Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 9.djvu/228

 168 ON THE ARCHITECTURE OF apsidal termination, vet it is clearly the best design that could have been adopted under the circumstances ; the best internal finish for a front divided into two vertical compart- ments. At Dorchester, however, as I said before, the vault- ing unluckil}'- has never been completed, so that we have nothing beyond the arches traced out for it. Its general effect one can of course pretty well appreciate, but one would Avish to know how one point would have been managed. The vaulting system extends only over the two eastern bays, there being no traces of it whatever in the western part of the aisle. It is difficult to understand liow^ the vaulted and vaultless divisions can have been harmonised together, as there is no trace of any arch between them. It follows of course that a void space must have been left above the vaulting at its west end, which must have been unpleasing, whatever means might have been taken to fill it up. There is a somewhat similar one in El}'' CatheQlral, where it is filled up with tracery ; and, though of much smaller extent than this at Dorchester would have been, the efi'ect is b}'- no means satisfactor3^'^ In all these cases the peculiar character of the building has Arcades of allowod, aud sometimes even required, the introduc- choir. i^Qj^ q£ individual features of unique character and extreme splendour, for w^hich no place could have been found in a church designed upon either of the ordinary types. We have finally to observe the most remarkable instance of all, in which, what in a general criticism of the building we must consider a defect, proves the means of introducing a feature wdiich, in its own class, is very nearly unrivalled. The extreme splendour of the arches on each side of the ' I have left the above passage as it was of quadripartite vaulting, the eastern pair written originally, as it expresses the being much the narrower. Each of the view which I thini; would, at first sight, altars, which doubtless occupied the east occur to any one, and the criticism it con- end, would thus have stood under its own tains appears to be, in its main features, a distinct vault ; and at the west end would just one. I must, however, state a sug- have been a complete couplet of arches, gestion made to me by Sir Charles An- such as forms the entrance into several derson, which, I am now convinced, con- Lady Chapels, so that the difficulty of con- tains the true solution of the whole matter, necting the two forms of roof would not He remarked that the appearance of the occur. But as the vaulting was clearly springing of the transverse arch from the never added, it is very possible that these first pillar across the aisle (marked a in pillars were not really erected ; or, if they the ground-plan) is such that it could were, it is probable that they would be re- hardly have been that of on-spanning the moved as incumbrances, whenever the whole aisle. He conceives then that the intention of vaulting was finally sun-en- system of vaulting included two pillars (at dered. An examination of the foundations h b) 80 that it would consist of four bays might probably settle the question.