Perpendicular Gothic
Perpendicular Gothic (also Perpendicular, Rectilinear, or Third Pointed) architecture was the third and final style of
The
The first Perpendicular style building was designed in c. 1332 by
The architect and art historian Thomas Rickman's Attempt to Discriminate the Style of Architecture in England, first published in 1812, divided Gothic architecture in the British Isles into three stylistic periods.[5] The third and final style – Perpendicular – Rickman characterised as mostly belonging to buildings built from the reign of Richard II (r. 1377–1399) to that of Henry VIII (r. 1509–1547).[5] From the 15th century, under the House of Tudor, the prevailing Perpendicular style is commonly known as Tudor architecture, being ultimately succeeded by Elizabethan architecture and Renaissance architecture under Elizabeth I (r. 1558–1603).[6] Rickman had excluded from his scheme most new buildings after Henry VIII's reign, calling the style of "additions and rebuilding" in the later 16th and earlier 17th centuries "often much debased".[5]
Perpendicular followed the
History
In 1906
The chapter house at St Paul's was built under the direction of William de Ramsey, who had worked on earlier phases of the still-unfinished St Stephens's Chapel. Ramsey extended the stone mullions of the windows downwards on the walls. At the top of each window he made a four-centred arch which became a distinctive feature of Perpendicular.[11][9] Along with rest of Old St Paul's, the chapter house was destroyed by the Great Fire of London in 1666.
Elements of early Perpendicular are also known from
The earliest Perpendicular in a major church is the choir of Gloucester Cathedral (1337–1350) constructed when the south transept and choir of the then
During the reign of Edward III the style began to dominate at the Court, especially at the redevelopment of Windsor Castle, where John Sponlee designed the buildings to house Edward's neo-Arthurian fancies. Of these the Dean's Cloister and Aerary Porch survive and exhibit early Perpendicular blind tracery and lierne vaults.[16]
The style attained maturity under Henry Yevele and William Wynford in the later 14th century. Yevele designed works for the King and Court, such as Westminster Hall, Portchester Castle and the naves of Westminster Abbey and Canterbury Cathedral, while Wynford predominantly worked for Bishop Wykeham of Winchester on the nave of the cathedral itself as well as his educational foundations of New College, Oxford and Winchester College.[17] By c.1400 the style was widespread across the country, from Melrose in Scotland to Wells in Somerset.
Under the pious Henry VI the official style of the Court became relatively austere, as seen at the chapels of King's College, Cambridge and Eton College.[18] However, the original intentions at both buildings are now obscured as the building work continued long after the King was overthrown, with design changes resulting in increasing ornamentation. The same process occurred at the Divinity School, Oxford.
In the later 15th century, the pendulum swung back towards elaboration, especially under the Tudors. John Harvey considered this change to be significant enough to merit
Characteristics
- Towers were exceptionally tall, and frequently had battlements. Spires were less frequent than in earlier periods. Buttresses were often placed at the corners of the tower, the best position for providing maximum support. Notable Perpendicular towers include those of York Minster and Gloucester Cathedral, and the churches of Boston (Lincolnshire)[clarification needed], Wrexham and Taunton.[21]
- Stained glass windows were so large that the walls between were reduced to little more than piers. Horizontal mullions, called "transoms", often had to be added to the windows to give them greater stability.[22]
- Tracery was a major feature of decoration. In the larger churches, the entire surface from ground to summit, including the battlements, was covered with panels of tracery composed of thin stone mullions. It also appeared frequently in the interior, and often carried the designs in the window tracery down to the floor.[21] Tracery designs were less varied, with three main types: angular reticulation, common in the west of England, panel tracery, seen in the east, and the Court style, characterised by sub-arches filled with inverted daggers in the side lights.[23]
- Roofs were frequently made of lead, and usually had a gentle slope, to make them easier for walking[citation needed]. The roof timbers on the interior were often exposed to view from below, and had ornamental supports.[21] In this period the hammerbeam roof was used over select high-status buildings.
- Vaults of stone were frequently elaborate and highly decorative. The most common types on major buildings were fan vaults and lierne vaults, both of which could be further elaborated with pendants. The increased weight of the vaults caused by the ornament was countered by larger buttresses on the exterior.[21]
- Columns were generally octagonal in section, with octagonal bases and capitals. In greater churches shafting was commonplace, and could be carried up above the capitals to unify the elevation vertically. The capitals were usually decorated with moulded or carved oak leaves, or with corbels of shields or armorial symbols, or with the Tudor rose.[24] In more advanced buildings, capitals became less prominent.
- Fourth-centred arches or Tudor arches were commonly used in windows and tracery and for vaults and doorways, though the two-centred archdominated until late in the period.
- The interiors had richly carved woodwork, particularly in the choir stalls, which often featured carved grotesque figures on the bench ends called "poppy heads", from Chantry chapelsappeared in major churches, either as screened-off sections or structural editions, paid for by wealthy individuals or guilds.
Examples
- Palace of Westminster, St Stephen's Chapel (largely destroyed), Westminster Hall
- Old St Paul's, London, Chapter House (destroyed)
- Gloucester Cathedral, recasing of transepts, choir and presbytery, cloister, tower, Lady Chapel, west front
- Hereford Cathedral, Chapter House (destroyed)
- Windsor Castle, Dean's Cloister, St George's Chapel
- Westminster Abbey, cloister (heavily restored), nave, Henry VI's Chantry, Henry VII's Chapel
- Winchester Cathedral, west front, recasing of nave, choir
- Canterbury Cathedral, nave, cloister, remodelling of Chapter House, south-west tower, Bell Harry Tower, Christ Church Gate
- New College, Oxford
- Winchester College
- King's College, Cambridge, Chapel
- Eton College
- Maidstone College
- Norwich Cathedral, cloister, choir clerestory, vaults, spire
- York Minster, retrochoir, choir, towers
- Durham Cathedral, central tower
- Tattershall, Castle tower and collegiate church
- Coventry Cathedral (formerly St Michael's Church, now in ruins)
- Magdalen College, Oxford
- Christ Church, Oxford, vault of cathedral, Tom Quad (never fully completed)
- St Mary's Church, Warwick, choir and Beaufort Chapel
- Peterborough Cathedral, New Building (retrochoir)
- Great Malvern Priory, everything except the nave arcades
- Melrose Abbey, presbytery
- Lavenham Church
- Long Melford Church
- Bath Abbey
- Manchester Cathedral
- South Wingfield Manor
- Hampton Court Palace (with some early Renaissance influence)
Gallery
-
Winchester Cathedral west front
-
Henry VII Chapel at Westminster Abbey (1503–), with Perpendicular tracery and blind panels.
-
New College Chapel, Oxford
-
Edington Priory west front: Decorated and Perpendicular
-
Beauchamp Chapel, Collegiate Church of St Mary, Warwick
-
Manchester Cathedral chancel
-
Hall of Christ Church, Oxford
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Hull Minster nave
-
Merton College Chapel tower
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Gloucester Cathedral, choir and chancel
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Bath Abbey chancel
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York Minster chancel, looking west
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Canterbury Cathedral nave
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Winchester Cathedral nave
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York Minster crossing tower
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St Mary Magdalene, Taunton
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Evesham Abbey bell tower
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Bridlington Priory west front
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Gloucester Cathedral east end (1331–1350), with a four-centred arch window
-
Canterbury Cathedral crossing tower and transepts
-
Wells Cathedral crossing tower
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Beverley Minster west front
-
Norwich Cathedral spire and west window
-
Chichester Cathedral spire
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-967498-5, retrieved 2020-05-16
- ^ ISBN 978-1-350-12274-1, retrieved 2020-08-26,
English idiom from about 1330 to 1640, characterised by large windows, regularity of ornate detailing, and grids of panelling that extend over walls, windows and vaults.
- ISBN 978-0-19-967498-5, retrieved 2020-05-16
- ISBN 978-0-19-967498-5, retrieved 2020-05-16
- ^ a b c Rickman, Thomas (1848) [1812]. An Attempt to Discriminate the Styles of Architecture in England: From the Conquest to the Reformation (5th ed.). London: J. H. Parker. pp. lxiii.
- ISBN 978-0-19-967498-5, retrieved 2020-04-09
- ^ Encyclopaedia Britannica on-line, "Perpendicular Gothic", retrieved August 19, 2020
- ^ Smith 1922, p. loc. 204.
- ^ a b c Watkin 1986, p. 152.
- ISBN 978-0-405-08745-5.
- ^ JSTOR 869300.
- ISBN 978-0-7134-1610-7.
- OCLC 2631377.
- from the original on 2022-01-12. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
- ^ Watkin 1986, p. 153.
- ISBN 0 7134 1610 6.
- ISBN 0 7134 1610 6.
- ISBN 0 7134 1610 6.
- ISBN 0 7134 1610 6.
- ISBN 978-0-19-967498-5, retrieved 2020-05-16
- ^ a b c d Smith 1922, 335.
- ^ Smith 1922, 327.
- ISBN 0 7134 1610 6.
- ^ a b Smith 1922, 352.
Bibliography
- Bechmann, Roland (2017). Les Racines des Cathédrals (in French). Paris: Payot. ISBN 978-2-228-90651-7.
- Ducher, Robert, Caractéristique des Styles, (1988), Flammarion, Paris (in French); ISBN 2-08-011539-1
- OCLC 2437034.
- Smith, A. Freeman (1922). English Church Architecture of the Middle Ages – an Elementary Handbook. T. Fisher Unwin.
- Martin, G. H.; Highfield, J. R. L. (1997). A history of Merton College, Oxford. Oxford: ISBN 0-19-920183-8.
- Watkin, David (1986). A History of Western Architecture. Barrie and Jenkins. ISBN 0-7126-1279-3.