Page:Architectural Review and American Builders' Journal, Volume 1, 1869.djvu/835

 1869.] 3Iinslers of England. 677 the lines in strong shadows ; and the statues are executed with great spirit and effect, particularly the two upper ones. The noble eastern front, having the advantage of a spacious area before it, is seen to great advantage. It is in very perfect preservation, owing to the extreme hardness of the stone, and its color is unsullied by smoke. The prin- cipal window was probably one of the first of so great a size ever executed in England, none at least now exist of such dimensions and of equally early date. The nave of Lincoln Cathedral was rebuilt about the same time as the Cathedral of Salisbury, and a great cor- respondence of style may be traced in them. The principal dimensions are also nearly alike, the chief difference being in the greater width of Lincoln in the centre, which makes the aisles narrower than those of Salisbury, the total breadth being about the same. The parapet and tabernacles for statues on the outside of the nave were added about a century after its erection. The Chapter-House is a large struc- ture planned in the form of a decagon, to the western side of which is joined a nave, that forms the entrance. The centre is supported by a clustered column, from which spring numerous ribs diverging through the vaulted roof. This edifice exhibits a style of archi- tecture uncommonly perfect for the era of its erection, which is said to have been the year 1200. Giraldus Cambren- sis, the historian, is the authority given, and as he studied for the priesthood and took holy orders there, it is natural to suppose him to be a competent voucher. St. Hugh, the then bishop, was a native of Burgundy, and it seems by no means improbable that he might procure artists or designs from his own country ; but this can only be the subject of conjecture. The Central Tower is a wonderful work: standing as it does on four columns, the boldness displayed in elevating such a vast structure upon such apparently incompetent support is truly astonishing ; but an attentive examination of the building itself is necessary for understanding completely the manner in which this has been effected. Great care has been taken to make the walls as light as possible, by hollowing every part with galleries and passages ; so that the tower may be said to have double walls, an inner and an outer shell. The angles of the upper story are crossed diagonally by arches, to form a base for the timber spire, which was originally built upon this tower. The Nave is supported by seven prin- cipal arches on each side, which range from the central tower to the bases of the western towers. The other com- partment, forming the eastern part of the church, comprises five arches in length, extending from the upper tran- sept to the end of the building. This portion of the church displays a very different stjde to that of the nave and choir ; much richer in details and lighted by windows of considerable breadth, filled with mullions and tracery. It was erected in the latter part of the thirteenth century, and was not entirely finished in 1306. The plan of Lincoln, as we have al- ready said, has a double cross-aisle, or transept, one in the centre of its length and a lesser one more towards the east end ; the south end of the greater tran- sept shows Architecture of rather earlier date than that of the nave, but the end appears to have been taken clown and rebuilt about the middle of the four- teenth century. The circular window is part of this latter work, exhibiting a similar style of tracery to the great western windows of York and Durham Cathedrals. It is filled with ancient stained glass of exquisite colors, though a mere tissue of fragments, except in a very few compartments which have escaped the injuries of time and barba- rian hands. The arch which encloses