Last updated St Peter-on-the-Wall (660-662) in Bradwell-on-Sea, Essex, one of the oldest surviving churches in England
Church architecture of England refers to the architecture of buildings of Christian churches in England. It has evolved over the two thousand years of the Christian religion, partly by innovation and partly by imitating other architectural styles as well as responding to changing beliefs, practices and local traditions. Christian architecture encompasses a wide range of both secular and religious styles from the foundation of Christianity to the present day, influencing the design and construction of buildings and structures in Christian culture. From the birth of Christianity to the present, the most significant period of transformation for Christian architecture and design was the Gothic cathedral.
In England, Saxon churches still survive in some places, the oldest example being the Church of St Peter-on-the-Wall, Bradwell-on-Sea. But with the Norman conquest, increasingly the new Romanesque churches, often called Norman in England, became the rule. These were massive in relation to the space they enclosed, their walls pierced by windows with semi-circular arches. Internal vaulting used the same shaped arch. Unsupported roofs were never very wide. Yet some of these buildings were huge and of extraordinary beauty. The Abbey church of St. Mary Madgalene at Vézelay in Burgundy and Durham Cathedral in England are two very different examples of this form.
The Middle Ages
The next development was due to the mobility of the master masons whose work this was. They followed the Crusades and built their own churches in the Holy Land, most notably the Church of St. Anne in Jerusalem. However, they also noticed that the local Muslim architecture deployed the much more flexible two-point or Gothic arch. The semi-circular arch was heavy and, in spite of this, resulted in weaknesses when two barrel vaults intersected. The 'gothic arch' on the other hand was stronger and could be used to make for wider unsupported spaces.
Salisbury Cathedral completed 1265
Thus there came to Europe, first the narrow, lancet window, often found in pairs or triplets, called in England the Early English style (here seen at Salisbury cathedral). Examples of parish churches include Eaton Bray in Bedfordshire and West Walton in Norfolk; it is most commonly found in the south eastern counties. The style was spare, simple and monastic in character with little carving The period is reckoned by Pevsner to run from about 1190 to 1250. In spite of its name the style was at one time called the French style and it is to be found all over the British Isles.
By the late thirteenth century, more daringly ornate styles of tracery were tried – the so-called Decorated, dating from 1290 to 1350. Initially geometric, using circles as well as the two point arch, it derived from the French Rayonnant style. However, it slowly became more daring and flowing; the name curvilinear has been ascribed to it. Windows became larger, increasing the number of mullions (the vertical bars dividing the main part of the window) between the lights; above them, within the arch of the window, the tracery was formed using shapes styled 'daggers' and 'mouchettes', trefoils and quatrefoils; completely circular rose windows were made, incorporating all manner of shapes. More formal reticulated (netlike) tracery can also be found, as in Wells Cathedral. Exotic forms included the ogee arch, in which the curves of the arch are reversed in the upper part thus meeting at an acute angle at the apex; others included so-called Kentish tracery with its insertion of spikey points between the rounded lobes of trefoils and quatrefoils. Larger windows inevitably weakened the walls which were now supported by large exterior buttresses which came to be a feature. Columns forming the arcades within churches of this period became more slender and elegant, the foliage of the capitals more flowing. Examples of the earlier form include the choir and chapter house of Westminster Abbey and the north transept of Hereford Cathedral; later forms include the nave of York Minster. The octagon at Ely, a timber framed lantern tower over the crossing, demonstrates the adventurousness of the developed style. But it can be seen in parish churches from Snettisham and Aylsham in Norfolk to Beverly in Yorkshire and Madley in Herefordshire. There were undoubtedly many more examples but many were replaced by later developments.
Ornate two-storey "Perpendicular"-style south porch of 1480 at Northleach, Gloucestershire
Finally, the Perpendicular style (so-called because the mullions and transoms were vertical and horizontal) allowed huge windows, often filled with stained glass. The style, so described runs from about 1330, initially in parallel with the Decorated style, until 1530. Sometimes criticised as over formal, the spaces allowing for glass were huge. Another feature was that doorways were often enclosed by squared mouldings and the spaces between the moulding and the door arch – called spandrels were decorated with quatrefoils etc. Ornate stone ceilings, using so-called fan vaulting, made for huge unsupported spaces. King's College Chapel, Cambridge has magnificent specimens of these. Meanwhile, the Lady Chapel of Ely Cathedral has an unsupported stone ceiling approximately 30 feet by 80 feet, using a star formation of lierne vaults and bosses.
Fan Vaulting (1512-1515), King's College Chapel, Cambridge
The late mediaeval period saw an unequalled development in church architecture in England. Walls became thinner; solid buttresses became more elegant flying buttresses surmounted by pinnacles; towers, often surmounted by stone spires became taller, and more decorated, often castellated; internal pillars became more slender; unsupported spaces between them wider; roofs, formerly safely steeply pitched became flatter, often decorated with carved wooden angels and a bestiary, where they were steep they were supported by carved hammer beams; windows occupied more and more of the wall space; decorative carving more freely flowing; figures multiplied, particularly on the west fronts of cathedrals and abbeys. Finally with the cessation of the wars with the French and the apparent ending of the Wars of the Roses with the return of Edward IV in 1471, there was more money around so that new buildings could be put up and existing buildings enlarged. "Hardly had such towers risen on all sides; never had such timber roofs and screens been hewn and carved..." (Harvey) This is the period of the building of wool Churches like Long Melford and Lavenham and of King's College Chapel in Cambridge.
The interiors of mediaeval churches, apart from their many altars and stained glass (which, of course can only be properly seen from inside) had their purpose made visually plain by the almost universal presence of roods, huge figures of the crucified Christ, high above the congregation, mounted on a rood loft at the chancel arch -with steps to enable the priest to climb up; something which no one could miss. A wooden rood screen beneath might have painted on it figures of the apostles and angels.
The Protestant Reformation
With the reign of Henry VIII all of this was to be first put in question and then to come to a shuddering halt. On his death, and the accession of Edward VI almost all of the internal decoration was to be destroyed. The chantries and guilds which supported them became illegal or their functions taken from them. Images were removed, Saints' days massively reduced. The Churches echoed to the sound of hammer blows as stone altars and images were smashed, glass broken, font covers and roods and their screens torn down and burnt. Those who had formerly been benefactors were more wary, given the changes of direction of governmental policy which was to last more than 150 years. They spent their money on great houses instead[citation needed].
The auditory church
Interior of Wren Church: St Mary-Le-Bow (1671-1673), London
In the seventeenth century, across Western Europe, a return was seen towards the single room church in which everything could be seen. In Protestant countries these were somewhat simple and, among the finest examples, from an architectural point of view were the churches of Sir Christopher Wren. This was a one-room design in which altar and pulpit were both visible. Churches were to be sufficiently small, including galleries, so that all could see what was taking place. Chancels were suppressed, screens were deemed unnecessary obstructions. Buildings had three defined centres: the font – by the door, the pulpit and reading desk, and the altar. Within Lutheranism similar principles obtained. The Prinzipalstück ideal was of an oblong building without a chancel with a single space at the east end combining all liturgical acts: baptism, service of the word and communion. These ideas, with variations, were to affect the building of nonconformist chapels in seventeenth century England. Galleries increased the capacity without increasing the distance between worshipper and preacher.
The Royal Arms – a distinctive feature in English churches
Two notable heraldic features started appearing in English churches during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. One of these was the funerary hatchment, which was basically a coat of arms displayed on either a black or a black and white lozenge, and commemorated a notable local person.[1]
The other was a representation of the Royal Arms, a feature of Anglican churches, representing the monarch's role as head of the Church of England.[1] The arms has been made in several different forms. It has been done as a painting, as an embroidery, or as a relief made out of wood, stone or iron.[2]
The usage of the Royal Arms in English churches originated in the mediaeval period, in places associated with the English monarchy. A classic surviving example is the arms of Henry VI in King's College Chapel, Cambridge.[2]
After the Reformation, it became customary to display the Royal Arms as a symbol of the sovereign's role as Head of the Church. The arms was traditionally positioned above the altar, as a replacement for the rood screen. Over time, however, churches would have the arms located wherever the parishioners would deem appropriate – over the chancel arch, on a side wall, or over the west door.[2]
Mary I, as a Roman Catholic, ordered the Royal Arms to be removed from churches and kept hidden away, but the features were brought back and improved under her successor, Elizabeth I. Oliver Cromwell was the only other ruler who discouraged the use of the Royal Arms.[2]
The usage of the Royal Arms in English churches started to decline in the 1830s, owing to the Victorian fashion for "Christianisation", and as a consequence, few English churches built from Victorian times onwards use the arms.[2]
In the nineteenth century, in England as elsewhere, more money became available for new churches. Gothic revival styles became popular and as urban populations grew, major neo-Gothic churches were built to accommodate them. The passing of the Catholic Relief Act allowed the construction of new churches for England's Roman Catholics, and these were also done in the neo-Gothic style. Finally, this style, in a modified form, was also used for the design of Methodist and other Nonconformist churches, which were also increasing in number during this time.[1]
The usage of tracery, buttresses with carved pinnacles, tiled roofs and glazing formed one feature of church architecture in the Victorian era, while a deep chancel, with an arch and crucifix, formed another. Although this was not unusual for Roman Catholic churches, it seemed alien to the Church of England, but was nevertheless adopted.[3]
All Saints Margaret Street, London
During this time, individual architects began to make their influence felt on the churches they built in England. One of the earliest was Augustus Pugin, who designed Roman Catholic churches; however, few of his works are appreciated today except for St Giles' Church at Cheadle in Staffordshire.[3]
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe that was predominant in the 11th and 12th centuries. The style eventually developed into the Gothic style with the shape of the arches providing a simple distinction: the Romanesque is characterized by semicircular arches, while the Gothic is marked by the pointed arches. The Romanesque emerged nearly simultaneously in multiple countries ; its examples can be found across the continent, making it the first pan-European architectural style since Imperial Roman architecture. Similarly to Gothic, the name of the style was transferred onto the contemporary Romanesque art.
Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture. It originated in the Île-de-France and Picardy regions of northern France. The style at the time was sometimes known as opus Francigenum ; the term Gothic was first applied contemptuously during the later Renaissance, by those ambitious to revive the architecture of classical antiquity.
Cathedrals, collegiate churches, and monastic churches like those of abbeys and priories, often have certain complex structural forms that are found less often in parish churches. They also tend to display a higher level of contemporary architectural style and the work of accomplished craftsmen, and occupy a status both ecclesiastical and social that an ordinary parish church rarely has. Such churches are generally among the finest buildings locally and a source of regional pride. Many are among the world's most renowned works of architecture. These include St Peter's Basilica, Notre-Dame de Paris, Cologne Cathedral, Salisbury Cathedral, Antwerp Cathedral, Prague Cathedral, Lincoln Cathedral, the Basilica of Saint-Denis, Santa Maria Maggiore, the Basilica of San Vitale, St Mark's Basilica, Westminster Abbey, Saint Basil's Cathedral, Antoni Gaudí's incomplete Sagrada Família and the ancient cathedral of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, now a mosque.
Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term rose window was not used before the 17th century and comes from the English flower name rose.
Tracery is an architectural device by which windows are divided into sections of various proportions by stone bars or ribs of moulding. Most commonly, it refers to the stonework elements that support the glass in a window. The purpose of the device is practical as well as decorative, because the increasingly large windows of Gothic buildings needed maximum support against the wind. The term probably derives from the tracing floors on which the complex patterns of windows were laid out in late Gothic architecture. Tracery can be found on the exterior of buildings as well as the interior.
Rayonnant was a very refined style of Gothic Architecture which appeared in France in the 13th century. It was the defining style of the High Gothic period, and is often described as the high point of French Gothic architecture. French architects turned their attention from building cathedrals of greater size and height towards bringing greater light into the cathedral interiors and adding more extensive decoration. The architects made the vertical columns and supports thinner, made extensive use of pinnacles and moldings. They combined the triforium gallery and the clerestory into single space and filled it with stained glass. They made extensive use of moldings and bar tracery to decorate the exteriors and interiors.
St. Augustine's Church is an active Anglican church in Pendlebury, Greater Manchester, England. Dedicated to St Augustine, it is part of the benefice of Swinton and Pendlebury along with St Peter's Church in Swinton and All Saints' Church in Wardley. The church is in the Eccles deanery, the archdeaconry of Salford and the diocese of Manchester. The church was granted Grade II* listed status in 1966 but has since been upgraded to Grade I.
Bordeaux Cathedral, officially known as the Primatial Cathedral of St Andrew of Bordeaux, is a Catholic church dedicated to Saint Andrew and located in Bordeaux, France. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Bordeaux.
St. Luke's Church, also known as Old Brick Church, or Newport Parish Church, is a historic church building, located in the unincorporated community of Benns Church, near Smithfield in Isle of Wight County, Virginia, United States. It is the oldest church in Virginia and oldest church in British North America of brick construction. According to local tradition the structure was built in 1632, but other evidence points to a date of 1682; see Dating controversy.
English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed arches, rib vaults, buttresses, and extensive use of stained glass. Combined, these features allowed the creation of buildings of unprecedented height and grandeur, filled with light from large stained glass windows. Important examples include Westminster Abbey, Canterbury Cathedral and Salisbury Cathedral. The Gothic style endured in England much longer than in Continental Europe.
St Mary's Church is in Knowsley Lane, Knowsley Village, Merseyside, England. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Liverpool, the archdeaconry of Liverpool and the deanery of Huyton. In the Buildings of England series, Pollard and Pevsner describe the church as being "largish" with "an intimate interior".
The Church of St Andrew & St Mary in Pitminster, Somerset, England was built around 1300 and has been designated as a Grade I listed building.
Early Gothic is the term for the first period of Gothic architecture which lasted from about 1120 until about 1200. The early Gothic builders used innovative technologies to resolve the problem of masonry ceilings which were too heavy for the traditional arched barrel vault. The solutions to the problem came in the form of the rib vault, where thin stone ribs passed the weight of the ceiling to rows of columns and outside the walls to another innovation, the flying buttress.
St Mary's Church is in the town of Windermere, Cumbria, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Windermere, the archdeaconry of Westmorland and Furness, and the diocese of Carlisle. Its benefice is united with that of St Martin's Church, Bowness-on-Windermere; St Anne's Church, Ings; St Cuthbert's Church, Kentmere; St James' Church, Staveley and Jesus Church, Troutbeck. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.
St Silas' Church is in Preston New Road, Blackburn, Lancashire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Blackburn with Darwen, the archdeaconry of Blackburn, and the diocese of Blackburn. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.
St Mary's Church is in St Mary's Street, Crewe, Cheshire, England. It is an active Roman Catholic parish church in the diocese of Shrewsbury. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.
St Peter's Church is a Catholic church in Woolwich, South East London. It is situated between Woolwich New Road and Brookhill Road, the main entrance being on Woolwich New Road. The church was designed by Augustus Pugin in 1841–42 in the style of the Gothic Revival and is one of only three Pugin churches in London. Pugin's design remained unfinished as the projected tower and spire were never built. The parish of St Peter the Apostle serves the Catholic community of central Woolwich and surrounding areas, and is part of the Archdiocese of Southwark which is in the Province of Southwark.
Gothic cathedrals and churches are religious buildings created in Europe between the mid-12th century and the beginning of the 16th century. The cathedrals are notable particularly for their great height and their extensive use of stained glass to fill the interiors with light. They were the tallest and largest buildings of their time and the most prominent examples of Gothic architecture. The appearance of the Gothic cathedral was not only a revolution in architecture; it also introduced new forms in decoration, sculpture, and art.
St Margaret's Church is a 13th-century Church of England church in the village of Whaddon, Gloucestershire, England. It has been a grade II* listed building since 10 January 1955. The church tower is a dominant feature within the surrounding flat area.
Perpendicular Gothic architecture was the third and final style of English Gothic architecture developed in the Kingdom of England during the Late Middle Ages, typified by large windows, four-centred arches, straight vertical and horizontal lines in the tracery, and regular arch-topped rectangular panelling. Perpendicular was the prevailing style of Late Gothic architecture in England from the 14th century to the 17th century. Perpendicular was unique to the country: no equivalent arose in Continental Europe or elsewhere in the British-Irish Isles. Of all the Gothic architectural styles, Perpendicular was the first to experience a second wave of popularity from the 18th century on in Gothic Revival architecture.
References
1 2 3 Treasures of Britain and Treasures of Ireland (1976ed.). Drive Publications. p.677. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
1 2 3 4 5 Hasler, Charles (1980). The Royal Arms – Its Graphic And Decorative Development. Jupiter. pp.87, 93, 97. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
1 2 3 Curl, James Stevens (1995). Victorian Churches (English Heritage). Batsford. pp.35, 49, 67, 71. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
↑ Curl, James Stevens (1995). Victorian Churches (English Heritage). Batsford. pp.102–103. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
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