12th November 1996
Yoshio Kusaba, Chico State University, CA
Professor Kusaba presented the results of his research into how the evidence that is embedded in the stone fabric of a building can provide us with clues as to the history and sequencing of its design and construction. He used the cathedrals of Winchester, Canterbury, and Salisbury as examples.
The notes here are by John Wilkes.
Construction of the present Winchester cathedral was commenced in 1079. (See the chronology below for more information on dates.) It was first occupied as a church in 1093, by which time it appears that the original design had been altered to add corner towers to the terminals (ends) of the north and south transepts. Evidence for this includes:
Similarly, it is possible to see a disjunction in a stringer above the main side arch at the 3rd bay into the nave from the crossing. This probably marks the end of the building campaign that allowed the monks to move their worship from the Old Minster to the new church in 1093. The 2nd freestanding pier (which still has Romanesque columns) would have been necessary for the support of the crossing.
When the original crossing tower collapsed in 1107, the rebuilding over circa 1107-1110 was performed with a few stylistic changes that allow us to pinpoint the extent of the new construction, and the date of the building. For example:
References
Chronology
Winchester Cathedral (of the Holy Trinity, St. Peter, St. Paul and St. Swithun) (llth and early 12th century only)
The discussion on Canterbury centered on how and when exposed flying buttresses first came to be used in the building by William of Sens. The study focussed on the choir and presbytery, which were built between 1177 and 1179 after the Romanesque church had been destroyed by fire in 1174. In Canterbury's case, we have a great deal of sequencing information from the account of Gervase of Canterbury - but relatively little detailed architectural data. (See the chronology below for more information on dates.)
On the south side of the choir [Fig 1], completed while William of Sens was still in charge, the triforium is roofed by a pointed tunnel vault, stiffened by pairs of rib-like bridges across the vault. It is roofed by a low-pitched, almost flat roof, through which the tops of solid, triangular buttresses that help carry the thrust of the central vault are visible. (Note: this is rather different from the traditional interpretation of the choir, due to Willis [1845], which showed flying buttresses where none exist.)
This transverse barrel vault suggests that William of Sens had been exposed to Notre Dame de Paris, which uses a similar scheme - not just the churches of northeastern France that he is more traditionally associated with.
The north side of the choir [Fig 2] is constructed rather differently: there is no vaulted roof over the triforium. Instead, the buttresses themselves are clearly visible over a rather more steeply-pitched roof. However, the first bay - and only the first bay - has remains of vault springers and changes in masonry courses. This is evidence that the plan had originally been to use the same scheme as in the south side of the choir, but that is was abandoned by the time it came to build the second bay - presumably after the winter of 1176-77. As soon as the need to support a vault was dropped, the transverse arches were made thinner (0.48m rather than 0.74m).
To obtain the required stiffness, and support for the clerestory and its vault, the design evolved to use buttresses with slightly curved top surfaces, but with the space below them filled in with soft tufa-like material [Fig 3]. These were constructed in 1177 - at the time when the gallery level of the choir at Notre Dame was being built, and construction on its nave staring.
The design of the presbytery takes the structure of the north-eastern choir buttresses one stage further by leaving out the infilling, thereby creating the first true flying buttresses in England, only a few years after their use in France. The first couple of bays retain the curved tops to the buttress arches that was used in the choir. These must have been designed by William of Sens: their abutments are an original part of the clerestory wall, and Gervase tells us that these two bays were completed up to vault height by 1179.
The later bays of the presbytery were completed by William the Englishman, who took over as master mason after William of Sens' fall from the scaffolding in 1178. He adjusted the design slightly to have straight tops to the buttress walls, but retained the same basic structure as in the first two bays [Fig 4].
References
Chronology
Canterbury Cathedral (Cathedral Church of Christ) (l1th century and 1174-1184).
Professor Kusaba's work in Salisbury is still preliminary, so will not be described here in detail. It will appear in The Art Bulletin. He did point out that it will take issue with some of the conclusions in Blum [1991]. (See the chronology below for more information on dates.) The basic approach he is taking is to look at discontinuities (or their lack) in the masonry coursing. For example:
References
Chronology
Note: Professor Kusaba's work in Salisbury is still preliminary, so, at his request not all of the dates he provided in his handout are included here.
Salisbury Cathedral (of the Blessed Virgin Mary) (1220-ca. 1260) (in part based on information supplied by Tim Tatton-Brown, archaeological consultant to Salisbury Cathedral)