I 86 ARCHITECTURAL STYLES IN FORDINGTON CHURCH. 



According to a rough plan of 1780, before the north wall was 

 removed, a north door is shewn exactly opposite the south door, 

 and also the position of the window now built in the Rectory 

 walls. It also shews a window as having existed, north of the 

 north transept. 



The small 3-light Perpendicular window near the porch, with 

 its 4-centred head, is a poor specimen. It was inserted about 

 30 years ago, in what was, I believe, originally a s'emi-Norman 

 opening. It is too shallow, and lacks depth of shadow in section. 

 Its lines and design are all right, but the tracery should have 

 been divided into two orders. The stone to the upper part 

 occupies more area than the piercings for light, which is wrong, 

 and makes it look heavy. A hood-mould of proper scale over 

 the window arch would also have improved its appearance. 

 Contrast with it the simpler lines, depth of shadow, and lightness 

 of detail of the window to the transept. 



Now we come to the most noble feature of the church taken 

 as a whole, namely, the Perpendicular tower, which is one of the 

 landmarks of the neighbourhood. Strangers after seeing the 

 tower at a distance make a journey to St. George's expecting to 

 see a church correspondingly noble. They go away woefully 

 disappointed and somewhat wiser. The church, as a structure 

 and a place of worship, is not of the best that man should give 

 for the honour and glory of his Maker, but a veritable museum, 

 and a conglomeration of idiosyncrasies and things of ugliness, 

 some of them of the meanest description, and such as would not 

 be tolerated in a butterman's villa. There are some people in 

 the world who would perpetuate these. They are, however, not 

 consistent, nor do they act according to ordered precedent, 

 which is a recognised law. They glorify the early and the 

 mediaeval workers, but they do not follow in their example or 

 footsteps. What sort of buildings and erections should we have 

 had to-day if these people had existed and their principles, 

 tenets, and teachings had been adopted, say, at the commence- 

 ment of the 1 3th or i4th Century ? Many of our national 

 buildings would not now exist, or they would have been made 



