Norman Round Tower, Norwich.
The Buttresses of this style were at first merely flat projections wholly devoid of ornament, and these are sometimes continued in late work; but in general, in late work there is a recess at the angle, in which a small shaft is inserted; the strings are sometimes continued round the buttresses and sometimes stop short at them, but in the latter case the buttresses have generally been added to strengthen the wall after it was erected, and are not part of the original work. In late Norman buildings the buttresses are sometimes square, and consequently have a much greater projection than the early flat buttresses. These square buttresses also have the moldings or shafts at the angles that the flat buttresses have not; an early Norman buttress never goes higher than the ground-floor, even when it is against a tower; at an angle, a flat buttress is placed on each side, nearly close to it.
Flat Norman Buttress.
Norman Porches have in general very little projection, sometimes only a few inches, but the thickness of the wall allows the doorways to be deeply recessed; they are sometimes terminated by a gable, or pediment, as at St. Margaret-at-Cliffe, Kent, where the projection is so slight that it may be called either a doorway with a pediment over it, or a shallow porch. More frequently the projection ends in a plain set-off, in which case the appearance is that of a doorway set in a broad flat buttress. There are, however, a few porches which have as great a projection as those of the succeeding styles, and the sides of these are usually ornamented with arcades: the outer archway is of the same character as other doorways. At Sherborne and at Southwell Minster there are good examples of these porches.
But the square east end is the usual characteristic of the Anglo-Norman style; the apse is comparatively a rare feature in England. In the diocese of Laon in the north of France, the cathedral and a large number of the churches have square east ends, under the influence of an English bishop, who was a leading man there in the early part of the twelfth century. The small parish church of Cassington, Oxon, has a Norman chancel with a Norman vault also. At Iffley the original chancel was like that of Cassington—one square bay; another bay eastward of this is of the Early English style; both bays are vaulted. At Cassington, the whole of the walls of the church are Norman, and the lower part of the tower, but the belfry-storey and the spire are of the Decorated style. The thick abacus shews this corbel to be of quite early Norman character.
Norman Corbel, Cassington.