Perpendicular Gothic Architecture

Perpendicular Gothic, also called Perpendicular, Perp, Rectilinear or Third Pointed, was the third and final phase of English Gothic architecture, developed in the Kingdom of England during the late Middle Ages and typified by large windows, four-centred arches, and straight vertical and horizontal lines in window tracery and wall panelling. It was the prevailing style of late Gothic architecture in England from the fourteenth to the seventeenth century and was unique to the country, with no equivalent style arising elsewhere in continental Europe or the British Isles. Its chief characteristic is an emphasis on strong vertical lines, most evident in window tracery and wall panelling, with pointed arches often given a wide, flat, four-centred form, while roof vaulting became increasingly elaborate, spreading outward in a fan shape ornamented with decorative pendants and cross-ribs.