CHU

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CHU

the Saxon thanes in the erection and endowment of churcheswithin the precincts of their own estates. The plan thuscommenced, was found to be so advantageous, that it wascarried out and enlarged upon by the succeeding generations.We shall not stop here to inquire into the form and construc-tion of the earlier churches of this island, but refer thereader, as well to the articles above mentioned, as also tothat on Saxon Architecture, and proceed at once to thegeneral description of a church.

Of the parts or divisions. —There are two parts, and onlytwo parts, absolutely essential to a church ; nave and chancel.These it must have, or it is not entitled to the designationof a church; without the former it is no more than a chapel,and without the latter, little better than a mere lecture-room.A church consisting only of the above divisions, is one ofthe most simple form, few, however, are found without somefurther additions: the first addition is that of a porch onone side of the building, forming a covered entrance intothe church. Buildings consisting simply of these threeparts are not unfrequent, nor devoid of beauty, although butseldom imitated in the present day. In larger churches, thecapacity of the nave is increased by the addition of one ortwo aisles, more frequently of one on each side of the bodyof the building, thus dividing the nave transversely into threeavenues, and affording greater accommodation for worshippers,without enlarging the chancel, as this part does not so muchrequire spaciousness as length. In some cases it is true, the aisleswere continued eastward, so as to encroach upon the chancel,and sometimes extended its whole length ; the spaces thusgained, were used for the most part for chapels, and containedside-altars with their appurtenances. These chapels werededicated, the one in honour of the Virgin, which was morefrequently on the southern side, and the other in the nameof the patron or other saint. Churches with only one aisle,are constantly to be met with.

Another division of a church which we have not yetnoticed, and which, though not an essential, forms a mostimposing feature, is the tower ; this is situated most usuallyat the western end of the nave, or at the intersectionof the nave and transepts, when the church is cruciform;and in its most perfect and beautiful state is surmountedby a lofty spire. We have now arrived at the most com-plete form of a parish church, which consists of a naveHanked on either side by an aisle ; a chancel at the east,and a tower at the western extremity of the same, with a1 projecting porch towards the western end of the south aisle,i This is the most frequent form of our smaller churches, butnot the only one; we not unf'requently find them in the shapeof a cross, which is doubtless the most appropriate andexpressive form that could be adopted in the erection of aChristian temple; but the simple parallelogram is on manyaccounts the more convenient, nor is it so greatly inferiorin symbolical meaning; for while the cross plan portrays theemblem of Christianity , the latter is an evident representationof the ark in which Noah was preserved, which lias everbeen considered a type of the Christian church.

Of the position of Churches. —Almost all the old churchesof this country range east and west, having the chancel atthe eastern extremity ; nor is this merely a local peculiarity,but a universal custom ; such was the practice of all Chris-tians from the earliest ages. It is true, exceptions are to befound, but not more than sufficient to prove the rule. Thechurch dedicated by Paulinus, bishop of Nola, to the memoryof S. Felix, is an instance of deviation from the usual position,but of this it is related, that it was not built so as to facethe east, “ as was usual,” but so as to turn towards anotherchurch previously dedicated to that saint; and Socrates ,

describing the church at Antioch, tells us, that it stood. _a different posture from other churches, the altar not b eat the east end, but at the west. The canonical positio’iordered in the apostolical constitutions. When we statethe chancel pointed eastward, we do not mean to say ,faced that quarter precisely; very few churches 10do this, the orientation varying in many instances considernorth or south ; such variation is said to have arisenthe practice of pointing the church to that part of the horwhere the sun rose on the day of the patron saint. eD t

Of the exterior elevation. —The smaller churches P reS ito us an elevation of only one story of rough walling,at intervals with windows, which are usually fill e d rtracery; those at the east and west ends, being of ° 0 fdimensions than those in the side walls. At the an ? {jpgthe building, the outline is broken by massive P r °J eC j re dbuttresses, and at other situations where they are req ^for the support of the building ; they are sometimesbetween every two windows. A more imposing p r0 J eC jyis afforded by the porch on one side; this is carried up n e das high as the side walls, and is surmounted by a high'P'j^tgable roof; it is formed either of rubble, with or WJwindows, or of wood, in which material we have ^beautiful specimens of the later styles pierced and carV j l0 tv"the most elaborate manner ; some of the plainer ones,ever, form very picturesque additions to a small church-The chancel, in most cases, is of smaller dimension® ethe nave, both in width and height, and forms a pictmbreak in the elevation; but in some cases it is of the r insize as the nave, and occasionally, though' rarely, „o^

both dimensions, showin,

the nave on all its sides. There is a priest’s door m gof the chancel, and sometimes a vestry, the form an

5 a western wall projecting ^ gjU

tion of which varies in different examples.

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The whole of the building is covered by a hign'ffgl^gable roof of lead, slate, or tile, and sometimes of s ^;or thatch, the eaves projecting a little beyond th e ve r?

parapets are not found, except in large churches. ^ of

beautiful addition is frequently to be seen on the r 0 j- 9the western gable, consisting either of a continpart of the gable in a vertical direction, pierced wit j 0 p,apertures to contain the bells, and finished with a g aD {0 beor otherwise of a little turret of four or more side th eemployed for the same purpose : the eastern gable is

most part finished with an ornamental cross,

— —- --- .

In the larger churches of three aisles, the elevatmi t |j»vmost frequently of two stories, the lower one sinail®^ 0 (fialready described, and an upper one called the

ist*

which is carried up above the arches which separate ^gfip'and aisles, and pierced with windows of a smaller ur eS>tion, sometimes with mere quatrefoils or other small ap 0 fte a

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In very large churches,

, the clere-story windows 1 * ^ e [,larger than those of the aisles. The nave is covered ^

with a gable roof, but the aisles with a lean-to, slop irl S f mfrom the exterior walls to the clere-story, with a 111 fgentle acclivity. In some three-aisled churches,

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width is not considerable, the gable roof spans ^aisles ; sometimes in one inclination, but at others, ^nation over the aisles is considerably depressed ; m ,there is of course no clere-story. On the other n ^jti

a church is of a great width, especially when thewidth is in the aisles, we have three gable roots, .the nave, and a similar one over each aisle ; the g ’ \yi

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of such churches have a very pleasing appearance »no clere-story, and the chancel is mostly but a c0 -^ u ed ^of the nave; not unfrequently the aisles are conwhole length of the building in such churches.