for

rather late Norman. There is frequently a solid wall in the middle dividing the keep into two portions, with no communication in the lower part. The passages communication between one part of the building and another are made in the thickness of the walls, the central part having been divided by floors only, and

D

not vaulted, in the earlier examples. Groined stone vaults were introduced towards the end of the eleventh century in castles as well as in churches; rib-vaulting not before the twelfth.

The number of churches which were commenced in the reign of the Conqueror and his successor was so great, that it is impossible to notice them all, but few of them were completed until after 1100; it was not, indeed, until after 1080 that the country was sufficiently settled for much building to be begun.

20. Early Norman Arch and Window, Chapel in the White Tower, London, A.D. 1081.

The chapel in the White Tower, London (20), is one of the best and most perfect examples of this period; its character is massive and plain, though the work is well executed. Its plan is oblong, consisting of a nave with narrow aisles which stand on the thickness of the

walls, and it has plain barrel-vaults; the pillars are short and thick, and most of the capitals are plain, but some have a little ornament carved upon the abacus and capital, apparently some time after the construction was completed, being within easy reach.

Part of the nave of Rochester Cathedral was built by Bishop Gundulph, who was also the architect of the White Tower. The nave and transepts of Ely were erected by Abbot Simeon, brother of Bishop Walkelyn. Part of the west front of Lincoln was built by Bishop Remi, or Remigius, between the years 1085 and 1092: the small portion which remains of this work is a very valuable specimen of early Norman, the more so that the insertion of later and richer Norman doorways by Bishop Alexander, about fifty years afterwards, enables us to compare early and late Norman work, while the junctions of the masonry leave no doubt of the fact that these doorways are insertions, and therefore confirms the early date of the three lofty arches under which they are inserted. A comparison of the capitals and details of these two periods, thus placed in juxtaposition, is extremely interestinge. The wide-jointing of the masonry and the shallowness of the carving distinguish the old work from the new. Several capitals of the later period are inserted in the older work, as is shewn on careful examination by the jointing of the masonry, and by the form of the capitals themselves: the earlier capitals are short, and have volutes at the angles, forming a sort of rude Ionic; the later capitals are more elongated, and have a sort of rude Corinthian, or Composite foliage.

The crypt and transepts of Winchester Cathedral are of this period, built by Bishop Walkelyn on a new site, as has been mentioned.

In the time of William Rufus the work so well begun by the Norman bishops was carried on vigorously, until, before the close of this century, every one of the Saxon cathedrals was undergoing the same process of destruction to be rebuilt on a larger scale and in a better The portions which remain to us of the work of this reign are the crypt of Worcester, the crypt, the arches of the nave, and part of the transepts of

manner.

e An engraving of this front may be seen in the Vetusta Monumenta.

Gloucester, the choir and transepts of Durham, the nave and transepts of Christchurch in Hampshire, the choir and transepts of Norwich.

The history of Canterbury Cathedral has been so carefully preserved by contemporary records, and these have been so thoroughly investigated by Professor Willis, and compared with the existing structure, that we may almost put a date upon every stone of this magnificent fabric; it is therefore our best and safest guide in the study of architecture in England. The work in the older part of the crypt agrees exactly with that at Lincoln, and the other early Norman works above mentioned. The crypt is, however, not part of Lanfranc's work, for it is remarkable that his church was entirely pulled down and rebuilt by his successor, St. Anselm, between 1096 and 1110, under the direction of Priors Ernulf and Conrad. Even in the time of Gervase, writing in 1170, he says, "You must know, however, good reader, that I never saw the choir of Lanfranc, neither have I been able to meet with any description of it: Eadmer indeed describes the old church, which before the time of Lanfranc was constructed after the Roman manner; also he mentions, but does not describe, the work of Lanfranc, which succeeded this old church, and the choir of Conrad, constructed in the time of St. Anselm." From this we may fairly conclude that the work of Lanfranc was of very inferior character:

During the first fifteen or twenty years of the twelfth century, and of the reign of Henry I., there was no perceptible change of style; the numerous great works which had been begun during the preceding twenty years were carried on, and many of them were completed. During this period we have accounts of the dedications, -which shew that the work was sufficiently forward for part of the church to be used,-of Ely, Rochester, Winchester, Hereford, St. Alban's, Gloucester, the choir of Durham, Norwich, Canterbury, and some others. Several new works were commenced also, as Tewkesbury Abbey, St. Botolph's, Colchester, the nave of Durham,

the choir of Peterborough, and Reading Abbey: but we do not find any difference between the early parts of these and those which immediately preceded them. It may also be observed that there is no difference whatever between those which were built on the sites of the Saxon cathedrals, and those which were now first erected on entirely new sites.

Early in the twelfth century occurred the fall of the tower of Winchester Cathedral, celebrated from the peculiar circumstances with which it was accompanied, which are thus described by William of Malmesbury, who was living at the time:-"A few countrymen conveyed the body, [of the king, William Rufus,] placed on a cart, to the cathedral of Winchester, the blood dripping from it all the way. Here it was committed to the ground within the tower, attended by many of the nobility, but lamented by few. The next year the tower fell; though I forbear

21. Interior of N. Transept, Winchester, A.D. 1079-1093.

Shewing a plain square-edged semi-circular arch, a groined vault without ribs, shafts with cushion capitals, and an ornamental arcade.

to mention the different opinions on this subject, lest I should seem to assent too readily to unsupported trifles; more especially that the building might have fallen through imperfect construction, even though he had never been buried there." That this was really the case, the building itself