Skip to main content
Museum of Freemasonry

Masonic Periodicals Online

  • Explore
  • Advanced Search
  • Home
  • Explore
  • The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine
  • April 20, 1861
  • Page 7
Current:

The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine, April 20, 1861: Page 7

  • Back to The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine, April 20, 1861
  • Print image
  • Articles/Ads
    Article ARCHITECTURE AND ARCHÆOLOGY. ← Page 3 of 3
Page 7

Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Architecture And Archæology.

there AA'as more intercourse with Normandy , and the large number of castles , which Avere built to keep the Saxon people in subjection , aro all in the Norman style , and far better masonry than had been used before in England , yet for the first ten years these castles seem to have furnished enough work for the Norman masons , and they had not time to "build many churches . It is probablethereforethat the

, , Saxon people continued to build then * churches , ivhere they wanted them , in their own style , only taking such hints as they could from the Norman masons , and improving their own masonry accordingly . But it was not until about twenty years after the Conquest that the Normans began to build many churches . Wo know that the English people long retained their own language and their own customs , and it

is highly probable that they kept up their OAVU fashion of buildings , although for some time after the Conquest . Some of these toAvers exhibit such excellent masonry , that they could hardly have been built before the middle of the llth century ; and their architectural character indicates that several of them were built after the Conquest . The toAvers in the loiver part of the city of Lincoln afford a good

example of this , and agree remarkably with the history of the city . The ori ginal city was Eoman , the walls of ivhich still exist in great part on the top of a steep hill forming the extremity of the hi gh ground overlooking the fen country . The city continued to be thickl y inhabited by the Danes down to the time of the Conquest . The Conqueror took possesion of

onefourth of the city to build his castle , and the first Norman bishop , Eemigius ( or Sfc . Eemi ) , purchased another fourth to build his cathedral upon . The inhabitants were thus driven out of half the city on the hill , ancl , in order to remain as near to their old houses as they could , they drained a part of the fens at tho foot of the hill , and builfc themselves a new town there , connected with the old one by a very steep

street ; and in this toivn they built several churches , the toivers of Avhich remain to our day , and are distinctly of fche so-called Anglo-Saxon type , * but of a later character than most of the others .

Of the Avork of Edivard the Confessor afc Westminster we have none of the church remaining , but we have the substructure of the dormitory , and the Avails of the dormitory itself ; the latter is so much altered and patched that only one of the original icindows remains , which is plain Early Norman , with shafts in the jambs . We have also a considerable parfc of the walls of the great refectory ,

and other domestic buildings . The vaulted substructure of the dormitory is very curious and interesting . The vaults are groined without ribs , carried on round arches square in section , as is usual in all Early Norman vaults ; the material of which it is constructed is chiefly tufa , ivhich , from its porous , volcanic nature , combines lightness with strength in a remarkable degree , and is frequently used in

early vaulting . These vaults are supported by a row of short pillars doivn the centre , Avhich are precisely of the same diameter as they are hi gh , about 3 ft . We must bear in mind thafc such proportions as these are the beginning of the Norman style in England , and as Ave adA'ance ive shall find the proportions become gradualllighter . Tho capitals of each of

y these pillars have an abacus of remarkable thickness , and the capital itself is as remarkably short in its proportions ; those which arc in their ori ginal state consists of merely a square stone , ivifch the angles rounded off , and scarcely any thicker than the abacus . But the greater parfc of these capitals had been carved by tho monks at a later Norman period , being just afc a convenient height for a man to stand ancl

amuse himself AA'ith carving . This fact is proved b y different sides of the same capital being of different patterns , and parts of the same capital left in their original state , ivhich as further accounted for by two sides of'the capital having been in different apartments , for these vaulted substructures were always divided into a number of small store-rooms or

cellars , as they evidently were at Westminster ; and in this instance the partitions remain for the most parfc in fcheir original situations , though some have been altered . Similar substructures remain in many of our ancient monasteries , though none are of so early a character as this at Westminster ; and the partitions have commonly been cleared away by ignorant persons , thinking to make a great

improvement , the space thus thrown , open being called the ambulatory—a modern name for a modern idea . The old monks required no other ambulatory but the cloisters . In the substructure at Westminster there is an original doorway ofthe same plain early character as the rest . This is at the extreme south end , and appears to have opened into some of the offices beyondas ifc is not an external

, doorway ; and the external wall of the room into ivhich ifc opened remains , with a small loop windoiv in ifc , Avith long and short work in the jambs . The head of the early windows is cut off by a plain barrel-shaped vault of Norman character . This vaulted cellar is about 50 ft . long , and seems to have been an enlargement of the confession buildings , afc the extreme south end .

It should be mentioned that the dormitory joined on at its north end to the south transept of the church , and there was a passage and staircase from ifc into the church , for the monks to descend for the night services . A part of tho substructure , near the transept , is the celebrated chapel of the pix , formerly the royal treasury ; and although it now contains only empty chests , the old formalities respecting ifc

are si-ill kept up . Ifc can only be opened in the presence of a representative of the Treasury and another of the Exchequer . The portions ivhich remain of the walls of the great refectory are extremely interesting . The AA'hole of the north Avail remains up fco the roof , or nearly so , though much altered in appearance by the insertion of a large window

by Abbot Littiiigton afc the eud of the 14 th century . The lower part of the Avails at the easfc and AA * est ends , and a portion of the south side , also remain . This great Norman hall or refectory ivas ornamented round the loiver parfc of the walls by an arcade , ivhich still exists ( although blocked up wifch rubble stone-work ) . We have no evidence that Edivard the Confessor built

more than tho choir of the church , AA'hich Avas consecrated the day before he died . The nave or vestibule , as it was called , was clearly not then builfc , and ifc is quite possible that the monks who had to perform the service in the new church were afc first accommodated in temporary wooden

buildings , as was very commonly tho case ; but the permanent domestic buildings Avould be proceeded Avith before the nave , as more necessary , and these buildings can hardly be more than tiventy years later than the death of the king . Their stylo and character is very Early Norman ; the capital are all of the simple kind , called the cushion capital , merely a cube ivith the corners rounded off , ivhich is generally

tho earliest kind of capital . The scolloped capital did not come in until near tho end of this century . Whether the English copied their style from any foreign country , and if so , from which , or only copied their own wooden buildings , is an interesting question not easily decided . I have myself searched diligently in many parts of Europe , andhave made inquiries among tho best informed

persons for any buildings corresponding with them , but in vain . With a few rare exceptions of a partial resemblance , I think wc may conclude that tho buildings of this class are peculiar to England , and my own opinion is that they are mainly copied from timber buildings . Still wo knoiv that the archbishops of the Anglo-Saxon Church had to go to Eome for their palls , and as such ivas accompanied by a

numerous retinue , and tho journey occupied some months , they had every opportunity of seeing Avhafc was going on in other countries , and were ready enough to bring home anything neiv which they thought likely to bo useful . ( To be continued . )

Mr . Macdowell , K . A ., is busy with the statue of the late J " . M . "SY . Turner , U . K ., ivhich is to bo placed in Sfc . Paul's Cathedral . He is appropriately represented holding a palette in his hand . The painter himself left £ 1000 for this statue .

“The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine: 1861-04-20, Page 7” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 22 June 2025, django:8000/periodicals/mmr/issues/mmr_20041861/page/7/.
  • List
  • Grid
Title Category Page
MEMOIRS OF THE FREEMASONS OF NAPLES. Article 1
VISIT TO STRATFORD-ON-AVON AND ITS, VICINAGE. Article 2
ARCHITECTURE AND ARCHÆOLOGY. Article 5
MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES. Article 8
NOTES ON LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART. Article 8
CORRESPONDENCE. Article 9
MASONIC RITUAL. Article 10
RETURNS TO THE CLERK OF THE PEACE. Article 10
THE MASONIC MIRROR. Article 11
BOYS' SCHOOL. Article 11
THE ROYAL BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION FOR AGED MASONS AND THEIR WIDOWS. Article 11
METROPOLITAN. Article 11
PROVINCIAL. Article 13
ROYAL ARCH. Article 17
ANCIENT AND ACCEPTED RITE. Article 17
KNIGHTS TEMPLAR. Article 17
MARK MASONRY. Article 18
Obituary. Article 18
THE WEEK. Article 19
TO CORRESPONDENTS. Article 20
Page 1

Page 1

1 Article
Page 2

Page 2

3 Articles
Page 3

Page 3

1 Article
Page 4

Page 4

1 Article
Page 5

Page 5

3 Articles
Page 6

Page 6

1 Article
Page 7

Page 7

1 Article
Page 8

Page 8

3 Articles
Page 9

Page 9

2 Articles
Page 10

Page 10

4 Articles
Page 11

Page 11

4 Articles
Page 12

Page 12

1 Article
Page 13

Page 13

3 Articles
Page 14

Page 14

1 Article
Page 15

Page 15

1 Article
Page 16

Page 16

1 Article
Page 17

Page 17

4 Articles
Page 18

Page 18

3 Articles
Page 19

Page 19

2 Articles
Page 20

Page 20

3 Articles
Page 7

Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Architecture And Archæology.

there AA'as more intercourse with Normandy , and the large number of castles , which Avere built to keep the Saxon people in subjection , aro all in the Norman style , and far better masonry than had been used before in England , yet for the first ten years these castles seem to have furnished enough work for the Norman masons , and they had not time to "build many churches . It is probablethereforethat the

, , Saxon people continued to build then * churches , ivhere they wanted them , in their own style , only taking such hints as they could from the Norman masons , and improving their own masonry accordingly . But it was not until about twenty years after the Conquest that the Normans began to build many churches . Wo know that the English people long retained their own language and their own customs , and it

is highly probable that they kept up their OAVU fashion of buildings , although for some time after the Conquest . Some of these toAvers exhibit such excellent masonry , that they could hardly have been built before the middle of the llth century ; and their architectural character indicates that several of them were built after the Conquest . The toAvers in the loiver part of the city of Lincoln afford a good

example of this , and agree remarkably with the history of the city . The ori ginal city was Eoman , the walls of ivhich still exist in great part on the top of a steep hill forming the extremity of the hi gh ground overlooking the fen country . The city continued to be thickl y inhabited by the Danes down to the time of the Conquest . The Conqueror took possesion of

onefourth of the city to build his castle , and the first Norman bishop , Eemigius ( or Sfc . Eemi ) , purchased another fourth to build his cathedral upon . The inhabitants were thus driven out of half the city on the hill , ancl , in order to remain as near to their old houses as they could , they drained a part of the fens at tho foot of the hill , and builfc themselves a new town there , connected with the old one by a very steep

street ; and in this toivn they built several churches , the toivers of Avhich remain to our day , and are distinctly of fche so-called Anglo-Saxon type , * but of a later character than most of the others .

Of the Avork of Edivard the Confessor afc Westminster we have none of the church remaining , but we have the substructure of the dormitory , and the Avails of the dormitory itself ; the latter is so much altered and patched that only one of the original icindows remains , which is plain Early Norman , with shafts in the jambs . We have also a considerable parfc of the walls of the great refectory ,

and other domestic buildings . The vaulted substructure of the dormitory is very curious and interesting . The vaults are groined without ribs , carried on round arches square in section , as is usual in all Early Norman vaults ; the material of which it is constructed is chiefly tufa , ivhich , from its porous , volcanic nature , combines lightness with strength in a remarkable degree , and is frequently used in

early vaulting . These vaults are supported by a row of short pillars doivn the centre , Avhich are precisely of the same diameter as they are hi gh , about 3 ft . We must bear in mind thafc such proportions as these are the beginning of the Norman style in England , and as Ave adA'ance ive shall find the proportions become gradualllighter . Tho capitals of each of

y these pillars have an abacus of remarkable thickness , and the capital itself is as remarkably short in its proportions ; those which arc in their ori ginal state consists of merely a square stone , ivifch the angles rounded off , and scarcely any thicker than the abacus . But the greater parfc of these capitals had been carved by tho monks at a later Norman period , being just afc a convenient height for a man to stand ancl

amuse himself AA'ith carving . This fact is proved b y different sides of the same capital being of different patterns , and parts of the same capital left in their original state , ivhich as further accounted for by two sides of'the capital having been in different apartments , for these vaulted substructures were always divided into a number of small store-rooms or

cellars , as they evidently were at Westminster ; and in this instance the partitions remain for the most parfc in fcheir original situations , though some have been altered . Similar substructures remain in many of our ancient monasteries , though none are of so early a character as this at Westminster ; and the partitions have commonly been cleared away by ignorant persons , thinking to make a great

improvement , the space thus thrown , open being called the ambulatory—a modern name for a modern idea . The old monks required no other ambulatory but the cloisters . In the substructure at Westminster there is an original doorway ofthe same plain early character as the rest . This is at the extreme south end , and appears to have opened into some of the offices beyondas ifc is not an external

, doorway ; and the external wall of the room into ivhich ifc opened remains , with a small loop windoiv in ifc , Avith long and short work in the jambs . The head of the early windows is cut off by a plain barrel-shaped vault of Norman character . This vaulted cellar is about 50 ft . long , and seems to have been an enlargement of the confession buildings , afc the extreme south end .

It should be mentioned that the dormitory joined on at its north end to the south transept of the church , and there was a passage and staircase from ifc into the church , for the monks to descend for the night services . A part of tho substructure , near the transept , is the celebrated chapel of the pix , formerly the royal treasury ; and although it now contains only empty chests , the old formalities respecting ifc

are si-ill kept up . Ifc can only be opened in the presence of a representative of the Treasury and another of the Exchequer . The portions ivhich remain of the walls of the great refectory are extremely interesting . The AA'hole of the north Avail remains up fco the roof , or nearly so , though much altered in appearance by the insertion of a large window

by Abbot Littiiigton afc the eud of the 14 th century . The lower part of the Avails at the easfc and AA * est ends , and a portion of the south side , also remain . This great Norman hall or refectory ivas ornamented round the loiver parfc of the walls by an arcade , ivhich still exists ( although blocked up wifch rubble stone-work ) . We have no evidence that Edivard the Confessor built

more than tho choir of the church , AA'hich Avas consecrated the day before he died . The nave or vestibule , as it was called , was clearly not then builfc , and ifc is quite possible that the monks who had to perform the service in the new church were afc first accommodated in temporary wooden

buildings , as was very commonly tho case ; but the permanent domestic buildings Avould be proceeded Avith before the nave , as more necessary , and these buildings can hardly be more than tiventy years later than the death of the king . Their stylo and character is very Early Norman ; the capital are all of the simple kind , called the cushion capital , merely a cube ivith the corners rounded off , ivhich is generally

tho earliest kind of capital . The scolloped capital did not come in until near tho end of this century . Whether the English copied their style from any foreign country , and if so , from which , or only copied their own wooden buildings , is an interesting question not easily decided . I have myself searched diligently in many parts of Europe , andhave made inquiries among tho best informed

persons for any buildings corresponding with them , but in vain . With a few rare exceptions of a partial resemblance , I think wc may conclude that tho buildings of this class are peculiar to England , and my own opinion is that they are mainly copied from timber buildings . Still wo knoiv that the archbishops of the Anglo-Saxon Church had to go to Eome for their palls , and as such ivas accompanied by a

numerous retinue , and tho journey occupied some months , they had every opportunity of seeing Avhafc was going on in other countries , and were ready enough to bring home anything neiv which they thought likely to bo useful . ( To be continued . )

Mr . Macdowell , K . A ., is busy with the statue of the late J " . M . "SY . Turner , U . K ., ivhich is to bo placed in Sfc . Paul's Cathedral . He is appropriately represented holding a palette in his hand . The painter himself left £ 1000 for this statue .

  • Prev page
  • 1
  • 6
  • You're on page7
  • 8
  • 20
  • Next page
  • Accredited Museum Designated Outstanding Collection
  • LIBRARY AND MUSEUM CHARITABLE TRUST OF THE UNITED GRAND LODGE OF ENGLAND REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER 1058497 / ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2025

  • Accessibility statement

  • Designed, developed, and maintained by King's Digital Lab

We use cookies to track usage and preferences.

Privacy & cookie policy