Introduction

A MANUAL GOTHIC MOLDINGS WITH DIRECTIONS FOE COPYING THEM AND FOB DETERMINING THEIR DATES. fIlustrahb hr w^tebs of j$>i% Jjunbreb BY F. A. PALEY, M.A., AUTHOK OF "A MANUAL OF GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE," ETC'. FIFTH EDITION, WITH NUMEEOUS ADDITIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS, BY W. M. FAWCETT, M.A., JESUS COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE ; ARCHITECT. I LONDON: GURNEY & JACKSON, 1, PATERNOSTER ROW. (Mr. Van Voorst's Successors.) M.DCCC.XCI. .K CONTENTS. SECTION I. INTRODUCTORY PAGE 1 II. THE GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF FORMATION . . . .11 III. OF COPYING MOLDINGS 24 IV. OF EARLY MOLDINGS IN GENERAL 31 V. OF EARLY ENGLISH MOLDINGS . . . . . .37 VI. OF DECORATED MOLDINGS 46 VII. OF PERPENDICULAR MOLDINGS ... VIII. OF THE PLANS OF GOTHIC COLUMNS 60 .67 IX. OF CAPITALS 72 X. OF BASES 84 XI. OF HOOD-MOLDINGS AND STRING-COURSES . . . .93 XII. CONCLUSION 97 DESCRIPTIONS OF PLATES. EDITOE'S PEEFACE TO THE THIED EDITION. A THIRD EDITION of the Manual of Gothic Moldings having been called for, the present Editor, at the request of Mr. Paley, has undertaken to prepare it for the Press. Though it is always difficult for one person to carry out satisfactorily the work of another, the Author was of opinion that the revision of a professional man would secure accuracy, and give the work that practical character which he wished it to have. The additions and alterations that have been made have chiefly been done by way of further explanation where anything might not previously have seemed clear to a student ; at the same time, the Editor has been careful to keep the book within its present limits, lest he should change its whole character from an elementary treatise to one of an entirely different class. A considerable number of woodcuts has also been inserted by way of additional illustration, and, as far as practicable, the localities of the examples in the plates have been indexed ; but, as these were taken from the Author's note-books when the work was first published, many of them cannot now be ascer- tained with certainty. The Author has employed the terms "Early English," " Decorated," and " " Perpendicular throughout, and these are so thoroughly engrafted into the work, and are, besides, so generally understood, that the Editor felt it would have been undesirable to attempt any alteration. But the student should viii PEEFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION. remember that the object to be attained in nomenclature is to define clearly the date and locality at which certain kinds of work prevailed. Now the two latter of these terms do not ful- fil this condition, and therefore, in using them, the student must be careful that he knows the dates to which they refer. Several new terms have been proposed, but those here employed have become so generally adopted that no others have succeeded in displacing them. Mr. Fergusson has proposed the adoption of Edwardian and Plantagenet in a manner analogous to Tudor, Elizabethan, &c., already in common use ; also such terms as "early thirteenth century," "late fourteenth," &c., are frequently employed, and have the advantage of being very precise. An accurate knowledge of Moldings is indispensable to any one professing even an amateur's acquaintance with architec- ture ; but he who attempts to practise as an architect (however freely he may use his knowledge) must study them thoroughly, not merely by reading a work like this (though that may be of great assistance), but by actually going about observing and measuring them himself; for very little can be learnt without measuring, as scale has a very important effect on the character of Moldings. There is, perhaps, hardly an old Church existing without something worth sketching in it ; and often, in Moldings, charming little variations may be found, which at first sight would hardly be suspected. The Editor, therefore, feels that he cannot do better than advise those who wish to attain a true knowledge of the science of Gothic Moldings, not merely to read about them, but to sketch them carefully, and to measure them accurately. W. M. F. CAMBRIDGE, 1st December, 1864. EDITOK'S PEEFACE TO THE FIFTH EDITION. SINCE the last edition of this work was issued its talented Author has passed away, and it will he prohably of interest to our readers, as well as respectful to his memory, if in the Preface to the new edition I give some account of his life. He was horn on 14th January, 1815, at Easingwold, near York, of which parish his father was Vicar. In due time he was sent to Shrewsbury, where Dr. Butler was then the Head Master, and in 1834 he came up to St. John's College, Cambridge, and took his degree in 1838. That such a ripe classical scholar as he was should not have appeared in the Tripos seems a little strange ; but at that time every one going out in honours at all was obliged first to appear in the Mathematical Tripos. Paley either could not or would not take the trouble to do this (probably the greater part of the latter), and so was not eligible to enter in the lists for Classical honours. It was commonly said that he was plucked in one of the college examinations in Paley's " Evidences " because he wrote at the foot of his paper, " Tales of my Grandfather" he being a grandson of Archdeacon Paley who wrote the "Evidences of Christianity." Whether true or not the tale is certainly characteristic of the man. While at Cambridge he was much interested in Architecture, and naturally became a member of the Cambridge Camden Society. He held the office of Secretary from 1841-2 to its dissolution in 1845, when it merged into the Ecclesiological Society. The first form of this book was that of papers written I x PREFACE TO THE FIFTH EDITION. for the Society; among the notices of which we find that on 13th February, 1844, Mr. F. A. Paley read a paper " On the Mouldings of Pointed Architecture," "Part I. Norman and Early English" ; and on 5th March the same notice appears, only finishing with " Part II. Decorated and Perpendicular Styles." He had taken great interest in these details, and had had considerable opportunity of getting a fair knowledge of them. A letter to me from his brother, Mr. E. Gr. Paley, of Lancaster, says : " I well remember going home to my father's Kectory at Gretford, near Stamford (about 1839 to 42), and taking with me, amongst other architectural books, Eickman's ' Attempt to discriminate the Styles of Architecture in My England.' brother, I recollect well, read this work with avidity, and became extremely interested in the subject of English Architecture, and frequently accompanied me in my visits to examine and sketch the neighbouring churches, which fortunately were singularly good and interesting buildings of every date from the eleventh to the sixteenth centuries. As a young student of Church Architecture, I measured and sketched mouldings as one important part of my studies, and I like to think that my brother's early interest in this work (not usually much taken up by amateurs) thus commenced and developing into a systematic and careful study of the subject, and collecting examples of mouldings of various dates, fortunately eventuated in the publication of his book on Mouldings. I had the pleasure to send him from time to time several of the A examples that appear in the book. keen and close observation my was certainly a characteristic of brother, and this quality may account for the somewhat remarkable fact that an amateur should give such close attention to a subject that the majority of students, professional or otherwise, consider rather dry and uninteresting, though really of the first importance, indeed the foundation and groundwork of the art." PEEFACE TO THE FIFTH EDITION. xi This letter shows clearly that he was fully qualified to speak when he read his paper before the Cambridge Camden Society in 1844. Mr. E. G. Paley has also sent me a letter to our Author from Mr. Augustus Welby Pugin, which, though undated, is evidently written about this time, and is too interesting to be omitted here : My " dear Sir, I was truly gratified by the receipt of your kind letter. There are few men whose appreciation I should desire more than your own. In fact I have never met with any one who entertains more correct views of Church Architecture than yourself and our friend Mr. Webb. The Ecclesiologist does an infinity of good, and I am the more reconciled to its not being quite so strong as you and I could wish, as it is therefore better received by a host of intermediate men who could not swallow strong drink, but are exceedingly useful to the cause as far as they go. Your tracing which you so kindly sent me, will be of the greatest service to me at the present time. "Would it be trespassing on your goodness to ask for a few tracings from the ' ' Bestiary in the Library ? I want to give some outlines of animals. " Believe me, yours most sincerely, "WELBY PUGIN." " Mr. Paley's powers as a Greek scholar were first proved in 1844 by his edition of the Supplices of ^Eschylus, which displays not only his knowledge of the language and of his author, but his power of emendation. This was followed at intervals by editions of all the other plays of JEschylus. " In later life he devoted himself almost entirely to Greek literature, and he published editions of Euripides, Hesiod and other authors with English notes. He gave most attention to the vexata qu&stio of the authorship of the Homeric poems, and also published a translation of Pindar, and showed his knowledge of the Latin language by editing Propertius." But he xii PREFACE TO THE FIFTH EDITION. was not idle on the subject of Architecture, which he always seemed to take up as a change whenever time could be found. The " Manual of Gothic Architecture " (1846) ; " The Eccle- siologist's Guide to Churches near Cambridge" (1844); " Remarks on the Architecture of Peterborough Cathedral " (2nd edition, 1856) ; " Architectural Notes on Cartmel Priory Church" (2nd edition, 1872); "Notes on Twenty Parish Churches round " Peterborough (1860) ; the Introduction to "Illustrations of Baptismal Fonts;" and "The Church Restorers : a Tale," are, I believe, a fair, if not complete, list of his architectural works besides this book on Moldings. Soon after the dissolution of the Cambridge Camden Society, Mr. Paley, in 1847, joined the Church of Rome, and left Cambridge. In 1860 he returned to Cambridge, and was always re- garded as one of the most careful Classical Tutors. He remained until he accepted the post of Professor of Classical Literature at the newly-formed Roman Catholic College at Kensington. Since the dissolution of that establish- ment he resided at Bournemouth, where he remained till he passed away, on Sunday, 9th December, 1888. This edition of his work on Moldings has been carefully revised by the Editor, and several new illustrations inserted. It has become so much lately a text-book for students, rather than what it originally was, a manual for the amateur, that it may be as well to remind the critical reader that the mass of illustrations were taken from Mr. Paley's note-book, when he himself was studying the subject, and for strict and absolute accuracy the student must measure for himself and not depend on small scale sketches. How far an artist should confine him- self to copying the moldings, &c., of ancient work is a matter each must decide for himself; but whatever freedom he may allow himself in his work, he is sure to find great value in a thorough acquaintance with the experience and work of those who have gone before him. A MANUAL OF GOTHIC MOLDINGS. SECTION I. INTRODUCTORY. "No person can have devoted much time and pains to the in- vestigation of Christian architecture, as it was practised in this country during the Middle Ages, without feeling the importance of acquiring an accurate knowledge of MOLDINGS.* That certain conventional forms or details were in use at certain periods, and were uniformly adopted in the constructive decoration of all edifices, ecclesiastical and secular, throughout the length and breadth of the land, with varieties rather of combination or disposition than of the component members, is an undoubted fact, well known to and admitted by all who have paid any attention to the subject. But whence these forms arose, whether from a natural process of gradual development, or from some real or pretended secret of freemasonry, or, lastly, from mere accident or caprice, are curious questions, which, so far as the author is aware, have never yet been made the subjects of much investigation. Again, how far the same forms were arbitrary or obligatory in ancient freemasonwork, how far they emanated from some particular source, and were dispensed by authority through the country, or were assumed by some tacit agreement on the part of the masons themselves, are equally interesting speculations, though, perhaps, equally * This, the ancient orthography of the word, has been adopted after Professor Willis. MANUAL OF GOTHIC MOLDINGS. difficult to determine. However this may have been, it is quite certain that a strict intercourse must have been kept up between the members of this body of artisans, or almost every ancient church would exhibit new and strange varieties in the details of its moldings. When the difficulty which then existed of constant and speedy communication between distant parts of the country is considered, this general resemblance and uniformity, not only indeed in moldings, but in all the parts and features of Church architecture, must appear still more surprising. There is in all these enough of licence and variety to give scope for occasional localisms, and to make it probable that each architect worked, to a certain extent, independently, and yet there is such resemblance and decided adherence to rule, as to make it evident that some system must have been observed both in designing and executing them. Or can this acknowledged uniformity be referred to no more recondite cause than fashion ? Can it be said, that as the same kind of hat, or coat, or other article of dress, is seen in London which is found in common use at York, with varieties, indeed, and a considerable degree of caprice in adorning or diversifying them ; and that, as all these things are ex- clusively in the hands of certain bodies, as hatters and tailors, and no one ever dreams of employing others than these in providing them ; so there was at once a fashion and a mono- poly in architecture ; and a solecism in moldings would have seemed to the ancient Churchman as striking and offensive a fault as a solecism in dress is now considered ? Perhaps this is the most rational and probable view ; but then it is one so very different from modern architectural practice, in which every professor is at liberty to design just as he pleases, and even when he pretends to imitate, is apt very freely to indulge his own pleasure, and even to ridicule the restraints of strict rule, that it certainly does appear strange and unaccountable. INTRODUCTORY. 3 However, all these questions are quite foreign to the object of the present work. They are all the province of tho' antiquary rather than the architect, and as such it is out of place to say anything more about them, especially as the writer is incompetent to give any solution of the difficulty which they involve. But this may reasonably be observed, that it is to be regretted that so little has yet been done in reducing to a science this interesting and practically important department of Gothic architecture. Probably a fancied uncertainty and obscurity of the study, or a want of sufficient data, or ignorance of the exact periods at which buildings were erected, and the apparent anomalies and inconsistencies which seem often to occur, have all tended to deter even the most competent from writing a complete treatise on the subject. To these may be added the tediousness of making any considerable collection of drawings and sections of moldings, the delay and difficulty of copying them with minute accuracy, and the amount of observation and research necessary for attaining a knowledge of their history and true theory.* These are causes at once sufficient to render a first attempt imperfect, and to induce the reader to pardon any errors or deficiencies which he may notice in the course of the present work. It may possibly be said, Why should so much pains be taken in investigating these comparatively insignificant minutiae : why should they not be copied in our new churches without writing books about them, and so turning an amusing pursuit into a hard lesson, by imposing on beginners so much to learn ? The answer is, that moldings are of the greatest * Since the above was written, an important work on Gothic Moldings has been published by Edward Sharpe, Esq., M.A., being a series of examples, reduced (for the most part) to one-third size, arranged according to their dates, and printed in different tints, so as to be readily distinguished. (London, E. and F. N. Spon, Charing Cross, in six parts 4to. 1871.) Mr. Sharpe's fine work, Architectural Parallels, folio, contains a large number of reduced outline plans and sections of moldings of the finest period. B2 4 MANUAL OF GOTHIC MOLDINGS. possible importance : so much so, that they have rightly been called " the very grammar of the art." They are by far the most certain, and very frequently the only guides in determin- ing the dates of buildings, or of architectural members ; they are just as essential to a knowledge of architecture, as a map is to the study of geography. In practice, too, they are of the first importance. No one has any claim to the name of architect who thinks the science of moldings beneath his notice. It must be confessed, that some years ago, on the first revival of the true principles of Gothic architecture, very serious, and indeed surprising mistakes were frequently committed, even by architects of repute, in the details of their moldings. There was but little discrimination of styles, and a general poverty of appearance prevailed, especially in the working of capitals and bases. In structures of that period, even of considerable pre- tension, it was but too common to find the most wretched and meagre imitations of ancient examples, the spirit and character of which were completely lost or perverted by some violation of leading principles.* This is in striking contrast with ancient practice ; the smallest and humblest churches often show very pretty and carefully worked moldings, and their uniformity of type, with, of course, minor differences, is surprising. It is gratifying to find such rapid improvement and so much increased attention on the part of our present architects, who are fully sensible of the great importance of correct moldings to the effect, as well as to the distinctive character, of their designs. A work on moldings may have any one of the three following ends in view. It may either contain a great collection of the best examples, accurately reduced to a scale, or accompanied by measurements, so as to form a magazine of reference, and thus * As an instance, the molding of the archway in the centre of the cloister to the new buildings of St. John's College, Cambridge, is partly Early English and partly debased Perpendicular ; apparently an original composition of the late Mr. Eickman's. INTRODUCTORY. 5 supply the wants of practical men, who may often be unable to procure in their immediate neighbourhood any available models ; or, secondly, it may profess to be a complete and elaborate exposition of the theory of moldings, dealing with principles rather than with bare facts, and taking a comprehensive view of the whole subject through the medium of the Classic and Romanesque varieties; or, lastly, it may be an elementary treatise, intended only to convey plain and easy information on the most ordinary forms, and on the differences observable in each style. The first could perhaps be satisfactorily accomplished only by a professional man, who might be supposed to know the wants of architects and the best method of supplying them. The second would require not only very considerable acuteness and ingenuity, but the observation and collections of many years, and from all places where Gothic architecture has prevailed. The last alone seems capable of being tolerably well treated by an amateur, who has himself seen the want of some work on the subject, and being thrown entirely upon his own resources in examining and investigating it. Such, then, is the aim and object of the present work, of which the method of treatment is simple and practical as far as possible. It is obvious that the number of examples given might be absolutely unlimited, and that to attempt a complete illustration would require many hundreds of engravings, and a judicious selection out of thousands of drawings. Such extensive resources the author does not profess to possess ; nor can he even assert that every one of the examples he has given, from a collection of a few hundreds of full-sized sections, and about as many drawings, made at different times and places by the eye alone, is of that perfect and minute accuracy which might have been obtained by a laborious reduction of full-sized outlines to one and the same scale. The object being to explain details and formations, and to point out differences, rather than to furnish models for modern imitation, this, ex- 6 MANUAL OP GOTHIC MOLDINGS. treme faithfulness of delineation, though of course highly desirable, is unnecessary, and was in the present case quite impracticable. For the same reason the measurements are only occasionally added.* The specimens engraved are mostly those of ordinary occurrence, rather than examples of rare ex- ceptions to the general practice of the ancient architects. Viewed as an inductive science, the study of Gothic moldings is as curious and interesting in itself as it is important in its results. Any one who engages actively in it will be amply re- paid, if only by the enlarged views he will acquire of the ancient principles of effect, arrangement, and composition. The curves, the shadows, and the blending forms, are really in themselves extremely beautiful, and will soon become the favourites of a familiar eye : though, viewed without under- standing, they may seem only an unmeaning cluster of hollows, nooks, and shapeless excrescences. Many persons are not aware that every group can be analyzed with perfect ease and certainty ; that every member is cut by rule, and arranged by certain laws of combination. But such is surely the case; and a knowledge of the fact should convince the student of the reasonableness of the study. Let him only enter upon it, and he will be rewarded for his pains. The only necessary con- ditions are a tolerable idea of delineation, and a general interest in Church architecture. Possessed of these simple qualifi- cations, he will be led on by his subject from step to step, almost imperceptibly, ever observing and adding to his store of facts and examples, and tracing out to his own satisfaction the forms and processes through which he conceives moldings to have passed in the various stages of their development. He will learn to pronounce with some degree of confidence the A date of the merest fragment of sculptured stone. broken piece of a capital, a string-course, or a door-jamb, dug up on * Most of the woodcuts, and the examples in the last five plates, have been reduced from actual measurements. INTKODUCTOBY. 7 the reputed site of an ancient building, will tell him of what style and date the fabric was, of which so insignificant a remnant alone remains.* He will ever and anon meet with some new and singular conformation, perhaps overturning some of his previously formed theories, perhaps clearly re- ducible to and confirmatory of them. He will look at every ancient building, however dilapidated or defaced, with a more searching eye, for he will be sure to find in its very demolition He peculiar facilities for research. will regard every shattered arch with a new attention. He will find the same satisfaction in examining it which a botanist finds in a rare plant, a herald in an ancient escutcheon, or a geologist in an undescribed fossil. The learner must understand that the best work on Gothic moldings which could possibly be written will do no more than set him in the right way to obtain a knowledge of the subject A by his own research. few examples in the page of a book are as nothing, if he does not apply in practice that which he has learned from them. The look of a molding is so very different in section, projected in a reduced size on paper, from its appearance in perspective reality, and with the effects of light and shade upon it, that the same form seen in the one may not even be recognized in the other. It is here, therefore, once for all explained how the engravings are to be understood. Supposing a molded archway were to be taken down, and any one of the arch-stones placed upon a large square sheet of paper, in such a manner that the iv all-line, or part of the stone * The Messrs. Brandon have pointed out the interesting fact, that although earlier styles were occasionally imitated in completing or alter- ing buildings at a later period, the moldings of the respective eras were always most faithfully preserved. " The assimilating process never extended to the moldings. To however great an extent the earlier por- tion of an edifice may have been subsequently copied, these important members were always worked in strict conformity with the ordinary system prevalent at the time of their construction." Analysis of Gothic Architecture, p. 10, Introduction: 8 MANUAL. OF GOTHIC MOLDINGS. which lies in the plane of the outer wall, should be parallel with the end of the paper nearest to you, and the soffit or inner surface, at right angles with it, parallel to one side ; and then a pencil were to be carried along the wall-line first, and after- wards in and out of each cavity and round each projection, and so up a portion of the soffit-plane ; the outline thus obtained reduced to a small size (say a scale of half an inch to a foot), and shaded on the part which represents the flat side or bed of the stone, would form a diagram exactly similar to our illustra- tions. Again, if a string-course were to be sawn across, or a capital or base down the middle, and a piece of paper inserted in the crevice, and marked off by the sharp edge of the mold- ing, this would in the same way represent the shaded sections of these details. The usual popular way of engraving Gothic mold- ings is to give a perspective sketch of a stone or slice cut out of the arch, showing at once the flat end or upper face, and the moulded Decorated door-jamb, Maxey, Northampton. side, and shading the cavities . and projections, as in the woodcut and PL. V. fig. 5. But this, though its general appearance is certainly much more like the reality, does not give so clear a view of the forms of the separate members. The method adopted by architects is uniformly that which has been followed in the plates illustrating the present work. Each example is, in fact, the same as the templet or mold, a thin plate of zinc, tin, or wood, which is used by workmen in marking out the stones previously to cutting them out. The shaded portion of PL. XII. fig. 15, is a good illustration of a templet. But the student must not only observe : he must copy moldings in order to understand them. Without the latter, his knowledge will never be practically perfect. How to do this, will shortly be shown, by explaining some of the various methods which have been practised. It must be understood, at INTRODUCTORY. 9 the outset, that though certain lines, planes, and measurements may he drawn in all cases to assist the process, and ensure general fidelity, they are somewhat difficult to copy accurately by the eye, because the exact curves, which are not always geometric, can scarcely be caught without considerable practice. And if the true form is not attained by the first stroke, the en- deavours to improve it will seldom be very successful. Perhaps the student's first attempts will result in failure ; but it is sur- prising how well and how readily a practised hand can copy in a few minutes a most complex group. A small note-book should be kept exclusively for copying moldings by the eye, the measurements and name of place being duly registered with each example.* For the mediaeval nomenclature of moldings, the learned and useful work lately published by Professor Willis, and already alluded to,f supplies an authentic source of information. In this treatise, some of the ancient names of moldings have been recovered ; and it is to be hoped they will be revived, especially in the present dearth of terms. A few expressions used in the present work it will be neces- sary clearly to define before entering upon the subject. Any architectural member is said to be molded, when the edge or surface of it presents continuous lines of alternate pro- jections and recesses. A drawing which represents these lines as they appear to the eye placed exactly opposite to them, is called the elevation of a molding, as in PL. I. fig. 8 ; PL. X. figs. 1 to 5, 22, 24, 40. A drawing which represents the outline of these projections * Nothing is better adapted for a pedestrian tourist than a block sketch- ing book, in the pocket of which a small " T-square," for ruling parallel and rectangular lines, should be kept. These are to be obtained with the leaves fixed on one side, so that they form a book when complete, and the objection to having a number of loose sheets is obviated. t The Architectural Nomenclature of the Middle Ages, being Part IX. of the Transactions of the Cambridge Antiquarian Society. 10 MANUAL OF GOTHIC MOLDINGS. and recesses, is called the section or profile of a molding, being the appearance it would present if cut through by a plane at right angles to its bearing. Thus, PL., I. fig. 10, if cut across A B, would present the appearance of fig. 5. A mold, or molding (the former is the ancient term), com- monly signifies the entire series which ornaments a jamb or arch ; but it is here generally used in the sense of a particular part or member of such series. Members are said to be grouped, when placed in combina- tion, as we generally find them ; but A group is a bunch of moldings or separate members, standing prominent or isolated, either on a shaft or between two deep hollows. An arch of two or more orders, is one which is recessed by so many successive planes or retiring sub-arches, each placed behind and beneath the next before it, reckoning from the outer wall-line. Thus, PL. I. fig. 5, is the section aross an arch of " two orders," and fig. 7 is of " three hollow-cham- fered orders.'* As it is necessary for every student in this science, first to understand the general principles of formation, and, secondly, to be able to draw or "take" moldings, either full-sized or reduced to a scale, with tolerable precision, these preliminary points will be explained as simply and briefly as possible, before entering upon the consideration of the combinations and more minute varieties of detail. GENERAL PRINCIPLES OP FORMATION, 11 SECTION II. THE GENEEAL PKINCIPLES OF FOBMATION. It seems certain that all the forms of Gothic Moldings are the peculiar and genuine offspring of Christian architecture, or at least are very partially and indirectly borrowed from the Classic styles; although, as might be expected, some coincidences of form exist between them. There are some who contend that Gothic moldings are derived, mediately indeed, yet very de- cidedly, from Roman ; a supposition hardly probable in itself, when we observe that in the Norman style (in England at least), which was most closely connected with the Classic, the forms of the moldings which we call Gothic are merely nascent, and entirely undeveloped; and one which appears scarcely ten- able, from the consideration that the mediaeval architects of this * country could have known little of Italian architecture, and if they had, we cannot suppose they would have cared to copy in its details what they altogether repudiated in its kind. But the convincing argument is this : that in Gothic molding all the links in the process of formation are connected and complete, from the first and rudest origin to the most elaborate develop- ment ; and the steps are so natural, the transitions so easy, that any two styles working independently of each other from the same beginnings and elemental forms, could hardly fail of arriving at least at some of the same results. Again, if at this or that period, a new member was introduced, and, as it * It is true that the Freemasons were an ecclesiastical body under the Pope, and not confined to this or any other particular country in Europe. It is also true that the intercourse with Borne was always frequent, from the time of St. Augustine downwards. Still it is impossible to trace in pure Gothic buildings the least symptom of Italianizing either in composition or details. This is also the opinion of the authors of the Analysis of Gothic Architecture, page 48. 12 . MANUAL OF GOTHIC MOLDINGS. were, a new letter added to the alphabet, why should it not be attributed to invention, rather than sought for in the resem- blance which an Italian molding may happen to bear to it ? However, the discussion of this question is rather for those who have to do with the theory of moldings, as the determina- tion of it does not in the least affect the facts of which this work treats. From the time of the formation of the first Christian Basilica to the middle of the twelfth century, there is such a general resemblance in the character of the work, as to have caused it to be classed under the one title of Komanesque. About that time it must be remembered that the whole of Western Europe was engaged in the first Crusade, and though it can hardly be said that the early Gothic forms are mere copies of Classic or Eastern ones, the effect of travel would naturally be to accustom the mind to see beauty in an entirely different class of forms, and to enlarge its capacity of designing according to the requirements it met with. That the whole tone of architecture was then altered is an undoubted fact, and some leading features were then introduced for the first time. Also in matters of mere detail, we find new forms, some of which may be traced to foreign sources : the Early English base is allowed by all to have been borrowed from the Attic ; and it will hereafter clearly be demonstrated that such was the case. And it is undeniable that several forms and combinations of the ogee curve are nearly identical in Classic and in Gothic buildings. Still, if every Gothic form can be shown to be an improvement or modification of a preceding one, it must be concluded that the whole series is the offspring of one and the same progressive art. In truth, Gothic architecture grew up under peculiar circum- stances, and to satisfy special wants ; in its origin eclectic, it adapted details from Saracenic or Moorish (i.e. Arabian), from Norman, from the debased Classical, from the Byzantine GENEEAL PRINCIPLES OF FORMATION. 13 churches, half Greek in design, and from Italian, Lombardic, and Komanesque edifices of all dates and descriptions. Its history is truly one of " evolution ; " that is, of successive changes of form and modifications produced by various climates, national taste or genius, material, and numerous other influences, both internal and external. In their use also Gothic moldings differ as widely as possible from Classic. The former are repeated to almost any extent, so as entirely to occupy the large recessed spaces in jambs and arches. They are repeated too in groups, each group being composed of the same members, or nearly so, especially in the earlier styles. The latter are few in number, and very limited in their application. The combinations of the one are in a great measure arbitrary, though the forms themselves are fixed ; in the latter both are absolutely defined. The former run principally in vertical lines, the latter in horizontal. In Gothic architecture, horizontal moldings occur in water-tables and string-courses, and in capitals and bases, in which posi- tions they invariably form subordinate lines, so as to contrast and display the predominant principles of a vertical ascending sweep, and may so far perhaps be regarded as lingering ves- tiges of the Classic usage. They are also used very effectively to divide lofty walls into stages, and are carried under windows and arcades, round the weatherings of buttresses, and ex- tensively in base-courses. An intelligent and thoughtful writer in the English Review * lias the following remarks on the differences between Grecian and Gothic moldings : " Where the Grecian delighted in broad level surfaces, catching the light in masses, or in projecting curves on which it dies away by degrees into shadow, the Gothic roughened and encrusted them with carving. And thus in general we measure, or, if the expression may be used, we read, and peruse, a Grecian molding by its lights, and the * For December, 1844. 14 MANUAL OF GOTHIC MOLDINGS. m Gothic by its shadows." Again : " Of the differences between the two classes of molding, some may be detected by a super- ficial view. For instance, the Grecian delights in convex lines, the Gothic in concave ; the Grecian in broad lights, the Gothic in narrow. The Grecian throws out projections to catch the eye ; the Gothic endeavours to bury it in deep recesses. The Grecian leads it gently along in sweeping, unbroken undula- tions ; the Gothic fractures its lines, and combines them in angles and curves. The lights and shadows of the Grecian melt and slide insensibly into each other ; those of the Gothic are planted together in strong and bold contrast. , .... In the purest Grecian buildings, vertical moldings are rare. Hori- zontal moldings form the leading lines ; and it is by these, even in later and degenerated specimens, that the vertical moldings are regulated. In the Gothic, vertical moldings are most frequent ; and they overrule and determine those which are horizontal. And Grecian moldings are simple and easily divisible into parts ; Gothic are entangled in labyrinths, and perplexed with innumerable intricacies." The notion of ascending moldings is coeval with the intro- duction of the arch, and may indeed be traced to a still earlier period in the sides of doorways and similar positions. When the Romans broke up, by means of the arch, the continuous horizontal entablature of the Grecians, the cornice moldings were carried around it, and fell on each side in vertical lines into the horizontal, thereby producing the same result as in Gothic, though with a different effect ; in the one case, hori- zontal lines continuing to predominate, in the other, being subdued and rendered secondary and subordinate to the vertical principle. Gothic architecture revelled in the use of moldings, not only what are usually called ornamental moldings, such as the dogtooth, the ball-flower, &c., but also the plain continuous lines of light and shadow ; though they are in effect identical, since GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF FORMATION, 15 the former are nothing but serrated ridges,* more or less rounded and modified from the first process. Every door, window, monial,f every edge, vertical or horizontal, every band, string, groin-rib, roof, label, arch, and jamb, whether of wood or stone, internal or external, was generally molded. Of course the effect produced by so free and extended a use of them was magnificent in the extreme. Construction gained thereby a rich perspective, a depth of shade, an attempering of bare prominent outlines, a fine tone, which arrested the eye, and made it dwell on certain parts of higher pretension and more exquisite elaboration than others. And yet moldings are merely the ornamental adjuncts, not the essentials, of architecture. Some buildings of the best periods were quite devoid of moldings ; whence it is evident that they are not necessary even to a perfect design. Boldness and simplicity produce effects, different indeed in their kind, yet not less solemn and striking than richness of detail, But the power of moldings was appreciated to the full by the ancient architects, and it is quite evident that they delighted in their extensive use. It was their ambition to work them wherever they could possibly find means' and opportunity. Hence it is that such a vast quantity every- where remains, that no ordinary pains are requisite in examining any considerable moiety of them for the purposes of investigating their principles. If the uniformity in their use had not been tolerably strict, it had indeed been a hopeless task ever to master the subject ; indeed, if there had not been a system of molding, there would have been nothing to investigate. But so little did the mediaeval masons depart from the conventional forms, that a capital, a base, or an arch -mold is often found of perfectly the same profile in an abbey or a cathedral, and in a village church at the other end of the kingdom ; so that we * This may occasionally be seen, when the molding was left for some reason or accident partially uncut. It is probable that they were generally worked out after the completion of a building. f The mediaeval term for what we now call mullion. 16 MANUAL OF GOTHIC MOLDINGS. might almost suspect that the very same working drawing had been used for both. And this, when it is considered, must appear a very wonderful fact. Although the examples given here are in nearly every case from stonework, the student would do well to notice those in other materials, such as wood, iron, &c., for though the same forms will be found at the same date as in stonework, they are on a more delicate scale, Woodwook, Burgh. Stonework, Bottisham. according to the fineness of the material; thus, in the annexed examples, the monial