Sidney Heath
Our Homeland Churches and How to Study Them
Published by Good Press, 2019
EAN 4064066238926
Table of Contents
STYLES OF ENGLISH ARCHITECTURE.
OUR HOMELAND CHURCHES AND HOW TO STUDY THEM.
EARLY BRITISH CHURCHES.
EARLY CHURCH ARCHITECTURE.
THE SAXON AND NORMAN STYLES.
THE EARLY ENGLISH STYLE.
THE DECORATED STYLE.
THE PERPENDICULAR STYLE.
THE RENAISSANCE AND LATER.
CHURCH FURNITURE AND ORNAMENTS.
BELLS AND BELFRIES.
THE SPIRE; ITS ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT.
STAINED GLASS.
CRYPTS.
HOW TO DESCRIBE AN OLD CHURCH.
A SHORT BIBLIOGRAPHY OF ENGLISH ECCLESIASTICAL ARCHITECTURE.
STYLES OF ENGLISH ARCHITECTURE.
The following periods of architectural style may be of use for the purpose of reference, but it must be borne in mind that they are more or less approximate, as each style merged by slow degrees into the next.
Norman: | William I. to Stephen. | 1066–1154. |
Transition Norman. | Henry II. | 1154–1189. |
Early English Gothic. | Richard I. to Henry III. | 1189–1272. |
Decorated. | Edward I., II., III. | 1272–1377. |
Perpendicular. | Richard II. to Henry VII. | 1377–1485. |
Tudor. | Henry VIII. to Elizabeth. | 1485–1600. |
Sharpe gives seven periods of English architecture up to the time of the Reformation, and dates them as follows:—
ROMANESQUE. | |||
I. | Saxon | from—— to 1066 | |
II. | Norman | from 1066 to 1145 | 79 years |
III. | Transitional | from 1145 to 1190 | 45 years |
GOTHIC. | |||
IV. | Lancet | from 1190 to 1245 | 55 years |
V. | Geometrical | from 1245 to 1315 | 70 years |
VI. | Curvilinear | from 1315 to 1360 | 45 years |
VII. | Rectilinear | from 1360 to 1550 | 190 years |
PREFACE.
It is a truism that the history of building is the history of the civilized world, for of all the arts practised by man, there is none which conveys to us a clearer conception of the religion, history, manners, customs, ideals and follies of past ages, than the art of building. This applies in a special sense to cathedrals and churches, which glorious relics reflect and perpetuate the noble aim, the delicate thought, the refined and exquisite taste, the patient and painstaking toil which have been expended upon them by the devout and earnest craftsmen of the past.
There are very few of our ancient churches in village, town or city which do not offer some feature of interest to the visitor, and in the absence of anything more important, there is sure to be some door, window, font, screen, or other detail which will amply repay him for the small amount of time spent in seeing it.
The aim of the author of this little volume has been to indicate the symbolism and meaning attaching to the various portions of our churches and cathedrals, and to endeavour briefly to describe, in language as simple as the subject will allow, the various styles of ecclesiastical architecture with their distinctive characteristics in such a way as will enable the reader to assign each portion and detail of a church to its respective period with an approximate degree of accuracy.
He does not claim to be original, but endeavours to be useful and interesting. The best authorities