English Gothic Architecture Field-Study Notes

Overview of the Field Trip

Purpose: Field research and photography for a book on Lincoln Cathedral; funded by RISD summer grant (2009 – although speaker at times says 2019).
Deliverable: e-book entitled The Splendor of English Gothic Architecture (coffee-table concept, became e-book only).
Equipment & logistics
- Rented Kia (low acceleration: “ $0\,\text{mph} \rightarrow 40\,\text{mph}$ in ~2 h” – humorous exaggeration).
- High-end architectural camera (returned afterward).
- Clockwise driving loop around England/Scotland; ≈ $40$ churches & cathedrals photographed.
- Driving challenges: left-side traffic, roundabouts, distance judgment ➔ curb/house bumps, one blown tire, CCTV speeding ticket (waived), minor collision (insurance covered).
Accommodation pattern
- Early stops: individual B&Bs (Exeter, Oxford, Worcester, Norwich) – notable “best scrambled eggs ever” near Exeter.
- Remainder: Premier Inn chain (ubiquitous, no reservations needed).

Full Travel Itinerary (Chronological)

London (Heathrow) ➜ Winchester ➜ Salisbury ➜ Exeter ➜ Wells ➜ Bristol ➜ Gloucester ➜ Oxford ➜ Worcester ➜ Hereford ➜ Chester ➜ Beverley (near York) ➜ York ➜ Durham ➜ Edinburgh (lunch) ➜ Leeds (lunch) ➜ Lincoln ➜ Southwell ➜ Peterborough ➜ Ely ➜ Norwich ➜ Canterbury ➜ Back to Winchester (retake photos) ➜ Heathrow ➜ U.S.

Methodological Notes

Photographic documentation + indexing system in e-book for quick retrieval of details.
Comparative analysis with Lincoln Cathedral as baseline: assess heterogeneity, vault evolution, decorative vocabulary, structural logic.

General Gothic Vocabulary & Definitions (with repeated reference in sites)

Quadripartite vault: $4$ severies between $2$ diagonal ribs.
Tierceron: secondary decorative rib springing from pier to ridge.
Lierne: tertiary rib connecting other ribs, creating star/net patterns.
Ridge rib / ridge-pole: longitudinal or transverse horizontal rib at apex.
Fan vault: conical cluster of ribs of equal curvature; surface infill becomes continuous fan.
Pendant vault: capital appears to hang from vault, column beneath removed.
Saltire (St. Andrew’s) cross: $\times$ -shaped crossing support.
Screen façade: flat west front densely packed with sculpture.
Close: walled precinct around English cathedrals.
Hall church: nave & aisles equal height.
Ogee arch: double-curved (concave+convex) pointed arch; “nodding” when canted outward.
Foil, trefoil, quatrefoil: $3$ / $4$ lobed infill shapes.
Crocket: stylised foliate bud on edges.
Curvilinear / Decorated style: $c.$ $1250–1350$ emphasis on flowing tracery.
Perpendicular style: $c.$ $1350–1550$ vertical accent, flattened $4$ -centered arches.

Cathedral & Site-Specific Notes

Wells Cathedral (Somerset)

Concurrent with Lincoln but stylistically homogeneous.
Architect Adam Locke (screen façade & nave).
Screen façade = synthesis of English royalty + biblical figures.
Notable features
- Simple quadripartite vault; Victorian polychromy by Sir George Gilbert Scott.
- Typical tripartite elevation (arcade, triforium, clerestory).
- Saltire cross “scissor” arches added by William Joy to stabilise cracking tower; symbolic of St. Andrew.
- Tower vault later upgraded to fan vaults (post-Joy).
- Choir: net vault (pattern > structure) with cusping.
- Retro-choir: umbrella vault reminiscent of Lincoln (ridge-pole, bosses, “enchanted forest” ambiance).
- Chapter House: worn sandstone stair, umbrella vault, French curvilinear touches.

Salisbury Cathedral (Wiltshire)

Only English cathedral built entirely Gothic from foundation (no Romanesque core).
Site: parkland close; near Stonehenge.
Plan: Latin cross + dual transepts, cloister, Chapter House.
Screen façade by Bishop Richard Poore; Masters: Nicholas of Ely, Elias of Derham.
Sculpture: English kings as Old Testament figures; Trinity triple-windows.
Chapter House houses one Magna Carta copy; vault = umbrella-style.
Nave construction
- Predominant Purbeck marble shafts, French quadripartite vault, tripartite elevation.
- Short springer poles in triforium support ribs.

Gloucester Cathedral (Gloucestershire)

Origins: Norman (Romanesque) by monks → irregular proportions.
Nave retains heavy cylindrical piers, dog-tooth moulding, tiny triforium.
Early Gothic additions: Lincoln-inspired tierceron vault.
Perpendicular innovations
- New transept: vertical emphasis, buttresses pierce elevations; $4$ -centered arches “hanging.”
- Choir: complex net vault, heraldic bosses.
- Cloister (Harry Potter filming location): first full fan vaults (Thomas of Cambridge) – undulating “epigenetic landscape.”

Southwell (“Suttle”) Minster (Nottinghamshire)

Former cathedral; Norman nave with massive piers & dog-tooth.
Timber roof (no vault) in nave; Late Gothic choir screen w/ crockets & foils.
Chapter House: famous “Leaves of Southwell.”
- Lierne star vault (snowflake) w/ huge bosses & exposed brick severies.
- Bench arcading: tiered arches, pediments, green-man masks.
- Botanical carving catalogues hundreds of plant species (noted by Nikolaus Pevsner).

Bristol Cathedral (Bristol)

City: medieval England’s largest port.
West façade 19th-cent. Gothic Revival; cloister & lawn close.
Oldest Chapter House in England (Norman intersecting arches; Islamic influence).
Hall-church section: aisle vaults = nave height.
Structural features
- Nave vault: Lincoln-style tierceron star vault w/ ridge-pole; mixture of limestone & Purbeck shafts.
- Aisle vaults: independent space-frame vaults (Canterbury precedent).
- Choir vault: decorated net vault (lattice diamonds, cusping).
- Bishop Berkeley Chapel: ribbed “space-frame” vault detached from ceiling.

Tewkesbury Abbey (Gloucestershire)

Founded by brother of William the Conqueror; still abbey church (not cathedral).
Norman core: cylindrical columns; later vaults
- Nave: thick tierceron vault w/ $3$ ridge ribs.
- Choir: curvilinear vault (red-white-blue Trinity symbolism) – psychedelic aesthetic.
- Crossing vault: mandala layout (sun-king center; eastern/Buddhist influence).
Chantry chapels: earliest fan & pendant vaults; structural capital “cut off,” ornamental hanging.

Ely Cathedral (Cambridgeshire, edge of East Anglia)

Contemporary with Lincoln; shared masons evident in façade reticulation & arcades.
Nave: Norman elevation; painted wooden ceiling (no ribs) yet continuous “bundled” shafts implying intended vault.
Choir & Retro-choir: Lincoln-type tierceron & lierne vaults; crocketed corbels; space-frame arcading.
Chapter House: England’s largest; nodding ogee arch frames; lierne star vault, gilded bosses, once vividly painted.
Octagonal wooden lantern at crossing (William Hurley) – hidden buttressing, celestial angel iconography; Hurley also built Westminster Hall roofs.

Exeter Cathedral (Devon)

Masterpiece of William Joy.
Screen façade packed with royal statues.
Nave vault unique: $13$ tiercerons per bay on each side; huge gilded bosses (≈ $2$ ft Ø); exposed brick in severies.
Shallow triforium ➔ vault resembles hull of a ship/Christ’s body.

Saint Mary Redcliffe (Bristol)

Largest non-cathedral parish church in England.
Vestibule: snowflake lierne star vault, gilded bosses.
Nave/choir vault: Lincoln-style but with $3$ ridge ribs + clustered tiercerons.
Retro-choir: decorated style net vault (missing ridge-pole, lierne diamonds, heavy cusping).

Bodleian Library – Divinity School (Oxford)

Largest research library in UK.
Divinity School (William Orchard, $c.$ $1500$ ): first full pendant vaults; ribs merge into hanging pendants; abundant ogee arches, cusping.
Architectural expression of structural inversion (“upside-down”).

Christ Church Cathedral (Oxford)

Originally priory church; made cathedral by Henry VIII during Reformation (similar status shifts at several sites).
Architect William Orchard again.
Norman walls capped with irrational pendant-lierne vault: bundled fascia of tiercerons smash into pendants, flatten into two-D surface pattern.
Literary nexus: mathematician & author Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) attended daily services here; architecture’s illogic mirrored in Alice books.

Bath Abbey (Bath, Somerset)

Commissioned by Bishop Oliver King; fan vaults by brothers Robert & William Vertue.
Fan & pendant vaulting richly repainted by Sir George Gilbert Scott (Victorian restoration).
Students at AA London now model these vaults digitally; exemplify late Gothic precision stone-cutting.
Bath context: Roman baths, canal scenes; favored royal retreat.

Recurring Themes & Conceptual Connections

Lincoln Cathedral as archetype: tierceron star vault, lierne development, umbrella vault, screen façade treatment, reticulated arcades.
Structural vs. ornamental tension
- Early Gothic sought logic; Decorated & Perpendicular pursue visual complexity/organic symbolism.
- Introduction of geometries without structural function (e.g., fan, pendant vaults) = historical first.
Cosmology & Theology
- Vault patterns seen as metaphysical diagrams (mandala at Tewkesbury, celestial angels at Ely, net vault as ordered cosmos).
- Light ➔ matter mediation (Neo-Platonic/medieval metaphysics) expressed via rib geometries.
Natural philosophy references
- Robert Grosseteste’s treatises on dunes/waves prefigure “epigenetic landscape” analogy for Gloucester fan vaults.
Eastern & Islamic influences
- Intersecting arches in Bristol Chapter House; mandala concepts in Tewkesbury.
Victorian restoration impact (Gilbert Scott) – polychromy, repainting, façades.
Modern cultural overlays
- Harry Potter filming boosts Gloucester/Cloister fame.
- Architectural Association digital studies of Bath fans.
- Personal anecdotes: “best scrambled eggs,” Hooters near hotel, CCTV ticket leniency.

Practical & Ethical Considerations for Researchers/Visitors

Driving in UK: roundabouts, left-side traffic, insurance waivers advisable.
Photography permissions: most sites open; Bodleian Divinity School required advance permit.
Conservation ethics: note contrast between medieval intent and Victorian/modern interventions.
Academic cross-disciplinarity: connects architecture, literature (Lewis Carroll), natural philosophy (Grosseteste), and modern film culture.

Useful Data & Mnemonics

Periods of English Gothic (w/ approximate dates)
1. Early/Geometric: $c.$ $1190–1250$ (Lincoln, Wells initial forms).
2. Decorated/Curvilinear: $c.$ $1250–1350$ (Exeter, Southwell leaves).
3. Perpendicular: $c.$ $1350–1550$ (Gloucester transept, Bodleian, Bath).
Vault evolution sequence: quadripartite ➔ tierceron ➔ lierne star/net ➔ fan ➔ pendant.
Structural paradox reminder: “If it looks like it’s holding something up, in late Gothic it probably isn’t.”

Closing Insight from the Tour

Observing derivatives in situ clarifies Lincoln Cathedral’s pioneering role: every subsequent English Gothic innovation either elaborates its rib vocabulary, inverts its structural logic, or amplifies its theological symbolism.