| Brockworth, Gloucestershire. | Capital, Stoke Orchard, Gloucestershire. |
It has been observed, that in the sculpture of the period of the late Norman style there is frequently a certain mixture of the Byzantine Greek character, brought home from the east by the Crusaders, who had returned. This is also one of the characteristics of the period of Transition.
The Corbel-tables are at first very plain, consisting merely of square blocks at intervals, carrying the beam on flat stones which support the roof, or with small arcs between them, or merely rude triangles, like the Anglo-Saxon arches; and these are sometimes continued in late work, as at Iffley, but in general, in late work the corbels are carved, and the small arcs more or less enriched. The buttresses are usually flat and plain in early examples, but have moldings on the angles in late examples.
Norman Corbel.
Corbel-tables under the eaves of the roof are very abundant in late Norman and Transitional work, and are often proof that the walls are Norman, when this is not otherwise evident, later windows having been inserted. They are frequently square blocks of stone only, as if intended to be carved subsequently, when convenient, and this has never been done; more usually they are heads, or grotesque masks, as at Romsey.
Corbel-tables, Romsey Abbey Church.
Of these two Corbel-tables, the upper one taken by itself would be Norman, c. A.D. 1160, and the lower one Early English; being both from the same church, they may both be classed as Transitional.