A B C of Gothic Architecture

by John Henry Parker

characteristic of this style as the zigzag is of the Norman; this consists of a small pyramid, more or less acute, cut into four leaves or petals meeting in the point, but separate below, as in Chester Cathedral. When very acute, and seen in profile, it may be imagined to have somewhat the appearance of a row of dog’s-teeth, and from this it has been called the “dog-tooth ornament,” or by some the shark’s-tooth ornament, more commonly the “TOOTH-ORNAMENT.” It is used with the greatest profusion on arches, between clustered shafts, on the architraves and jambs of doors, windows, piscinas, and indeed in every place where such ornament can be introduced. It is very characteristic of this style, and begins quite at the commencement of the style, as in St. Hugh’s work at Lincoln; for though in the Norman we find an approach to it, in the Decorated various modifications of it occur; still the genuine tooth-ornament may be considered to belong exclusively to the Early English.

The natural use and the profusion of moldings in the English buildings of the thirteenth century is considered as one of the proofs of the English origin of the Gothic style. The French imitated it rapidly, but in a cheaper manner, and their buildings are, on the whole, not quite equal to ours, that is, taking into account both exterior and interior. The profuse suites of moldings so common in English doorways and arches, are almost unknown in France: some things they developed more rapidly than we did, but in the moldings they were behind us.

The Vaults are distinguished from the Norman by their greater boldness, and from succeeding styles by their greater simplicity, as at Salisbury. In the earlier examples there are ribs on the angles of the groins only; at a later period the vaulting becomes more complicated, as at Westminster. There is a longitudinal rib, and a cross rib along the ridge of the cross vaults, and frequently also an intermediate rib on the surface of the vault. The bosses are rare at first, more abundant afterwards: they are generally well worked and enriched with foliage.

Early English vaults are sometimes of wood only, as in York Minster, and at Warmington, Northamptonshire, and the cloisters at Lincoln. A vault is, in fact, a ceiling, having always an outer roof over it; and there is no necessity for its being of stone, although it is obviously better that it should usually be so, as a security against fire, which was the chief motive for the introduction of stone vaults. It generally is so; the chapel of St. Blaise, or the old revestry, in Westminster Abbey, is an excellent example little known. The rather incorrect use of the word ‘roof’ by Mr. Rickman, as applied to vaults, has led to some confusion of ideas on this subject.

There is a marked distinction in the construction of Gothic vaults in England and France. In England, from the earliest period, each stone is cut to fit its place, in France the stones are cut square or rather oblong, as in the walls, and only wedged out by the thickness of the mortar at the back in the joints. The English system is far more scientific, but also far more costly; the French system is infinitely more economical

Chapel of St. Blaise, Westminster Abbey, A.D. 1250.

of labour, and consequently of expense. From this cause stone vaults are far more common in France than in England. From this cause also fan-tracery vaulting is peculiar to England, and it begins, in principle, as early as in the cloister of Lincoln, c. A.D. 1220, where the vault is of wood, but the springings are of stone, and cut to fit the ribs of the wooden vault.

The beautiful vaulted chambers in the Bishop’s Palace at Wells are part of the original work, begun in the time of St. Hugh, and finished under his immediate successor, Jocelyn. Grand chambers as these now appear to us, they were originally cider-cellars under the great hall, which was very lofty, and had a wooden roof only, which still exists, though in a very neglected state, and too much dilapidated by alterations of various periods to be left visible. It was concealed by a beautiful plaster-ceiling by Bishop Bagot in 1850; the fine vaulted chambers of these cellars [see p. 113] are now used as the dining-room of the bishop’s family and their guest-chamber, and part of them, separated by a wall, is the entrance-hall. This latter feature is an original arrangement, not a modern alteration, as some have supposed; it served as a passage to the bishop’s chapel from the other part of the house, and from the offices also.