Observations on Gothic ArckUecture. 317 



1823.] 



slenderly touched. Yet these are, in 

 f;ict, the principal points, because it 

 is over these that man can exercise 

 some control. A climate, in itself 

 generally good, or the contrary, may, 

 by the influence of localities, and arti- 

 ficial circumstances, have its charac- 

 ter totally changed, or greatly modi- 

 fied. The town of Calcutta in the 

 East Indies, the draining of the fenny 

 districts in this country, and the en- 

 closing of commons, furnish familiar 

 instances of this.* 



But, sir, independently of the positive 

 good efl'ects to he expected from the 

 labours of such a society, the whole 

 subject itself is one of universal inter- 

 est, upon which every person is more 

 or less competent to say something; for 

 Qtie of its primary and professed ob- 

 jects is to treat of that which is the 

 first and the last word in every one's 

 mouth, viz. t/ie weather. Besides, it 

 embraces a vast diversity of important 

 objects. The seasons, the incessant 

 vicissitudes of climate, vegetation, 

 many points connected vvitli natural 

 history, astronomical phenomena, me- 

 dical statistics, &c. and, in fact, there 

 is hardly any part of natural knowledge 

 that may not be made to bear upon it. 

 In order, however, to concentrate in- 

 formation, and render it available for 

 the purposes of life, something more is 

 necessary than detached notes in peri- 

 odical works. I should hope, then, sir, 

 that the proposalof your correspondent 

 will be acted on by those who are best 

 able to give it the requisite support and 

 eJHeiency, and that we shall soon con- 

 gratulate you on having been instru- 

 mental in preparing the public mind 

 for an ijistitution, which, once set on 

 loot, must succeed ; and from which 

 society at large may expect to derive 

 the most signal advantages. 



IIenrv Eumondston. 

 . Newcastle-vpon-Tyne, April 1823. 



F<n- the Monthhj Magazine. 



OOTHIC AttCHlTECTURE. 

 II. 



IF that extraordinary species of 

 arciiiteclure so did'ercnt from, y<!t 

 rivallini; in beauty and in skill, the 

 immortal wurks of Greece and J{ome, 

 be not deiivod from the Goths, or the 

 Moriscoes, or the Orientalists, whence, 



• Dr. Clarke's small work on the cli- 

 mate of the south of Europe, illii.slrates 

 this well, an<l presents an ixctllent medi- 

 cal 8p(!ciiii<-n of ihc nraiuier of Ircaling thi;i 

 dcpurtineut of science. 



it may be asked, did it lake its origin? 

 The answer is obvious. I'rom those 

 countries in w hich it arrived earliest to 

 perfection ; namely, France and Eng- 

 land. In neither country is the term 

 Gothic to be found in ancient authors. 

 But it may be adopted in no degrading 

 sense, to denote the simple fact of its 

 invention in what are generally styled 

 the Gothic ages ; and, if the regular 

 degrees by which this architecture at- 

 tained to its highest excellence can be ' 

 traced, no other evidence will be ne- 

 cessary to prove, that it is not of 

 foreign or Asiatic origin. 



The grand stages of the Gotliic style 

 may be distinguished by the appella- 

 tions of Norman-Gothic, of pure or 

 absolute Gothic, and of the florid 

 Gothic, agreeably to the arrangement 

 of Mr. Warton. The Saxon mode of 

 building with ponderous pillars, and 

 massive circular arches, was evidently 

 a rude and adulterated imitation of the 

 Roman style ; many specimens of 

 which, doulitless, remained to the pe- 

 riod of tlic heptarchy. But, though 

 elegance was thus sacrificed to strength, 

 the principal Saxon churches were cer- 

 tainly noble structures in that pecu- 

 liar manner, barbarous as it must 

 comparatively be accounted. This 

 appears, among other instances, from 

 the ancient description of the cathe- 

 dral church at Hexham, erected b}' St, 

 Wilfrid, A.D- G74; also of St. Peter's at 

 York, rebuilt by Abp. Albert, a.d. 767, 

 In the latter are specified pillars, 

 arches, vaulted roofs, porticoes, gaU 

 leries, altars, &c, with their various 

 ornaments and decorations. — (Vide 

 Hentltain' s Historical Remarks, ^'c.) 



St. Peter's church in the monastery 

 of Wermouth was erected, as we lean? 

 from Bede, about the game time witl^ 

 the cathedral of Hexham by Benedict 

 Biscopius ; that abbot going over tq 

 France, a.d. 075, to engage workmen 

 to build his church after the Roman 

 manner, 'i'he same venerable author 

 tells us, ' that, in the year 710, a King 

 of the Picts, intending to raise a churcli 

 of stone to the honour of St. Peter, 

 sent to South Britain for artificers to 

 build it after the Roman manner, 'i'his 

 s(ylc continued prevalent for a century 

 after the eon<iuest, though with such 

 imj)rovements, thai William of Malmes- 

 bury scruples not to call it " Novum 

 f/eiins adi/icnndi ;" but this new kind of 

 building did by no means consist in 

 any general ajiproach to the pointed 

 or Gothic style. The Saxon eliurchcs 



