From the 13th to the 16th centuries the history of each English cathedral varies according to if, and when, sections of the building were re-built, repaired or extended. However, there were examples of additions to the groundplan, the most significant of which in terms of the extent of the built complex was the addition of […]
Today’s illustration, taken from Thomas Rickman’s book (s.p.b.), shows the type of features in church architecture that defined what Rickman named as the ‘Early English’ style. The reason for this name seems obscure but it defines the move from reliance on the round-headed arch (see previous illustration) to the use of the pointed-arch for doors,
Throughout the Middle Ages (c.1100 – 1530s) no new diocese were created although at Salisbury, for example, the old Anglo-Norman cathedral at Old Sarum was replaced by a new cathedral and cloistral range of buildings for a colony of secular canons (s.p.b.s) all constructed between 1220 and 1258, although its famous crossing tower and ‘needle’
Today’s photo, taken from an old postcard purchased long ago, shows Ely cathedral’s west entrance and west porch with the single west tower behind and beyond, over the crossing, the octagonal lantern tower, this completed in 1322 and was then the most progressive architecture of its day. Monastic cathedrals (those served by Benedictine monks) had
Today’s picture shows Turner’s painting of the south transept of Ely cathedral plus the central octagon lighting the crossing. By the eighth century it had evolved that each of the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England (as now), the so-called ‘Heptarchy’, had its cathedral although no modern cathedrals evidence the buildings of that time. However, with
Above, a photo. of Ely cathedral as viewed across water meadows from the south. Firstly a misconception – cathedrals are not defined by their ‘bigness’, for example, Beverley Minster (not a cathedral) is much larger (groundfloor area and volume) than Hereford cathedral. This misconception is further fuelled by ‘pseudo’ cathedrals e.g. Patrington church in Holderness