ST A

441

STA

«Hu a ^^NCH, a small arch thrown across the angles of

is 8q e towers to support octagonal spires. The same objectlig s f| et >mes effected by corbelling out at the angles, which

tl,

n- 1,8 advantage over the arch, that it does not tend tothe o, a P art the walls of the tower; this latter plan is termeds ’^'ht squinch.

Pasgiji ^T, an opening often found in the walls of churches,op j, o through them in an oblique direction, usually on onetin* • d s *des of the chancel-arch, so as to enable persons sit-Her " 1 t * le a i s ' es or transept to see the elevation of the host:On j.i 6 there are no cliancel-aisles, there is often a projection(>i ef e *terior of the church through which the aperture istifiti • * ' In Bridgewater church, Somersetshire , the perfora-to en parried through three walls in an oblique line, so aso J le persons in the porch to view the altar,of of these openings extend from the ground to a heightfe 6 , , eet > or thereabouts, but they are usually two or three

'htle a)0ve the ground, and two or three feet high, by twotichejj the y are frequently plain, but sometimes highly en-1'hey are more correctly termed hagioscopes.§-r,A'»LE, a house or shed for horses and cattle generally.*° a Roman measure of length, nearly equivalent

v 0 pi O | n Sl>sh furlong. Also an enclosed area in which the§■],? athletic exercises were exhibited.e tt 6r j * ^-BEAD, a vertical piece of timber placed on the?rpi a ° r angles of the walls of apartments to preserve thehich, if made up of plaster, is liable to be broken; it

H

it

Guided with a bead on the outer edge.rained GLASS, pieces of glass stained of variouslepj^’ aad arranged so as to form a variety of patterns orthe ’ an . d som etimes of pictorial representations.

-fflall _ ancient Egyptians are said to have made and colouredSc^ na, nents of glass, but glass does not seem to have been\». ltl Sec * hy any of the ancients ; small pieces are found in^lerQ^p 83 ' 08 ’ an< I som e larger plates have been discovered

as

aneum, which some have supposed to have beenI °Ploy~j ^ndow glass. According to Bede , glass was“Pt >n the windows of Bishop’s Wearmouth church,y, '** n °t come into general use for some time afterwards,f^not used in private houses till a.d. 1180. Stained>tu r v r u Vindows > was P l '°hably in use as early as the nintha a th’ bUt no example exists in England of earlier date(V. tvv elfth century, to which period belong the remains

V: erb ur — - ■ - ' -

subjects on a deep blue or ruby ground, the spaces

Hi. *'

ury. These consist of panels of various forms,

. 'Pch ‘ ne panels being filled up with mosaic patterns inand blue are the prevalent colours ; the whole is. IVj n J d w ith a border of foliage and scroll-work.

^ le ® ai 'ly English period, the glazing consists ofdig y . es > quatrefoils, and other forms, including that8lCa P' sc ‘ s > an| l these contain subjects ; the spacesi: *°le ,, ar ® filled with coloured mosaic patterns, and the

Some-

(N n le ta ined in a border of leaves and scroll-work.

l'®lia» etlt ' le s P ace within the border is filled with scr illseiti° 6 ’ ° n a ^ ee P El ue or ruby ground, the scrolls, &c.,

X.glass

er of coloured glass, or only in black outline inin the latter case, panels formed by strips of

Df'kl tl,^ as ? are sometimes inserted. Quarry glazing, in

In

file

.windows are formed by lozenge-shaped piecesfih a small pattern upon each, is first used in this

O 1 Hs ( ,^ >ecoratetJ style, quarry glazing becomes of fre-fH 0c c ; r and tl‘e ' ' '

%

panel system loses ground ; where^ fl ’ ^ le S round ’ s coveret l will* patterns of foliagekg' 5 " tl le ow i n g and natural character than in the precedingV^fife I 1 " 6 an< l iv y loaves are favourites. Sometimesj t indovv is filled with such foliage, which is often5 U

only in outline, and frequently only some portions of thepattern are stained yellow. Quarries contain small patternsof leaves, rosettes, &c., sometimes in plain outline, but fre-quently coloured yellow ; in foliage patterns, in which thevine and ivy leaves predominate, the stalks of the leaves areoften so arranged, as to form one continuous flowing patternthroughout the window, and at other times, one edge of eachquarry has a coloured stripe, so that when put together theyeach appear surrounded with a coloured border. The entiredesign is surrounded, in most cases, with a running horde,of foliage and flowers. At this period, single figures sur-mounted by canopies, begin to appear, at first of small size,two or more being contained in one light, but afterwardsthey become larger, and are disposed one in each light.

In the Perpendicular period, this practice begins to increase,the figures and canopies are of a larger size, more than onebeing seldom contained in one light; at least whole windowscontaining several lights are filled with one large groupedsubject. Quarries still continue in use, but the devices donot flow one into the other, consisting mostly of rosettes,flowers, fleurs de lis, and heraldic devices, the latter beingvery frequently and generally adopted in this style. Colouredinscriptions on bands or scrolls are frequently seen runningdiagonally, and at regular intervals, across windows, from topto bottom.

With thedeclineof Gothic architecture,stained windows fellinto disuse ; with its revival, they have occupied a great dealof attention, and are executed with considerable taste and skill.

STAIRCASE, a term applied to the whole set of stairs,with the walls supporting the steps, leading from one storyto another. The same staircase frequently conducts to thetop of the building, and thus consists of as many stories asthe building itself.

When the height of the story is considerable, resting-placesbecome necessary, which go under the name of quarter-pacesand half-paces, according as the passenger has to pass a rightangle, or two right angles ; that is, as he has to describe aquadrant or a semicircle. In very high stories that admit ofsufficient head-room, and where the space allowed for thestaircase is confined, the staircase may have two revolutionsin the height of one story, which will lessen the height ofthe steps ; but in grand staircases, only one revolution canbe admitted, the length and breadth of the space on the planbeing always proportioned to the height of the building, soas to admit of fixed proportions.

In contriving a grand edifice, particular attention must bepaid to the situation of the space occupied by the stairs, so asto give them the most easy command of the rooms.

With regard to the lighting of a grand staircase, a skylight,or rather lantern, is the most appropriate ; for the light, thusadmitted, is powerful, and the design admits of greater ele-gance ; indeed, where the staircase does not adjoin theexterior walls, this is the only method by which light can beadmitted.

In small buildings, the position of the staircase is indicatedby the general distribution of the plan ; but in larger edi-fices, this is not so obvious, but must at last be determinedby considering maturely its connection with the otherapartments.

STAIRS, (from the Saxon, stager,) in a building, thesteps whereby to ascend and descend from one story toanother.

The breadth of the steps of stairs in general use in com-mon dwelling-houses, is from 9 to 12 inches, or about 10inches at the medium. In the best staircases of noblemen’shouses, or public edifices, the breadth ought never to be lessthan 12 inches, nor more than 18. It is a general maxim,