276 Mr. A. Taylor on the Gothic Ornaments 



sembling those which are commonly found on our Norman 

 churches : three of these occupy the place of one of the lower 

 story. From the top of these arches, without any intervening 

 cornice or line of separation, there rises a series of projecting 

 canopies or pediments, alternated with lofty tabernacles and 

 pinnacles. The third story (commencing from a cornice be- 

 hind the pinnacles) is occupied by windows, each formed of 

 two lights divided by a munnion supporting two trefoil arches, 

 under a circular arch. Between the windows are flat pilas- 

 ters surmounted by small Gothic canopies, and above them, 

 a pointed pediment or gable rising a little above the parapet. 

 In the roof or cupola there are (on one side of the building) 

 four apertures or windows adorned with pediments and crockets 

 of a decidedly Gothic character. 



From the description here given it will be evident that 

 there exists in this building a great confusion of styles, and 

 much to mislead the judgment upon a general cursory obser- 

 vation. It was, therefore, thought advisable to attempt a more 

 close examination by venturing upon the cornice which runs 

 round the exterior, at the commencement of the third story. 

 In this place it was easy to touch the pinnacles which ascend 

 from the arches below, and it was immediately found that the 

 marble of which they are made differs from that employed in 

 any other part of the fabric ; the difference in colour may in- 

 deed be seen from below. It was observed, in going round, 

 that the pinnacles were in no way so connected with the build- 

 ing as to have been necessarily erected at the same time ; that 

 they sometimes merely touch the cornice, sometimes stand 

 clear altogether, and are sometimes let into it : in the latter 

 case, it is plain, beyond all doubt, that the cornice was chip- 

 ped or broken away in situ, the fracture proceeding from above. 

 The angular pediments beneath could not be seen to advan- 

 tage in this position. With regard to the trefoil windows and 

 pediments of the third story, it was found that they certainly 

 were original — speaking with reference to that story, the 

 munnions and pointed arches binding in with the work. It 

 is not to be assumed, however, that these parts, though of a 

 Gothic character, are in the same style with the pinnacles 

 above described. Plain in design, and simple in execution, they 

 may be compared with specimens of the early pointed style 

 in our own country, or with the half-Gothic style of Lombardy. 

 The little canopies on the pilasters, and the apertures in the 

 roof, appear to have the same character as the pinnacles. 



Of the interior of the Baptistery we have chiefly to remark 

 the simplicity and uniformity of its architecture, and its free- 

 dom from any the least mixture of the Gothic stvle, excepting, 



of 



