Website review: ::Gothic Church Architecture::
Someone discovered this in Architecture
•1 reviews since Nov 25, 2006
architecture
•historylearningsite.co.uk/gothic_church_archi...
People who like this website
StumbleUpon is the best way to discover great web sites, videos, photos, blogs and more - based on your interests.
Everything is submitted and rated by the community. Discover, share and review the best of the web!
Reviews of this website
14Peacenow rated 3 months ago- Gothic church architecture in Medieval England developed from Norman architecture. 'Gothic architecture' is the term used to describe building styles between 1200 to 1500. Such a large time span meant that a number of styles developed within Gothic architecture and it is common to divide these styles into three sections. The building between 1200 to 1300 is usually referred to as Early English; between 1300 to 1400, the style of building is referred to as Decorated and from 1400 to 1500, it is known as Perpendicular. It is common for major church buildings to show examples from all three of these periods. Gothic cathedrals are characterised by large towers and spires. Whereas Norman architecture can be seen as being 'dumpy' due to their more limited knowledge of building, the Gothic era coincided with a greater knowledge of engineering and this is reflected in the church buildings completed during this era. Gothic churches and cathedrals were fundamentally different to Norman buildings. The increase in knowledge and skills acquired over the years, meant that stone was specifically cut so that it fitted next to other stone blocks with precision. Therefore, the large blocks of stone favoured by the Normans, were replaced by shaped stone. Another major change was that the hollow walls used by the Normans were not used by later architects. Walls and pillars were solid and this allowed them to cope with much greater weights. This simple fact allowed churches and especially cathedrals to be much larger than Norman ones. This, along with the money gathering ability of the Church, explains why the cathedrals and churches of the Gothic era were so much larger than previous ones. Another development that strengthened church buildings, was the use of pointed arches. This shape allowed a much greater weight to be carried when compared to a Norman rounded arch. Cathedral roofs were now much larger than Norman roofs. Therefore, they were a lot heavier. To ensure that the walls and pillars could take such a weight, the architects in this era developed what were known as buttresses. These were additions to the main part of the cathedral that allowed the extra weight to be transferred to additional parts of a cathedral than ran alongside the nave and then down into the foundations. The architects simply spread the weight to other points in the building. 'Flying buttresses' allowed the outward pressure of the massive roofs to be resisted.
