duced alternately, sometimes we find one capriciously inserted between several round ones These are, for the most part, obtusely pointed, though occasionally they are the reverse. They are always wide, stand on heavy columns, or are decorated with mouldings, or both. The approaches to the pointed style were not strongly marked, but they were indicated; for the pointed style cannot be pronounced to have commenced until the sharp-pointed arch sprung from a slender column graced with a capital of carved foliage, and this it is not saf to place earlier than the reign of John. The arch which rises more than a semicircle does not very often occur; but it must be mentioned as exhibiting one of the varieties of the period. Columns. These are of very large diameter relative to their heights and intervals. Their shafts are circular, hexagonal, and sometimes octagonal, on the plan; fluted, lozenged, reticulated, and otherwise sculptured. Sometimes they are square on the plan, and then accompanied by portions of columns or pilasters applied to them. Sometimes four columns are connected together, with or without angular pieces. They are much higher in proportion to their diameters than the Saxon columns heretofore described; and though their capitals are not unfrequently quite plain, they are more commonly decorated with a species of volute, or with plants, flowers, leaves, shells, animals, &c. The bases stand on a strong plinth, adapted on its plan to receive the combined and varied forms of the columns. Windows, are stiil narrow, and semicircular-headed; but they are higher, and often in groups of two or three together. Ceilings, usually, if not always, of timber, except in crypts, in which they are vaulted with stone, with groins mostly plain, yet sometimes ornamented on the edge, but universally without tracery. The White Tower of London, however, exhibits an example of a centre aisle covered with vaulting. Our belief is, and in it we are corroborated by the Rev. Mr. Dallaway, whose judgment we hold in no small esteem, that there is no instance of a genuine Anglo-Norman building which was intended to be covered with a stone roof or ceiling. This is not only indicated by the detail, but by the circumstance of the walls being insufficient (thick as they are) in solidity to resist the thrust. Peterborough, Ely, St. Peter's, Northampton, Steyning, Romsey, &c. are calculated and constructed to receive wooden roofs only. Walls, are of extraordinary thickness, with but few buttresses, and those of small projection; flat, broad, and usually without ornament. Ornaments.-Among these must be first named the ranges of arches and pilasters which had nothing to support, already incidentally mentioned, and which were intended to fill up void spaces, internally as well as externally, for the purpose of breaking up large masses of surface; they are very common on the inside of north and south walls. sometimes intersecting each other so as to produce those compartments that are alleged to have given rise to the pointed arch. The mouldings of the Saxon period continued much in use, and we ought, perhaps, to have given some of them, as belonging to the preceding section; and, indeed, should have so done, if, in the Norman style, they had not increased in number and variety, and had not also been employed in profusion about the ornamental arches just named, especially in conspicuous places on the outside, as in the west front especially. The most usual ornaments (fig. 188.) were, 1. The chevron, or zigzag moulding; 2. The embattled frette; Fig. 187. PRIOR'S ENTRANCE AT ELY. 12 3. The triangular frette; 4. The nail head; 5. The billet; 6. The cable; 7. The hatched; 8. The lozenge; 9. The wavy; 10. The pellet moulding; 11. The nebule. The torus was used, as was also the cavetto, which were both of Grecian extraction. The chief of these ornaments, perhaps all, were used in the Saxon age, besides others which were occasionally employed, and which to designate by name would be difficult; such, for instance, as the corbel-table (12), which consists of small ranges of arches, resting on consoles sometimes decorated with carved heads, often introduced along the whole building immediately below the eaves or battlement. Sometimes carved heads are observed in the spandrels of arches, and are also used as capitals of the ornamental pilasters, or as corbels, to support what is called the canopy, or exterior semicircle of moulding on arches of entrance, or above the keystones of those arches. There are instances of whole figures over doors in mezzo-rilievo, which Millers observes was the nearest approach the Normans seem to have made to a statue. Plans. The churches of this period are always with transepts, and a tower at the intersection, loftier than heretofore, but without spires over them. There are rising from them stories of arches, one above the other; and the eastern ends are semicircular. Though much of the Saxon style is retained, there is, from the larger dimensions of the edifices of this period, a much more impressive air of magnificence than had before appeared. Millers very truly says, that the churches were "in all dimensions much ampler, with a general air of cumbrous massive grandeur. The Normans were fond of stateliness and magnificence; and though they retained the other characteristics of the Saxon style, by this amplification of dimensions they made such a striking change as might justly be entitled to the denomination which it received at its first introduction among our Saxon ancestors, of a new style of architecture.” The criterion between the Saxon and Norman styles, of enlarged dimensions, is too vague to guide the reader in a determination of the age of buildings of this period; for it is only in large edifices, such as cathedral and conventual churches, with their transepts, naves, side aisles, and arches in tier above tier, that this can be perceptible. There are many parish churches of this age, whose simplicity of form and small dimensions have been mistaken for Saxon buildings; and which, from not possessing any of the grander Norman features, have been assigned to an earlier age. The distinction ascertainable from heights of columns, namely, taking the height of the Norman column at from four to six diameters. and that of the Saxon at only two, will, we fear, be insufficient to decide the question in cases of doubt; but it must be admitted this is one of the means which, in some measure, would lead us to an approximate judgment of the matter, and a careful observation and comparison of specimens would make it more definite. We shall here merely add, that the first Norman architects, by the lengthened vista of the nave, uninterrupted by any choir screen, produced a sublime and imposing effect by the simple grandeur and amplitude of dimensions in their churches. 398. Examples.-Examples of Norman architecture in English cathedral churches are to be found at Ely, in the western towers and nave; at Bristol, in the elder Lady Chapel, and Chap ter House; at Canterbury in the choir, and the round part called Becket's Crown; at Norwich in the nave and choir; at Hereford, in the transept tower and choir; at Wells, in the nave and choir; at Chester, in the Chapter House; at Chichester, in the presbytery; at Peterborough, in the transept. In the conventual churches, for examples we may refer the reader to Liantony, near Monmouth; the nave and west front of Fountains, Yorkshire; the nave and chapel of St. Joseph, at Glastonbury; the west front at Selby, in Yorkshire; many parts at St. Alban's; the choir at Wenlock, in Shropshire; Cartmell, in Lancashire; Furness; West End, at Byland, with the wheel window, and the south transept; parts of Bolton, in Yorkshire; part of Brinkbourn, in Northumberland; part of Edmondsbury, in Suffolk; and St John's Church, at Chester. For examples of parochial churches, Melton, Suffolk; Sotterton and Sleaford, Lincolnshire; Christchurch, Hampshire; Sherbourn Minster, Dorset; Winchelsea, Steyning, and New Shoreham, Sussex; chancel of St. Peter's, Oxford; Earl's Burton Tower, Northamptonshire; West Walton Tower, Norfolk; Iffley, Oxfordshire; Castle Rising Norfolk; St. Margaret's Porch, at York; St. Peter's Church, Northampton; besides several round or polygonal bell-towers, both in Suffolk and Norfolk, —may be referred to. Examples of military Norman architecture, from 1070 to 1270, were at Launceston, Cornwall, Arundel, Sussex; Windsor, in Berks (rebuilt); Tower of London; the square keeps of Hlingham, Essex; Caerphilly, Glamorgan; Carisbrook, Isle of Wight; Porchester, Hants (1160); Guildford, Surrey; Bamborough, Northumberland; Kenilworth, Warwickshire; Richmond, Yorkshire; Cardiff, Glamorganshire; Canterbury, Kent; Oxford (1071); Newcastle, Northumberland (1120); Gisborough, Yorkshire (1120); Castle Rising, Norfolk; Middleham, Yorkshire; Cockermouth, Cumberland; Durham (1153); Lincoln (1086); Berkeley, Gloucestershire (1153); Lancaster; Orford, Suffolk, polygonal (1120); Ludlow, Salop (1120); Kenilworth, enlarged (1220); Warkworth, Northumberland, square, with the angles cut off; Denbigh; Beeston, Cheshire; Hawarden, Pembrokeshire. SECT. III. EARLY ENGLISH ARCHITECTURE. 399. The next period of architecture in Britain which comes under our consideration following, as we consider it, the sensible classification of the Rev. Mr. Millers, is that which he has denominated the early English style, whose duration was from about 1200 to 1300; extending, therefore, through the reigns of John, Henry III., and Edward I., during which the building of churches and monasteries was still considered one of the most effectual means of obtaining the pardon of sin, and consequently the favour of Heaven. In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the churches built in Britain were almost innumerable. 400. We have already noticed (chap. ii. sect. xv.) the introduction of the pointed arch into architecture; a feature which completely changed, from all that previously existed, the cha racter of the edifices to which it was applied. If any service could be rendered to the history of the art, or if the solution of the problem, "who were its inventors?" could throw any useful light on the manners and customs of the people that first adopted it, we should be the last to relinquish the investigation. The question has furnished employment to many literary idlers, but the labour they have bestowed on the subject has not thrown any light on it; and excepting the late Mr. Whittington and the late Prof. Willis, of Cambridge, on whose valuable enquiries we cannot sufficiently enlarge, they might have been more usefully engaged. This statement must necessarily be modified in consequence of the publications of the learned labours of Mr. Fergusson, of which we have so largely availed our. selves in the above-named section; besides those of Thomas Rickman, of Mr. Sharpe, and of other ardent enquirers on this and kindred subjects. 401. During the reign of Henry III. alone, no less a number than 157 abbeys, priories and other religious houses were founded in England. Several of our cathedrals and conventual churches in a great part belong to this period, in which the lancet or sharp-pointed arch first appeared in the buildings of this country, though on the Continent it was used nearly a century earlier. The great wealth of the clergy, added to the zeal of the laity, furnished ample funds for the erection of the magnificent structures projected; but it was with extreme difficulty that workmen could be procured to execute them. With the popes it was, of course, an object that churches should be erected and convents endowed. On the subject of the employment of Freemasons we have already expressed our views (par. 308, et seq.), therefore we cannot coincide with Wren, Parentalia, in stating that they ranged from one nation to another, their government was regular, and they made a camp of huts; a surveyor governed in chief; every tenth man was called a warden, and overlooked each nine. "Those who have seen the account in records of the charge of the Ebries of some of our cathedrals, near 400 years old, cannot but have a great esteem for their economy, and admire how soon they erected such lofty structures. It was in the course of this period that sculpture was first made extensively available for architectu decoration. The cathedral, conventual, and other churches built in Britain, began to ornamented on the outside with statues of various dimensions in basso and alto rilie They were not equal in execution to those of France, which have also had the addition good fortune to have been better preserved, from their exposure to seasons less incleme and to an atmosphere unimpregnated with the smoke of coal. 402. Great improvements seem to have taken place in the castles of the time; they st continued to serve for the dwelling and defence of the prelates and barons of the counti The plans of them were generally similar to those already described; but it must still conceded that the inhabitants and owners of them sacrificed their convenience to the security, which seems to have been the chief concern in the construction of their castle whose apartments were gloomy, whose bed-chambers were few and small, whose passag were narrow and intricate, and their stairs steep and dark. The plan, however, Mr. Dallaway observes," whic allowed of enlarged dimensior and greater regularity and beau in the architecture of the tower, owes its introduction into Eng land to King Edward I. W may, indeed consider his reign the epoch of the grand style accommodation and magnificent combined in castle architectur When engaged in the Crusades, b surveyed with satisfaction the supe rior form and strength of the castle in the Levant and in the Hol Land." Of the five castles erecte by him in Wales, Caernarvon (fig. 189.), Conway (fig. 190., showing the suspension bridge and the railway bridge beyond it), Harlech, and Beaumaris still retain traces of their an cient magnificence; but that of Aberystwith has scarcely a feature left. Caernarvon Castl Fig. 189 CAERNARVON CASTLE. consisted of two distinct parts. one military, and suited to the reception of a garrison; the other palatial. The ground plan was oblong, unequally divided into a lower and an upper ward. Of the towers, which are all polygonal, the largest, from some tradition called the Eagle Tower, has threesmall angular turrets rising from it; the others having but one of the same description. "The enclosing walls," continues Mr. Dallaway, "are seven feet thick, with alures and parapets pierced frequently with œillet holes. A great singularity is observable in the extreme height both of the great entrance gate and that which is called the Queen's. Leland observes of the portcullises at Pembroke, that they were composed ex solido ferro. In confirmation of the opinion that the royal founder adopted the form of such gates of entrance from the East, similar ones are almost universal in the castles, mosques, and palaces of the Saracens, which he had so frequently seen during the Crusades. The tower of entrance from the town of Caernarvon is still perfect, and is the most handsome structure of that age in the kingdom. It is at least 100 ft. high; and the gateway, of very remarkable depth, is formed by a succession of ribbed arches, sharply pointed. The grooves for three portcullises may be discovered; and above them are circular perforations, through which missile weapons and molten lead might be discharged upon the assailants. In the lower or palatial division of the castle stand a large polygonal tower of four stories, which was appropriated to Queer Eleanor, and in which her ill-fated son was born, and another which was occupied by the king, of a circular shape externally, but square towards the court. The apartments in the last mentioned are larger, and lighted by windows with square heads, and intersected with carved mullions. There is a singular contrivance in the battlements, each of which had an excavation for the archers to stand in, pointing their arrows through the slits; and, a curious stratagem, the carved figures of soldiers with helmets, apparently looking over the parapet. This device is repeated at Chepstow." The ornamental character of the architecture at Caernarvon and Conway is rather ecclesiastical, or conventual, than military. At Conway, as has been well observed by an anonymous author, "what is called the Queen's Oriel is remarkable for the fancy, luxuriance, and elegance of the workmanship. Nor is the contrivance of the little terraced garden below, considering the history of the times, a matter of small curiosity, where, though all the surrounding country were hostile, fresh air might be safely enjoyed; and the commanding view of the singularly beautiful landscape around, from both that little herbary or garden, and the bay window or oriel, is so managed as to leave no doubt of its purpose." 403. The model of Conway Castle has little resemblance to that we have just left. It resembles rather the fortresses of the last Greek emperors, or of the chieftains of the north of Italy. The towers are mostly circular, as are their turrets, with a single slender one rising from each; and machicolations, not seen at Caernarvon, are introduced. The greater part of the castles of Wales and Scotland for the defence of the marches were built in the reign of Edward I. On the subjugation of the former country, and its partition into lordships among Edward's followers, many castles were reared upon the general plan of those he had erected, though varying in dimensions and situation, according to the means of defence proposed to be secured to their founders and possessors. We may here observe, that in the castle at Conway Edward I. erected a hall 129 ft. by 31, and 22 ft. high, which is formed to suit the curvature of the rock; and that from that period no residence of consequence, either for the nobility or feudal lords, Fig. 192. TREFOIL AND CINQUEFOIL HEADS. was erected with- 404. Caer-Phil- Fig. 193. COLUMNS OF WESTMINSTER ARREY. of the castles of this period. It was the strong-hold of the De Spencers in the reign of the second Edward. Its vallations and remains are very extensive. The hall was much larger than that at Conway. 405. The characteristics of this style are, that the arches are sharply (lancet) pointed, and Fig. 195. CAPITAL OF COLUMN. lofty in proportion to their span. In the upper tiers two or more are comprehended under one, finished in trefoil or cinquefoil heads (fig. 192.) instead of points, the separating columns being very slender. Columns on which the arches rest (fig. 193.) are very slender in proportion to their height, and usually consist of a central shaft surrounded by several smaller ones (fig. 194.). The base takes the general form of the cluster, and the capital (fig. 195.) is frequently decorated with foliage very elegantly composed. The windows are long, narrow, and lancet shaped, whence some writers have called this style the Lancet Gothic. They are divided by one plain mullion, N |