George Edmund Street: Unpublished Notes and Reprinted PapersStreet, George Edmund
History
George Edmund Street: Unpublished Notes and Reprinted Papers
Street, George Edmund
Architecture, Gothic; Church architecture -- Europe; Europe -- Description and travel; Street, George Edmund, 1824-1881
Altogether this church, owing to its fine character, and the retention
of almost all its original features and proportions unaltered, deserves
to be known and visited by all ecclesiologists, who travel along the
north-of-France railway to Paris. A few miles farther on the left
rises the fine church of S. Leu, which I have known for a long time,
and which deserves, as I think, very much more notice and study than
it appears to have received. The plan, situation, details, and style
(early first-pointed) are all alike of the best, and I know few,
even among French churches, which impress me more strongly with the
thorough goodness and nobility of their style. The east end of the
church rises from the precipitous edge of a rock, which elevates the
whole building finely above the level of the _riant_ valley of the
Oise. It was attached, I believe, to a Benedictine abbey, the other
buildings of which are all in a most advanced state of decay. The
church fortunately, though much out of repair, and in some points
altered into flamboyant, is nevertheless sufficiently perfect for all
purposes of study. It consists in plan of two western towers (the
north-west tower being only in part built) then six bays of nave and
aisles, three bays of choir, and an apse (circular on plan) of seven
bays; round the apse is the procession path, and four chapels, also
circular on plan, lighted by two windows, so that one of the groining
shafts is placed opposite the centre of the arch into each, and over
the altars. In place of the fifth chapel on the north side, a circular
recess is formed in the external wall of the procession path, so as to
make space for an altar without forming a distinct chapel. I should
be disposed to say that this was the original scheme of the church,
afterwards altered and much improved by the substitution of larger and
distinct chapels.[16] The central chapel of the apse has the unusual
feature of another chapel above it, on a level with the triforium,
adding much to the picturesque effect of the east end. In addition
to the western steeples there are gabled towers which rise above
the aisles on each side of the choir, and the church is remarkable,
like the church at Mantes, for the absence of transepts. Perhaps, as
the internal length is not quite two hundred feet, this is of some
advantage to the general effect. A considerable change has at some
time been effected in the external appearance of the east end, for on
examination I found that each bay of the triforium was formerly lighted
by two lancet windows between the clerestory and the roof over the
aisles. My impression is, that this must have been altered when the
chapels round the apse were erected and within a very short time of
the original construction of the church; but whatever the reason, the
church has lost much by the alteration. The six bays of the nave appear
to have been built after the west end and the choir. The latter has a
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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