or transom-stone in the figure of a pediment, from which the arch rises,
encircled with a single, wide, plain, flat moulding. There is a similar
instance in the church of Martinvast, near Cherbourg; but the pediment
there assumes a form more decidedly conical.[122] Transom-stones occur
frequently in Normandy, and are variously sculptured; from the rude
cross, either alone or encompassed with the cable-moulding, to the
elaborate representations of the crucified Saviour, or other subjects
from holy writ. Profane subjects, which are of so frequent occurrence on
transom-stones in England, are very seldom found in the duchy: the
writer of the present article never recollects to have met with any; and
Mr. Cotman's more extensive researches have brought him acquainted only
with a single instance, a centaur, in the act of discharging his arrow
at a stag, in the church of Urville, near Valognes.
B. _Great western entrance_, (already described.)
C. _First compartment of the nave from the west_, showing the structure
and disposition of the arches, and the very flat buttresses with a
double projection, the first only equalling that of the corbels. The
square-headed door is modern. Several of the sculptures on the corbels
are close imitations of those upon the church of the Holy Trinity, at
Caen.
D. and E. _Portions of other compartments of the nave_, to obtain a
complete idea of which, it is only necessary to produce the dotted lines
below, to the same length as that at C; the parts and their disposition
being precisely the same, with the exception of the door.
F. _Elevation of the choir_, which is divided into two equal portions by
a flat buttress, flanked on each side by a slender cylindrical column.
Of these parts, one is quite plain, except only the corbel-table and
ornamented frieze below. The other has two arches, recently blocked up,
similar to those of the nave, but with a richer exterior moulding. The
door below these has the same peculiarity, in the drip-stone rising from
sculptured heads, as in the western entrance. The frieze beneath the
corbels very much resembles that in the same situation in the church of
the Holy Trinity, (see _plate thirty-one_,) and is likewise continued
over the buttresses, as well as along the receding part between.
NOTES:
[116] Figured in _Britton's Architectural Antiquities_, III. pl. 2.
[117] Figured in _Turner's Tour in Normandy_, II. p. 295.
[118] _Britton's Norwich Cathedral_, p. 33, pl. 6.
[119] _Britton's Architectural Antiquities_, III. p. 80.
[120] _Antiquarian and Topographical Cabinet_, V.
[121] _Ancient Architecture_, pl. 24.--In the description of this
building, page 33, Mr. Carter speaks of it as being of _Saxon_ origin;
and, in the chronological table attached to his work, he classes it in
the third of the four æras into which he divides his specimens of
_Saxon_ architecture.
[122] A still more remarkable example occurs in Essington church,
Gloucestershire, figured by Carter, in his _Ancient Architecture_, pl.
XV. fig. X. The transom-stone is there formed of part of an octagon,
rising from an horizontal torus moulding, which finishes in a spiral
direction round two heads. A lion and a griffin fill the space within.
PLATE LX. AND LXI.
CHURCH OF FONTAINE-LE-HENRI, NEAR CAEN.
[Illustration: Plate 60. CHURCH OF FONTAINE-LE-HENRI NEAR CAEN.
_North side of the Chancel._]
The parish of Fontaine-le-Henri lies about eight miles north of Caen,
immediately adjoining Than, whose church has already been figured in
this work. The register of the livings appertaining to the diocese of
Bayeux, made about the year 1350, and commonly known by the name of the
_livre pelut_, (_liber pelutus_, or the _parchment book_,) contains only
the following brief notice of it:--"Ecclesia de Fontibus Henrici LX
Libras.--Dnus dicte ville.--Archidiaconatus de Cadomo.--Decanatus de
Dovra." In the _Gallia Christiana_, and other similar works, no mention
whatever is made of this parish.
According to the modern division of France, Fontaine-le-Henri is
included in the canton of Creüilly: the name of the village, to whose
deanery it formerly appertained, cannot fail to strike the ear of an
Englishman, as being the same with that of the celebrated harbor in his
own island, the common landing-place from Calais. But the English Dover,
from having been originally a Roman station, is generally supposed to
have derived its appellation from the Romans; and Darell, in his History
of the castle, published by Grose,[123] gives it as his opinion that,
among the ancient Britons, it was called _Rupecester_, but, on the Roman
invasion, got the new name of _Dofris_, _Dobris_, or _Doris_, "in
consequence of the filling or damming up of the harbor;" "Doafer," as he
observes a few pages before, "signifying, in the language of those
times, a harbor shut up, or of difficult access." A still higher
authority, the learned Bishop Huet,[124] classes the word, Douvres,
among those whose origin is to be sought in the ancient language of
Gaul, and proposes two derivations: one from _Dufyrrha_, a rising
ground; the other from _Dvvr_, the term for water. Thus, without giving
any opinion of his own, he leaves the matter to his reader, with a
"utrum horum mavis elige."
The Norman village of Douvres is celebrated upon more than one account:
it was the birth-place of Thomas of Dover, almoner to the Conqueror, and
by him created archbishop of York in 1070; of Sampson of Dover, his
brother, made bishop of Worcester in 1097; and of a second Thomas of
Dover, nephew to the first of the name, who, in 1109, had the singular
honor of being elected at once to the episcopal throne of London, and
the archiepiscopal throne of York; the latter of which he accepted. His
brother, Richard, wore at the same time the mitre of Bayeux.--Douvres
was the principal place of one of the seven baronies, which formed the
episcopal manse of the bishops of Bayeux. During the thirteenth, and the
two following centuries, it was also selected for their country-seat.
Within its limits stands the chapel of the _Délivrande_,[125] said to
have been founded by St. Regnobert, the second bishop of the diocese,
and still held in the highest repute for its sanctity.
Of the church of Fontaine-le-Henri, the architecture is decidedly
Norman, and is distinguished by a bold and noble style, resembling in
its general character, as well as in its individual features, the
abbatial churches of St. George, and of the Trinity. Hence, though no
record is left of the actual founder, there is little room for doubt as
to the æra of the foundation. It may be observed on this occasion, that
in Normandy, as in England, it very seldom happens that information is
to be obtained on these particulars, when the same individual united in
his person the characters of lord of the village and patron of the
living. It was only where benefices were in the hands of religious
houses, that events so generally unimportant as the building and
repairing of village churches, were considered deserving of being
recorded.
With regard to the various proprietors of Fontaine-le-Henri, much
information is to be gleaned from Laroque's History of the House of
Harcourt. The laborious author, after having completed his general
account of the Norman nobility, in a single folio volume, devoted four
others to the genealogy and fortunes of this one illustrious family.
From him it appears that, during the period when Normandy was under
the sway of its own Dukes, the parish of Fontaine-le-Henri was in the
hands of the family of Tilly, one of whom is to be found among the
companions of the Conqueror, in his descent upon England. Early in the
thirteenth century, during the reign of King John, they held the
lordship of Fontaine-le-Henri conjointly with the castellany of Tilly.
Mention of them occurs repeatedly in the Ecclesiastical History of
Ordericus Vitalis, as well as in the annals of the abbeys of St.
Stephen and of Ardennes, near Caen; and it was from the baptismal name
of Henry, commonly borne by that branch of them, who were possessors
of Fontaine, that the parish took its present distinctive appellation;
a distinction not a little needed, considering that there are fifteen
other places in Normandy, called by the general name of Fontaine. John
de Tilly, the last of the male line of the family, who were lords of
Fontaine-le-Henri, died about the year 1380: he was succeeded in the
inheritance by his sister, Jane, who, in 1382, married Philip
D'Harcourt, and thus added the property to the immense domains of the
Harcourts.
The first of the plates appropriated to this building, embraces only a
portion of the western compartment of the south side of the chancel,
drawn in rapid perspective, the view being taken from immediately
beneath the corbel-table, for the sake of embracing the soffit of the
arches, and the projecting mouldings. Here, as at Bieville, the lintel
or transom-stone of the arch of entrance[126] assumes the form of a
pediment, but rests upon the jambs of the door-way, on a level with the
capitals. To the instances of a similar formation, adduced under the
preceding article, should be added the very remarkable one at Pen
church, in Somersetshire, figured in the _Antiquarian and Topographical
Cabinet_. On the lintel is sculptured the Lamb bearing the Cross,
enclosed within a circle, flanked on either side by a nondescript
animal; the whole supported by two crowned heads placed in niches in the
jambs.
[Illustration: Plate 61. CHURCH OF FONTAINE-LE-HENRI NEAR CAEN.
_Elevations of the East end of the South side of the Chancel._]
The following is a description of the different parts of _plate
sixty-one_:[127]--
A. _East end of the chancel._--The central buttress, flanked, like the
two lateral ones, with cylindrical pillars, divides this portion of
the church into two equal portions. The general appearance of these
buttresses, and the circumstance of their being supported upon a
fillet and plinth, would almost warrant the calling of them pilasters;
and those upon the northern side of the chancel, _Figure_ B, assume
that character even more decidedly, having no projection beyond the
cornice, which they support as an entablature.--It will be remarked,
that the whole building is raised upon a plinth of a bold character;
and Mr. Cotman justly observes, that the chancel may be regarded as a
model for beautiful proportions and exquisite finishing. As respecting
Norman buttresses, he is of opinion, that the edifices of highest
antiquity will be found to be altogether without any; and that they
were first added merely by way of ornament, to break the monotonous
appearance of a long uninterrupted space of level wall. Indeed, the
Norman walls, commonly from six to ten feet in thickness, could
scarcely require any additional strength from extrinsic objects; and
least of all, could they receive it from a projection of not more than
the same number of inches. Even where buttress has been added to
buttress, as in the north side of the chapel of the hospital of St.
Julien, near Rouen,[128] and in some other instances, it may almost be
questioned, if support was the only circumstance contemplated by the
architect. The double buttresses at St. Julien's, could scarcely fail
to be coeval with the building, as appears from the string-course
being continued in an unbroken line over them, a fact that was omitted
to be noticed in the description of the chapel.
NOTES:
[123] _History of Dover Castle_, p. 8.
[124] _Origines de Caen_, p. 315.
[125] See _Turner's Tour in Normandy_, II. p. 295; where this chapel is
described and figured.
[126] Mr. Cotman observes, that much might be said in connection with
this door-way, upon the subject of the decorations of the
semi-circular-headed arches in Normandy and in England. But, confining
himself to heads of the peculiar grotesque character, sculptured upon
the arch at Fontaine-le-Henri, he remarks, that such, though far from
being very uncommon in Britain, are of extremely rare occurrence in the
duchy; insomuch, that he can recal no other specimens of them, than
those upon a large arch which separates the nave from the chancel, in
the church of Berigny, near St. Lo, and upon another on the south side
of the church of Bracheville près le Grand. The heads, in this last
instance, are precisely like those at Iffley church, in Oxfordshire,
(see _Britton's Chronological and Historical Illustrations of Ancient
Architectures_;) but they are confined to the archivolt alone, while, at
Iffley, they are disposed in a double row, and form broad bands, that
encircle the pillars as well as the top of the arch. In England are the
following instances, most of them figured in the works of Britton and
Carter:--
South door-way of St. Peter's church, Oxford.
---------------- St. Peter's church, at Rasen, in Lincolnshire.
---------------- Earls-Barton church, Northamptonshire.
North door-way of Lullington church, Somersetshire.
Architrave on the east side of the cemetery-gate,
Canterbury cathedral.
West door-way of Kenilworth church.
South door-way of Moorvinstowe church, Cornwall.
Arches in the nave of ditto.
-------------------- Wymondham church, Norfolk.
West door-way of the church of Barton St. Mary, ditto.
[127] In the title of this plate, it is unfortunately stated to
represent the _East end_ OF _the_ SOUTH _side of the chancel_, instead
of the _East end_ AND _the_ NORTH _side of the chancel_.
[128] See p. 44.
PLATES LXII.-LXV.
CHATEÂU OF FONTAINE-LE-HENRI.
CENTRAL COMPARTMENT OF FONTAINE-LE-HENRI.
HOUSE IN THE PLACE DE LA PUCELLE, AT ROUEN.
HOUSE IN THE RUE ST. JEAN, AT CAEN.
[Illustration: Plate 62. CHÂTEAU AT FONTAINE-LE-HENRI, NEAR CAEN.]
It neither falls within the scope of this work to attempt any thing in
the form of a dissertation upon the ancient domestic architecture of
Normandy, nor, supposing such an object to be desirable, would the
present state of the duchy afford materials for the purpose. The lover
of researches into architectural antiquity no sooner directs his
attention to that branch of his subject, which, as tending to elucidate
the habits of his forefathers, would be peculiarly interesting, than he
finds an insuperable obstacle opposed to his progress. The zeal of
churchmen and the pride of barons, have preserved us many noble relics
of ecclesiastical and castellated buildings; but the private residence
of the more humble individual has, in no portion of the globe, been able
to secure to itself any thing approaching to a durable existence. What
was raised for comfort alone, was not in itself designed for perpetuity;
and the varying tastes of successive occupants, the changes of fashions,
or, what operate even more powerfully than all, the changes of fortune,
have conspired to subject this portion of human labor, in an eminent
degree, to that mutability which is the general lot of human
undertakings. In early times, also, the state of society operated
powerfully towards the production of the same destructive effect. When
even the monarch could no otherwise provide for the safety of his
palace, than by encircling it with the fortifications of the castle, a
life of continual alarm afforded his subjects no encouragement for the
cultivation of the arts of peace. Society knew no other classes than the
lord and his vassals: the former, enthroned in military state; the
latter, too poor to raise his aim beyond the necessaries of life; or,
where riches existed, too depressed by servitude to dare to let them
appear. Hence, during the prevalence of the feudal system, very little,
if any thing, more is known of domestic architecture, than is to be
collected from the rude illuminations of missals, or the unsatisfactory
descriptions of chroniclers. The monuments themselves have disappeared
from the face of the earth; or, if any instances can be adduced, tending
to disprove so comprehensive an assertion, they are few in number, and
worthless in quality. The utmost to be hoped for are such mutilated
remains, as Winwal-House, in Norfolk, lately figured by Mr. Britton, in
his _Chronological and Historical Illustrations of the Ancient
Architecture of Great-Britain_; remains that are calculated to excite no
other emotions than regret, and to awaken, without being by any means
able to satisfy, curiosity.--Nor indeed have Mr. Cotman's extensive
researches enabled him to meet with any of this description, all poor as
they are, within the limits of Normandy.
At the same time it has appeared right, conformably with the plan that
has been adopted in this work, as to ecclesiastical edifices, to lay
before the reader some specimens of the domestic architecture of the
duchy, which, though far removed from Norman times, are almost equally
so from our own days. Even these are rapidly disappearing; it is more
than possible, that the three subjects here selected for publication
may, in the course of a few years, be recorded only in these plates. One
of them is already levelled with the ground;[129] while the more
interesting house in the Place de la Pucelle, at Rouen, though it has
been suffered to continue in existence, has been so much injured in its
exterior, and is degraded to so mean a purpose, that its demolition
would at no time be matter for surprise.--Specimens, like these, are
curious in the history of the arts: they shew the progress which
architecture had made in Normandy, at one of the most interesting epochs
in French history; they also shew its relative state, as respectively
applied to civil and religious purposes. And, if they be all three
productions of nearly the same æra, they are sufficiently characterised
each from the other, by marks of distinction.
"A history of the civil and domestic architecture of the middle ages, is
yet a desideratum; and unless this task is soon accomplished in England,
the opportunity will be lost for ever." The very sensible author, from
whom this sentence is quoted, goes on to say, "The halls of Elizabeth's
days are almost worn out. The mansions of the time of Charles I. are
falling apace, and in every quarter of a century a class must disappear,
by the conjoined operations of repair and decay. The towns of England
perhaps afford the worst and poorest specimens of the dwelling houses:
the best and richest are found in the Netherlands. We can hardly qualify
this assertion by recollecting the magnificent range of palaces which
bordered the Strand, in the reign of Henry VIII. Our own dwelling-houses
are usually composed of timber frames filled in with plaster. Troyes, in
Champagne, is built entirely in this fashion, every street is the
perfect 'counterfeit' of old Cheapside. Beauvais is built in the same
manner, but the houses are profusely varied with carving, and a good
artist might employ himself there for a twelvemonth. Many of the ancient
houses at Caen are of chesnut timber. The Abbé De la Rue supposes that
they were built by the English, after the place was taken by Henry V. in
1417. His 'bombards' destroyed a great part of the town during the
siege; and after he had regained possession, he granted the sites of the
demolished tenements to his English subjects. In choosing this material,
they may have been guided partly by choice, as being a domestic fashion,
and partly by necessity; for the use of stone was restricted by Henry,
to the building and repairing of 'eglises, chasteaulx, et forteresses.'
The king, by letters-patent, declared that the 'quarries of white stone'
were to remain to him and his heirs for ever: this monopoly proves the
value in which the Caen stone was held."
[Illustration: Plate 63. CHÂTEAU OF FONTAINE-LE-HENRI, NEAR CAEN.
_Elevation of Central Compartment._]
Some account has already been given, under the preceding article, of the
changes of proprietors which the domain of Fontaine-le-Henri underwent,
during the reigns of the Norman Dukes, and down to the conclusion of the
fourteenth century. The estate then passed into the possession of the
Harcourts, in whose hands it continued a considerable length of time: it
has since been subject to various owners, and has now finally become the
property of the Viscount de Canisy. The _Château_ (see _plates
sixty-two_ and _sixty-three_) is a noble building, and a very
characteristic specimen of the residences of the French noblesse,
during the latter part of the fifteenth century, at which period there
is no doubt of its having been erected, although no records whatever are
left upon the subject. Fontaine-le-Henri was then still in the
possession of the family of Harcourt, whose fortune and consequence
might naturally be expected to give rise to a similar building.--As
compared with the mansions of the English nobility, the château at
Fontaine-le-Henri may be advantageously viewed in conjunction with
Longleat, in Wiltshire,[130] the noble seat of the Marquess of Bath. The
erection of the latter was not commenced till the year 1567, thus
leaving an interval of at least half a century between them; a period,
probably, much the same as may be presumed from other documents to have
intervened between the introduction of the Italian style of architecture
in France and in England. Longleat was built by John of Padua, who is
stated by Mr. Britton, "to have been an architect of some note at the
time; as is evinced by his being termed _Devizor of his Majesty's
buildings_, and by the grant made him by Henry VIII. and renewed in the
third year of Edward VI." Fontaine-le-Henri was also the production of
trans-alpine architects. Both of them bear decided marks of the nation
to which they owe their origin; but in the English mansion, the Italian
features are most decidedly enounced; while, in the French, they are
strikingly modified by the peculiarities of their adopted country.
The central compartment (_plate sixty-three_) has been selected by Mr.
Cotman for publication, as being the portion of the structure which is
in the purest taste. This also most resembles Longleat. But it is on the
other hand by far the least ornamented. The rest of the front of the
building is covered with the richest profusion of medallions, scrolls,
friezes, canopies, statues, and arabesques, in bas-relief, worked with
extraordinary care, and of great beauty. Their style is that of the
_Loggie_ of Raphael; or, to compare them with another Norman subject of
the same æra, of the sculptures upon the mausoleum raised to the
Cardinal d'Amboise, in Rouen cathedral: indeed, for delicacy of
workmanship, they may almost compete with the ornaments upon this
far-famed monument.[131]
[Illustration: Plate 64. HOUSE IN THE PLACE DE LA PUCELLE, AT ROUEN.]
For the drawing of the second of the houses here figured, that in the
_Place de la Pucelle_, at Rouen, (see _plate sixty-four_,) Mr. Cotman
has to acknowledge himself indebted to the pencil of Miss Mary Turner.
Rouen abounds in buildings, whose fronts are ornamented in a somewhat
similar manner, but none among them will bear a comparison with this for
the sumptuousness of its decorations.[132] In another and more important
point of view, the house in question stands still more decidedly
unrivalled; for a wing of it, which is not shewn in the present plate,
exhibits a series of representations, illustrative of different events
connected with the chivalrous meeting _in the field of cloth of gold_.
These figures have been already engraved: they were first published by
Montfaucon; then copied by Ducarel; and, very recently, two of them have
again appeared in the publications of Mr. Dibdin[133] and Mr.
Turner.[134] The latter of these gentlemen has been copious in his
description of this building; and the following account of it is
borrowed nearly verbatim from his pages:--