Church architecture in England
The Abbey church of St. Mary Madgalene at Vézelay in Burgundy and Durham Cathedral in England are two very different examples of this form.
Thus there came to Europe, first the narrow, lancet window, often found in pairs or triplets, called in England the Early English style (here seen at Salisbury cathedral).
Examples of parish churches include Eaton Bray in Bedfordshire and West Walton in Norfolk; it is most commonly found in the south eastern counties.
The octagon at Ely, a timber framed lantern tower over the crossing, demonstrates the adventurousness of the developed style.
Finally, the Perpendicular style (so-called because the mullions and transoms were vertical and horizontal) allowed huge windows, often filled with stained glass.
Walls became thinner; solid buttresses became more elegant flying buttresses surmounted by pinnacles; towers, often surmounted by stone spires became taller, and more decorated, often castellated; internal pillars became more slender; unsupported spaces between them wider; roofs, formerly safely steeply pitched became flatter, often decorated with carved wooden angels and a bestiary, where they were steep they were supported by carved hammer beams; windows occupied more and more of the wall space; decorative carving more freely flowing; figures multiplied, particularly on the west fronts of cathedrals and abbeys.
"Hardly had such towers risen on all sides; never had such timber roofs and screens been hewn and carved..." (Harvey) This is the period of the building of wool Churches like Long Melford and Lavenham and of King's College Chapel in Cambridge.
The interiors of mediaeval churches, apart from their many altars and stained glass (which, of course can only be properly seen from inside) had their purpose made visually plain by the almost universal presence of roods, huge figures of the crucified Christ, high above the congregation, mounted on a rood loft at the chancel arch -with steps to enable the priest to climb up; something which no one could miss.
The Churches echoed to the sound of hammer blows as stone altars and images were smashed, glass broken, font covers and roods and their screens torn down and burnt.
In Protestant countries these were somewhat simple and, among the finest examples, from an architectural point of view were the churches of Sir Christopher Wren.
The Prinzipalstück ideal was of an oblong building without a chancel with a single space at the east end combining all liturgical acts: baptism, service of the word and communion.
Over time, however, churches would have the arms located wherever the parishioners would deem appropriate – over the chancel arch, on a side wall, or over the west door.
Gothic revival styles became popular and as urban populations grew, major neo-Gothic churches were built to accommodate them.
Finally, this style, in a modified form, was also used for the design of Methodist and other Nonconformist churches, which were also increasing in number during this time.
[3] The later Victorian era saw the influence of the Arts and Crafts movement, and the churches of this period returned to the less flamboyant styles of the early nineteenth century.
Notable architects of this time included George Frederick Bodley, whose most distinguished design is St Mary's Church at Eccleston in Cheshire, and Richard Norman Shaw, whose masterpiece is the Church of St Michael and All Angels in Bedford Park, London.
Two main drivers were the reconstruction or replacement of churches bombed in World War II, and the New Towns movement.
Notable C20 church architects include Giles Gilbert Scott, Basil Spence, Nugent Cachemaille-Day, Robert Maguire & Keith Murray and Brett, Boyd and Bosanquet.
