| Photo by] | [C. W. Mason |
| Part of the South Wall of the Church at Garton-on-the-Wolds. | |
But when stained glass became reasonably cheap, there were few church-people who could endure the thought that some neighbouring church had stained-glass windows when their church had none. So there began a competition among them as to who should be able to show the greatest area of stained glass in their church windows. Walls were therefore pulled down, and windows enlarged, or perhaps a nave or chancel was entirely rebuilt, for the reception of this glass; until where there had once been a stone wall with a few narrow slits in it, there was now a series of wide expanses of glass separated with narrow strips of wall.
For convenience also, the bars of stone which formed the window tracery were made straight instead of curved. This is the style which we call the Perpendicular style, and it grew in popular favour from 1380 until 1547, when the Reformation put an end to further growth.
All the three styles, Early English, Decorated, and Perpendicular, make up what is known as Gothic architecture. The name is unfortunately a meaningless one; for it does not in any way refer to the architecture of the Goths, as the name Norman does to the architecture of the Normans.
The great difference between the two styles is that whereas the roof of a Norman building was supported by the walls, the roof of a Gothic building was supported not by the walls, but by the buttresses, some of which might be constructed in the form of bridges. Such buttresses are known as flying buttresses.
It would be almost true to say that we might knock down every inch of wall in Beverley Minster or Patrington Church and yet leave standing the framework and roof of the buildings, with the western towers of the one and the central spire of the other. Such buildings are perfect in design, and their perfectness is due to the knowledge and skill which were possessed by their architect-builders.
Gothic architecture grew like a plant, and reached its full development in the Perpendicular style, when the enthusiasm for church-building was at its height. Most of our village churches show signs of having been in part rebuilt during the period when the Perpendicular style flourished, and one of its most marked features is a lofty central or western tower, such as we see at Hedon, Howden, and Driffield.
For a long time after the Reformation there was no fresh church-building, and little church-repair. What little attention our ancient parish churches had at the repairers’ hands was often of the kind that is called ‘churchwarden’ restoration, an example of which we see in the accompanying photograph of a portion of Welwick Church. Now, happily, such is a thing of the past, and our church restorers aim at a restoration which is true to its name.