| Choir, Canterbury, A.D. 1178. | Corona, Canterbury, A.D. 1184. |
| Beverley Minster, A.D. 1220. | Selby, Yorkshire, A.D. 1260. |
The Bases generally consist of two rounds, the lower one the largest, both frequently filleted, with a deep hollow between placed horizontally, as at Canterbury; but in later examples this hollow is not found, its place being filled up with another round molding, as at Selby, p. 103. They frequently approach in contour to the Grecian attic base, and the ogee is sometimes employed, as Rickman observed with his usual accuracy.
The deeply-cut moldings in bases of this style will frequently hold water, and this is sometimes called one of the characteristics of the style; but it is not a good one, because it is not easy to decide whether a particular base will hold water or not. These bases are frequently stilted, that is, the principal molding is raised a foot or two from the floor, and the space is sometimes plain; in some instances an additional molding is introduced; again, in other instances some foliage, or wavy-line molding, as in the choir at Canterbury, which is the earliest example of the style, and chiefly transitional. This stilted part, or plinth, is sometimes square; this is generally in the earlier examples: in other cases it is polygonal, or round, with an ornamental molding upon it, going round the whole pier, in addition to the base-moldings of the separate shafts of the cluster of four, five, or six, that form the piers, as at Beverley, Canterbury, and Selby.
Abacus with round and hollow molding.
In pure Early English work, the upper member of the capital, called the Abacus, is circular, and consists, in the earlier examples, simply of two rounds, the upper one the largest, with a hollow between them; but in later examples the moldings are frequently increased in number and filleted. The general use of the circular abacus is peculiar to England and Normandy; even in the best early French work, of the Royal Domain, the abacus is generally square; and as there can be no doubt that the round abacus is more consistent with pure Gothic work, the square one belonging more properly to the Classic styles, this circumstance is a strong argument in favour of the greater purity of English Gothic. Generally, also, the MOLDINGS are much more numerous and much richer in English work than in foreign work of the same period, as has been said.