Kirkham Abbey

Abstract

Tom French died on 18 February 2001 after a short illness. He will be remembered as a distinguished scholar and historian of English stained glass and particularly for his contribution to the study of York Minster and its windows. In 1947, after distinguished service in the Royal Artillery, he joined the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments as an architectural investigator. He contributed to the Dorset county inventories and then moved to York, working on the five city inventory volumes published between 1962 and 1981. In the early 1970s he contributed to the Royal Commission's investigation of the Minster and became especially interested in its stained glass. He was active in the academic life of York, serving as a council member of the Yorkshire Archaeological Society, a member of the York DAC and Minster FAC and a Trustee of York Glaziers Trust. After retirement in 1980, Tom continued to research and publish on the architectural history of York Minster and became a member of the Corpus Vitrearum Medii Aevi. In 1987 he published, jointly with David O'Connor, the first CVMA volume devoted to the Minster, The West Windows of the Nave. This was followed by his solo volumes on The Great East Window (1985) and The St William Window (2000). At the time of his death he was working on a volume devoted to the glazing of the western choir clerestory and it is from this research that the following paper was derived.     

The Catastrophic Repairs of Holyrood Abbey Church in 1760

The collapse of the significant church of Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh in December 1768 is discussed as the result of the ill-conceived repair of the roof in 1760, i.e., the substitution of the timber trusses with closelyspaced diaphragm masonry walls that aggravated the delicate equilibrium of the vaults and the poor state of a building being mutilated over 250 years. This study interprets these repairs by demonstrating the authorship and partnership of the architect John Douglas with the mason-developer James McPherson, who combined architectural ambition (the aesthetics of a flagstone roof) with the (cheaper) option of diaphragms, which would not involve a wright. The detailed examination of the procurement, the process of the intervention, the collapse, and the limited impact of its aftermath, are framed in a wider technical and historical context in Edinburgh and Scotland, during a period marked by several failures of medieval churches, and reveals a poor understanding of a critical element in Gothic construction. Analysis of all public archive material available sheds light on key events of the case, and critical study of the work of the two partners’ attempts to identify the intentions of their project, whose limitations were inevitable once the partnership was formed.     

The Early History of Abingdon,Berkshire, and its Abbey

IN THE LAST decade knowledge of Salin's Style I Ornament in East Scandinavia has increased through the studies of Erä-Esko and through the remarkable finds at a workshop site at Helgö in Uppland. A characteristic feature of East Scandinavian Style I is the frequent use of small ornamental fields bordered by high ridges. In this article it is suggested that the ridges served to canalize the heat of the melted bronze during casting, and so prevent the mould from cracking. This was specially important in East Scandinavia where high-tempered bronze seems chiefly to have been used. That the fragility of the moulds was a real problem is hinted at by the relative numbers found at Helgö. The majority are for casting relief-brooches—which are comparatively rarely found cast. There are fewer moulds for the more frequently found cast bronzes, such as clasp-buttons; because the moulds for these were smaller, they were probably less prone, to damage during casting.

Because of the small size of their ornamental fields and the extensive corrosion which characterizes the bronzes found in East Scandinavia the ornament has often been misunderstood and described as highly degenerate. Through the systematic work of Erä-Esko we now know that East Scandinavian Style I was highly developed and deliberate. The rich finds from Helgö when fully interpreted will probably emphasize further the international character of this style. This appears of greater importance when it is realized that the style seems to have flourished at a time immediately preceding the Vendel period, which is specially rich in East Scandinavia.     

The Chapter-House of St Albans Abbey: Reconstructing its 15th-Century Vault

Before the 1978 excavation of the chapter-house site directed by Martin Biddle and the late Birthe Kjølbye-Biddle, nothing was known about the 15th-century building, beyond the brief documentary references in the Register to its remodelling during the second half of the century in the time of abbots John of Wheathamstead and William Wallingford. However, the exceptional quantity of late Gothic masonry fragments uncovered during the excavation has made it possible to attempt to reconstruct features of its design, particularly the vaulting, and has transformed our knowledge of this important building. This article reviews the information derived from the study of the fragments of the vault, assesses its significance in the development of late Gothic vaulting, and speculates on the identity of its designer.     

Excavations in the Outer Precinct of Tintern Abbey

EXCAVATION REVEALED an aisled guest-hall, possibly of 13th-century date, which parallels structures at Kirkstall and Waverley abbeys. This was replaced in the 15th or early 16th century by a new guest range with indications of differing provision for high-status guests. A smithy and non-ferrous industrial activity, notably cupellation and bell founding, are also described.