ON THE PERPENDICULAE OF SOMEESET. I 



that the plan of those churches may have been greatly 

 influenced by the fabrics which doubtless preceded them ; 

 but that the archltect chose thus to reproduce the forms of 

 an earlier period, shows an appreciation of the noble st 

 outline which a church can assume, one which, with all my 

 preference for the Perpendicvilar style, I must confess to 

 have been comparatively rare during the period of its 

 prevalence. 



The whole position and circumstances of a central tower 

 combine to give it a character very diiFerent from one 

 which Stands free from the ground. Consequently, though 

 even the central towers of Somerset retain much of the 

 general local character, we must not look among them for 

 the same typical specimens as among those which occupy 

 the west ends of the churches. The central steeples, in fact, 

 have far more individuality, and cannot be so weU ranged in 

 classes. I have already mentioned the singular occurrence 

 of the diagonal buttress in this particular position, where, to 

 my mind, it is singiüarly out of place. We have, however, a 

 very striking example at Othery, and others of inferior merit 

 at Dunster and Yatton. This last, which bupports the trun- 

 cated spire, I must confess to be quite common-place, and 

 altogether unworthy of the extraordinary splendour of the 

 nave and west front ; but that at Othery has a boldness 

 about it which disarms criticism. All three have diagonal 

 buttresses at three comers, and a prominent tuiTet at the 

 fourth, so that they may be considered as approximating 

 to the second, or Bristol, type of westem steeples. At 

 Yatton the buttresses run up and support the pinnacles ; 

 at Othery they are finished somewhat lower down, which 

 is perhaps more pleasing where the buttresses are diagonal 

 and the pinnacles of no great consequence, as the slope of 

 the buttress has a very bold effcct. Probably the reason 



