CIVIL ARCHITECTURE. 



537 



First St 



Paul's, 



London. 



St Peter's 

 York. 



Were- 

 moutli. 



Rippon. 



Hexham. 



Fly. 



Crnyland. 



York re- 

 buUu 



parture of the Romans, when King Ethelbert was con- 

 verted to Christianity by St Augustine, the zeal for 

 erecting ecclesiastical buildings took place. He founded 

 the first St Paul's in London, and St Andrew's in Ro- 

 chester. In 627, Edwin founded St Peter's in York, 

 which was built of hewn stone, with spacious porticos. 

 The Abbot Biscopius went over to France to procure 

 workmen to build after the Roman manner; on his return 

 hebuilt St Peter's church in the monastery at Weremouth. 

 In about a century after the conversion of Ethelbert, 

 Wilifred, bishop of York, brought over eminent builders 

 and artists from Rome, Italy, and France ; he glazed the 

 windows of York cathedral, and built the conventual 

 church of Rippon in Yorkshire ; which Edius says, he 

 raised with hewn stone to a great height, and supported 

 by various kinds of pillars and porticos. But his most 

 sumptuous edifice was the cathedral church of Hexham 

 in Northumberland. Richard, prior of Hexham, in 

 whose time, 1180, it was standing, says, "That the 

 foundations of this church were laid deep in the earth 

 for the crypts and oratories and passages leading to them, 

 which were then with equal exactness contrived and 

 built under ground. The walls, which were of great 

 length, and raised to an immense height, and divided into 

 three stories or tiers, he supported by square and various 

 kinds of well polished columns ; and the arch of the 

 sanctuary he decorated with historical representations, 

 imagery, and various figures in relief carved in stone, 

 and painted with a most agreeable variety of colours. 

 The body of the church he encompassed about with 

 aisles and porticos, which both above and below he di- 

 vided with great and inexpressible art by partition walls 

 and winding stairs; within the staircase, and above them, 

 he caused flights of steps and galleries and passages lead- 

 ing from them, both for ascending and descending, to be 

 so artfully disposed, that multitudes of people might be 

 there, and go quite round the church without being seen 

 by any one below in the nave. Moreover, in the several 

 divisions of the porticos or aisles, both above and below, 

 he erected many most beautiful and private oratories of 

 exquisite workmanship ; and in them he caused to be placed 

 altars in honour of the blessed Virgin, St Michael, St John 

 the Baptist, and the holy apostles, martyrs, confessors, 

 and virgins, with all decent and proper furniture to each 

 of them. It appeared, that of all the nine monasteries 

 over which that venerable bishop presided, and of all 

 others throughout England, this church of St Andrew 

 in Hexham was the most elegant and sumptuous, and 

 that its equal was not to be met with on this side the 

 Alps." Wilifred gave great encouragement to skilful 

 builders and eminent artists ; he was himself well skilled, 

 and was the chief director, in concert with those excel- 

 lent masters he had brought from Rome ; and it is pro- 

 bable, that the church and monastery of Ely, founded by 

 St Etheldrida, were built under his directions; as we are 

 informed by Ely the historian, that he spent a consider- 

 able time with her settling the economy of the convent. 

 The connection with Rome continued to increase, as did 

 the power and influence of the clergy, as well as their 

 zeal for erecting ecclesiastical buildings. 



In 716, Croyland Abbey in Lincolnshire was founded 

 by Ethelbald. In 767, Archbishop Albert rebuilt St 

 Peter's of York. His first employment was in the ca- 

 pacity of master of tte celebrated school of York, where 

 he taught grammar, rhetoric, astronomy, natural philo- 

 sophy, and divinity. He afterwards visited Rome, and 

 many of the most eminent seats of learning on the Con- 

 On his return he was made Archbishop, and 

 finding his church in a ruinous condition, he took it 



VOL. VI. PART II. 



wholly down, and rebuilt it in a most sumptuous manner ; Hiatoiy. 

 his architects were Eanbald and the famous Alcuin, two """"""y" "" 

 of his own church. During the 9th century, the incur- Alculnt 

 sions of the Danes were destructive to the arts and 

 many of the edifices already erected ; and it was not un- 

 til peace and good order were restored by Alfred, that Alfred, 

 any regular progress could be made in any of the arts of 

 civil life. That inimitable prince extended his cares into 

 every department which could promote the welfare of a 

 well-regulated state ; but the defenceless situation in 

 which he found the kingdom, led him to direct the build- 

 ing art to military purposes, such as building and repair- 

 ing walled towns, erecting castles, and constructing ships. 

 About 960, Edgar is said to have founded forty monas- 

 teries, chiefly those which had been destroyed by the ^}^ abbey 

 Danes, and he built the old abbey of Westminster. minster'" 



In 974', the abbey of Ramsay in Huntingdonshire was 

 completed ; it was in the form of a cross, with side aisles, ^ amsa }' '" 

 and two towers, one of which was at the west front, and donihi'ro" 

 the other was supported by four pillars in the middle of 

 the building, where it divided into four parts, being con- 

 nected together by arches extending to other adjoining 

 arches, to keep them from giving way. This appears a 

 new mode among the Saxons, as none of those which are 

 more antient are described as having any thing of the 

 form of the cross, or having towers above the roof. See 

 Bentham's Essays. 



Early in the llth century some change took place, West- 

 for Edward the Confessor is said to have built West- minster 

 minter Abbey, according to a new mode which was 1 intro- Abbey re- 

 duced into the kingdom, (Mat/lew Prior, p. 226.) ; and l)lult ' 

 about this time it appears, that some excellent artificers 

 flourished in France. 



The Saxons were reckoned one of the most fierce and SaiDn*. 

 warlike of the German tribes, with a very imperfect 

 knowledge even of agriculture. When they conquered 

 England, devastation was carried into the most remote 

 corners, the public as well as private edifices were re- 

 duced to ashes, and the natives were slaughtered or car- 

 ried into slavery ; these people were, therefore, without 

 any knowledge or habits of architecture. This know- 

 ledge was acquired after they were in full possession of 

 England, had been converted to Christianity, became at- 

 tached to fixed residence, and had accumulated property : 

 (Hume's History of England.) The only regular ar- 

 chitecture which could have come under their observa- 

 tion, was in the remains of Roman works, which had 

 escaped or withstood their former fury. This must 

 have attracted their attention, when they became dispo- 

 sed to construct buildings of any consequence ; but their 

 workmen were without knowledge or experience : (Som- 

 ners' Antiquities of Canterbury; p. 146.) It was therefore 

 absolutely necessary to have recourse to France or Italy, 

 which was constantly done by those ecclesiastics, who 

 had come to the resolution of building Christian church- 

 es : ( Ornaments of Churches considered. ) The Saxon Saxon 

 architecture having been chiefly copied from the Roman c pied 

 works in Britain, the style which was practised during f ""~ *'' 

 their age, in Italy, had a strong resemblance to it, and 

 was constantly denominated the Roman manner. Du- 

 rirg the first age of the Christian era, when the Roman 

 best style had been much departed ' from, the architec- 

 ture of both the Christians and Moors was characterised 

 by solidity and bulk, and particularly for having great 

 numbers of round short pillars. It has been observed, 

 that there is a near relation between the architecture of 

 the Moors and that described in Scripture ; and that in Moors. 

 Barbary and the Levant it has continued the same : 

 (Dr Shaw'a Travels, p. 273.) One of the principal 

 3 Y 



from tlte 



Roman 



building*. 



