Page:An Elementary History of Art.djvu/154

 124 Architectuee in Great Britain. closely resemble the continental Norman. The cathe- dral of Canterbury, founded by St. Augustine about the middle of the sixth century, and rebuilt by degrees by Archbishops Odo (940), Lanfranc (1070), and Anselm (1093), supplies us, in the portions still remaining of the Norman building, with illustrations of the characteristics of this style ; and side by side with them can be seen specimens of the most refined English work previous to the Conquest. The cathedral of Rochester is another building in which the Norman style may be studied. It was commenced about 1077, and the nave is but little altered from its original appearance. Its internal details are plainer than those in contemporary French churches ; but its western doorway, which is uninjured, is a good specimen of the rich external ornamentation of the age. The choir and crypt were rebuilt early in the thirteenth century. The ground-plan of Winchester Cathedral is Norman, but the building was overlaid with Perpendicular work by William of Wykeham. Chichester Cathedral was commenced in 1082, and the nave, which has remained unaltered, was completed thirty- six years later. The building was extended eastward, like most English churches, in the early part of the thirteenth century ; and this portion is a good specimen of the completed transition from the short to the elon- gated choir, which came into general use in the thirteenth century. The cathedral of Norwich retains its original Norman form with less alteration than any other in England. It was founded in 1094, by Bishop Losinga; it is 411 ft. long by 191 ft. broad at the transepts, with a spire 315 ft.