ARCHIPEDIA - E is for.....

C13th Early English window St Mary Magdalene Woodstock

Early English - Period of English Gothic ecclesiastical architectural history roughly dating from 1250 to 1350 AD. The term was coined by Thomas Rickman in the early C19th after he discovered that there was a common pattern and phasing to ecclesiastical architecture. The use of the lancet window, plate tracery (see photo above), stiff leaf mould and the pointed arch are all common factors in the Early English movement. Perhaps the best and most complete example of Early English architecture is Salisbury Cathedral

Above are some of the opening pages of my battered 1825 version of Rickman . It is hard to believe that his book is the original source for most of the terms we know today - When reading it he sounds to innocent but we mustn't forget that he was one of the very first people to notice differences in ecclesiastical architecture. For instance on Early English he states " distinguished by pointed arches, and long narrow windows without mullions; and a peculiar ornament, which from its resemblance to the teeth of a shark, we shall hereafter call the toothed ornament"

Toothed ornament found at Holy Trinity Micklegate York Yorkshire UK

For more of my Early English images go here