53. Hedingham Castle. (cir. 1130).
Archway from Stairs to Gallery.
Early doorways are usually round-headed; sometimes the sweep of the arch was not fully semicircular but segmental. In important buildings like Rochester Castle and Hedingham, the arches were either of several orders or were richly ornamented with the zigzag or spiral mouldings characteristic of the period (Figs. 51, 52, 53). In houses of less importance, such as the prebendal house at Nassington, the treatment was simpler (Fig. 51a). In this case, although the arch is round, the label terminations show it to be of somewhat later date, probably early in the thirteenth century, or nearly a hundred years after those at Rochester and Hedingham.
54. Aydon Castle, Northumberland (cir. 1280).
Doorway to Hall.
55. Bishop’s Palace, Mayfield, Sussex.
Doorway to Hall (early 14th cent.)
