Page:Suggestions on the Arrangement and Characteristics of Parish Churches.djvu/38

38 through, and to allow the free exit of large congregations. The extravagant and unnecessary height of modern Gothic doors has arisen from the apparent ignorance of architects of the use of the segmental “rere arch.” The head of a door will not open if the arch of the opening be of the same shape all the way through; hence the necessity, in arched doors, of making the inside arch of flat segments. That simple expedient being neglected, the usual course is to make the part of the door under the arch of sufficient height for all practical purposes, and to fix the upper part stationary. This produces needless expenditure, and destroys the proportion of a door.

Windows, when properly treated, are amongst the highest embellishments of a Church. Every chancel and chapel should have an east window: when filled with stained glass they form the most beautiful altar-pieces. The nave and aisles, or the chapels at their terminations, sould also have east windows. The sides, north and south, should also have as many windows as are necessary for the admission of sufficient light. If there be a clerestory, it should also be furnished with windows. When the Decorated or Perpendicular style is adopted, mullioned and traceried windows will be necessary, and of these there are numberless examples. I must caution you, however, against the use of wooden mullions and tracery; they should always be of stone. Wooden sashes also should be avoided; the best and cheapest are of “fret lead.”

I have already said that the roof of a Church should be of high pitch, and open to view internally. This cannot be insisted upon too strongly. In no respect are our modern Churches more defective than in their roofs. No one has denied that high roofs are best adapted to our climate, and the most lasting. The objection to them was, that “they did not look well.” But no argument can be