smaller scale a few spires remain dating from the thirteenth century, of which that of Ringstead Church, Northants, erected about the middle of the century,[1] is a good example. The management of the transition from the square plan of the tower to the octagon of the spire is, in such constructions, very admirable, and it is, I believe, peculiar to England. Instead of starting the octagon immediately from the square base, a four-sided pyramid is interposed which interpenetrates with the octagon. The design is both constructively good and artistically agreeable.
Before closing our examination of the pointed architecture of England we must notice the general plan and its relation to the elevation, in which points this architecture varies widely from that of France. Besides the difference of the rectangular east end, the Anglo-Norman church differs from the French church in usually having two transepts, one at each end of the choir. Eastward of the east transept is the presbytery, which is generally as long as the choir, and beyond this again is often a lady chapel. These parts, in addition to the long nave, give the building an enormous length, the effect of which is greatly enhanced by the comparative lowness of the elevation—a lowness which is prejudicial to good proportion, and which contrasts strikingly with the soaring proportions of the French Gothic churches. The chief impression received from the Anglo-Norman interior is that of a prolonged architectural vista; while the external aspect presents a long, low range of gabled roofs and buttressed walls, whose outlines are broken by the projecting transepts, and by the towers of the west end and of the crossing.
This great length and proportionate lowness may have resulted in some instances from chance, and in some from timidity. From chance, in the addition, at successive epochs, of parts that were not contemplated in the original projects, and from timidity, on the part of builders who were not remarkable for constructive daring, in raising and supporting wide vaults at a considerable altitude. But a predilection for length was a peculiarity of the earlier Norman builders, and this predilection may naturally have survived in their successors. The Norman nave of Winchester, for instance,
- ↑ According to Mr. Parker the date of this church is circa 1260.
