex- may be referred to. amples of military Norman architecture, from 1070 to 1270, were at Launceston, Cornwall; Arundel, Sussex; Windsor, in Berks (rebuilt); Tower of London; the square keeps of H:lingham, Essex; Caerphilly, Glamorgan; Carisbrook, Isle of Wight; Porchester, Hants (1160); Guildford, Surrey; Bamborough, Northumberland; Kenilworth, Warwickshire; Richmond, Yorkshire; Cardiff, Glamorganshire; Canterbury, Kent; Oxford (1071); Newcastle, Northumberland (1120); Gisborough, Yorkshire (1120); Castle Rising, Norbik; Middleham, Yorkshire; Cockermouth, Cumberland; Durham (1153); Lincoln (1086); Berkeley, Gloucestershire (1153); Lancaster; Orford, Suffolk, polygonal (1120); Ludlow, Salop (1120); Kenworth, enlarged (1220); Warkworth, Northumberland, square, with the angles cut off; Denbigh; Beeston, Cheshire; Hawarden, Pembrokeshire.

-

SECT. III.

EARLY ENGLISH ARCHITECTURE.

399. The next period of architecture in Britain which comes under our consideration, following, as we consider it, the sensible classification of the Rev. Mr. Millers, is that which he has denominated the early English style, whose duration was from about 1200 to 1300; extending, therefore, through the reigns of John, Henry III., and Edward I., during which the building of churches and monasteries was still considered one of the most effectual means of obtaining the pardon of sin, and consequently the favour of Heaven. In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the churches built in Britain were almost innumerable.

400. We have already noticed (chap. ii. sect. xv.) the introduction of the pointed arch into architecture; a feature which completely changed, from all that previously existed, the character of the edifices to which it was applied. If any service could be rendered to the history of the art, or if the solution of the problem, "who were its inventors?" could throw any useful light on the manners and customs of the people that first adopted it, we should be the last to relinquish the investigation. The question has furnished employment to many literary idlers, but the labour they have bestowed on the subject has not thrown any light on it; and excepting the late Mr. Whittington and the late Prof, Willis, of Cambridge, on whose valuable enquiries we cannot sufficiently enlarge, they might have been more usefully engaged. This statement must necessarily be modified in consequence of the publications of the lea-ned labours of Mr. Fergusson, of which we have so largely availed ourselves in the above-named section; besides those of Thomas Rickman, of Mr. Sharpe, and of other ardent enquirers on this and kindred subjects.

401. During the reign of Henry III. alone, no less a number than 157 abbeys, priories, and other religious houses were founded in England. Several of our cathedrals and conventual churches in a great part belong to this period, in which the lancet or sharp-pointed arch first appeared in the buildings of this country, though on the Continent it was used nearly a century earlier. The great wealth of the clergy, added to the zeal of the laity, furnished ample funds for the erection of the magnificent structures projected; but it was with extreme difficulty that workmen could be procured to execute them. With the popes it was, of course, an object that churches should be erected and convents endowed. On the subject of the employment of Freemasons we have already expressed our views (par. 308, et seq.), therefore we cannot coincide with Wren, Parentalia, in stating that they ranged from one nation to another, their government was regular, and they made a camp of huts; a surveyor governed in chief; every tenth man was called a warden, and over. looked each nine. "Those who have seen the account in records of the charge of the fabrics of some of our cathedrals, near 400 years old, cannot but have a great esteem for their economy, and admire how soon they erected such lofty structures." It was in the

course of this period that sculpture was first made extensively available for architecturai decoration. The cathedral, conventual, and other churches built in Britain, began to be ornamented on the outside with statues of various dimensions in basso and alto rilievo. They were not equal in execution to those of France, which have also had the additional good fortune to have been better preserved, from their exposure to seasons less inclement and to an atmosphere unimpregnated with the smoke of coal.

402. Great improvements seem to have taken place in the castles of the time; they still continued to serve for the dwelling and defence of the prelates and barons of the country The plans of them were generally similar to those already described; but it must still be conceded that the inhabitants and owners of them sacrificed their convenience to their security, which seems to have been the chief concern in the construction of their castles, whose apartments were gloomy, whose bed-chambers were few and small, whose passages were narrow and intricate, and their stairs steep and dark. The plan, however, as

Mr. Dallaway observes, "which allowed of enlarged dimensions, and greater regularity and beauty in the architecture of the towers, owes its introduction into England to King Edward I. We may, indeed consider his reign as the epoch of the grand style of accommodation and magnificence combined in castle architecture. When engaged in the Crusades, he surveyed with satisfaction the superior form and strength of the castles in the Levant and in the Holy Land." Of the five castles erected by him in Wales, Caernarvon (fig. 189.), Conway (fig. 190, showing the suspension bridge, and the railway bridge beyond it), Harlech, and Beaumaris still retain traces of their ancient magnificence; but that of Aberystwith has scarcely a feature left. Caernarvon Castle

Fig. 189

Fig. 190.

CAERNARVON CASTLE.

consisted of two distinct parts: one military, and suited to the reception of a garrison; the other palatial. The ground plan was oblong, unequally divided into a lower and an upper ward. Of the towers, which are all polygonal, the largest, from some tradition called the Eagle Tower, has threesmall angular turrets rising from it; the others having but one of the same description. "The enclosing walls," continues Mr. Dallaway, "are seven feet thick, with alures and parapets pierced frequently with willet holes. A great singularity is observable in the extreme height both of the great entrance gate and that which is called the Queen's. Leland observes of the portcullises at Pembroke, that they were composed ex solido ferro. In confirmation of the opinion that the royal founder adopted the form of such gates of entrance from the East, similar ones are almost universal in the castles, mosques, and palaces of the Saracens, which he had so frequently seen during the Crusades. The tower of entrance from the town of Caernarvon is still perfect, and is the most handsome structure of that age in the kingdom. It is at least 100 ft. high; and the gateway, of very remarkable depth, is formed by a succession of ribbed arches, sharply pointed. The grooves for three portcullises may be discovered : and above them are circular perforations, through which missile weapons and molten lead might be discharged upon the assailants. In the lower or palatial division of the castle stand a large polygonal tower of four stories, which was appropriated to Queen Eleanor, and in which her ill-fated son was born, and another which was occupied by the king, of a circular shape externally, but square towards the court. The apartments in the last mentioned are larger, and lighted by windows with square heads, and intersected with carved mullions. There is a singular contrivance in the battlements, each of which had an excavation for the archers to stand in, pointing their arrows through the slits; and, a curious stratagem, the carved figures of soldiers with helmets, apparently looking over the parapet. This device is repeated at Chepstow." The ornamental character of the architecture at Caernarvon and Conway is rather ecclesiastical, or conventual, than military. At Conway, as has been well observed by an anonymous author, "what is

called the Queen's Oriel is remarkable for the fancy, luxuriance, and elegance of the workmanship. Nor is the contrivance of the little terraced garden below, considering the

history of the times, a matter of small curiosity, where, though all the surrounding country were hostile, fresh air might be safely enjoyed; and the commanding view of the singularly beautiful landscape around, from both that little herbary or garden, and the bay window or oriel, is so managed as to leave no doubt of its purpose."

403. The model of Conway Castle has little resemblance to that we have just left. It resembles rather the fortresses of the last Greek emperors, or of the chieftains of the north of Italy. The towers are mostly circular, as are their turrets, with a

single slender one rising from each; and machicolations, not seen at Caernarvon, are introduced. The greater part of the castles of Wales and Scotland for the defence of the

marches were built in the reign of Edward I. On the subjugation of the former country, and its partition into lordships among Edward's followers, many castles were reared upon the general plan of those he had erected, though varying in dimensions and situation, according to the means of defence proposed to be secured to their founders and possessors. We may here observe, that in the castle at Conway Edward I. erected a hall 129 ft. by 31, and 22 ft. high, which is formed to suit the curvature of the rock; and that from that period no residence of consequence, either for the nobility or feudal lords,

Fig. 192. TREFOIL AND CINQUEFOIL HEADS.

was erected with-
out one, varying,
however, of course,
in their minuter
parts, according to
circumstances, and
in degree of mag.
nificence.

404. Caer-Phil-
ly Castle, in Gla-
morganshire (fig.
191.), was another

of the castles of this period. It was the strong-hold of the De Spencers in the reign of the second Edward. Its vallations and remains are very extensive. The hall was much larger than that at Conway.

405. The characteristics of this style are, that the arches are sharply (lancet) pointed, and lofty in proportion to their span. In the upper tiers two or more are comprehended under one, finished in trefoil or cinquefoil heads (fig. 192.) instead of points, the separating columns being very slender. Columns on which the arches rest (fig. 193.) are very slender in proportion to their height, and usually consist of a central shaft surrounded by several smaller ones (fig. 194.). The base takes the general form of the cluster, and the capital (fig. 195.) is frequently decorated with foliage very elegantly composed. The windows are long, narrow, and lancet shaped, whence some writers have called this style the Lancet Gothic. They are divided by one plain mullion,

Fig. 195.

CAPITAL OF COLUMN.

N

or in upper tiers by two at most, finished at the top with some simple ornament, as a lozenge or a trefoil. They have commonly small marble shafts on each side, both internally and externally; two, three, or more together at the east or west end, and tier above tier. Roofs are high pitched and the ceilings vaulted, exhibiting the first examples of arches with cross springers only, which in a short period diverged into many more, rising from the capitals of the columns, and almost overspreading the whole surface of the vaulting. The longitudinal horizontal line which reigned along the apex of the vault was decorated with bosses of flowers, figures, and other fancies. Walls much reduced in thickness from those of the preceding pe riod: they are, however, externally strengthened with buttresses, which, as it were, lean against them for the purpose of counteracting the thrust exerted by the stone vaults which form the ceilings, and which the walls and piers by their own gravity could not resist. The buttresses are moreover aided in their office by the pinnacles, adorned with crockets at their angles, and crowned with finial flowers, by which they are surmounted. The ornaments now become numerous, but they are simple and elegant. The mouldings are not so much varied as in the Norman style, and are generally, perhaps universally, formed of some combination of leaves and flowers, used not only in the circumference of arches, especially of windows, but the columns or pilasters are completely laid down with them. Trefoils, quatrefoils, cinquefoils, roses, mullets, bosses, pateræ, &c. in the spandrils, or above the keystones of the arches and elsewhere. The ornamental pinnacles on shrines, tombs, &c. are extremely high and acute, sometimes with and sometimes without niches under them. In east and west fronts the niches are filled with statues of the size of life and larger, and are crowned with trefoil, &c. heads, or extremely acute pediments, formed by the meeting of two straight lines instead of arcs. All these ornaments are more sparingly introduced into large entire edifices than in smaller buildings or added parts. The plans are generally similar to those of the second period; but that important feature the tower now begins to rise to a great height, and lanterns and lofty spires are frequent accompaniments to the structure. It will naturally occur to the reader, that in the transition from the second to the third style, the architects left one extreme for another, though it has been contended that the latter has its germ in the former. However that may be, the period of which we are now speaking was undoubtedly the parent of the succeeding styles, and that by no very forced or unnatural relationship. (See Book III. Chap. 3.)

406. The principal examples of the early English style in the cathedral churches of England are to be seen at Oxford, in the chapter-house. Lincoln, in the nave and arches beyond the transept. York, in the north and south transept. At Durham, in the additional transept. Wells, the tower and the whole western front. Carlisle, the choir. Ely, the presbytery. Worcester, the transept and choir. Salisbury, the whole cathedral; the only unmixed example. At Rochester, the choir and transept. "It is well worthy of observation," says Mr. Dallaway, "that though the ground plans of sacred edifices are, generally speaking, similar and systematic, yet in no single instance which occurs to my memory do we find an exact and unvaried copy of any building which preceded it in any part of the structure. A striking analogy or resemblance may occur, but that rarely."

407. The examples of conventual architecture of this period, to which we beg to refer the reader, are those of Lanercost, in Cumberland; Rivuulx, Yorkshire; Westminster Abbey. At Fountains, the choir and east end; Tinterne Abbey, in Monmouthshire; Netley, Hampshire; Whitby, in Yorkshire; Valle Crucis, in Denbighshire; Ripon Minster and the south transept of Beverley Minster, in Yorkshire; Milton Abbey, Dorsetshire; part of the nave of St. Alban's; Tynemouth and Brinkbourn, Northumberland; Vale Royal, in Cheshire; and the eastern façade of Howden, in Yorkshire.

408. Among the examples of parochial churches in this style are Grantham,, in Lincolnshire, whose tower is 180 ft. high; Attelborough, in Norfolk; Higham Ferrurs, in Northamptonshire; St. Michael, Coventry; Truro, in Cornwall; Witney, in Oxfordshire; Stratford upon Avon, in Warwickshire; St. Peter Mancroft, Norwich; Boston, Lincolnshire, remarkable for its lantern tower rising 262 ft. from the ground, and perhaps alınost belonging to the succeeding period; St. Mary, Edmund's Bury, Suffolk; Maidstone, in Kent; and Ludlow, in Shropshire.

SECT. IV.

ORNAMENTED ENGLISH ARCHITECTURE.

409. The fourth period in the architecture of Britain is that which Mr. Millers calls the Ornamented English Style, which begins about 1300 and lasts till 1460, and comprises, therefore, the latter portion of the reign of Edward I., and the reigns of Edward II.. Edward III., Richard II., Henry IV., Henry V., and Henry VI.

410. This ara has by Dallaway and others been subdivided into two parts, viz. first

from 1300 to 1400, which they call that of the Transition Style or pure Gothic, and from 1400 to 1460, called the Decorated Gothic; but the change between the latest examples of the first and the earliest of the last is marked by such nice and almost imperceptible distinctions, that it is next to impossible to mark their boundaries with precision; and we have therefore preferred adhering, as we have in the other ages of the art, to the arrangement adopted by Mr. Millers. In the early part of the period the change, or rather progress, was extremely slow, and marked by little variation, and, indeed, until 1400, the style can scarcely be said to have been perfected; but after that time, it rapidly attained all the improvement whereof it was susceptible, and so proceeded till about 1460; after which, as we shall hereafter see, it assumed an exuberance of ornament, beyond which as it was impossible to advance, it was in a predicament from which no change could be effected but by its total abandonment.

411. Notwithstanding the wars of the rival houses of York and Lancaster, which occupied a considerable portion of the interval whereof we are speaking, and deluged, as the reader will recollect, our land with the blood of the bravest of men, the art did not appear to suffer; a circumstance apparently extraordinary, but satisfactorily accounted for by the zeal of both the contending parties for the religion they in common professed. True it is that the taste for founding and building monasteries and churches was not so universal as in the period last described; the decline, however, of that taste might in some measure have arisen not only from the unhappy state of the country just alluded to, but also from the doubts raised in the minds of many persons of all ranks by Wickliffe and his followers as to the merit attached to those pious and expensive works. "It cannot," says Henry, "be denied that the style of sacred architecture commonly called Gothic continued to be greatly improved. and in the course of this period was brought to the highest perfection." To account in some measure for this, it must be recollected that during the civil wars the superior ecclesiastics were confined to their cloisters, as few of them had taken an active part in the dispute which agitated the realm; and, indeed, some of the finest structures now remaining were reared from the accumulation of wealth amassed by instigating the noble and affluent to contribute to churches built under their own inspection. The choir at Gloucester, a most beautiful example, was completed during these turbulent times by Abbot Sebroke, together with the arcade that supports the magnificent tower of that cathedral.

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412. During this period the efforts of painting and sculpture were superadded to those of architecture; and to these must be joined the enchanting effects produced by expanded windows glowing with the richest colours that stained glass could bestow on them. enter into a history of the rise, progress, and perfection of this art, would here be out of place. A separate work would be required to trace it from its introduction in this country as connected with our art in the reign of Henry III., to that point when it reached its zenith in the fifteenth century. Dallaway observes, with much truth, that it is a vulgar error to suppose the art was ever lost, inasmuch as we had eminent professors of it in the reign of Charles I.

413. In military architecture, from the reign of Edward III. to the close of the con tention between the houses of York and Lancaster, many improvements were effected. Within that period a great number of the castellated edifices of which the country could boast were erected or renewed. Their style is marked by turrets and hanging galleries over the salient angles and gateways, of great variety in design. In the fortress at Amberley, in Sussex, built by William Rede, Bishop of Chichester, about 1370. and one of the ablest geometricians of the age, the ground plan is nearly a parallelogram with four large towers at the angles, not projecting externally, but inserted into the side walls. Of this æra is also, at Swansea Castle, the lofty perforated parapet or arcade, through which the water was conveyed from the roof. Upon this plan Henry Gower, Bishop of St. David's, in 1335, improved, in his magnificent castellated palace at Llanphey Court.

414. From the circumstance of the circuit of many of the castles encompassing several acres of ground, the base court was proportionably spacious; hence the halls and other state apartments were lighted by windows, smaller, but similar in form to those used in churches. The rest of the apartments were unavoidably incommodious, defence being the chief consideration. In the castles and palaces of the period, the halls, which formed a principal feature in them, require some notice. The earliest whereof mention is made was that built by William Rufus in his palace at Westminster. Hugh Lupus erected one at Chester, and one was executed for Robert Consul at Bristol. Others we find erected by Henry I. at Woodstock and Beaumont in Oxford; probably of rude construction, and divided into two aisles by piers of arcades or timber posts. In the following century, when castles began to be constantly inhabited, and space became requisite for holding the numerous feudal dependents on various occasions, the size of the hall was of course increased, and internal architecture and characteristic ornaments were applied to it. At the upper end, where the high table was placed, the floor was elevated, forming a haut pas or dais, a little above the general level of the floor. The example afforded by Edward III. at