Drawing on close archaeological examination, a study of masons' marks and especially new dendrochronological data, this article defends and develops Christopher Norton's argument, published in 2009, that Gothic construction at Beverley Minster commenced soon after a well-documented fire in 1188. This dating was widely accepted until the 1860s, but since then there has been widespread consensus amongst scholars that Gothic construction at Beverley began no earlier than 1220. This radical re-dating disassociates Beverley with Lincoln Cathedral, and instead locates its design in relation to early Gothic construction at the abbeys of Fountains, Byland and Jervaulx, together with a wider group of 'northern' Gothic churches. New documentary and dendrochronological evidence also provide a more secure dating for Beverley's 14th-century nave.
Best known for his influential publications on early Cistercian buildings in England, Peter J. Fergusson was one of the leading scholars of the architecture of medieval monasticism, to which he brought an exceptionally collegiate and collaborative approach.
There were various architectural structures or shrine bases associated with the cult of St William of York, whose sarcophagus was rediscovered in 1968, positioned centrally between the first two pair of piers at the east end of the nave of York Minster, where it had been buried at the Reformation. It can be distinguished from the first nave shrine structure which served as a tomb shrine containing the relics of St William because it served the considerably different function of a base for the elevation of a reliquary box or feretrum containing the bones of the saint. The shrine base was divided into bays, most likely four on the long sides and one on each end, and thereby matched in scale the earlier second shrine in the nave. The third shrine structure to be built formed the second incarnation of the nave tomb shrine and can be dated stylistically to the years around 1330.
The recent identification of two original drawings of the excavated remains of the east end of St Hugh’s choir at Lincoln Cathedral adds new information to that first published in 1887. A review of this information and fresh survey of the site, which includes information from grave slabs, will enlarge our understanding of what was discovered, including the fact that the foundations had been badly damaged by grave digging. The drawings themselves are revealed to be part reconstructions rather than accurate representations of what had actually survived. Nevertheless, they do allow a more accurate plan of the remains to be drafted and a new reconstruction of the building to be attempted. This is the aim of this article.
Kirkstead abbey, in the Witham Valley of Lincolnshire, is a little-known but highly significant Cistercian house, both for its early history and architecture, and for the fact that it was treated unusually on being one of the monasteries seized by the Crown for the treason of its president after the Lincolnshire Rising of 1536. Substantially ruined and poorly preserved above ground, recent study has questioned its traditional interpretation. Its standing remains are sparse but extremely informative; its site at least partly marked by earthworks; and its home estate can be reconstructed from a late 13th-century cartulary and a remarkable series of loose charters.
Study of the architecture of the west front of the church at Byland Abbey shows that during its erection many changes of design were made. An enlargement of the central doorway caused the level of the galilee porch roof to be raised followed by a major revision to the design which involved the introduction of different buttresses. The three lancet windows were widened internally after their construction had begun while, at the same time, the head of the window in the south aisle of the nave seems to have been raised. A stair turret from the south aisle vault space to the nave clerestory was abandoned when it was on the point of completion; this, together with uncapped shaftings between triple lancets, indicates that the original intention was to build three graduated lancet windows in the gable. These were abandoned in favour of the great rose window. The remaining fragments of its tracery together with two masons' drawings of its design have enabled an almost total reconstruction of its form to be made. A brief comparison with other rose windows in the region, including two of earlier date, reveals that although there was a preference for wheel designs, there was no common form of construction, each window having its own individual characteristics.
The discovery of several sections of a trefoiled arcade of 14th-century date at Coverham abbey is a major addition to sculpture from the English Premonstratensian houses. Discovered in a robber trench whilst resurfacing a courtyard, they can be linked to a panel reused in the gable of the Georgian house. When reconstructed, they show a trefoiled arcade with sculpted spandrels in the form of human figures. Positive identification of the figures is difficult, and they could be of Christ or apostles. While the arcade looks to have been part of a cloister arcade, there is the possibility that it formed part of the abbey laver, flanking the refectory doorway.
This paper and its companion on Cistercian cloister arcades brings together a number of reconstruction studies produced over many years of research. Each cloister is worthy of a paper in its own right, but lack of space here permits only a summary presentation in the form of a series of reconstruction drawings. A brief commentary is given on the form and detail of each reconstruction. Mention is also made of other surviving cloister fragments, but the paper is not exhaustive and some examples have doubtless escaped notice. The form of presentation adopted below does at least have the advantage of bringing together for the first time a selection of reconstructions that make clear the diversity of design and decoration of 12th- and 13th-century cloister arcades throughout England, Wales and Scotland.
The recovery of the design of the 13th-century cloister arcading at Tintern Abbey has enabled an amplification of the architectural regeneration at the site. The arcading was of unusual syncopated design, with variation in the decoration of the arches, moulding design and the type of stone employed. Recovered details include a doorway through the parallel rows of staggered arches and details of the corner assemblages. The overall design can be paralleled at Monk Bretton Priory and Keynsbam Abbey in England, and at Mont St Michel in France.Dating from the 1260s, it was probably the last part of the reconstruction of the monastic ranges to be completed before work began on replacing the 12th-century abbey church. The design variations suggest that the cloister was at least partially reconstructed, probably following the completion of the new abbey church. The cloister was slightly enlarged southwards when the old nave was demolished. At this time, the south arcade must have been dismantled and moved to the south, and the east and west arcades were presumably extended, thereby enlarging the cloister court. Eventually, the arcades were replaced in the 15th century.
This paper and its companion on Cistercian cloister arcades brings together a number of reconstruction studies produced over many years of research. Each cloister is worthy of a paper in its own right, but lack of space here permits only a summary presentation in the form of a series of reconstruction drawings. A brief commentary is given on the form and detail of each reconstruction. Mention is also made of other surviving cloister fragments, but the paper is not exhaustive and some examples have doubtless escaped notice. The form of presentation adopted below does at least have the advantage of bringing together for the first time a selection of reconstructions that make clear the diversity of design and decoration of 12th- and 13th-century cloister arcades throughout England, Wales and Scotland.
The remarkable survival of considerable elements of a large rose window at Elgin Cathedral allows an accurate reconstruction of its form. The design can be shown to be from the mainstream of rose window tracery patterns in northern Britain and can be related to the pre-1390 west front of the cathedral. When reconstructed the design of the front shows close affinities with the west front of Arbroath Abbey which also featured a large circular window. Certain elements of the tracery also show similarities with the eastern rose window reconstructed at Fountains Abbey and indicate strong links with sources in northern England.
A new survey of Grey Abbey has identified hitherto unsuspected areas of restoration, especially around the sedilia and west front. Measurement of the surviving walls and study of the collection of architectural fragments has enabled outline reconstruction drawings of the church and monastic buildings to be made. Survey of the loose stonework identified substantial elements of the chapter-house, day room and cloister arcades. Comparison with material at Christ Church Cathedral Dublin shows that the chapter-house vault ribs at Grey were identical in profile to some thought to have originated in the aisles of the cathedral, a building strongly influenced stylistically by sources in the West Country of England.
From the Publisher: This book is for professional Oracle database programmers who need a comprehensive roadmap of the new programming possibilities with Oracle 8i. On the other hand, if you are already developing with Java and XML this book will show you how to exploit PL/SQL and the enterprise features of Oracle 8i in optimally distributing your n-tier applications. Knowledge of the essentials of PL/SQL programming is required, and familiarity with Java would be useful. OVERVIEW: Oracle Corporation has broadened its development platform, integrating open standards such as Java and XML into the heart of the Oracle 8i database. This extended programming environment continues to exploit the qualities of scalability, reliability and efficiency of the world's most successful data management software, but at the same time it provides new challenges and opportunities to programmers. This book shows you how to develop enterprise PL/SQL applications exploiting Java and XML, and how technologies such as EJBs can be moved to the 8i database. You'll work through case studies using a mix of both familiar and unfamiliar tools and languages, showing you how the various programming approaches can enhance each other. Author Biography: The authors are a multi-author Wrox writing team of professional developers.
Whilst the exact plan of the original 12th-century church at Ripon can probably only be recovered by archaeological excavation, the evidence suggests that it may have had an eastern ambulatory and was intended to have high stone vaults in the choir and transepts. Substantial evidence for the roof framing of the north transept has been recognised within the core if its north-east turret. The original central tower was at least one storey higher than the present one but the type of termination to the west end if the aisleless nave is uncertain. This revue of the evidence remaining in the nave at Ripon strongly indicates that Sir George Gilbert Scott's original suggestion that the nave had an alternating wide and narrow bay system was correct. Close inspection of the nave wide west bay triforium shows that it was considerably modified during the insertion if the 13th-century basement tower arch. Its original form if a tall round-headed opening flanked by lower lancet arches, which is essentially the same arrangement of the clerestory above, forms the key to the main fenestration of the 12th-century nave. The chapter house is wholly late 12th century in date and was later vaulted throughout on the upper floor. The projecting chamber at its south-east corner can clearly be shown to have been designed as a garderobe.
Study of the remains of the church at Dundrennan Abbey shows that it has been the subject of considerable restoration in the 19th century. The previously accepted view that the building incorporates substantial parts of the fabric of a mid 12th century church which was largely remodelled in the late 12th century cannot be substantiated. The western crossing piers, long thought to be part of this earlier structure, can be shown to have been substantially repaired and restored using salvaged elements from the nave piers. The presbytery high vault and crossing arches rose high above the flanking walltops and traces of an abandoned high vaulting scheme for the north transept have been identified and reconstructed in detail. The northern English Cistercian influences on the architecture have been confirmed as emanating from Roche and Kirkstead Abbeys but in particular from the great abbey of Byland.
