1.
Bath Abbey
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The Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Bath, commonly known as Bath Abbey, is an Anglican parish church and a former Benedictine monastery in Bath, Somerset, England. Founded in the 7th century, Bath Abbey was reorganised in the 10th century and rebuilt in the 12th and 16th centuries and it is one of the largest examples of Perpendicular Gothic architecture in the West Country. The church is cruciform in plan, and is able to seat 1200, an active place of worship, with hundreds of congregation members and hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, it is used for religious services, secular civic ceremonies, concerts and lectures. The choir performs in the abbey and elsewhere, there is a heritage museum in the vaults. The abbey is a Grade I listed building, particularly noted for its fan vaulting and it contains war memorials for the local population and monuments to several notable people, in the form of wall and floor plaques and commemorative stained glass. The church has two organs and a peal of ten bells, the west front includes sculptures of angels climbing to heaven on two stone ladders. In 675 Osric, King of the Hwicce, granted the Abbess Berta 100 hides near Bath for the establishment of a convent and this religious house became a monastery under the patronage of the Bishop of Worcester. King Offa of Mercia successfully wrested that most famous monastery at Bath from the bishop in 781, monasticism in England had declined by that time, but Eadwigs brother Edgar began its revival on his accession to the throne in 959. He encouraged monks to adopt the Rule of Saint Benedict, which was introduced at Bath under Abbot Ælfheah, Bath was ravaged in the power struggle between the sons of William the Conqueror following his death in 1087. The victor, William II Rufus, granted the city to a physician, John of Tours. Shortly after his consecration John bought Bath Abbeys grounds from the king, whether John paid Rufus for the city or whether he was given it as a gift by the king is unclear. By acquiring Bath, John also acquired the mint that was in the city, in 1090 he transferred the seat, or administration, of the bishopric to Bath Abbey, probably in an attempt to increase the revenues of his see. Bath was an abbey, and Wells had always been a poor diocese. By taking over the abbey, John increased his episcopal revenues, John rebuilt the monastic church at Bath, which had been damaged during one of Robert de Mowbrays rebellions. Permission was given to move the see of Somerset from Wells – a comparatively small settlement – to the walled city of Bath. When this was effected in 1090, John became the first Bishop of Bath, as the roles of bishop and abbot had been combined, the monastery became a priory, run by its prior. With the elevation of the abbey to cathedral status, it was felt that a larger, John of Tours planned a new cathedral on a grand scale, dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint Paul, but only the ambulatory was complete when he died in December 1122. He was buried in the cathedral, the most renowned scholar monk based in the abbey was Adelard of Bath, after his various travels he was back in the monastery by 1106
2.
Victorian restoration
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It was not the same process as is understood today by the term building restoration. The change was embraced by the Church of England which saw it as a means of reversing the decline in church attendance. It is estimated that around 80% of all Church of England churches were affected in some way by the movement, varying from minor changes to complete demolition, in retrospect, the period of Victorian restoration has been viewed in a generally unfavourable light. A number of working together led to the spate of Victorian restoration. This situation lasted for about 250 years with the fabric of many churches, the severity of the problem was demonstrated when the spire of Chichester Cathedral suddenly telescoped in on itself in 1861. But towards the end of the 18th century the burgeoning Gothic Revival, the popularity of the Gothic Revival was seen by Church officials as a way to reverse the decline in church attendance, and thereby start to reassert the Churchs power, prosperity and influence. They therefore pushed for massive restoration programs, the rise in dissenter denominations, such as Methodism and the Religious Society of Friends, was seen as further evidence of this shortfall. To fulfil this need, between 1818 and 1824 the Government had granted £1.5 million for building new churches. Known as Commissioners churches, most of them cost only £4,000 to £5,000 each to build and it rapidly became popular, its membership increased from 8 to 180 in its first 12 months. Ecclesiology obviously struck a chord in society, it was linked with the ongoing interest in medievalism. The CCS stated that there were two ways in which a church could be restored. And if the earliest portions were too late, then it was a candidate for a rebuild in the correct style. To restore, The Ecclesiologist declared, is to revive the original appearance, lost by decay, accident or ill-judged alteration. They did later admit, though, that such restoration might create a state that the building had never been in. Another consequence was that a chancel was required for the associated ritual. Some figures give an idea of the scale, a total of 3,765 new and rebuilt churches were consecrated in the forty years up to 1875, with the most active decade being the 1860s in which there were more than 1,000 such consecrations. Over 7,000 parish churches in England and Wales — which is nearly 80% of all of them — were restored in some way between 1840 and 1875, butterfields restoration involved the removal of some original features, including the obliteration of paintings on the pillars. Butterfield also installed clear windows in the clerestory, allowing light to enter the nave
3.
Vault (architecture)
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Vault is an architectural term for an arched form used to provide a space with a ceiling or roof. The parts of a vault exert lateral thrust that requires a counter resistance, when vaults are built underground, the ground gives all the resistance required. However, when the vault is built above ground, various replacements are employed to supply the needed resistance, an example is the thicker walls used in the case of barrel or continuous vaults. Buttresses are used to supply resistance when intersecting vaults are employed, the simplest kind of vault is the barrel vault, which is generally semicircular in shape. The barrel vault is an arch, the length being greater than its diameter. As in building an arch, a support is needed while rings of voussoirs are constructed. Until the topmost voussoir, the keystone, is positioned, the vault is not self-supporting, with a barrel vault, the centering can then be shifted on to support the next rings. Amongst the earliest known examples of any form of vaulting is to be found in the village of Khirokitia on Cyprus. Dating from ca.6000 BCE, the circular buildings supported beehive shaped corbel domed vaults of unfired mud-bricks, similar Beehive tombs, called tholoi, exist in Crete and Northern Iraq. Their construction differs from that at Khirokitia in that most appear partially buried, the inclusion of domes, however, represents a wider sense of the word vault. The distinction between the two is that a vault is essentially an arch which is extruded into the third dimension, whereas a dome is an arch revolved around its vertical axis. Pitched-brick vaults are named for their construction, the bricks are installed vertically and are leaning at an angle, examples have been found in archaeological excavations in Mesopotamia dating to the 2nd and 3rd millennium BC which were set in gypsum mortar. A barrel vault is the simplest form of a vault and resembles a barrel or tunnel cut lengthwise in half, the effect is that of a structure composed of continuous semicircular or pointed sections. The earliest known examples of barrel vaults were built by the Sumerians, possibly under the ziggurat at Nippur in Babylonia, which was built of fired bricks cemented with clay mortar. The earliest barrel vaults in ancient Egypt are thought to be those in the built by the 19th dynasty Pharaoh Ramesses II. The vault being over 800 feet long,10 feet in span, the enormous Eyvan-e Khosro at Ctesiphon was built over 1,500 years ago during the Persian Sasanian period as a throne room. The arch is about 37 metres high,26 metres across and 50 metres long, built entirely without centering, the rings relieved the centering from the weight imposed, and the two layers of bricks carried the concrete till it had set. As the walls carrying these vaults were built in concrete with occasional bond courses of brick
4.
Gothic architecture
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Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished in Europe during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture and its characteristics include the pointed arch, the ribbed vault and the flying buttress. Gothic architecture is most familiar as the architecture of many of the cathedrals, abbeys. It is also the architecture of many castles, palaces, town halls, guild halls, universities and to a less prominent extent, private dwellings, for this reason a study of Gothic architecture is largely a study of cathedrals and churches. A series of Gothic revivals began in mid-18th-century England, spread through 19th-century Europe and continued, largely for ecclesiastical and university structures, the term Gothic architecture originated as a pejorative description. Hence, François Rabelais, also of the 16th century, imagines an inscription over the door of his utopian Abbey of Thélème, Here enter no hypocrites, slipping in a slighting reference to Gotz and Ostrogotz. Authorities such as Christopher Wren lent their aid in deprecating the old medieval style, the Company disapproved of several of these new manners, which are defective and which belong for the most part to the Gothic. Gothic architecture is the architecture of the medieval period, characterised by use of the pointed arch. As an architectural style, Gothic developed primarily in ecclesiastical architecture, the greatest number of surviving Gothic buildings are churches. The Gothic style is most particularly associated with the cathedrals of Northern France. At the end of the 12th century, Europe was divided into a multitude of city states, norway came under the influence of England, while the other Scandinavian countries and Poland were influenced by trading contacts with the Hanseatic League. Angevin kings brought the Gothic tradition from France to Southern Italy, throughout Europe at this time there was a rapid growth in trade and an associated growth in towns. Germany and the Lowlands had large flourishing towns that grew in comparative peace, in trade and competition with other, or united for mutual weal. Civic building was of importance to these towns as a sign of wealth. England and France remained largely feudal and produced grand domestic architecture for their kings, dukes and bishops, the Catholic Church prevailed across Europe at this time, influencing not only faith but also wealth and power. Bishops were appointed by the lords and they often ruled as virtual princes over large estates. The early Medieval periods had seen a growth in monasticism, with several different orders being prevalent. Foremost were the Benedictines whose great abbey churches vastly outnumbered any others in France, a part of their influence was that towns developed around them and they became centers of culture, learning and commerce
5.
Hand fan
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A handheld fan is an implement used to induce an airflow for the purpose of cooling or refreshing oneself. Any broad, flat surface waved back-and-forth will create a small airflow, generally, purpose-made handheld fans are shaped like a sector of a circle and made of a thin material mounted on slats which revolve around a pivot so that it can be closed when not in use. The movement of a handheld fan provides cooling by increasing the airflow over the skin and it also increases heat convection by displacing the warmer air produced by body heat that surrounds the skin. This evaporation has an effect due to the latent heat of evaporation of water. Fans are convenient to carry around, especially folding fans, next to the folding fans, the rigid hand screen fan, was also a highly decorative and desired object among the higher classes. Its purpose is different since they are cumbersome to carry around. They were mostly used to shield the face against the glare of the sun or the fire. Archaeological ruins and ancient texts show that the fan was used in ancient Greece at least since the 4th century BC and was known under the name rhipis. Christian Europes earliest fan was the flabellum, which dates to the 6th century and this was used during services to drive insects away from the consecrated bread and wine. Its use died out in western Europe, but continues in the Eastern Orthodox, Hand fans were absent in Europe during the High Middle Ages until they were reintroduced in the 13th and 14th centuries Fans from the Middle East were brought back by Crusaders. Portuguese traders brought back from China and Japan in the 16th century. The fan is popular in Spain, where flamenco dancers used the fan. European brands have introduced more modern designs and have enabled the hand fan to work with modern-day fashion, in the 17th century the folding fan, and its attendant semiotic culture, were introduced from Japan. Simpler formed fans were developed in China, Greek, and Egypt and these fans are particularly well displayed in the portraits of the high-born women of the era. Queen Elizabeth I of England can be seen to carry both folding fans decorated with pom poms on their guardsticks as well as the older style rigid fan, usually decorated with feathers and jewels. These rigid style fans often hung from the skirts of ladies, one of the characteristics of these fans is the rather crude bone or ivory sticks and the way the leather leaves are often slotted onto the sticks rather than glued as with later folding fans. Fans made entirely of decorated sticks without a fan leaf were known as brisé fans, however, despite the relative crude methods of construction folding fans were at this era high status, exotic items on par with elaborate gloves as gifts to royalty. In the 17th century the rigid fan which was seen in portraits of the century had fallen out of favour as folding fans gained dominance in Europe
6.
England
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England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west, the Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east, the country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain in its centre and south, and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight. England became a state in the 10th century, and since the Age of Discovery. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the worlds first industrialised nation, Englands terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north and in the southwest, the capital is London, which is the largest metropolitan area in both the United Kingdom and the European Union. In 1801, Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland through another Act of Union to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922 the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain, the name England is derived from the Old English name Englaland, which means land of the Angles. The Angles were one of the Germanic tribes that settled in Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages, the Angles came from the Angeln peninsula in the Bay of Kiel area of the Baltic Sea. The earliest recorded use of the term, as Engla londe, is in the ninth century translation into Old English of Bedes Ecclesiastical History of the English People. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, its spelling was first used in 1538. The earliest attested reference to the Angles occurs in the 1st-century work by Tacitus, Germania, the etymology of the tribal name itself is disputed by scholars, it has been suggested that it derives from the shape of the Angeln peninsula, an angular shape. An alternative name for England is Albion, the name Albion originally referred to the entire island of Great Britain. The nominally earliest record of the name appears in the Aristotelian Corpus, specifically the 4th century BC De Mundo, in it are two very large islands called Britannia, these are Albion and Ierne. But modern scholarly consensus ascribes De Mundo not to Aristotle but to Pseudo-Aristotle, the word Albion or insula Albionum has two possible origins. Albion is now applied to England in a poetic capacity. Another romantic name for England is Loegria, related to the Welsh word for England, Lloegr, the earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of Homo antecessor, dating to approximately 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date from 500,000 years ago, Modern humans are known to have inhabited the area during the Upper Paleolithic period, though permanent settlements were only established within the last 6,000 years
7.
Gloucester Cathedral
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Gloucester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Indivisible Trinity, in Gloucester, England, stands in the north of the city near the River Severn. It originated in 678 or 679 with the foundation of a dedicated to Saint Peter. Wardle records that in 1058 Ealdred, Bishop of Worcester at the time, the foundations of the present church were laid by Abbot Serlo. Walter Frocester the abbeys historian, became its first mitred abbot in 1381, until 1541, Gloucester lay in the see of Worcester, but the separate see was then constituted, with John Wakeman, last abbot of Tewkesbury, as its first bishop. The diocese covers the part of Gloucestershire, with small parts of Herefordshire and Wiltshire. The cathedral has a glass window containing the earliest images of golf. This dates from 1350, over 300 years earlier than the earliest image of golf from Scotland, there is also a carved image of people playing a ball game, believed by some to be one of the earliest images of medieval football. The cathedral, built as the church, consists of a Norman nucleus. It is 420 feet long, and 144 feet wide, with a central tower of the 15th century rising to the height of 225 ft and topped by four delicate pinnacles. The nave is massive Norman with an Early English roof, the crypt, under the choir, aisles and chapels, is Norman, the crypt is one of the four apsidal cathedral crypts in England, the others being at Worcester, Winchester and Canterbury. The south porch is in the Perpendicular style, with a roof, as also is the north transept. The choir has Perpendicular tracery over Norman work, with a chapel on each side. The late Decorated east window is filled with surviving medieval stained glass. Between the apsidal chapels is a cross Lady chapel, and north of the nave are the cloisters, the cloisters at Gloucester are the earliest surviving fan vaults, having been designed between 1351 and 1377 by Thomas de Canterbury. The most notable monument is the shrine of King Edward II of England who was murdered at nearby Berkeley Castle. The building and sanctuary were enriched by the visits of pilgrims to this shrine, in a side-chapel is a monument in coloured bog oak of Robert Curthose, eldest son of William the Conqueror and a great benefactor of the abbey, who was interred there. Monuments of Bishop Warburton and Dr Edward Jenner are also worthy of note, between 1873 and 1890, and in 1897, the cathedral was extensively restored by George Gilbert Scott. The cathedral has forty-six 14th-century misericords and twelve 19th-century replacements by Gilbert Scott, both types have a wide range of subject matter, mythology, everyday occurrences, religious symbolism and folklore
8.
King's College Chapel, Cambridge
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Kings College Chapel is the chapel at Kings College in the University of Cambridge. It is considered one of the finest examples of late Perpendicular Gothic English architecture, the chapel was built in phases by a succession of kings of England from 1446 to 1515, a period which spanned the Wars of the Roses. The chapels large stained windows were not completed until 1531. The chapel is a house of worship, and home of the Kings College Choir. The chapel is a significant tourist site and a commonly used symbol of the city of Cambridge, Henry VI planned a university counterpart to Eton College. The King decided the dimensions of the Chapel, the first stone of the Chapel was laid, by Henry himself, on the Feast of St James the Apostle,25 July 1446, the College having been begun in 1441. By the end of the reign of Richard III, despite the Wars of the Roses, five bays had been completed, Henry VII visited in 1506, paying for the work to resume and even leaving money so that the work could continue after his death. In 1515, under Henry VIII, the building was complete and it features the worlds largest fan vault, constructed between 1512 and 1515 by master mason John Wastell. The Chapel also features fine medieval stained glass and, above the altar, The Adoration of the Magi by Rubens, the painting was installed in the Chapel in 1968, which involved the destruction and lowering of the Sanctuary floor leading up to the High Altar. It was previously believed that gradations were created in 1774 by James Essex, but at the demolition of these steps, it was found that the floor instead rested on tudor brick arches. The installation of the painting resulted in the destruction and loss of the Edwardian reredos. The Rubens was also a shape to the window, which dwarfed it. Plain shutters were proposed, one on side, to give it a triptych shape and lend it independence of form. Graffiti left by soldiers is still visible on the north and south walls near the altar. During World War II most of the glass was removed. The windows of Kings College Chapel are some of the finest in the world from their era, there are 12 large windows on each side of the chapel, and larger windows at the east and west ends. With the exception of the west window, they are by Flemish hands, barnard Flower, the first non-Englishman appointed as the Kings Glazier, completed four windows. Gaylon Hone and three partners are responsible for the east window and 16 others between 1526 and 1531, the final four were made by Francis Williamson and Symon Symondes
9.
Lierne (vault)
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A Lierne in Gothic rib vaulting is an architectural term for a tertiary rib spanning between two other ribs, instead of from a springer, or to the central boss. The type of vault that utilizes liernes is called a vault or stellar vault. In England, the lierne came into use during the 14th century Decorated period, a good example of lierne vaulting is at Gloucester Cathedral. In France, examples can be seen in Flamboyant architecture, such as at Saint-Pierre, the vault plan diagram of Ely Choir shows the ribs as a double line, where the main longitudinal ridge rib and transverse ridge ribs intersect each other at the central bosses. The longitudinal ridge rib runs down the centre of the Choir, arched diagonal ribs span from piers between the windows, from springers to the central bosses, and arched transverse ribs span from the springers to the main longitudinal ridge rib. Secondary arched diagonal ribs, called tiercerons, span from the springers to the transverse ridge ribs, liernes span between the other ribs forming intricate patterning. Note, In French terminology relating to architecture, a lierne is a ridge rib, bond, Francis Gothic Architecture in England, Batsford, London
10.
Catherine of Aragon
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The daughter of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, Catherine was three years old when she was betrothed to Arthur, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the English throne. They married in 1501, but Arthur died five months later on 2 April 1502, in 1507, she held the position of ambassador of the Aragonese Crown in England, the first female ambassador in European history. Catherine subsequently married Arthurs younger brother, the recently ascended Henry VIII, for six months in 1513, she served as regent of England while Henry VIII was in France. During that time the English won the Battle of Flodden, an event in which Catherine played an important part with a speech about English courage. He sought to have their marriage annulled, setting in motion a chain of events led to Englands schism with the Catholic Church. When Pope Clement VII refused to annul the marriage, Henry defied him by assuming supremacy over religious matters, in 1533 their marriage was consequently declared invalid and Henry married Anne on the judgement of clergy in England, without reference to the Pope. Catherine refused to accept Henry as Supreme Head of the Church in England and considered herself the Kings rightful wife and queen, despite this, she was acknowledged only as Dowager Princess of Wales by Henry. After being banished from court, she lived out the remainder of her life at Kimbolton Castle, English people held Catherine in high esteem, and her death set off tremendous mourning. The controversial book The Education of a Christian Woman by Juan Luis Vives, such was Catherines impression on people that even her enemy, Thomas Cromwell, said of her, If not for her sex, she could have defied all the heroes of History. She successfully appealed for the lives of the involved in the Evil May Day. Catherine also won widespread admiration by starting an extensive programme for the relief of the poor and she was a patron of Renaissance humanism, and a friend of the great scholars Erasmus of Rotterdam and Thomas More. Catherine was born at the Archbishops Palace in Alcalá de Henares near Madrid and she was the youngest surviving child of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile. Catherine was quite short in stature with red hair, wide blue eyes, a round face. Consequently, she was cousin of her father-in-law, Henry VII of England. Catherine was educated by a tutor, Alessandro Geraldini, who was a clerk in Holy Orders and she studied arithmetic, canon and civil law, classical literature, genealogy and heraldry, history, philosophy, religion, and theology. She had a religious upbringing and developed her Roman Catholic faith that would play a major role in later life. She learned to speak, read and write in Spanish and Latin and she was also taught domestic skills, such as cooking, dancing, drawing, embroidery, good manners, lace-making, music, needlepoint, sewing, spinning, and weaving. The great scholar Erasmus later said that Catherine loved good literature which she had studied with success since childhood
