London is exactly contemporary with Canterbury, having been consecrated in 1185, the year when that work was completed. It is somewhat less advanced in style, possibly from a preference felt among the Templars for the Romanesque. The pillars and main arches, with the vaulting generally, it is true, are quite advanced Pointed, and are exceedingly beautiful; but the triforium consists of an intersecting arcade, as at St. Cross, and the windows are quite Norman; while, on the other hand, the wall-arcading is pointed. The capitals are of several varieties; most of them are of the simple water-leaf form so prevalent in the north of England, while others are founded on the cushion and the crochet forms.
It is exceedingly vexatious that the dates of buildings of this period are so difficult to be ascertained.
Even where we know by whom they were erected, their founders were often so long-lived as to render the information perfectly indefinite. Thus, Pudsey presided over the see of Durham for forty years, Roger over York for nearly thirty years, and Henry de Blois over Winchester forty-two years; and Walkelin de Ferrers, who built the hall at Oakham Castle, held the manor from 1161 to 1201.
Among the later works of the transition may be mentioned the eastern part of Chichester Cathedral[28] ([Fig. 80]), a most beautiful example, of which I give an internal view; and a yet nobler specimen is the eastern portion of Tynemouth Abbey ([Fig. 81]). Of this I give a restored view, in which I have supplied one of the bays which have fallen, and also the vaulting, with its curious termination,
Fig. 80.—Chichester Cathedral, Eastern Part.
Fig. 81.—The Choir, Tynemouth Abbey.