That this mode of approaching the study of this subject is a convenient one, will probably be admitted by those who may remember the difficulties they encountered, in their early attempts to acquire a general conception of the scheme of the History of Church Architecture, as given in most of the manuals now in use; and the complexity of detail in which they found themselves immediately involved on the very threshold of their inquiry.
It has been the practice in most elementary works on Church Architecture to derive the illustrations of the subject, indifferently from the smaller and the larger buildings of the Kingdom; and by implication to assign an equal authority to both. It will be readily admitted, however, that the History of an Art is to be gathered from its principal Monuments, and not from those the design or execution of which may have been entrusted to other than the ablest masters of the Period: in the choice, therefore, of the examples which have been selected to illustrate the series of changes which are described in the following pages, reference has been made principally to the great Cathedral, Abbey, and Collegiate Churches of the Kingdom, and occasionally only to some of the larger Parish Churches whose size or importance would seem to bring them under the above denomination.
CHAPTER II.
CLASSIFICATION.
Church Architecture in England, from its earliest existence down to the Sixteenth Century, was in a state of constant progress, or transition, and this progress appears to have been carried on, with certain exceptions in different parts of the country, very nearly simultaneously. It follows from this circumstance, first, That it is impossible to divide our National Architecture correctly into any number of distinct Orders or Styles; and secondly, That any Division of its History into a given number of Periods, must necessarily be an arbitrary one. It is nevertheless absolutely essential for the purpose of conveniently describing the long series of noble monuments which remain to us, that we should adopt some system of chronological arrangement, which may enable us to group, and to classify them in a distinct and intelligible manner: and although no broad lines of demarcation in this connected series are discernible—so gradual was the change—yet so rapid and so complete was it also, that a period of fifty years did not elapse without a material alteration in the form and fashion of every detail of a building.
Now it will be readily conceived that, even in the midst of this continual change, certain favourite forms would remain in use longer than others; and that this circumstance may possibly afford us the opportunity of which we are in search; and enable us in the adoption of any such arbitrary Division so to define and to characterise the Architecture of its different Periods, as to render this Historical Survey and our future descriptions sufficiently intelligible.
One principal Division of Church Architecture has been recognised and adopted by all who have studied and written on the subject; that, namely, which separates Ecclesiastical Buildings into two classes, in the first or earlier of which the circular arch was exclusively employed; and in the second or later, the pointed arch alone was used. To the former of these two Classes, the term Romanesque has been given, and to the latter, the term Gothic.
This division is so simple, and at the same time so strongly marked, that without entering into a discussion as to the value or propriety of the terms themselves, and contenting ourselves with the fact that they are already in general use, we can have little hesitation in adopting this primary division as the groundwork of our system.
At the same time, it is manifest, that, for purposes of description, it is not sufficiently minute; and that a further subdivision is necessary: it is also clear, that it excludes a large class of buildings that were erected during the period which intervened between the first appearance of the pointed arch, and the final disappearance of the circular arch.