290. Plan of Western Half of Courtyard of Jumma Musjid, Jaunpore. (From a Plan by the Author.) Scale 100 ft. to 1 in.
291. View of lateral Gateway of Jumma Musjid, Jaunpore. (From a Drawing by the Author.)
Mosque, which was commenced by Shah Ibrahim, A.D. 1419, but not completed till the reign of Husain, A.D. 1451-1478. It consists of a courtyard 220 ft. by 214 ft., on the western side of which is situated a range of buildings, the central one covered by a dome 40 ft. in diameter,
292. Lall Durwaza Mosque, Jaunpore. (From a Drawing by the Author.)
in front of which stands a gate pyramid or propylon,[511] of almost Egyptian mass and outline, rising to the height of 86 ft. This gate pyramid by its elevation supplied the place of a minaret, which is a feature as little known at Jaunpore, as it was, at the same age, in the capital city of Delhi. On each side of the dome is a compartment divided into two storeys by a stone floor supported on pillars; and beyond this, on each side, is an apartment 40 ft. by 50 ft., covered by a bold pointed vault with ribs, so constructed that its upper surface forms the external roof of the building, which in Gothic vaults is scarcely ever the case. The three sides of the courtyard were surrounded by double colonnades, two storeys in height internally, but with three on the exterior, the floor of the courtyard being raised to the height of the lower storey. On each face was a handsome gateway; one of which is represented in Woodcut No. 291, which gives a fair idea of the style: the greater part of the eastern side of the court has been taken down and removed by the English to repair station-roads and bridges, for which in their estimation these pillars are admirably adapted.
The smallest of the mosques in the city is the Lall Durwaza or Red Gate. It is in the same style as the others; and its propylon—represented in Woodcut No. 292—displays not only the bold massiveness with which these mosques were erected, but shows also that strange admixture of Hindu and Mahomedan architecture which pervaded the style during the whole period of its continuance.