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Stone Vaulting

The introduction of stone vaulting below the timber roof revolutionised the appearance of major churches. Stone vaults had the advantage of being fireproof, but also traditionally possessed symbolic significance as a way of marking the site of an especially sacred space, such as tombs or relic chambers in crypts. From the 11th century onwards, as major churches were rebuilt on an increasingly ambitious scale, they sought to recapture the grandeur of the ancient RomanGlossary Term basilicaGlossary Term, and the principle of the vaulted sacred space was extended to the whole building. The invention of the rib-vault, combined with the pointed archGlossary Term, made it possible for the vaultGlossary Term to be carried on walls pierced by large openings, as the ribs directed the thrust to the corners of each bayGlossary Term and flying buttresses helped to stabilise the weight of the heavy masses of masonry. From the 13th century onwards GothicGlossary Term stone vaults were elaborated to produce complex patterns by the addition of extra ribs and elaborately carved and painted bosses at their intersections.

Glossary

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Long DescriptionTypes include: Basket arch or Anse de Panier (French, lit. basket handle): three-centred and depressed, or with a flat centre. Chancel: dividing chancel from nave or crossing in a church. Crossing: spanning piers at a crossing in a church. Depressed or three-centred: with a rounded top, but curving inward more at the sides. Four-centred: with four arcs, the lower two curving inward more than the upper, with a blunt central point; typical of late medieval English architecture. Jack arch: shallow segmental vault springing from beams, used for fireproof floors, bridge decks, etc. Ogee (adjective ogival): a pointed arch with a double reverse curve, especially popular in the 14th century; a nodding ogee curves forward from the wall face at the top. Parabolic: shaped like a chain suspended from two level points, but inverted. Relieving or discharging: incorporated in a wall to relieve superimposed weight. Shouldered: with arcs in each corner and a flat centre or lintel. Skew: spanning responds not diametrically opposed. Stilted: with a vertical section above the impost i.e. the horizontal moulding at the springing. Strainer: inserted in an opening to resist inward pressure. Three-centred: see Depressed, above. Transverse: spanning a main axis (e.g. of a vaulted space). Triumphal arch: influential type of Imperial Roman monument, free-standing, with a square attic or top section and broad sections to either side of the main opening, often with lesser openings or columns. Tudor: with arcs in each corner joining straight lines to the central point. Two-centred: the simplest kind of pointed arch.
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See also
See also:Basket arch
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