OF THE ANGLO-SAXON STYLE.
Q. During what period of time did this style prevail?
A. From the close of the sixth century, when the conversion of the
Anglo-Saxons commenced, to the middle of the eleventh century.
Q. Whence does this style appear to have derived its origin?
A. From the later Roman edifices; for in the most ancient of the
Anglo-Saxon remains we find an approximation, more or less, to the Roman
mode of building, with arches formed of brickwork.
Q. What is peculiar in the constructive features of Roman masonry?
A. Walls of Roman masonry in this country were chiefly constructed of
stone or flint, according to the part of the country in which the one
material or other prevailed, embedded in mortar, bonded at certain
intervals throughout with regular horizontal courses or layers of large
flat Roman bricks or tiles, which, from the inequality of thickness and
size, do not appear to have been shaped in any regular mould.
[Illustration: Portion of the Fragment of a Roman Building at Leicester.]
Q. What vestiges of Roman masonry are now existing in Britain?
A. A fragment, apparently that of a Roman temple or basilica, near the
church of St. Nicholas at Leicester, which contains horizontal courses of
brick at intervals, and arches constructed of brickwork; the curious
portion of a wall of similar construction, with remains of brick arches on
the one side, which indicate it to have formed part of a building, and not
a mere wall as it now appears, at Wroxeter, Salop; and the polygonal tower
at Dover Castle, which, notwithstanding an exterior casing of flint, and
other alterations effected in the fifteenth century, still retains many
visible features of its original construction of tufa bonded with bricks
at intervals. Roman masonry, of the mixed description of brick and stone,
regularly disposed, is found in walls at York, Lincoln, Silchester, and
elsewhere; and sometimes we meet with bricks or stone arranged
herring-bone fashion, as in the vestiges of a Roman building at Castor,
Northamptonshire, and the walls of a Roman villa discovered at Littleton,
Somersetshire.
Q. Have we any remains of the ancient British churches erected in this
country in the third, fourth, or fifth centuries?
A. None such have yet been discovered or noticed; for the ruinous
structure at Perranzabuloe in Cornwall, which some assert to have been an
ancient British church, is probably not of earlier date than the twelfth
century; and the church of St. Martin at Canterbury, built in the time of
the Romans, which Augustine found on his arrival still used for the
worship of God, was rebuilt in the thirteenth century, but, to all
appearance, with the same materials of which the original church was
constructed.
Q. Do any of our churches bear a resemblance to Roman buildings?
A. The church now in ruins within the precincts of the Castle of Dover
presents features of early work approximating Roman, as a portal and
window-arches formed of brickwork, which seem to have been copied from
those in the Roman tower near adjoining; the walls also have much of Roman
brick worked up into them, but have no such regular horizontal layers as
Roman masonry displays. The most ancient portions of this church are
attributed to belong to the middle of the seventh century. The church of
Brixworth, Northamptonshire, is perhaps the most complete specimen we have
existing of an early Anglo-Saxon church: it has had side aisles separated
from the nave by semicircular arches constructed of Roman bricks, with
wide joints; these arches spring from square and plain massive piers.
There is also fair recorded evidence to support the inference that this
church is a structure of the latter part of the seventh century. Roman
bricks are worked up in the walls, in no regular order, however, but
indiscriminately, as in the church at Dover Castle.
[Illustration: Pilaster Rib-work Arch, Brigstock Church.]
Q. What peculiarities are observable in masonry of Anglo-Saxon
construction?
A. From existing vestiges of churches of presumed Anglo-Saxon construction
it appears that the walls were chiefly formed of rubble or rag-stone,
covered on the exterior with stucco or plaster, with long and short blocks
of ashlar or hewn stone, disposed at the angles in alternate courses. We
also find, projecting a few inches from the surface of the wall, and
running up vertically, narrow ribs or square-edged strips of stone,
bearing from their position a rude similarity to pilasters; and these
strips are generally composed of long and short pieces of stone placed
alternately. A plain string course of the same description of square-edged
rib or strip-work often runs horizontally along the walls of Anglo-Saxon
remains, and the vertical ribs are sometimes set upon such as a basement,
and sometimes finish under such.
Q. What churches exhibit projecting strips of stonework thus disposed?
A. The towers of the churches of Earls Barton and Barnack,
Northamptonshire, and the tower of one of the churches at
Barton-upon-Humber, Lincolnshire, are covered with these narrow projecting
strips of stonework, in such a manner that the surface of the wall appears
divided into rudely formed panels; the like disposition of rib-work
appears, though not to so great extent, on the face of the upper part of
the tower of Stowe Church, Northamptonshire, of St. Benedict’s Church,
Cambridge, on the walls of the church of Worth, in Sussex, on the upper
part of the walls of the chancel of Repton Church, Derbyshire, and on the
walls of the nave and north transept of Stanton Lacey Church, Salop.
[Illustration: Anglo-Saxon Masonry, Long and Short Work.
Burcombe, Wilts. Wittering, Northamptonshire.]
Q. Where do we meet with instances where long and short blocks of ashlar
masonry are disposed in alternate courses at the angles of walls?
A. Such occur at the angles of the chancel of North Burcombe Church,
Wiltshire; at the angles of the nave and chancel of Wittering Church,
Northamptonshire; at the angles of the towers of St. Benedict’s Church,
Cambridge, of Sompting Church, Sussex, and of St. Michael’s Church,
Oxford, and in other Anglo-Saxon remains. The ashlar masonry forming the
angles is not, however, invariably thus disposed.
Q. How are the doorways of this style distinguished?
A. They are either semicircular, or triangular-arched headed, but the
former are more common. In those, apparently the most ancient, the
voussoirs or arched heads are faced with large flat bricks or tiles,
closely resembling Roman work. Doorways of this description are to be met
with in the old church, Dover Castle; in the church of Brixworth,
Northamptonshire; and on the south side of Brytford Church, Wiltshire. The
doorway, however, we most frequently meet with in Anglo-Saxon remains, is
of simple yet peculiar construction, semicircular-headed, and formed
entirely of stone, without any admixture of brick; the jambs are
square-edged, and are sometimes but not always composed of two long blocks
placed upright, with a short block between them; the arched head of the
doorway is plain, and springs from square projecting impost blocks, the
under edges of which are sometimes bevelled and sometimes left square.
This doorway is contained within a kind of arch of rib-work, projecting
from the face of the wall, with strips of pilaster rib-work continued down
to the ground; sometimes this arch springs from plain block imposts, or
from strips of square-edged rib-work disposed horizontally, and the jambs
are occasionally constructed of long and short work.
[Illustration: Anglo-Saxon Doorway, St. Peter’s Church,
Barton-upon-Humber.]
Q. Mention the names of churches in which doorways of this description are
preserved?
A. The south doorways of the towers of the old church at
Barton-upon-Humber and of Barnack Church, the west doorway of the tower of
Earls Barton Church, the north and south doorways of the tower of Wooten
Wawen Church, Warwickshire, the east doorway of the tower of Stowe Church,
Northamptonshire, the north doorway of the nave of Brytford Church,
Wiltshire, and the north doorway of the nave of Stanton Lacey Church,
Salop, though differing in some respects from each other, bear a general
similarity of design, and come under the foregoing description.
[Illustration: Belfry Window, north side of the Tower of Wyckham Church,
Berks.]
Q. How are we able to distinguish the windows of the Anglo-Saxon style?
A. The belfry windows are generally found to consist of two
semicircular-headed lights, divided by a kind of rude balluster shaft of
peculiar character, the entasis of which is sometimes encircled with rude
annulated mouldings; this shaft supports a plain oblong impost or abacus,
which extends through the whole of the thickness of the wall, or nearly
so, and from this one side of the arch of each light springs. Double
windows thus divided appear in the belfry stories of the church towers of
St. Michael, Oxford; St. Benedict, Cambridge; St. Peter,
Barton-upon-Humber; Wyckham, Berks; Sompting, Sussex; and Northleigh,
Oxfordshire. In the belfry of the tower of Earls Barton Church are windows
of five or six lights, the divisions between which are formed by these
curious balluster shafts. The semicircular-headed single-light window of
this style may be distinguished from those of the Norman style by the
double splay of the jambs, the spaces between which spread or increase in
width outwardly as well as inwardly, the narrowest part of the window
being placed on the centre of the thickness of the wall; whereas the jambs
of windows in the Norman style have only a single splay, and the narrowest
part of the window is set even with the external face of the wall, or
nearly so. Single-light windows splayed externally occur in the west
walls of the towers of Wyckham Church, Berks, and of Stowe Church,
Northamptonshire, Caversfield Church, Oxfordshire, and on the north side
of the chancel of Clapham Church, Bedfordshire; but windows without a
splay occur in the tower of Lavendon Church, Buckinghamshire. Small square
or oblong-shaped apertures are sometimes met with, as in the tower of St.
Benedict’s Church, Cambridge; and also triangular-headed windows, which,
with doorways of the same form, will be presently noticed.
[Illustration: Anglo-Saxon Single-light Window, Tower of Wyckham Church,
Berks.]
Q. Of what description are the arches which separate the nave from the
chancel and aisles, and sustain the clerestory walls?
[Illustration: Anglo-Saxon Arches, St. Michael’s Church, St. Alban’s,
A. D. 948.]
A. They are very plain, and consist of a single sweep or soffit only,
without any sub-arch, as in the Norman style; and they spring from square
piers; with a plain abacus impost on each intervening, which impost has
sometimes the under edge chamfered, and sometimes left quite plain. Arches
of this description occur at Brixworth Church, between the nave and
chancel of Clapham Church, and between the nave and chancel of Wyckham
Church. The arches in St. Michael’s Church, St. Alban’s, which divide the
nave from the aisles, have their edges slightly chamfered. There are also
arches with single soffits, which have over them a kind of hood, similar
to that over doorways of square-edged rib-work, projecting a few inches
from the face of the wall, carried round the arch, and either dying into
the impost or continued straight down to the ground. The chancel arch of
Worth Church, and arches in the churches of Brigstock and Barnack, and of
St. Benedict, Cambridge, and the chancel arch, Barrow Church, Salop, are
of this description. Some arches have round or semicylindrical mouldings
rudely worked on the face, as in the chancel arch, Wittering Church; or
under or attached to the soffit, as at the churches of Sompting and St.
Botulph, Sussex. Rudely sculptured impost blocks also sometimes occur, as
at Sompting and at St. Botulph; and animals sculptured in low relief
appear at the springing of the hood over the arch in the tower of St.
Benedict’s Church, Cambridge.
[Illustration: Tower Arch, Barnack Church, Northamptonshire.]
[Illustration: Chancel Arch, Wittering Church, Northamptonshire.]
Q. How are some of the doorways, windows, arched recesses, and panels of
Anglo-Saxon architecture constructed?
[Illustration: Doorway in the Tower of Brigstock Church.]
A. In a very rude manner, of two or more long blocks of stone, placed
slantingly or inclined one towards the other, thus forming a straight
line, or triangular-headed arch; the lower ends of these sometimes rest on
plain projecting imposts, which surmount other blocks composing the
jambs. We find a doorway of this description on the west side of the tower
of Brigstock Church, forming the entrance into the curious circular-shaped
turret attached and designed for a staircase to the belfry; an arched
recess of this description occurs in the tower of Barnack Church, and a
panel on the exterior of the same tower, and in windows in the tower of
the old church, Barton-upon-Humber, and in the tower of Sompting Church,
and St. Michael’s Church, Oxford. The arch thus shaped is not, however,
peculiar to the Anglo-Saxon style, but may occasionally be traced in most
if not all of the subsequent styles, but not of such rude or plain
construction.
[Illustration: Recess in the Tower of Barnack Church.]
Q. Were the Anglo-Saxon architects accustomed to construct crypts beneath
their churches?
A. There are some subterranean vaults, not easily accessible, the presumed
remains of Bishop Wilfrid’s work, at Ripon and Hexham, of the latter part
of the seventh century; but the crypt beneath the chancel of Repton
Church, Derbyshire, the walls of which are constructed of _hewn_ stone, is
perhaps the most perfect specimen existing of a crypt in the Anglo-Saxon
style, and of a stone vaulted roof sustained by piers, which are of
singular character; the vaulting is without diagonal groins, and bears a
greater similarity to Roman than to Norman vaulting.
[Illustration: Crypt, Repton Church, Derbyshire.]
Q. Are mouldings, or is any kind of sculptured ornament, to be met with in
Anglo-Saxon work?
A. Although the remains of this style are for the most part plain and
devoid of ornamental detail, we occasionally meet with mouldings of a
semicylindrical or roll-like form, on the face or under the soffit of an
arch, and these are sometimes continued down the sides of the jambs or
piers. Foliage, knot-work, and other rudely sculptured detail occur on
the tower of Barnack Church, and some rude sculptures appear in St.
Benedict’s Church, Cambridge; and the plain and simple cross of the Greek
form, is represented in relief over a doorway at Stanton Lacey Church, and
over windows in the tower of Earls Barton Church.
Q. What was the general plan of the Anglo-Saxon churches?
A. We have now but few instances in which the complete ground plan of an
Anglo-Saxon church can be traced: that of Worth Church, Sussex, is perhaps
the most perfect, as the original foundation walls do not appear to have
been disturbed, although insertions of windows of later date have been
made in the walls of the superstructure. This church is planned in the
form of a cross, and consists of a nave with transepts, and a chancel,
terminating at the east end with a semicircular apsis--a rare instance in
the Anglo-Saxon style, as in general the east end of the chancel is
rectangular in plan. The towers of Anglo-Saxon churches are generally
placed at the west end, though sometimes, as at Wotten Wawen, they occur
between the chancel and nave. No original staircase has yet been found in
the interior of any. The church at Brixworth, an edifice of the seventh
century, and that of St. Michael, at St. Alban’s, of the tenth century,
have aisles. Sometimes the church appears to have consisted of a nave and
chancel only.
Q. Why have we so few ecclesiastical remains of known or presumed
Anglo-Saxon architecture now existing?
A. There are probably many examples of this style preserved in churches
which have hitherto escaped observation[49-*]; still they are,
comparatively speaking, rarely to be met with: and this may be accounted
for by the recorded fact, that in the repeated incursions of the Danes in
this island, during the ninth and tenth centuries, almost all the
Anglo-Saxon monasteries and churches were set on fire and destroyed.
[Illustration: Anglo Saxon Doorway and Window, interior of the tower of
Brigstock Church, north side.]
FOOTNOTES:
[49-*] All the Anglo-Saxon remains noticed in this chapter, except those
alluded to as supposed to exist at Ripon and Hexham, together with the
tower of the church of St. Benedict’s, Lincoln, have been inspected by
the author; and the illustrations of this chapter are, with three
exceptions, from his sketches made on the spot. Of the remaining three
vignettes, two are from drawings made whilst the author was present, and
one only, viz. that of the crypt beneath the chancel of Repton Church,
has been reduced from a larger engraving. Besides the churches which
have been referred to, several others which have not been visited by the
author exhibit vestiges, more or less, of presumed Anglo-Saxon work. Of
such churches the following is a list, and, with those mentioned in the
chapter, constitute all which have yet come under his notice:
Caversfield, Oxfordshire. Church Stretton, Salop. Trinity Church,
Colchester. Deerhurst, Gloucestershire. Daglinworth, Gloucestershire.
Jarrow, Durham. Laughton-en-le-Morthen, Yorkshire. Kirkdale, Yorkshire.
Monkswearmouth, Durham. Ropsley, Lincolnshire. Stoke D’Abernon, Surrey.
Wittingham, Yorkshire.
Of these, seven are noticed by Mr. Rickman.
[Illustration: Norman Chancel, Darent Church, Kent.]