226 



Edington Church, 



an earlier type. But the principle of Perpendicularity is shewn in 

 the vertical lines of the. tracery, carried up from the points of the 

 four main lights. This window affords a striking instance, I think, 

 of the precedence which I claim for William of Edington ; for it 

 will be seen, on comparison with a window at New College, Oxford, 

 erected by William of Wykeham in 1386, that the share of the 

 latter in the design consists of taking Bishop Edington's window^ 

 erected twenty-five years before, omitting the sub-mullions and 

 tracery of these four main lights (in short, regarding it as a four- 

 light instead of an eight-light window) ; extending its height to 

 fit the place for which he required it, and adding a transom to 

 support the lengthened mullions ! 



The three-light windows in the chancel and transepts are inter- 

 esting and unique specimens of the Transitional treatment of the 

 familiar Decorated type, known as " reticulated " tracery. It is 

 interesting to compare this with a window from the vestry of 

 Merton College, Oxford, erected in 1325. By simply substituting 

 a two-centred for an ogee arch of each compartment of the tracery, 

 an elongation of the vertical dividing line is obtained producing the 

 mullion- tracery which constitutes the distinctive character of the 

 later examples. The narrow side windows in the transepts are quite 

 unique in design ; that in the north transept has a decidedly Per- 

 pendicular feeling, and exhibits the wall panelling idea in its lower 

 compartments. 



Much has been said of the tracery of the tower windows as ex- 

 hibiting the te cross fleury 33 in supposed allusion to the arms of the 

 Paveley family, but as the west windows of the aisles have the cross 

 turned the other way this intention hardly holds good. I regard 

 the tracery of these windows as a natural development of geometrical 

 forms, and a similar device to those in the aisle is to be seen in a 

 four-light window in Shere Church, in Surrey, given in " Brandon's 

 Analysis." 



It will be observed that the early segmental form of arch occurs 

 over all the windows of the aisles and clerestory, and that the outer 

 doorway of the porch has the pointed segmental arch which is so 

 conspicuous a feature in Bishop Edington's work at Winchester. 



