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St John the Baptist, Adel, Yorkshire

Medieval ornament is often used to draw attention to the most important parts of a building, such as the entrances, the most sacred spaces of a church, or the most prestigious parts of a secular building. Following classicalGlossary Term traditions, the decoration follows the form of the architecture and is applied to features such as capitals, arches, stringGlossary Term courses and bosses. Although there were certain conventions, the individual craftsman had considerable freedom in interpreting detail, an aspect which had much appeal to the Arts and CraftsGlossary Term movement of the later 19rth century.