The Romanesque Choir of Tewkesbury Abbey and the Problem of a “Colossal Order”

Abstract

The Romanesque choir of Tewkesbury Abbey was almost completely destroyed by rebuilding in the 14th century. Just enough was preserved to serve as a basis for the reconstruction by A. W. Clapham of an elevation design that created the illusion of tall cylindrical piers combined with a double arcade, similar to the elevations that still exist at the mid- to late-12th century churches of Romsey and Jedburgh Abbeys and Oxford Cathedral. An examination of the corbels and the lower voussoirs of arches on the surviving 11th-century piers at Tewkesbury suggests that the situation was not actually analogous to the later buildings. Consequently, it is very likely that the illusion of a tall pier and double arcade first actually appeared in England at Romsey Abbey ca. 1140/45, not at Tewkesbury Abbey ca. 1087.