English Gothic Architecture
2024 Free Course: Early English Gothic Architecture Style Period
We are discussing the Early English Style of Gothic architecture that spanned from 1189 – 1272 first because of its importance to the origin of this style. Even though it started in France, the English origins played a very important role in its creation and shaping. Thus, we thought we should mention this important English influence early on. We will, however, cover English Gothic Architecture again in this research.
During this era, English architects and artists fully embraced this style of art and design. Buildings were mostly free from Romanesque influence and embraced the new structures of medieval architecture, along with ornamentation and carvings.
Outline:
Early English Gothic Architecture Style Period
Key Features of the Early English Gothic Architecture Period
- Introduction of the flying buttress, pointed arch, and ribbed vaulting.
- Pointed arch openings and support, also known as lancet arches.
- Lancet windows that were larger and wider.
- Moldings carved with great depth.
- Tooth ornamentation.
- Large rose windows.
- Emphasis on increased height.
- Clusters of slender columns surrounding a central pillar (or pier).
Key Features of the Early English Gothic Architecture Style
- Tooth Ornamentation in Early English Gothic Architecture
- Foliage: The Foliage as an Architectural Element of Early English Gothic Architecture design
Distinctive Early English Gothic Iconic Building Examples
- Wells Cathedral, Somerset, England.
- Westminster Abbey, London, England.
- Lincoln Cathedral, Canterbury, England.
Gothic Architecture Style Distinctive Periods: Decorated Gothic Architecture Periods
Tracery in Gothic Architecture Style
- Tracery in Gothic Architecture: What Does Tracery Mean in Architecture?
- Key Features of Tracery in Gothic Architecture
Early English Leaves
Gothic Architecture Style Tracery
- Iconic Gothic Architecture Buildings With Tracery Examples
Perpendicular Gothic Architecture Period
- Key Features of The Perpendicular Gothic Architecture (AKA Rectilinear, Perpendicular, or Third Pointed Architecture Style)
- Gothic Tudor Flower
- Tudor Flower as Distinctive Key Features of The Perpendicular Gothic Architecture Style
- Examples of Famous Iconic Buildings of The Perpendicular Gothic Architecture Period
Key Features of the Early English Gothic Architecture Style
What Are Key Features of the Early English Gothic Architecture Period?
- Introduction of the flying buttress, pointed arch, and ribbed vaulting.
- Pointed arch openings and support, also known as lancet arches.
- Lancet windows that were larger and wider.
- Moldings carved with great depth.
- Tooth ornamentation.
- Large rose windows.
- Emphasis on increased height.
- Clusters of slender columns surrounding a central pillar (or pier).
Tooth Ornamentation in Early English Gothic Architecture:
Foliage was used in an exquisite and delicate manner and was integrated into moldings and frameworks. Similar ornamentation was used on arches and piers to accentuate the structures. The trefoil leaf dominated ornamentation, but architects and artists varied in the ways they used their designs. Often, leaves were used in cornices, along groining, and within moldings of windows and doorways. Designs of the time were termed “Stiff-leaf."
Moldings used were bold and rounded, and hollows were cut with deep angles to produce effects of light and shade. Within the detail of the moldings, small pyramid shapes were used. These pyramids were cut into four leaves or petals meeting at the middle point. Ornamentation fashioned in this way was termed “tooth ornamentation” because it resembled a row of teeth. Foliage carvings used to decorate structures were created in a careful and delicate manner. Leaves curled over corners and edges, adding elegance to buildings. Crockets were also introduced during this era as a type of elaborate decoration. Marble shafts were used with pillars, and crockets were arranged vertically over each other.
Foliage: The Foliage as an Architectural Element of Early English Gothic Architecture design:
Define Foliage: Foliage is an architectural design element where plant and animal images are used in design and architecture as decoration.
This combination of molding and ornamentation was used on arches, doors, and windows. These distinctive carvings and works of art were very characteristic of the Early English Gothic style. Chester Cathedral and St.Hugh’s Choir, Lincoln, show examples of these particular designs.
Doorways were generally pointed and often used a type of opening called a Carnarvon arch, or a Shoulder arch. Rounded arches were used in the doorways and were distinguished by their moldings, with the occasional use of segmented arches in doorways.
In general, Early English Style buildings were comparatively lighter and had distinctive features externally and internally. Externally, buildings were shaped to appear long and narrow, were lancet-shaped, had pointed windows, were bold, and had projecting buttresses and with pitch roofs. Internally, buildings had pointed arches supporting slender and lofty pillars. Instead of heavy masses and horizontal lines along support structures, architects used light and graceful forms of vertical lines (see Westminster Abbey and Salisbury English Style as examples).
Salisbury Cathedral, Wiltshire, England
What are Some of the Distinctive Early English Gothic Iconic Building Examples?
- Wells Cathedral, Somerset, England.
- Westminster Abbey, London, England.
- Lincoln Cathedral, Canterbury, England.
Gothic Architecture Style Distinctive Periods: Decorated Gothic Architecture Periods
The Decorated Gothic Style spanned from 1300 – 1377 AD. Styles used in this era are also referred to as the Middle Pointed, Geometric, or Flamboyant styles. One of the most notable features of the Decorated style is the type of window tracery used in designs.
Tracery was used to decorate the large and wide windows of the time. These windows were subdivided by vertical bars of stone, known as mullions, and were adorned with elaborate tracery that incorporated trefoils (three leaves), quatrefoils (four leaves), and geometrical figures. Decorated tracery is categorized into three types: geometrical, flowing, and flamboyant.
Tracery in Gothic Architecture Style:
Tracery in Gothic Architecture: What Does Tracery Mean in Architecture?
Key Features of Tracery in Gothic Architecture:
- Distinctive window tracery that used trefoils and quatrefoils.
- Subdivision of windows by mullions (vertical bars of stone) that intersected with window tracery.
- Geometrical, flowing, and flamboyant tracery styles.
- Internal columns that were more slender and elegant compared to previous generations.
- Bolder moldings with the use of the ball-flower.
Early English Leaves
Early English Gothic Leaves
The ball-flower and the four-leafed flower replaced the tooth ornamentation that was typically used in the Early English era. Ornaments around the windows were delicately carved and were based on nature. Decorated Gothic Architecture stayed true to inspirations from nature and earth. Often, color was used in ornamentation. However, much of the colored work was whitewashed over by Puritans or Georgians who occupied the buildings. Some of the colors in these designs can be recovered and seen with modern restoration.
Moldings used were bolder and were cut with less depth. Designers used a narrow flat bend, also known as a fillet, with their moldings. Overall, moldings were more shallow and thin, but there was a strong focus on the vine-leaf, the maple tree and leaf, and the oak tree and acorn in moldings, and in designs overall.
Groined roofs/vaults used an additional number of ribs and included natural foliage on their bosses. Columns were more slender and elegant compared to previous designs. Doorways of this style were large and heavily sculptured. Often, the doorways also had a rich canopy over them with crockets. Externally, buttresses had a variety of forms and varying degrees of decorative richness. Over the buttresses, architects used gargoyles or ornamental water-spouts for decoration. Images of birds, insects, and animals were sometimes created by artists and were incorporated internally and externally.
Generally speaking, Decorated Gothic Architecture can be described as simple and magnificent compared to other styles. Buildings created were viewed as simple in terms of the number of spaces used but were viewed as magnificent because of the size of the windows and the flow and elegance of the tracery lines. The interior of the buildings was large and spacious, included an increased richness in groining and incorporated excessive ornamentation.
Gothic Architecture Style Tracery
Iconic Gothic Architecture Buildings With Tracery Examples:
- Exeter Cathedral, Devon, England.
- Lichfield Cathedral, Staffordshire, England.
Perpendicular Gothic Architecture Period
When was the Perpendicular period? In which country do we find The Perpendicular Style the most? Have you ever wondered why Gothic architecture in England is occasionally referred to as perpendicular Gothic? The Perpendicular Gothic Architecture Period was the most influential style of late Gothic architecture that roughly spanned from the late 13th century to the mid-15th century in England.
Perpendicular Gothic Architecture Style spanned from 1377 – 1547 and was exclusively an English style of art. Compared to previous styles, this form was more economical in its design. The main feature was the type of tracery used in the head of the windows and inside the buildings. Architects used rigid lines between and among the dividing sections of windows, and these lines were carried through to the moldings. Sections were divided and subdivided by perpendicular lines.
Key Features of The Perpendicular Gothic Architecture (AKA Rectilinear, Perpendicular, or Third Pointed Architecture Style):
- Linear tracery with vertical lines used in window design and decorations.
- Slimmer stone mullions (stone window dividers) which allowed for greater area in stained glass use.
- Decoration with panels on flat surfaces and walls.
- Tudor flower ornamentation.
- Square geometrical shapes used in structures and ornamentation.
- Shallower and wider moldings.
- Magnificent timber roofs.
Gothic Tudor Flower
Tudor Flower as Distinctive Key Features of The Perpendicular Gothic Architecture Style
Buildings of this period were covered with paneling, pronouncing the art of the perpendicular line. Whole surfaces of the building, including its buttresses and parapets, were frequently covered with paneling. Colleges at Oxford and Cambridge have examples of this style.
Vaulting was light and elegant and used delicate pendants and lace-like ornaments. Heavy ornamentation was used with no visible space left bare; either paneling or ornamentation would cover empty spaces on structures and walls. Moldings were shallower and wider, and often filled with heads, grotesque figures or animals, and foliage. This was a departure from previous styles that focused purely on nature. Empty sections in these buildings were filled with images and figures of people, along with figures of angels holding different musical instruments.
Tudor flower ornamentation was introduced with this style. The Tudor flower was a trefoil flower developed from the upright points of the crossing or the cusps of a foliated arch. Foliage used in designs also incorporated square shapes, which complemented the square panels, square crockets, and other square structures used.
Windows were immensely larger with slimmer stone subdivides, allowing for larger stained glass artistry. Magnificent timber roofs were also an Iconic of Perpendicular style, such as seen in Westminster Hall, United Kingdom. Open timber roofs had low pitch and used hammer beam construction. They were richly ornamented with carved figures of angels, and with tracery.
Perpendicular Style marked the last phase of English Gothic. This style was best known for its parallel vertically divided windows and the use of fan vaulting. Buildings of this time placed a heavy emphasis on vertical lines and intricate and delicate tracery.
Examples of Famous Iconic Buildings of The Perpendicular Gothic Architecture Period:
- King's College Chapel, Cambridge, England.
- Henry VII Lady Chapel, Westminster Abbey, London, England.
- Gloucester Cathedral, England.