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55-667: In contrast to the pure copying of English Gothic advocated for and promoted by some influential ecclesiologists during the early Gothic Revival period in Britain (most particularly by Augustus Welby Pugin and to an extent in the pages of the Camden Society's quarterly journal The Ecclesiologist (1841–68)), Dissenting Gothic provided a less Anglo-centric interpretation of the Gothic style, and purposely introduced modernising elements to meet clients' needs. This primarily involved

110-474: A Norman building which was remodelled with the earliest rib vault known. Besides cathedrals, monasteries, and parish churches , the style was used for many secular buildings, including university buildings, palaces , great houses , and almshouses and guildhalls . Stylistic periodisations of the English Gothic style are The architect and art historian Thomas Rickman 's Attempt to Discriminate

165-553: A Renaissance ornament, was installed in the chapel of King's College Chapel , Cambridge. During the Elizabethan Period (1558–1603), the classical details, including the five orders of classical architecture, were gradually introduced. Carved ornament with Italian Renaissance motifs began to be used in decoration, including on the tomb of Henry VII in Westminster Abbey . The pointed arch gradually gave way to

220-537: A great effect on the arts and culture, which took a more sober direction. The perpendicular Gothic was the longest of the English Gothic periods; it continued for a century after the style had nearly disappeared from France and the rest of the European continent, where the Renaissance had already begun. Gradually, near the end of the period, Renaissance forms began to appear in the English Gothic. A rood screen ,

275-429: A medieval church in the last stage of starvation". Too many architects were failing the principal criteria of their brief: "to produce a grand and beautiful church in which everyone could see and hear the service". His chapels are built as broad uncluttered spaces around a central pulpit and Lord's table. Cubitt lived most of his professional life at Loughton , where he built several private houses and three schools. He

330-485: A section of nonconformist thought to whom highly extravagant and ornamented building styles and monuments were either too vulgar, or associated with mediaeval superstition - Spurgeon cautioned against the Gothic fashion leading to "hobgoblins and monsters on the outside of their preaching houses". In Australia, Dissenting Gothic became known as "Victorian Free Gothic" and whilst the established Protestant Church followed its English counterpart in favouring "Academic Gothic",

385-440: A willingness to innovate by many influential architects, reflecting the success of the less narrow approach of Dissenting Gothic. The architect James Cubitt embodied such forward-looking principles in his book Church Design for Congregations (1870), in which he noted the unsuitability of the conventional Gothic plan for nonconformist chapels, adding "there is every reason why our churches should be fitted for their destined use. It

440-645: Is found at Ely Cathedral ; the architect Thomas Witney built the central tower from 1315 to 1322 in Decorated style. Soon afterwards another architect, William Joy, added curving arches to strengthen the structure, and made further extensions to join the Lady Chapel to the Choir. In 1329–45, he created an extraordinary double arch in the decorated style. The buttress became more common in this period, as at Lichfield Cathedral . These were stone columns outside

495-605: Is generally termed Decorated Gothic , because the amount of ornament and decoration increased dramatically. It corresponded roughly with the Rayonnant period in France, which influenced it. It was a period of growing prosperity in England, and this was expressed in the decoration of Gothic buildings. Almost every feature of the interiors and facades was decorated. Historians sometimes subdivide this style into two periods, based on

550-416: Is not enough that they can be used..." His book gave further encouragement to looking at models besides traditional 'English Gothic', referring for example, to designs from Santa Sophia, Torcello, Gerona and Cologne. Amongst these, northern European Brick Gothic was perhaps the best known alternative to English styles at that time; partly on account of its lower cost than stone blocks, but also its appeal to

605-489: Is the chapter house of Old St Paul's Cathedral , built by the royal architect William de Ramsey in 1332. The early style was also practised by another royal architect, John Sponlee , and fully developed in the works of Henry Yevele and William Wynford . Walls were built much higher than in earlier periods, and stained glass windows became very large, so that the space around them was reduced to simple piers. Horizontal transoms sometimes had to be introduced to strengthen

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660-403: Is typified by lancet windows , tall narrow lights topped by a pointed arch. They were grouped together side by side under a single arch and decorated with mullions in tracery patterns, such as cusps , or spear-points. Lancet windows were combined similarly pointed arches and the ribs of the vaults overhead, giving a harmonious and unified style. The second style of English Gothic architecture

715-725: The English Renaissance , the stylistic language of the ancient classical orders and the Renaissance architecture of southern Europe began to supplant Gothic architecture in Continental Europe, but the British Isles continued to favour Gothic building styles, with traditional Perpendicular Gothic building projects undertaken into the 17th century in England and both Elizabethan and Jacobean architecture incorporating Gothic features, particularly for churches. Classical-inspired architecture predominated after

770-592: The Great Fire of London The rebuilding of the City of London was so extensive that the numbers of workers employed broke the monopoly of the medieval livery company of stonemasons and the Worshipful Company of Masons and the role of master-mason was displaced by that of the early modern architect. The new St Paul's Cathedral designed by Christopher Wren and his Wren churches mostly dispensed with

825-588: The four-centred arch . The Perpendicular style was less often used in the Gothic Revival than the Decorated style, but major examples include the rebuilt Palace of Westminster (i.e. the Houses of Parliament), Bristol University 's Wills Memorial Building (1915–25), and St. Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney . James Cubitt James Cubitt (1836–1914) was a Victorian church architect specialising in building non-conformist chapels. Cubitt

880-415: The Gothic idiom in favour of classical work. Outside London however, new ecclesiastical buildings and repairs to older churches were still carried out in Gothic style, particularly near the ancient university towns of Oxford and Cambridge , where the university colleges were important patrons of 17th-century Gothic construction. By the 18th century, architects occasionally worked in Gothic style, but

935-536: The Gothic style was Wells Cathedral , begun in 1175. Other features were imported from the Ile-de-France , where the first French Gothic cathedral, Sens Cathedral , had been built (1135–64). After a fire destroyed the choir of Canterbury Cathedral in 1174, the French architect William of Sens rebuilt the choir in the new Gothic style between 1175 and 1180. The transition can also be seen at Durham Cathedral ,

990-832: The Monasteries , and the Wars of the Three Kingdoms . In the process of this Victorian "restoration" , much of the original Gothic architecture of the Middle Ages was lost or altered beyond recognition. However, medieval works left unfinished were often completed or restored to their "original" designs. According to James Stevens Curl , the revival of Gothic architecture was "arguably, the most influential artistic phenomenon ever to spring from England". The various English Gothic styles are seen at their most fully developed in cathedrals, monasteries, and collegiate churches. With

1045-506: The Roman rounded arch, brick began to replace masonry, the roof construction was concealed, and the Gothic finally gave way to an imitation of Roman and Greek styles. The pitched Gothic timber roof was a distinctive feature of the style, both in religious and domestic architecture. It had to be able to resist rain, snow and high winds of the English climate, and to preserve the integrity of

1100-660: The Style of Architecture in England , first published in 1812, divided Gothic architecture in the British Isles into three stylistic periods. Rickman identified the period of architecture as follows: From the 15th century, under the House of Tudor , the prevailing Gothic style is commonly known as Tudor architecture . This style is ultimately succeeded by Elizabethan architecture and Renaissance architecture under Elizabeth I ( r.  1558–1603 ). Rickman excluded from his scheme most new buildings after Henry VIII's reign, calling

1155-440: The earliest examples of Dissenting Gothic were commissioned by trustees of independent churches and chapels at about the same time as the beginnings of the purist Anglo-Catholic-dominated Gothic Revival movement, namely during the second quarter of the 19th century, the latter so profoundly dominated and led this early period of 'Gothic Revival' that there were relatively few examples in Britain or elsewhere of Dissenting Gothic before

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1210-424: The early Gothic Revival period, architects who were willing to respond to the demand for Dissenting Gothic enlarged their portfolio, drawing on mainland European Gothic architecture as well as English forms. Moreover, they could be more creative about relationship between form and function, seeking novel but appropriate ways to introduce elements not found in mediaeval Gothic churches, so as to create interiors that met

1265-574: The ends of benches; and elaborate multicoloured decoration, usually in floral patterns, on panels or cornices called brattishing . The sinuous lines of the tracery in the Decorated style were replaced by more geometric forms and perpendicular lines. The style was also affected by the tragic history of the period, particularly the Black Death , which killed an estimated third of England's population in 18 months between June 1348 and December 1349 and returned in 1361–62 to kill another fifth. This had

1320-470: The exception of Salisbury Cathedral , English cathedrals–having building dates that typically range over 400 years–show great stylistic diversity. Early English Gothic predominated from the late 12th century until midway to late in the 13th century, It succeeded Norman Architecture , which had introduced early great cathedrals, built of stone instead of timber, and saw the construction of remarkable abbeys throughout England. The Normans had introduced

1375-481: The full weight of the roof still came down directly onto the walls. Gothic architects did not like the roof truss systems, because the numerous horizontal beams crossing the nave obstructed the view of the soaring height. They came up with an ingenious solution, the Hammerbeam roof . In this system, the point of the roof is supported by the collar and trusses, but from the collar curved beams reach well downward on

1430-468: The independent or nonconformist denominations often chose Victorian Free Gothic. Victorian Free Gothic styles more freely experimented with picturesque silhouettes and polychromatic surfaces, taking more from Ruskin's interest in 'impure' Gothic styles and the artistic merits of Gothic, than from Pugin's 'high church' and medievalist approach. As the 19th century wore on, Dissenting Gothic became widespread not only as old chapels were rebuilt, but also amongst

1485-399: The interests of good design overriding historical purity to the Gothic style, with the role of the architect seen as originating a design solution, rather than promoting specific Gothic forms as a cause célèbre in pursuit of an idealised high church and medieval belief system. Departing from the narrow confines of the approach adopted by some of the leading British ecclesiologists during

1540-671: 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 . The Gothic style

1595-454: The living tradition of Gothic workmanship had faded and their designs rarely resembled medieval Gothic buildings. Only when the Gothic Revival movement of the late 18th and 19th centuries began, was the architectural language of medieval Gothic relearned through the scholarly efforts of early 19th-century art historians like Rickman and Matthew Bloxam , whose Principles of Gothic Ecclesiastical Architecture first appeared in 1829. Alongside

1650-462: The mid-19th century onwards; by that date, the trustees of independent chapels could more easily afford the high building costs associated with the neo-Gothic style. For example, in Britain, the 1851 census recorded, for the first time, a greater number of people attending independent chapels than Anglican churches; the higher level of philanthropic donations and membership fees this provided, could now become reflected in more costly building designs. By

1705-598: The neo-Gothic style, and indeed Spurgeon advanced the idea that the Grecian style was most appropriate for church buildings because the New Testament was written in Greek. Spurgeon's London Metropolitan Tabernacle of 1861 dramatically illustrated this alternative view. Fine examples of Dissenting Gothic include: English Gothic architecture English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from

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1760-637: The new Gothic building work of the 19th century, many of England's existing Gothic buildings were extensively repaired, restored, remodelled, and rebuilt by architects seeking to improve the buildings according to the Romantic , high church aesthetic of the Oxford Movement and to replace many of the medieval features lost in the iconoclastic phases of the Reformation , the Dissolution of

1815-598: The new city suburbs that were being established in England and elsewhere. For example, as Clarkel (2001) notes: "'Dissenting Gothic' was the style in Bowden, 'Manchester's most relaxed suburb'". Nonetheless, its appeal amongst independents or nonconformists was not universal. The Baptists, quite unlike the Wesleyan Methodists and most notably the Unitarians, did not come to a generally accepted accommodation of

1870-407: The north and west ranges of the front quadrangle, dated to 1431; notably in the medieval hall on the west side, (now the "new library") and the "old library" on the first floor, north side. The architecture at Balliol was often derived from castle architecture, with battlements, rather than from church models. King's College Chapel, Cambridge also used another distinctive Perpendicular Gothic feature,

1925-445: The particular congregational needs of the independent or nonconformist chapel-builders of the 19th century; accommodate Sunday Schools and meeting rooms, with sometimes distorting effects on the physiognomy of the building; use confined city plots in efficient ways by varying from strict Gothic floorplans and orientations; and experiment with a wide range of materials, and polychromatic designs, not found in medieval buildings. Although

1980-523: The predominant motifs of the designs. The first, the Geometric style, lasted from about 1245 or 50 until 1315 or 1360, where ornament tended to be based on straight lines, cubes and circles, followed by the Curvilinear style (from about 1290 or 1315 until 1350 or 1360) which used gracefully curving lines. Additions in the Decorated style were often added to earlier cathedrals. One striking example

2035-456: The principal rafters are connected with the tie beam by the head of the truss. The King-Point truss has a vertical beam with connects the centre of the rafter to the ridge of the roof, supported by diagonal struts, while a Queen-Post truss has a wooden collar below the pointed arch which united the posts and was supported by struts and cross-braces. A Queen-Post truss could span a width of forty feet. Both of these forms created greater stability, but

2090-557: The structure. A pitched roof was a common feature of all the Gothic periods. During the Norman period, the roofs normally were pitched forty-five degrees, with the apex forming a right angle, which harmonised with the rounded arches of the gables. With the arrival of the pointed rib vault , the roofs became steeper, up to sixty degrees. In the late perpendicular period, the angle declined to twenty degrees or even less. The roofs were usually made of boards overlaid with tiles or sheet-lead, which

2145-563: The style of "additions and rebuilding" in the later 16th and earlier 17th centuries "often much debased". Architect and art historian Edmund Sharpe , in The Seven Periods of English Architecture (1851), identified a pre-Gothic Transitional Period (1145–90), following the Norman period, in which pointed arches and round arches were employed together. Focusing on the windows, Sharpe dubbed Rickman's Gothic styles as follows: In

2200-511: The third quarter of the century. This limited use of Dissenting Gothic in the early Gothic Revival period of the second quarter of the century reflected a marked reluctance by trustees and sponsors of independently funded and managed churches or chapels (commonly referred to as 'nonconformist' churches or chapels in Britain) to commission neo-Gothic architecture, whilst the ecclesiologists portrayed it as 'high church' architecture. Equally, there

2255-401: The three classical orders of architecture, and created massive walls for their buildings, with thin pilaster-like buttresses. The transition from Norman to Gothic lasted from about 1145 until 1190. In the reigns of King Stephen and Richard I , the style changed from the more massive severe Norman style to the more delicate and refined Gothic. Early English was particularly influenced by what

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2310-508: The time the Gothic Revival had matured into a commonly accepted building style for all manner of building types (referred to as the "High Victorian Gothic" period (1855–85) in Britain), the influence of the ecclesiologists - with their vision of neo-Gothic as befitting only high church buildings, and favouring only pure 'English Gothic' forms with historically-correct mediaeval detail - had passed by. This later 'Gothic Revival' period saw

2365-567: The vertical mullions . Many churches were built with magnificent towers including York Minster , Gloucester Cathedral , Worcester Cathedral , and St Botolph's Church, Boston , St Giles' Church, Wrexham , St Mary Magdalene, Taunton . Another outstanding example of Perpendicular is King's College Chapel, Cambridge . The interiors of Perpendicular churches were filled with lavish ornamental woodwork, including misericords (choir stalls with lifting seats), under which were grotesque carvings; stylized "poppy heads", or carved figures in foliage on

2420-498: The walls which supports them, allowing thinner and high walls between the buttresses, and larger windows. The buttresses were often topped by ornamental stone pinnacles to give them greater weight. The Perpendicular Gothic (or simply Perpendicular) is the third and final style of medieval Gothic architecture in England. It is characterised by an emphasis on vertical lines, and is sometimes called rectilinear. The Perpendicular style began to emerge in about 1330. The earliest example

2475-689: The walls, and carry the weight downward and outwards, to the walls and buttresses, without obstructing the view. The oldest existing roof of this kind is found in Winchester Cathedral . The most famous example of the Hammerbeam roof is the roof of Westminster Hall (1395), the largest timber roof of its time, built for royal ceremonies such as the banquets following the coronation of the King. Other notable wooden roofs included those of Christ Church, Oxford , Trinity College, Cambridge , and Crosby Hall, London . A similar system, with arched trusses,

2530-464: Was a refusal by some 'Gothic Revival' architects to accept commissions for 'low church' buildings, including nonconformist chapels. For philosophical reasons, some architects in the early 'Gothic Revival' period considered that the style should remain the exclusive preserve of the 'high church'. By the mid-19th century, early controversies over use of the style had weakened. In England, the case for commissioning neo-Gothic designs for nonconformist chapels

2585-485: Was called in English "The French style". The style was imported from Caen in Normandy by French Norman architects, who also imported cut stones from Normandy for their construction. It was also influenced by the architecture of the Ile-de-France , where Sens Cathedral had been constructed, the first Gothic cathedral in France. The chancel of Canterbury Cathedral , one of the first Early English structures in England,

2640-430: Was commonly used on low-pitched roofs. The simpler Gothic roofs were supported by long rafters of light wood, resting on wooden trusses set into the walls. The rafters were supported by more solid beams, called purlins , which were carried at their ends by the roof trusses . The tie-beam is the chief beam of the truss. Later, the roof was supported by structures called a King-point-truss and Queen-post truss, where

2695-580: Was introduced from France, where the various elements had first been used together within a single building at the choir of the Abbey of Saint-Denis north of Paris , completed in 1144. The earliest large-scale applications of Gothic architecture in England were Canterbury Cathedral and Westminster Abbey . Many features of Gothic architecture had evolved naturally from Romanesque architecture (often known in England as Norman architecture ). The first cathedral in England to be both planned and built entirely in

2750-415: Was laid out in his book, Church Design for Congregations . He attacked as obsolete the traditional nave and aisle design. When the "columns are thick or moderately thick, it inevitably shuts out a multitude of people from the service ... When, on the other hand, its columns are thin, the inconvenience is removed, but the architecture is ruined ... The type as it remains is but a shadow of its former self –

2805-754: Was persuasively argued by the trained architect and Wesleyan Methodist minister Frederick James Jobson (commonly styled F. J. Jobson), in his book Chapel and School Architecture (1850); and in America by the Rev. George Bowler's publication, setting out examples of elevations and floor plans for nonconformist churches in the Gothic revival style. By the mid-19th century, it was increasingly becoming fashionable to adopt neo-Gothic for artistic reasons and intrinsic appeal alone, superseding its early associations with 'high church' buildings and their clients. For more prosaic reasons, Dissenting Gothic began to become commonplace from

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2860-504: Was rebuilt in the new style by a French architect, William of Sens . The Early English style particularly featured more strongly-constructed walls with stone vaulted roofs, to resist fire. The weight of these vaults was carried downwards and outwards by arched ribs. This feature, the early rib vault , was used at Durham Cathedral , the first time it was used this way in Europe. Another important innovation introduced in this early period

2915-431: Was the buttress , a stone column outside the structure that reinforced the walls against the weight pressing outward and downward from the vaults. This evolved into the flying buttress , which carried the thrust from the wall of the nave over the roof of the aisle. The buttress was given further support by a heavy stone pinnacle. Buttresses were an early feature of the chapter house of Lichfield Cathedral . Early English

2970-604: Was the son of a Baptist minister, from Norfolk who taught at Spurgeon's Pastor's College in South Norwood Hill — then on the outskirts of London . Cubitt was articled to the firm of Isaac Charles Gilbert , in Nottingham (1851–56) and joined W. W. Pocock building chapels for the Wesleyans . From 1862, he formed his own office, forming a partnership with Henry Fuller in 1868. Cubitt's philosophy

3025-495: Was used in the roof of Wrexham Cathedral. The Gothic style was adopted in the late 13th to 15th centuries in early English university buildings, due in part to the close connection between the universities and the church. The oldest existing example of University Gothic in England is probably the Mob Quad of Merton College, Oxford , constructed between 1288 and 1378. Balliol College, Oxford has examples of Gothic work in

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