In this example the debased character usual at that period comes out more distinctly than in the previous example, the arch of the window has entirely lost any point, and the tracery is very confused and irregular.
as at Wadham, University, St. John’s, &c., but the finest specimen of it is the beautiful staircase to the Hall of Christ Church; and it is remarkable to find that it was erected so late as 1640; but it is stated by Peshall to have been built by Dean Fell, “by the help of —— Smith, an artificer of London.” Who Smith of London may have been, or whether he executed any other works beside this, does not seem to have been ascertained; but certainly this work alone, executed at a time when Gothic Architecture everywhere else was sunk in utter debasement, ought to rescue his name from oblivion. Its chief fault is a want of boldness in the ribs, but this flatness was a fault of the time, which he did not overcome.
It has been generally considered that the whole of the work outside of the Hall was of this date, but it will be evident on examination that the two open doorways opposite the Hall-door, as well as the arches and doorways under the landing, are of Wolsey’s time; all the details and the boldness of the work shew them to belong to his building. The parts, therefore, which Smith executed were the central pillar, and the vaulting which it supports, the steps, and parapets. This part, it seems, was left unfinished by Wolsey. The steps were not completed, and it was not roofed. It is, therefore, possible, as this design harmonises so well with the rest of the building, that the original drawings might have been preserved, and the present staircase built from them; but whoever was the designer, it stands as one of the most beautiful things in Oxford, and one which no visitor should omit seeing.
The buildings hitherto described or mentioned are all in Oxford, but there is another in its immediate neighbourhood which is worth notice; this is Water Eaton, a house which appears to have been built in the beginning of James I.’s reign, and to have been the residence of Lord Lovelace. It is now a farm-house, but remains in a perfect and almost unaltered state. The house has transomed windows and a projecting porch, ornamented with pillars and pilasters. It has a large court-yard, with a detached building for offices on each side of the gateway in front. On the north side of the court-yard is the chapel, having a yard on the south side. It is this building which is remarkable, as it remains almost in the same state as when built, the screen, pulpit, and open seats being the same as when first put in, and the building, though late, has scarcely any mixture of the later style.
The plan consists of a nave and chancel, divided by a chancel-arch and screen, and having diagonal buttresses at all the angles. There are no windows on the north side, but on the south the nave has two, and the chancel one; and there are an east and west window, and a door on the south side. The doorway is pointed under a square label. The arches of the windows are much depressed, but slightly pointed; the lights are foliated and carried up to the head without tracery. The east window has five lights, and the others three lights each. The moldings are of late character, but not debased; the bell-cot and cross are modern.
Roof of Chapel, Water Eaton, Oxon.
The construction of this roof is very good, and quite of the genuine mediæval or Gothic character, better than many roofs of the Victorian era.