GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE IN GREAT BRITAIN
Gothic architecture in England and Scotland followed to some extent the same lines as in France, with, however, certain notable differences that were the outcome of the national feeling which had begun to make itself felt as early as the close of the 11th century. Until then the Normans had remained a distinct and alien element in what appeared to them a foreign land, but now they had become fused with the natives of that land, sharing their æsthetic as well as their political aspirations. The note of change was first sounded in the architecture of the now united races in a rebellion against the heavy massiveness of the Norman style, and a desire for a greater redundancy of what may be called structural decoration in place of extraneous surface ornamentation. The general proportions of buildings gradually became slenderer, the walls loftier, the windows longer, the piers and columns slighter, and the arches more pointed, these peculiarities becoming more and more accentuated as time went on, till they culminated in the noble and exquisitely beautiful cathedrals and churches that vied even with the best of those of Northern France.
It is usual to divide the development of English Gothic architecture into three periods: the Early English, the Decorated, and the Perpendicular—the first prevailing from about 1189 to 1307, the second from the latter date to 1380, and the third from 1380 to 1485, whilst the name of Tudor has been given to the transitional time between the last phase of Gothic and the introduction of the Renaissance style, lasting from 1485 to about 1546. It must, however, be added that hardly any buildings exist belonging entirely to one period, architects having in almost every case been compelled to be content with adding to or modifying the work of their predecessors.
Amongst the characteristics of Early English architecture are groined vaulting with main diagonal ribs only, long narrow lancet-headed windows, clustered piers with capitals consisting generally of delicately carved foliage, pointed arcading, the archivolt or arched portion enriched with mouldings, in which the ornament known as the dog-tooth is of frequent occurrence, ornate yet dignified western façades with deeply recessed doorways decorated with slender columns and beautiful bas-reliefs, high-pitched roofs with stilted gable ends, lofty towers and spires, and plain buttresses ranged in pairs at the angles of buildings.
The Early English lancet window has a unique significance in the development of Gothic architecture this side of the Channel, for it inaugurated an important structural change, its constantly increasing length aiding greatly in the breaking up of the triple division of walls—supposed by some to have been emblematic of the Holy Trinity—with arcading, triforium, and clerestory. By slow degrees the triforium was first reduced to a mere decorative feature, and then eliminated altogether, whilst the clerestory usurped its place in addition to its own.
