Bell's Cathedrals: Wimborne Minster and Christchurch Priory: A Short History of Their Foundation and a Description of Their Buildings — John Shaqi
Bell's Cathedrals: Wimborne Minster and Christchurch Priory: A Short History of Their Foundation and a Description of Their BuildingsPerkins, Thomas, Rev.
History
Bell's Cathedrals: Wimborne Minster and Christchurch Priory: A Short History of Their Foundation and a Description of Their Buildings
enclosed by a triangular moulding very plain in character, but none of
it is original. The three windows are each of two lights. The tracery
of these three is alike, but differs from that of the windows in the
nave aisle. The east window of the north aisle is of five lights. The
enclosing arch is not very pointed--much less so than in the narrower
windows of the aisles--and each light runs up through the head of the
window. These and the corresponding south choir aisle windows are late
Decorated work.
[Illustration: THE EAST WINDOW.
(From Parker's "Introduction to Gothic Architecture.")]
Unfortunately the churchyard does not extend to the east of the church.
A narrow footway, bounded to the east by cottages and garden walls,
renders it impossible to photograph the east window of the choir. This
is a most interesting one; and has been figured in most books on
architecture. It consists externally of three lancets enclosed in a
peculiar way by weather moulding; this rises separately over the head of
each lancet, and between the windows runs in a horizontal line and is
continued to the square corner buttresses. Within this moulding, and
over the heads of each lancet, there is an opening pierced: the central
one is a quatrefoil, while the other two have six points. These openings
are a very early example of plate tracery, which was fully developed in
the Early Decorated style. This window belongs to the Early English
period, and may be dated about 1220. There will be occasion to refer to
this window again when speaking of the interior of the church. The south
choir aisle has a five-light east window closely corresponding to the
window of the north aisle, and on the south two three-light windows. In
these, as in the east aisle windows, the lights are carried up through
the heads. There is no doorway giving access to this aisle from the
outside.
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