The Twenty-Six Mediæval Cathedrals Of England (Part Fifteen).

Decorated Gothic Vaulted Ceiling, 

with Central Bosses, in Exeter Cathedral.

Photo: 3 August 2006.

Source: Own work.

Author: Wanner-Laufer

(Wikimedia Commons)

Text from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia,
unless stated otherwise.

Further development included the repetition of Curvilinear, or Flame-Like Forms, that occur in a great number of Windows around 1320, notably in the Retro-Choir at Wells Cathedral and the Nave of Exeter Cathedral.

This type of Tracery is often seen in combination with Vaulting Ribs of extreme projection and very rich moulding, as is seen in the Chapter House at Wells, and the Vault at Exeter, which stretches, uninterrupted by a Central Tower, for ninety-one metres (300 ft) and is the longest Mediæval Vault in the World.[4]

The last stage of Curvilinear or Flowing Decorated Gothic, is expressed in Tracery of very varied and highly complex forms. Many of the largest and most famous Windows of England date from 1320 to 1330 and are in this style.

The Lierne Vault of the Crossing at Bristol Cathedral.

Photo: 5 August 2019.

Source: Own work.

Author: Kognos

(Wikimedia Commons)

They include the South Transept Rose Window, known as the “Bishop’s Eye” at Lincoln, the “Heart of Yorkshire” Window in the West End of York, and the famous Nine-Light East Window of Carlisle.[2][4]

There are many smaller architectural works within Cathedrals which have the Curvilinear Tracery. These include the Arcading in The Lady Chapel at Ely, which also has the widest Vault in England, the Pulpitum Screen at Lincoln, and richly-decorated doorways at Ely and Rochester.

Bristol Cathedral.

Available on YouTube

HERE

Characteristic of this period of Gothic architecture, is elaborate Lierne Vaulting, in which the main Ribs are connected by intermediate Ribs, which do not spring from the Wall, and so are not major structural members. The Vaults of Bristol Cathedral are the most famous examples of this style, which can also be seen at York.[2][4]

The “Bishop’s Eye” Rose Window at Lincoln Cathedral.

Photo: 9 June 2013.

Source: Own work.

Author: Jonathan Cardy

(Wikimedia Commons)

In the 1330s, when the architects of Europe were embracing the Flamboyant style, English architecture moved away from the Flowing Decorated style in an entirely different, and much more sober, direction, with the reconstruction, in highly modular form, of the Choir of the Norman Abbey, now Cathedral, at Gloucester. 

The Perpendicular style, which relies on a network of intersecting Mullions and Transoms, rather than on a diversity of richly carved forms for effect, gives an overall impression of great unity, in which the structure of the vast Windows of both Clerestory and East End are integrated with the Arcades, below, and the Vault, above. 

The style proved very adaptable and continued with variations in the Naves of Canterbury and Winchester, and in the Choir of York.

PART SIXTEEN FOLLOWS.