Through the Lambarde Fund, we have received a grant from the Society of Antiquaries to scan the lierne vaults at Ely Cathedral, which we intend to carry out towards the end of the summer. The main vaults we will scan and analyse are:
- Retrochoir (tierceron vaults built under Hugh of Northwold 1234 and 1252, thus, like the Chapter House at Chester, immediately after and influenced by the nave at Lincoln).
- Octagon (tierceron vaults constructed in timber after the collapse of the Norman crossing in 1322 and showing a similar interest in centralised space as the Wells Lady Chapel).
- First three bays of presbytery (dated c. 1330 and described by Pevsner as the earliest lierne vault in East Anglia) which also includes an aisle vault in first 3 bays of the north aisle.
- Lady Chapel – lierne vault of a stellate pattern, built after the Octagon and choir so c.1335-50.
- Prior Crauden’s Chapel – a vault reconstructed by Willis from the evidence of the springing blocks.
We hope to investigate the decisions taken by Willis when reconstructing the vaults of St Catherine’s Chapel and Prior Crauden’s Chapel in the 1840s.
In addition to forming a case study in its own right, we also hope the data collected will also allow us to explore differences in vaulting methods between the West Country and South Eastern Decorated styles.
Photo by DAVID ILIFF. License: CC-BY-SA 3.0
