Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 5.djvu/470

 348 NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. taste, and by casting suspicion upon those who take pleasure in studying the venerable works bequeatlied to us by the piety of our ancestors, or who express anxiety that our ecclesiastical structures should retain that air of grandeur and solemnity which so well befits them." pp. v., vi. "Again, if the architect is led to look upon symbolism otherwise than as a secondary element in works of medifeval art, he will be apt to overlook the real principles of excellence ; such as beauty of proportion and mechan- ical contrivance. It is, indeed, necessary that he should be conversant with symbols, as the knowledge of them may save him from many gross errors Avhen he imitates ancient examples ; but by attaching too great an import- ance to them, he will, in his search for abstruse meanings, run the risk of neglecting the plain and obvious lessons, Avhich even the simplest of our old churches is calculated to teach him. " I am unwilling, however, to suppose it impossible to avoid superstitious notions, without checking those feelings of reverence and devotion which the contemplation of an ancient church naturally excites. And there can be no better means of ensuring this result than by making ourselves thoroughly acquainted with the subject, and addressing ourselves to its study in a spirit of historical research, and fair and candid criticism." pp. vii., viii. The volume contains four of the author's rough but spirited etchings, two of general views, one of part of the interior, and one of the west front, besides several woodcuts of details. The most remarkable feature of ^this fine church is the west front with its grand Norman arch, seven times recessed, extending to the whole height and breadth of the west end of the nave. This arch is filled up with late work and would appear to have been originally open, or at least the wall was carried further back than it is at present. Mr. Petit evidently inclines to the latter opinion, and with reason ; the Normans were fond of shallow porches with deeply recessed arches, and it is not unusual to find a considerable part of the west front occupied by a shallow porch, although perhaps in no instance has so bold an arrangement as the present been pre- served to us. But perhaps the grandest feature of the church is its magnificent central tower, the description of which leads us to one of Mr. Petit's felicitous di- gressions upon central towers, and thence to the grouping of towers in general, which should be carefully read and considered by modern archi- tects. " I may here observe that the predominant central tower, in large build- ings, is peculiarly an English feature. There are, without doubt, many fine continental examples ; but in chui'ches of considerable size and dignity, these form the exception rather than the rule. The finest steeples, as at Antwerp, Strasburgh, and Freyburg, usually belong to the west front ; there is either no central tower at all, or only a very subordinate one, as the octagon in the design for Cologne cathedral, which is very much smaller, both in height and massiveness, than the western steeples. Sometimes a