The Ground Plan of the English Parish Church
Public-domain ebook
The Ground Plan of the English Parish Church
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Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #27102.
About this book
The work is a scholarly survey of the architectural development of English parish churches, focusing on the evolution of their ground plans from the early basilican forms through the Norman and later medieval periods. The author opens by noting the absence of a dedicated study on this topic and sets out to trace the main lines of plan development, deliberately setting aside elevation, decoration, and vaulting to keep the discussion centred on spatial layout. The introductory chapter already outlines a comparative approach, juxtaposing Christian basilicas with secular Roman models and exploring various theories of origin, while the detailed contents promise systematic treatment of plan types, aisleless, aisled, cruciform, and their regional variations, supported by numerous plans and sketches.
Written in a measured, academic voice typical of early‑20th‑century architectural history, the text combines careful description with extensive references to contemporary scholars and photographic sources. Readers with a background in medieval architecture, historic preservation, or the history of ecclesiastical building will appreciate its methodical structure and the wealth of illustrative material. Those interested in the broader cultural context of church design, as well as students seeking a focused yet comprehensive entry point into English parish‑church plans, will find the book both informative and engaging.
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There is as yet no book entirely devoted to the development of the plan of the parish church in England, and the body of literature which bears upon the subject is not very accessible to the ordinary student. The present volume is an attempt to indicate the main lines on which that development proceeded. It is obvious that, from necessary considerations of space, much has been omitted. The elevation of the building, and the treatment of its decorative features, window-tracery, sculpture, etc., belong to another and wider branch of architectural study, in which the parish church pursues the same line of structural development as the cathedral or monastic church, and the architectural forms of the timber-roofed building follow the example set by the larger churches with their roofs of stone. To this side of the question much attention has been devoted, and of late years increasing emphasis has been laid on the importance of the vaulted construction of our greater churches, which is the very foundation of medieval architecture and the secret of its progress through its various "styles." It is expected that the reader of this book, in which a less familiar but none the less important topic is handled, will already have some acquaintance with the general progress of medieval architectural forms, with which the development of the ground plan keeps pace.
Some historical and architectural questions, which arise out of the consideration of the ground plan, and have an important bearing upon it, are treated in another volume of this series, which is intended to be complementary to the present one.
The writer is grateful to his wife, for the plans and sketches which she has drawn for him, and for much help: to Mr C. C. Hodges and Mr J. P. Gibson, for the permission to make use of their photographs; and to the Rev. J. C. Cox, LL.D., F.S.A., and the Rev. R. M. Serjeantson, M.A., F.S.A., for their kindness in reading through the proofs and supplying suggestions of the greatest value.
A. H. T.
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