Our Homeland Churches and How to Study Them Part 8

Probably the most beautiful feature of a Gothic church is the spire, raising its tapering form far above the town or village and forming a prominent landmark, denoting the location of the House of G.o.d. Although found occasionally in other styles, the spire is essentially Gothic, and one of the most marked characteristics of this period. Spires are generally of two kinds, those constructed of timber and covered with slates, lead, tiles or shingles, and those built of stone or brick.

Examples of both kinds are very numerous on the continent and in England, while shingle spires are especially common in Suss.e.x.

The spire is generally acknowledged to have originated from the small pyramidal roof so frequently found on Saxon and Norman towers. This gradually became elongated, and the towers were sometimes gabled on each side, as is the case with the remarkable Saxon church at Sompting, Suss.e.x.

This shows us very clearly the angles of the spire resting upon the apex of each gable, so that the spire itself is set obliquely to the square of the tower.

[Ill.u.s.tration: The best example of a Saxon Spire or Pyramidal Roof.

Sompting, Suss.e.x. _Drawn by George Pearl._]

Saxon and Norman spires are very rare in England, Sompting being our best example of the former and those on the eastern transepts of Canterbury Cathedral of the latter.

Of Early English spires we have, fortunately, some good examples, among which are those at Oxford Cathedral, Wilford and Wansted, in the same county, and a very graceful one at Leighton Buzzard. These 13th century spires are very common in France, as at Chartres and S. Pierre, Caen.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Leighton Buzzard Church.

With Early English Tower and Spire. _Photograph H. A. Strange._]

Of fourteenth century, or Decorated, spires, we have many examples, of which perhaps the best is the beautiful spire of Salisbury Cathedral, although the equally fine one at S. Mary's, Oxford, runs it close for premier position. The triple group at Lichfield Cathedral belong to this period, as do the spires of Ross, Heckington, Grantham, S. Mary's, Newark, King's Sutton, Bloxham and Snettisham, Norfolk. A peculiarity of the Salisbury spire is that it never formed part of the original design of the cathedral, being added seventy years later. It is the loftiest spire in England--404 feet--about 40 ft. higher than the cross of S. Paul's. It speaks well for the Gothic builders that such a vast superstructure as this tower and spire could be imposed upon walls and piers never intended to bear it. At an early period it was found to have deflected twenty-three inches from the perpendicular, but there has been no sign of any further movement. Barnack Church, in Northamptonshire, has a curious spire showing the transition from Norman to Early English.

It will be noticed that the sides of a church spire are slightly curved, so that they swell out a little in the centre. This is called the entasis of the spire, and belongs to the study of optics in architecture.

Where the spire has no entasis the same effect is produced by the introduction of small projecting gables, bands of carving, or a little coronal of pinnacles.

One of the most clearly marked differences between English and continental spires is that the latter are much shorter than the towers which support them, the towers, as a rule, being twice as high as the spires. In England, on the contrary, the spire is generally very much loftier than the tower. At Shottesbrook, Berks, and Ledbury, Herefordshire, the spires occupy as much as three-fifths of the total elevation, and the usual rule in England is for the tower to be a little less in height than the spire.

The masons lavished an extraordinary amount of care and skill on their spires. So much is this the case that there is hardly a mediaeval spire in the country which can be called ill-designed or displeasing.

Church spires are very common in some counties and very rare in others.

There are, of course, exceptions, but it is in the flat counties that spires are most frequent, the most beautiful ones being found in Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Warwickshire, Staffordshire, Nottinghamshire and Oxfordshire.

The top of the spire is usually capped with a weather vane terminating in a c.o.c.k. The custom of using a c.o.c.k as the flag of the vane is of very early date, for Wolfstan, in his Life of S. Ethelwold, written towards the end of the 10th century, speaks of one which surmounted Winchester Cathedral. In the Bayeux Tapestry one is shown on the gable of Westminster Abbey, and one of the early Popes ordained that every church under the papal jurisdiction should be surmounted by a c.o.c.k as emblematical of the sovereignty of the church over the whole world.

CHAPTER XI.

STAINED GLa.s.s.

The use of coloured gla.s.s in the windows of buildings devoted to religious purposes appears to have been employed as early as the ninth century, but no examples remain of anything like so old a date, and we have only illuminated missals and primitive drawings by members of the conventual bodies to guide us in determining the earliest styles of coloured glazing. It appears to have consisted of more or less primitive representations of the human form, with strong black lines to indicate the features and folds of the drapery. The backgrounds were generally ma.s.ses of deep blue or red, and in the rare instances where landscapes were introduced positive colours only appear to have been used. Our oldest specimens in England are those in the choir aisles of Canterbury Cathedral, which appear to be of the 12th century, and it is thought that they are the remains of the original glazing that was put in when this part of the building was rebuilt after a fire in 1174. The general design is composed of panels of various forms, in which are depicted subjects from Holy Scripture, with backgrounds of deep blue or red; the s.p.a.ces between the panels are filled with mosaic patterns in which blue and red colours predominate, and the whole design is framed in an elaborate border of leaves and scroll-work in brilliant colours.

[Ill.u.s.tration: A Parish Church with a Shingle Broach Spire.

(_See page 99_). Edenbridge, Kent. _Homeland Copyright._]

Of thirteenth century windows we have some magnificent examples --unfortunately few unmutilated--as at York, where is the five-light lancet window situated in the north end of the transept, known as the Five Sisters of York. Of this date, also, are the large circular window of Lincoln Cathedral, and the windows at Chetwode, Bucks; Westwell, Kent; West Horsley, Surrey; and Beckett's Crown, Canterbury.

A little later, in the Decorated period, we get the great east window of York Cathedral, 75 ft. high and 32 ft. broad; the east window of Gloucester Cathedral, 72 ft. high and 38 ft. broad; and other fine windows at Tewkesbury Abbey; Merton College, Oxford; Wroxhall Abbey, Warwickshire; and the churches of Chartham, Kent; Stanford, Leicestershire; Ashchurch, Glous.; Cranley, Surrey; Norbury, Derbyshire, and others. Salisbury Cathedral has retained portions, but very lovely portions, of the glazing of its west windows, and enough is left to show that it was little inferior to the great windows of York and Gloucester.

Carlisle Cathedral, too, has preserved fragments of the original gla.s.s in the tracery of the great east window, but the lower part of the glazing is modern. Windows in the Decorated style continued to be arranged in panels, with the s.p.a.ces between them filled with flowing patterns of foliage, in which the vine and ivy leaves predominate.

Single figures are more common than in the previous style, and when used are generally shown beneath a simple pediment or canopy. In the early examples they only occupy a portion of the window light, but later they are found occupying nearly the whole of the surface and are surmounted by large and elaborate canopies. Quarries are much used in this style, sometimes quite plain, but more often with leaves or rosettes painted on them in black lines, or painted with the vine and ivy leaves so arranged that they form a repeating pattern over the whole window. At this period, too, heraldry began to be employed in the decoration of the windows to which it is always an appropriate and artistic adjunct, and many authentic and valuable examples of our national heraldry have thus been preserved for posterity.

With the advent of the Perpendicular style the glazing became more uniform in character, the gla.s.s was thinner and lighter, the tints paler, and the whole effect more brilliant and transparent. The paintings for the most part consist of large figures under elaborate canopies, frequently occupying an entire light, and in the patterns and smaller decorations there is a greater freedom of design, and the whole treatment is more harmonious and artistic than in any other period. The use of heraldry became very common, and inscriptions on long narrow scrolls were frequently employed. Among the best examples of this period are the windows at S. Margaret's Church, Westminster; King's College Chapel, Cambridge; Fairford Church, Gloucestershire; and Morley Church, Derbyshire.

The Reformation, with its vast social and political upheaval, was not conducive to the encouragement of the fine arts, and from this period the art of glazing in England declined beyond measure, and was not the only art that received its death-blow in the triumph of Puritanism. The art has, however, revived greatly during recent years, thanks, among other artists, to William Morris and Burne-Jones. A few words must be said about the "Jesse" window found in some of our cathedrals and churches. Strictly speaking, it is a representation of the genealogy of Christ, in which the different persons forming the descent are placed on scrolls of foliage branching out of each other, intended to represent a tree. It was also wrought into a branched candlestick, thence called a Jesse, a common piece of furniture in ancient churches. The subject is found on a window at Llanrhaiadr y Kinmerch, Denbighshire, on the stone work of one of the chancel windows at Dorchester Church, Oxfordshire, and in carved stone on the reredos of Christchurch Priory, Hants.

It is not perhaps generally known that the actual colours used in early stained gla.s.s possessed each of them their own specific symbolism.

Underlying the obvious story conveyed by the human figures or decorated devices, there was an inner story to be read with profit by those who understood the mystic symbolism concerning colours. Without entering at length into this interesting subject, it may yet be stated that green was the symbol of Regeneration, red of Divine Love, white of Divine Wisdom, yellow of Faith, and grey, or a mixture of black and white, the emblem of Terrestrial Death and Spiritual Immortality. These colours at different times or in different countries had other meanings as well, and ecclesiologists tell us that the colours chosen for depicting the robes of our Lord differ according to the period of His life which it was intended to represent.

CHAPTER XII.

CRYPTS.

The crypts so generally found beneath our cathedrals and abbeys, and so frequently under our churches, rarely extend beyond the choir or chancel and its aisles, and are sometimes of very small dimensions. They are often coeval with the upper parts of the building, and although not so elaborate in ornamentation as the fabric they support, they are almost without exception well constructed and well finished pieces of building.

In some cases the crypt is of much older date than any portion of the superstructure, as is the case at York, Worcester and Rochester cathedrals. During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries the roofs were often richly groined, and upheld by cylindrical columns or cl.u.s.tered piers, and furnished with handsome bases and decorated capitals. There is abundant evidence that crypts were at one time furnished with altars, piscinas, and the various fittings requisite for the celebration of the ma.s.s, and they were used as sepulchres, wherein the shrines of relics and martyrs were carefully preserved. Some authorities claim a purely Saxon origin for the crypts at Ripon Cathedral, Hexham Abbey, and Repton Church, Derbyshire. The Ripon example is a plain barrel-vaulted chamber, about 11 ft. long and 8 ft. wide, with no pillars or ornament of any kind. It is popularly known as S. Wilfrid's Needle, but the exact origin of the name is lost in obscurity. The Hexham crypt is very similar in character, but is somewhat longer, being more than 13 ft. long and 8 ft.

wide. As at Ripon, there are hollows or shallow niches in the walls in which lamps may possibly have been placed. The third reputed Saxon crypt is that at Repton, but it has little in common with the other two, its superficial area being nearly twice as great and the roof is supported on four columns, with plain square capitals rudely carved, and bearing much similarity to early Norman work.

The position of the crypt varies. At Beverley Minster it is on the south side of the south-west tower; in Hereford Cathedral it is under a side chapel, while at Lastingham, in Yorkshire, the crypt extends under the whole of the church, including the apse. At Wells the crypt is beneath the chapter-house, and Durham Cathedral has three crypts, one under what was the dormitory, another beneath the refectory, and the third under the prior's chapel. Of crypts of Norman date we have many examples, of which, perhaps, our best are those at Gloucester, Worcester, Canterbury and Winchester Cathedrals, while Canterbury is probably the largest of them all. Good crypts are also found at Wimborne Minster, Christchurch Priory, and in our smaller churches at Repton and S.

Peter's-in-the-East, Oxford.

The Wimborne crypt is lighted by four windows. The vaulting is supported by two pairs of pillars which form three aisles, each of three bays. Mr.

Perkins, in his book on Wimborne Minster, says, "On each side of the place where the altar stood there are two openings into the choir aisles. The exteriors of these are of the same form and size as the crypt windows, but they are deeply splayed inside, and probably were used as hagioscopes or squints, to allow those kneeling in the choir aisles to see the priest celebrating ma.s.s at the crypt altar." The crypt at Christchurch is of Norman date, and now serves as a vault for the Malmesbury family. The crypt of Canterbury Cathedral is claimed and justly claimed, perhaps, as the largest and most beautiful in England.

It is thought to contain fragments of Roman and Saxon work, and much of it dates from the days of S. Anselm (1096-1100). It was here that the remains of S. Thomas a Becket lay from 1170 to 1220, and "here that Henry II., fasting and discrowned, with naked feet, bared back, and streaming tears, performed on July 12th, 1174, the memorable penance for his share in the murder of the great Archbishop."

It was here too, in later times that the Walloons were granted, by Queen Elizabeth, the privilege of carrying on their silk-weaving, and it was also reserved as a place of worship for French Protestants.

CHAPTER XIII.

HOW TO DESCRIBE AN OLD CHURCH.

Having carefully read the foregoing chapters, it should be possible for anyone interested in the subject to be able to write a fairly accurate description of any old church. The record should, if possible, be amplified with sketches or photographs.

In course of time, decay, neglect and restoration will deprive our ancient buildings of every visible stone of original work which they possess, and careful records of this kind, written, photographed and sketched, may be of the highest possible value to future generations of historians and architects, long after the objects themselves have ceased to exist. The work in itself is of absorbing interest, and the more one studies these works of past ages the stronger becomes the conviction that our old buildings, whether cathedral, castle or simple village church, are the landmarks of the nation's history, and a priceless inheritance of beauty and art the conservation of which is the duty of all generations.

The princ.i.p.al points to be noted are--1. The name of the church. 2. Its situation. 3. Its dedication. 4. General plan. 5. The style of architecture to which each portion belongs. 6. Any peculiarity of the architecture, blocked up windows, etc. 7. Any ancient furniture, screens, bench-ends, gla.s.s. 8. Any monuments, tablets, or mural paintings. 9. Church plate, bells, registers. 10. Any local traditions.

The record should be made somewhat in the following manner.

The church of ---- is prettily situated on rising ground some quarter of a mile north of the village, and on the main road to ---- . It is approached by a picturesque timber lych-gate, and consists of nave, aisles and chancel, having a side chapel to the north and a single transept to the south. At the west end is a Decorated tower and spire.

There are two porches, one on the north side and the other on the west, which last has a niche for a figure over the doorway and seats on either side. The nave is Perpendicular, as is the greater part of the rest of the fabric. Above the nave rises a lofty and n.o.ble clerestory, divided from the aisles by five rather obtusely-pointed arches supported by richly moulded piers with small moulded capitals. Each bay of the clerestory contains two three-light windows of late Perpendicular date.

The roof is flat pitched and is of oak, the princ.i.p.als are adorned with panelled tracery and show vestiges of ancient colour decoration. The windows of the aisles are late Decorated in style; they are of three lights, the traceries elegant and richly moulded. The east window is Perpendicular and is much sub-divided by mullions and transoms; in the upper portions are some heraldic coats of arms, which appear to have formed part of a much earlier window. The chancel is divided from the nave by a fine open oak screen, coeval with the larger part of the building. It is richly carved and gilded, and in the right-hand side of the chancel arch are the steps which formerly led up to the top of it.

The chancel, together with its chapel, is vaulted in stone with well marked ribs and carved bosses. The transept, late Perpendicular, opens into the south side of the nave by a four-centred arch, and has a rich flat ceiling. In the chancel is a piscina of Early English date, together with a sedilia of the same period. On the north side of the chancel, resting on the floor, is a cross-legged effigy, in chain mail, surcoat, etc., and bearing on his left arm a shield, but all much mutilated. There is a local tradition that it represents Sir ----, but there is no evidence by which he can be identified. Features of the church are the many highly carved bench ends, all in oak, representing a great variety of subjects, such as dragons, serpents, etc., while a few bear the arms of local families who probably bore the cost of the work.

The pulpit is Jacobean, and has no special feature. The font, which stands in the centre of the nave, is square in form and is supported by a modern round plinth. It is constructed of marble, the four sides being carved in low relief with intersecting patterns. It is possibly of Norman date, and is the only existing feature of a much earlier church.

The tower and spire are Decorated; the latter is of stone with four pinnacles at the base, and has a little coronal of pinnacles. The belfry windows are arranged in pairs on each side of the tower. The tower or western window is of five lights, richly Decorated in style.

Ill.u.s.tration: KEY TO DIAGRAM OF THE INTERIOR ELEVATION OF A BAY OF A CHURCH.