The English Village Explained: Britain’s Living History by Trevor Yorke Page A
Authors: Trevor Yorke
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buildings had thatched roofs and if there was a tower it might have had a low pyramidical roof. The outside was probably limewashed or rendered with splashes of colour picking out the decorative details .
FIG 8.5 KILPECK, HEREFORD AND WORCS: A notable late-Norman church with (from left) nave, chancel and the distinctive round apse. Many parish churches may have originally looked like this before having aisles, towers and large windows added in later centuries .
FIG 8.6: The inside of a medieval church would have been a riot of colour and full of mystery. Walls were painted with scenes from the Bible to warn an illiterate congregation of what would happen if they strayed from the faith. The various ceremonies and mass were conducted at the altar and in Latin, hidden from view behind the rood screen. The villagers standing in the nave (there would have been no pews) would have seen little and understood less of what was spoken or chanted. Wall paintings were whitewashed over during the Reformation and have only been rediscovered in the past hundred years or so during restoration .
Gothic churches
The introduction in the late 12th century of the pointed (Gothic) arch gave the builder more flexibility to create lighter structures with thinner walls, larger windows and finer columns. In its first phase, known as Early English, tall thin windows set in threes and fives called lancets were a distinctive feature. By the late 13th century the sections of wall between them were reduced to just ribs of masonry known as tracery, with simple geometric patterns at first but by early in the next century these had developed into elaborate curving and repeating designs, usually at their finest in the east window above the altar. This latter Decorated period of church architecture is also notable for elaborate doorways and window surrounds, often using an ogee arch (one with a reverse ‘S’-shape both sides) and spires. The booming population in the 13th and early 14th centuries demanded more space in which to pray. The easiest way of expanding the church was the addition of aisles, lean-to extensions along the north and south side of the nave with the old walls between cut through and fitted with columns. As these pushed the windows further back a row of small openings was made in the old wall above the columns, a clerestory, which allowed light into the nave.
FIG 8.7: Examples of church windows showing the development of tracery with lancets (top left), plate tracery, (top right), geometric tracery (bottom left) and reticulated tracery (bottom right); the latter, one of the elaborate forms from the Decorated period .
FIG 8.8: A drawing of a Perpendicular church with labels highlighting its key features. Large windows with vertical tracery, stepped buttresses, flatter roofs, battlements, large west towers with pinnacles and chantry chapels were distinctive of this period .
FIG 8.9: Decorative details around openings are often distinctive of a period. Billets, chevrons and beakheads (a) are usually late 12th century, dog tooth (b) is 13th century, ballflowers (c) are early 14th century and square flowers (d) are late 14th and 15th century in date .
In the late 14th and 15th centuries the emphasis was on the vertical with a new Perpendicular style featuring large windows with tall, straight tracery running their full height. In the finest examples these encompassed most of the wall and flooded the interior with light. Clerestories were larger and often fitted to older churches, roofs were flatter and west towers were the ‘must have’ addition for any parish wishing to display its pretensions. There was also a shift away from the dominance of the mason as stained-glass windows and elaborately carved woodwork screens became equally important features within the building.
FIG 8.10 WRINGTON, SOMERSET: Towers were the most characteristic feature added to churches in the 14th and 15th centuries and Somerset is blessed with some of
FIG 8.5 KILPECK, HEREFORD AND WORCS: A notable late-Norman church with (from left) nave, chancel and the distinctive round apse. Many parish churches may have originally looked like this before having aisles, towers and large windows added in later centuries .
FIG 8.6: The inside of a medieval church would have been a riot of colour and full of mystery. Walls were painted with scenes from the Bible to warn an illiterate congregation of what would happen if they strayed from the faith. The various ceremonies and mass were conducted at the altar and in Latin, hidden from view behind the rood screen. The villagers standing in the nave (there would have been no pews) would have seen little and understood less of what was spoken or chanted. Wall paintings were whitewashed over during the Reformation and have only been rediscovered in the past hundred years or so during restoration .
Gothic churches
The introduction in the late 12th century of the pointed (Gothic) arch gave the builder more flexibility to create lighter structures with thinner walls, larger windows and finer columns. In its first phase, known as Early English, tall thin windows set in threes and fives called lancets were a distinctive feature. By the late 13th century the sections of wall between them were reduced to just ribs of masonry known as tracery, with simple geometric patterns at first but by early in the next century these had developed into elaborate curving and repeating designs, usually at their finest in the east window above the altar. This latter Decorated period of church architecture is also notable for elaborate doorways and window surrounds, often using an ogee arch (one with a reverse ‘S’-shape both sides) and spires. The booming population in the 13th and early 14th centuries demanded more space in which to pray. The easiest way of expanding the church was the addition of aisles, lean-to extensions along the north and south side of the nave with the old walls between cut through and fitted with columns. As these pushed the windows further back a row of small openings was made in the old wall above the columns, a clerestory, which allowed light into the nave.
FIG 8.7: Examples of church windows showing the development of tracery with lancets (top left), plate tracery, (top right), geometric tracery (bottom left) and reticulated tracery (bottom right); the latter, one of the elaborate forms from the Decorated period .
FIG 8.8: A drawing of a Perpendicular church with labels highlighting its key features. Large windows with vertical tracery, stepped buttresses, flatter roofs, battlements, large west towers with pinnacles and chantry chapels were distinctive of this period .
FIG 8.9: Decorative details around openings are often distinctive of a period. Billets, chevrons and beakheads (a) are usually late 12th century, dog tooth (b) is 13th century, ballflowers (c) are early 14th century and square flowers (d) are late 14th and 15th century in date .
In the late 14th and 15th centuries the emphasis was on the vertical with a new Perpendicular style featuring large windows with tall, straight tracery running their full height. In the finest examples these encompassed most of the wall and flooded the interior with light. Clerestories were larger and often fitted to older churches, roofs were flatter and west towers were the ‘must have’ addition for any parish wishing to display its pretensions. There was also a shift away from the dominance of the mason as stained-glass windows and elaborately carved woodwork screens became equally important features within the building.
FIG 8.10 WRINGTON, SOMERSET: Towers were the most characteristic feature added to churches in the 14th and 15th centuries and Somerset is blessed with some of
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