An Essay On The Origin And Development Of Window Tracery In England

Excerpt from An Essay on the Origin and Development of Window Tracery in England: With Nearly Four Hundred Illustrations The present volume consists of an improved and extended form of several papers on the subject of Tracery read before the Oxford Architectural Society at intervals during the years 1846 and 1848. Each of the three first Chapters represents a paper. Of these the second and third are essentially the same as when communicated to the Society, allowing for a searching revision, and for the insertion of passages omitted in reading for want of time. But the first Chapter has been completely re-written, and the fourth is an entirely new addition. I have thought it advisable to give these particulars, as the dates will sufficiently obviate any suspicion of rivalry with the excellent work by Mr. Sharpe on a nearly similar subject. The latter had not assumed its present form till the whole of my three first parts were all but ready for the press, and the earlier numbers certainly gave no promise that a complete work on Tracery was designed by the accomplished author. Yet had it been otherwise, I cannot but think that the field of architectural literature might easily contain both. Indeed, if I may venture so to speak, it seems to me that both are necessary to a complete working out of our very extensive subject. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1851 edition. Excerpt: ...Wrington (83) has the long vesica in the fenestellae; the centre-piece is a circle, quatrefoiled and doublefoliated. The number of lights render this window, and Offord, more satisfactory in outline than any of the larger ones which we have hitherto mentioned; but in both the tracery is somewhat meagre. An objection similar to that made1 above to the east window at Raunds might at first sight be thought to lie against the five-light east window of Scottow church (84), Norfolk, where the subarcuations intersect, having a light common to the fenestellae, which are fine three-light compositions. It is manifest that such a design leaves even less room for the circular centre-piece than in the other example; but this very fact diminishes the objection; its prominence is so small, that it does not strike the eye as a centre-piece, nor call for the proportions of one. 'Oxfonl Sheets. 1 P. 25. A four-light window at Melton (85) deserves attentive observation for the rare use of the vesica as a centre-piece. It is very early, as in this case it is hardly possible to keep the lights and the figure from fusing together, and so producing Flowing lines. It is by no means uncommon to meet with figures retaining traces of a Geometrical shape, but one more adapted to the Flowing line than the circle or any other such regular figure. Thus in the magnificent east windows of Albrighton in Shropshire, and Gnosall in Staffordshire, (which are identical, except in the occurrence of a transom at Albrighton, ) a spherical square, ogeed at the bottom, is plainly described, though the actual subordination in mouldings extends only to the lines of subarcuation; the tracery still retains a prominent centre; the fenestellae are Divergent. At Granchester, and North..

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