320 



Observations on Gothic Architectiire . [May 1, 



transepts and west front of the catlie- 

 «hiil. To claim, therefore, for this 

 .style of buiidinn;, the exclusive appel- 

 laiion of English, must, as Mr. W. 

 observes, be an assumption destitute 

 of all authority. Yet the introduction 

 of the pointed style is so nearly con- 

 temporaneous in France and England, 

 that the honour of the invention will 

 always remain doubtful. The glorious 

 reign of St. Louis may, indeed, rea- 

 .sonablybe deemed more favourable to 

 its improvement, than the wcnk and 

 distracted government of Henry III. 

 who was not, however, wanting in his 

 patronage of this noble art. On tljc 

 •jther hand, the triumpli of the Gothic 

 style in France, Mr. W. allows to have 

 been of short duration ; and, in a great 

 measure, to have ceased soon after tlie 

 commencement of tiic 14th century, the 

 two succeeding ones being distin- 

 guished by no architectural elforts of 

 Cfjual excellence. The two obvious 

 causes assigned, are the wars wliicli 

 the English carried into the heart of 

 France ; and the factions of the nobles, 

 which rendered tiiat kingdom a theatre 

 ef bloodshed and desolation. 



Architecture, under Edwnrd I., con- 

 tinued nearly the same as in llic time 

 of his father, Henry III. but, about 

 the beginning of the reign of I'Alward 

 II. the mode of vaulting became more 

 decorated ; tlic slender shafts which 

 surrounded the column were wrought 

 up together with it. The windows 

 were enlarged; and divided, by stone 

 iMulIions, into numerous ramifications 

 and compartments of leaves, (lowers, 

 and other varied forms. The use of 

 painted and stained glass favomed this 

 enlargement of the " storied windows," 

 j)articularly those of the east and west, 

 which now took up nearly the whole 

 breadth of the nave, and were carried 

 almost as high as the vaulting, and 

 made a splendid appearance. 'i'he 

 fashion of adorning tlie west front of 

 the cathedrals and collegiate churches 

 "with rows of statues in niclies, or 

 talernacles with canopies over them, 

 became general. Of these, beautiful 

 ■specimens may be seen at Salisbur}', 

 Litchfield, Wells, St. Mary's chapel, 

 Ely, and many other places. 



'I'he pure and uinnixed Gothic style 

 extended from the middle of the reign 

 of Henry III. to the end of that of 

 Henry VI. though with a continual 

 addition of ornament, till it reached its 

 acme in the magnificent structure of 

 King's College chapel ; tlic admirable 



decorations, harmony, and jjroportions, 

 of which, were never surpassed by 

 succeeding artists. Early in the reign 

 of Edward IV. a remarkable change 

 took place in the predominant mode of 

 building, by the introduction of a pro- 

 fusion of novel and fancifni, yet rich 

 and admiral)ly ingenious, devices, so 

 as to give rise to a third a;ra in the 

 progress of the pointed or Gothic 

 architecture. 



The first considerable appearance of 

 " the florid Gothic," according to Mr. 

 ^^'arton, was in the chapel of St. 

 George at Windsor, erected by King 

 Edward IV. and it was completed in 

 the superb chapel of Henry VII. at 

 Westminster. " It distinguishes it- 

 self," says the same writer, "by an 

 exuberance of decoration, by roofs 

 where the most delicate fret-work is 

 expressed in stone, and by a certain 

 lightness of finishing, as in the roof of 

 the choir at Gloucester, where it is 

 thrown like a web of embroidery 

 over the old Saxon vaulting." Monu- 

 mental shrines, which admit a multi- 

 plicity of highly-finished oiliaments, 

 afiord exquisite specimens of this 

 style; as those of Bishops Fox and 

 Waynfiete at Winchester, also the 

 screen of that cathedral erected by 

 Bishop Fox in 152.5. The tower of 

 Gloucester cathedral, the iiarochial 

 churches of Glastonbury and Taunton, 

 and the west tower of York cathedral. 

 Bishop West's chapel adjoining the 

 south isle of Ely cathedral, and many 

 other buildings, still extant, are in this 

 style. 



During this period, which lasted 

 about a century, and expired towards 

 the close of the reign of Henry VIII. a 

 lighter and higher finishing Was be- 

 stowed on all tlie ornamental parts; 

 " and the ribs of the vaulting in parti- 

 cular," says Mr. Bentham, " became 

 at length divided into such an abun- 

 dance of parts, issuing from their im- 

 posts as from a centre, and spreading 

 themselves over the vaulting, where 

 they were intermixed with such deli- 

 cate sculpture as gave the whole vault 

 the appearance of embroidery, en- 

 riched with clusters of pendent orna- 

 ments, resembling the works nature 

 sometimes forms in caves and grot- 

 toes. The most striking instance of 

 this kind is displayed in the sumptu- 

 ous chapel of Henry VII. at West- 

 minster." 



"The canopies of tabernacle wdrk," 



says Mr. Dallaway, "over saints or 



sepulchral 



