After 1300 the structure of stone buildings began to be overlaid with ornament, the window tracery and vault ribs were of intricate patterns, the pinnacles and spires loaded with crocket and ornament. This later style is known as “Decorated,” and came to an end with the Black Death, which stopped all building for a time.
With the changed conditions of life the type of building changed. With curious uniformity and quickness the style called “Perpendicular”—which is unknown abroad—developed after 1360 in all parts of England and lasted with scarcely any change up to 1520. As its name implies, it is characterised by the perpendicular arrangement of the tracery and panels on walls and in windows, and it is also distinguished by the flattened arches and the square arrangement of the mouldings over them, by the elaborate vault-traceries (especially fan-vaulting), and by the use of flat roofs and towers without spires.
Abbey Gateway, Abingdon
The mediaeval styles in England ended with the dissolution of the monasteries (1530–1540), for the Reformation checked the building of churches. There succeeded the building of manor-houses, in which the style called “Tudor” arose—distinguished by flat-headed windows, level ceilings, and panelled rooms. The ornaments of classic style were introduced under the influences of Renaissance sculpture and distinguish the “Jacobean” style, so called after James I. About this time the professional architect arose. Hitherto, building had been entirely in the hands of the builder and the craftsman.
Much of the stone used in Berkshire is of local origin, as has already been mentioned in Chapter 12, but a great deal has also been brought from a distance. Thus it is recorded that when the Abbot of Abingdon in 1100 rebuilt the conventual buildings as well as much of the abbey church, the materials were brought from Wales, six waggons, each drawn by twelve oxen, being engaged in the work. A great deal of Bath stone will be found in Berkshire buildings and some has even been brought from Caen in Normandy. Pillars and tombstones of Purbeck marble are common in the churches. In the south wall of the Dean’s Cloisters at Windsor (temp. Henry III) there are clusters of columns and one column in each is of Purbeck marble.
The tower of the church at Wickham, north-west of Newbury, is of a very early style of architecture, showing a variety of “long and short” work. Two of the belfry windows are double with a pillar in the middle, and are characteristic of this early work. The walls are very thick. The remainder of the church has been rebuilt.
North Door, Faringdon Church
On pages 96 and 97 there are views of Norman doorways at Faringdon, both round-headed and one with an embattled moulding over the door. The church at Avington on the banks of the river Kennet a little below Hungerford is a good example of the Norman style of architecture, and there is a most interesting little church at Finchampstead near Wokingham of which a view is given on page 98. It was built in the twelfth century and the east end of the chancel is round, as was usual at that time. The original windows were probably very small, and those which we now see were cut in the wall since Norman times. The north aisle, too, is newer than the body of the church, and the brick tower only dates from the seventeenth century. In the church there is a Norman font. There is more or less Norman work remaining in many of our other churches. Thus the illustration on page 92 gives a view of the church of St Nicholas at Abingdon, and a round-headed Norman doorway will be seen under the tower, whilst the remainder of the building belongs to a later style of architecture, probably of the fifteenth century. The tower of West Shefford church is curious, the lower part is round and of Norman date, whilst the upper part is octagonal and was built subsequently.