Page:An Elementary History of Art.djvu/168

 138 Architecture in Great Britain. Circular windows were sometimes used : as in Exeter, Chichester, and Lincoln Cathedrals, for instance. Fronts of buildings in the Decorated style differ little from those of the Early English ; more complicated forms were resorted to for effect, and some of the beautiful and effective simplicity of earlier buildings was lost. One of the finest west fronts in this style is that of York Minster (Fig, 62), the nave of which also belongs to the Edwardian age. Spires were so much admired at this time that they were added to towers complete without them. The buttresses were now carried higher than before, and surmounted by pinnacles. They were more richly decorated than ever, and were not now invariably planted at right-angles with the walls they supported; and, as the name of the style implies, a corresponding exuberance of ornamentation pre- vailed in every detail of construction. The ball-flower (i. e. a small round bud of three or four leaves) is the character- istic enrichment of the Decorative style, as the dog-tooth is of the Early English and the cheoron or zigzag of the Norman. One of the most beautiful specimens of Decorated archi- tecture in England is the octagonal tower of Ely Cathedral, built by Alan de Walsingham, to supply the place of the old Norman tower which had fallen down. The Lady Chapel of Ely Cathedral also belongs to this age. The royal chapel of St. Stephen's at Westminster, al- though small, must have been an extremely fine edifice. It was built during the reigns of the three first Edwards, and therefore belonged to the ripe age of English archi- tecture. The greater part has been removed, but the crypt, carefully restored, is still to be seen, and serves as the chapel of the Houses of Parliament. Among other