Early English Gothic Architecture

Early English Gothic, also known as First Pointed, Lancet Gothic or simply Early Gothic, was the first phase of English Gothic architecture, active from around 1175 to the late thirteenth century and distinguished by pointed arches, lancet windows and rib vaults. It emerged from a combination of English Romanesque, or Norman, building and French Early Gothic architecture, and while related to contemporary French work it developed distinctively English traits, including low interiors, flat rather than apsidal church ends and thick walls. The style was used primarily in churches, favoring simple, austere lines and fine proportion over elaborate decoration, with quadripartite ribbed vaults, lancet windows and clustered shafts on tall, narrow piers. Wells Cathedral and Lincoln Cathedral, begun in the 1170s and 1180s, were among its first notable buildings, and Salisbury Cathedral is considered one of its most complete examples.