Fig. 24.—Early English Spire. Church of St. Mary Magdalene, Warboys, Lincolnshire.
In the Dec. period it was common to finish the tower by a parapet, and to start the spire behind the parapet, sometimes with a broach, often without. Pinnacles were frequently added at the corners of the tower, and an arch, like that of a flying buttress, was sometimes thrown across from the pinnacle to the spire. Spire-lights occur as before, and the surface of the spire is often enriched by bands of ornament at intervals. The general proportions of the spire were more slender than before, and the rib, which generally ran up each angle, was often enriched by crockets, i.e. tufts of leaves arranged in a formal shape (Fig. [25]).
Fig. 25.—Decorated Spire. All Saints’ Church, Oakham, Rutlandshire.
Towers were frequently intended to stand without spires in the Perp. period, and are often finished by four effective angle-pinnacles and a cornice with battlements. Where spires occur in this period they resemble those of the Dec. period.
Spires end usually in a boss or finial, surmounted by a weathercock. Ordinary roofs were usually finished by ornamental cresting, and their summits were marked by finials,[20] frequently of exquisite workmanship.