Stone Vaults in English Parish Churches in the Early Gothic and Decorated Periods

Abstract

AbstractThis study surveys the surviving stone vaults in English parish churches of the Early Gothic and Decorated periods. Of the approximately sixty surviving buildings with vaults the vast majority are to be found in the southern half of the country and particularly in the counties between Kent and Wiltshire. In spite of extensive parish church construction during this period in the Midlands and North there were very few vaults constructed there. Still more surprising was the finding that slightly more Romanesque rib-vaulted choirs survive in English parish churches than Gothic ones. In spite of the identification of rib vaults with the Gothic style by most architectural historians it is clear that only a small minority of English parish church masons saw it that way.Those vaults that were built show a range of articulations and aesthetics. Early examples tend to follow French models, with separate shafts provided for all vault components and diagonally set capitals for diagonal ribs. In the early thir...