THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE WEST FRONT
OF ROCHESTER CATHEDRAL
J. PHILIP McALEER
It is probably true to say that the west front of Rochester Cathedral is
not one of the more memorable or imposing of those that survive
from the Romanesque period. No doubt many would find it less
majestic, less grand, than the faade of Durham Cathedral, with its
twin western towers rising imposingly above the cliffs of the River
Wear, or that of Lincoln Cathedral, due to its three giant recesses and
two western towers; or, perhaps, even that of Tewkesbury Abbey,
with its multi-ordered giant arch dominating the relatively small
structure. Compared to these or others more nearly its contemporaries,
such as Worksop Priory and Southwell Minster, both of which
are situated less dramatically than Durham or Lincoln, and are more
prosaic in their surroundings like Rochester, the faade of Rochester
may seem disappointing in its squatness, devoid as it is of prominent
motifs such as tall towers or giant arches.' It is, however, richly
decorated with architectural arcading and ornamental forms, and, in
addition, figurative sculpture. In spite of not being immediately
impressive or arresting, a close examination of the faade does reveal
a structure that is highly interesting in terms of its architectural form,
that is of considerable curiosity in regard to its sculptural decoration,
and which is altogether very individual and was possibly unique in
Romanesque England.
THE WEST FRONT AS IT PRESENTLY EXISTS
As it stands today, Rochester Cathedral's west front appears to be one
'The assessment of J. Newman, West Kent and the Weald (The Buildings of
England), 2nd Ecln. (1976), 475, is kinder: 'The west front is logical, balanced, and
well-proportioned, which can be said of very few Norman fa1,ades in England'.
139
J.P. McALEER
of the most complete to remain from the Romanesque period. The
Perpendicular west window is the only obvious major alteration and,
in spite of its great size, does not seem inordinately damaging in its
effect on the earlier work, or to be, indeed, totally unsympathetic or
out of place.
The twelfth-century design is composed of five major elements.
The most important and the largest is the central section, corresponding
to the nave; it is flanked by two smaller, narrower sections
relating to the aisles; and there are large turrets, one at each corner,
which together seem to contain and enclose the composition. A clear
division is maintained between the main section of the fade and the
lateral ones: this is created, not through the use of projecting
buttresses, but, instead, by recessing the wall in front of the aisles
slightly behind the faces of the nave-end wall and of the turrets. The
angle turrets are, in fact, small stair-towers, and project somewhat
beyond the exterior aisle walls, as well as into the interior space of the
aisles. Except for a high bare dado, the fa<;ade is completely covered
by tiers of tall narrow bays of arcading.
The south stair-tower rises square for three stages: the first is plain;
the second and third are decorated with tall narrow arcading, four or
five bays to a face, with tiny multi-scallop capitals and roll moulded
archivolts; a nook-shaft is placed at the corners. The upper two stages
are octagonal with three bays of arcading on each face: they have
shaft-rings, multi-scallop capitals and arches with banded rolls or
chevrons. By contrast, the north stair-tower is square for its full
height. Its first three stages are equal in height to those of the south
tower; the upper two stages are lower than the ones below. The
details are similar to those of the south stair-tower: arches with either
roll/hollow mouldings, radial chevron or scallops.
The narrow aisle-ends are each completely filled by a tall arch with
thin jamb-shafts and double-scallop capitals: each archivolt is rollmoulded,
and there is a double label composed of sawtooth and
dogtooth motifs. A window of two orders is placed in its back wall;
the outer order is shafted with double-scallop capitals, and the inner
one is roll-moulded with chevroned arches; a reticulated diaper
pattern, now preserved only on the south side, fills the wall surface
below. On each side, a bare stretch of wall, pierced by a small
window, intervenes between the top of the arched recess and the
arcading of the demi-gable corresponding to the slope of the lean-to
roof over the aisle. A small portal, with a pointed arch, which
penetrates the wall below the north aisle window is obviously a later
insertion: there were no aisle portals originally.
The nave-end has a lower plain dado, followed by three tiers of
arcading; then flanking turrets rise free for three more stages. The
140
THE WEST FRONT OF ROCHESTER CATHEDRAL
tiers of arcading do not correspond in level with those on the
stair-towers. The original gable must have been at a lower level than
the existing one, which, with its low pitch and crenellations, is a
consequence of the insertion of the eight-light Perpendicular window.
The west portal, of five orders, is the only surviving portal in England
still to have column figures - there are only two - as well as a
tympanum, and a carved lintel. The lintel is not a single beam but
eight stones ingenuously interlocked. It does not quite fit irito place,
as it is positioned so that the bottom of the tympanum and the last
voussoir stone of the inner order project over it. The three outer
jamb-shafts of the portal have carved shaft-rings which also occur on
the upper stages of the turrets; the innermost jamb is formed by a
large demi-shaft. The figure columns are on the fourth pair of shafts,
a male figure on the north, a female figure on the south. The capitals,
abaci and label of the portal are all elaborately carved with a variety
of foliage patterns which are inhabited on the capitals. Each voussoir
of the archivolts is separately carved with a variety of foliage patterns
or monsters; only the innermost order has a continuous radial pattern
of palmette foliage. Flanking the west portal are two flat niches,
barely contained within the height of the dado; their jambs are
continuously roll-moulded.
The archivolts of the portal rise completely through the first tier of
arcading which is of tall, narrow bays with shafts that rest on carved
corbels above a string-course with palmette medallions; its capitals
are multi-scallop or volute and its arches are carved with a palmette
pattern. The second tier, which follows after a short space covered by
a diaper pattern consisting of medallions containing four-petalled
flowers, was squat: three bays now survive on each side of the west
window. They are unusual, as the columns support a continuous
lintel, small tympana and arches. The lintels are carved with a zig-zag
with pellets decorating the triangles; the capitals are double-scallop
or volute, the arches are chevroned, and small grotesque animals or
foliage fill the tympana. Above a narrow zone decorated with lattice
diaper pattern, is the tall third stage: four bays now remain on each
side of the Perpendicular window; once again there are chevroned
arches, this time with intersecting arches decorated with billets over
them. The string-course below this stage, and the label over the
arches below, have a curious design of lozenges and pellets.
Above this level the turrets originally must have risen free. Their
first stage is square with two twin bays of arcading to each face; a
concentric chevron pattern runs continuously up the jambs of the
bays and the background is diapered with diagonal crosses (north) or
swirling rosettes (south). The two upper stages are octagonal, with
two bays on each face; the upper arcade columns have shaft-rings.
141
J.P. McALEER
The columns are alternately thick and thin, or more accurately,
thick-thin-thick-thin-thick-thin, etc.
As on the exterior, the inside of the west wall is arcaded. The lower
section of the wall containing the west portal is equal in height to the
nave arcade. The west portal itself is nearly the height of the nave
arcades and is flanked by two tiers of arcading of three bays each: the
lower tier has columns, the upper one moulded jambs. Above this, to
either side of the Perpendicular west window, are remains of two
more tiers corresponding in height to the triforium, and, presumably,
to the first clerestory. The original arrangements of the faade
windows have been completely effaced by the later west window.
The details of the inside are as elaborate as those of the exterior.
On the main portal, these are a thin jamb-shaft, double-scallop
capitals and an archivolt with a cable moulding instead of a roll; a
pyramid motif forms the surround. The first tier of arcading has
multi-scallop capitals, moulded arches and a billet label; on the
second tier are jambs carved with chevron placed concentrically, a
scallop pattern between and around each bay, and a billet label; of
the third tier a half bay is now all that remains, with a double-scallop
capital and a moulded arch; between the third and fourth tiers is a
horizontal chevron string; finally, the fourth tier, of one surviving bay
on each side, has multi-scallop capitals and a chevroned arch. 2
In general, the bays of arcadi.ng are tall and narrow, usually with
thinly-moulded archivolts, and with capitals tiny in proportion to
their shafts, which together create a linear effect that, however, does
not quite negate the plasticity of the parts. Excluding the west portal,
double- or multi-scallop capitals and roll-moulded arches predominate,
but, as can be gathered from the foregoing description, the
architectural forms are richly carved with a considerable variety of
motifs. There are cable mouldings, billets, scallops, lozenges, pellets,
as well as zig-zag or sawtooth and dogtooth; intersecting arcades,
tympana, shaft-rings, and a number of different mural diaper
patterns are also used. Although the chevron occurs in several
varieties, they are not used very emphatically, nor with the same
enthusiasm for the motif demonstrated by other buildings of the same
period.
The profusion and character of the ornamental details suggest that
the actual construction of the faade was during the third quarter of
the century. Building of the church had been initiated by the second
Norman bishop, Gundulf of Bee (1077-1108). His project was
enlarged when a successor, Ernulf (1115-24), formerly of Canterbury
2 These side bays have been tampered with when the west window was inserted.
142
THE WEST FRONT OF ROCHESTER CATHEDRAL
➔
t,"'/ n,v, Y, ,,N,,.r.'iNJl(Vi.d, t
,.:,.;;;1:,::::-,
Jww,un.-r· •,nr,.,•
,,'•»ft h}
PLATE IA
. 7//,· 1/l,:,1'(7;.Jfj-k/,•;-. in'll/,y :d-t ;,d,,;f;,/titvf1f ,y "H.£.HEF/IRO
Rochester Cathedral, west Front. Engraving by D. King, from R. Dodsworth and
Wm. Dugdale, Monasticon anglicanum, I (1655) between pp. 24 and 25 (Photo:
Courtesy Courtallld Institute of Art, London).
143
R.oR'.,ufis ecllc-llw c:alh.
&lcit-.i oc(irlmt.lf,.
J.P. McALEER
PLATE IB
Hereford Cathedral, west Front. Engraving by G. Merricke and J. Harris, from B.
Willis, A Survey of the Cathedrals of York, etc. (1TI7), opposite p. 499 (Photo:
Courtesy Cour/auld Institute of Art, London).
144
THE WEST FRONT OF ROCHESTER CATHEDRAL
Cathedral and Peterborough Abbey, began the rebuilding of the east
end, and possibly started work at the west end.3 Despite a consecration
on 5 May, 1130,4 during the bishopric of John of Canterbury
(1125-37), the church could not have been complete at that time. A
fire is recorded in 1137.5 The present fa<;ade structure is probably due
to work carried out after that date under Bishops John of Seez
(1137-42), Ascelin (1142-48) or, most likely, Walter (1148-82).6
ALTERATIONS AND RESTORATIONS
The decorative motifs of Rochester now seem peculiarly harsh and
dry, small in scale, shallow in depth of carving. This in part may be
due to the deadening effect of later restoration and recutting. The
fa<;ade has actually undergone more extensive alterations and restorations
than is immediately apparent. The first change still visible
was relatively minor - the introduction of a door into the end wall of
the north aisle, dated to 1327.' The second was larger in scale and
more significant in its effect: this was the insertion of the Perpendicular
west window. Its construction was accompanied by the remodelling
of the gable, north gable turret and the half gables at the end of
the aisles, all appropriately crenellated (Plate IA)." About 1763 the
north flanking stair-tower was taken down and, before 1772, rebuilt
to half its height, reproducing the original composition slightly
shortened. At the same time, the detail of the north aisle-end, above
3 The fundamental architectural histories of Rochester remain: G.H. Palmer, The
Cathedral Church of Rochester (Bell's Cathedral Series, 1897), especially 9-10. 43-48;
W.H. St. John Hope, The Architectural History of the Cathedral and Monastery of St.
Andrew at Rochester (1900), particularly 22-34, which supersedes his earlier articles.
See also: Newman, op. cit., in note 1, 470--81.
• Gervase of Canterbury, Opera Historica, (Ed.) Wm. Stubbs (Rolls Series.
LXXIII, 2 vols., 1870--80), ii, 383.
s Gervase, op. cit., in note 4, i, 100; see also Palmer, op. cit., in note 3, 10 or Hope,
op. cit., in note 3, 34.
6 G. Webb, Architecture in Britain: The Middle Ages (1956), 49, pl. 43B; Newman,
op. cit., in note 1,472, mid-twelfth century: cf. Palmer, op. cit., in note 3, 9; Hope, op.
cit., in note 3, 25, 33-5.
7 Palmer, op. cit., in note 3, 44; Hope, op. ciJ., in note 3, 81-2.
8 The engraving of D. King for R. Dodsworth and Wm. Dugdale, Monasticon
Anglicanum, I (1655), between 24 and 25, which shows the faade in this state, is the
earliest depiction of the faade. Unfortunately, it is by no means accurate in regard to
the general proportions of the major parts and their relationship to each other, or very
particular about the details of the arcading. Other obvious deficiencies are also
present: the reverse depiction of the wall above the recess of the south aisle; the
reverse slope of the crenellation over both the aisles; and the absence of the
fourteenth-century north aisle portal.
145
J.P. McALEER
PLATE BA
Poitiers. Notre-Dame-la-Grande. west Fade, Detail of Arcading (Photo: Courtesy
Courtau/d Institute of Art, London).
PLATE 11B
Villesalem, Priory Church, west Fade, Detail of Arcading (Photo: Courtesy G.
Zarnecki and Courtau/d lnscicuce of Art, London).
146
THE WEST FRONT OF ROCHESTER CATHEDRAL
the window, was altered. Aisle-end and stair-turret were 'finished off
with a continuous horizontal, battlemented parapet. After 1772 the
top of the south stair-tower, which had been octagonal, was lopped
off to match the abbreviated north stair-tower.9 It was left crudely
truncated, and was linked to the corner of the nave above the original
slope of the aisle roof by a roughly built wall which was given two
crenellations. In 1825-26 the great west window was renewed by L.N.
Cottingham who took occasion to remove the diaper pattern from the
surrounding wall. Restorers of the later nineteenth century completely
dismantled the eighteenth-century work and rebuilt the various
stair-towers and turrets, including the fifteenth-century north gable
turret. The restoration of 1888, by J .L. Pearson, attempted to return
the faade to its appearance before the demolitions of the eighteenth
century and the alterations of the Late Medieval period.
THE SCULPTURAL DECORATION AND ITS SOURCES
The fac;ade of Rochester contains a variety of references to the
decorative traditions of several areas of France. In fact, it seems to be
a mixture of ideas combined to form a design that may owe its various
elements to a number of sources but its totality only to an English
mind. It is among the tiers of arcading that we find decorative details
which lead directly to western France. The second tier of arcading on
the nave-end is highly individual, and is distinguished from the other
registers where more or less conventional English motifs appear.
What is unusual about this second row of arcading is the small
tympana under the arches, carved with grotesques. 1" Such small
tympana are a well-known feature of Notre-Dame-la-Grande at
Poitiers, 11 where they are found under the arches of the first register
of arcading. At Villesalem, also in the Poitou (Deux-Sevres)/2 the
arches flanking the portal are subdivided, and have two small
9 The above dates are from Palmer, op. cit., in note 3, 45-7, and Hope, op. cit., in
note 3, 91-3; they are repeated in summary form in Newman, op. cit., in note 1, 472,
476.
10 Reading from north to south, the subject matter of the tympana is: two birds
flanking a vase; a man with his arms under hls legs holding two fish; a snake-tailed bird;
foliage; a snake-tailed bird? (very eroded); foliage.
11 A. Rhein, 'Poitiers: Notre-Dame-la-Grande', Congres archeologique, lxxix
(Angouleme, 2 vols., 1912), I, 279-90; G. Dez, 'Notre-Dame-la-Grande de Poitiers',
Congres archeologique, cix (Poitiers, 1951), 9-19; R. Crozet, L'Art roman en Poitou
(1948), 108-9, 113, pl. XXIX; Y. Labande-Mailfert, Poitou roman (La Nuit des
Temps, 1957), 63-8, 85-91, pls. 14-23.
12 Crozet, op. cit., in note 11, 97-9; F. Salet, 'L'Eglise de Villesalem', Congres
archeologique, cix (Poitou, 1951), 224-44.
147
J.P. McALEER
tympana with grotesques, as at Notre-Dame-la-Grande itself.
However, even in the Poitou such small tympana seem to be a rather
rare feature. 13 These tiny tympana placed under the rows of arches
should not be confused with the considerably larger tympana, of
greater iconographic pretensions, which are more frequently found
under the large arches flanking the portals, as at Parthenay-le-Vieux
(Deux-Sevres). 14 The motifs of the Rochester tympana are very
similar but not identical to some of those found at Notre-Dame-laGrande
(Plate IIA) and also to a tympanum at the church of
Villesalem (Plate IIB), particularly those of a long-tailed, serpentlike
bird which twists its neck back under itself and two birds drinking
out of a jug.
In contrast to this similarity, none of the motifs of the archivolts,
lintels, capitals or diapering of the wall are derived from, or even
remotely parallel those found at churches of the Poitou. The archivolts
have that most definitely non-west French motif, a chevron
placed concentrically, which is also repeated as a flat design on the
lintels. In addition, the manner in which a lintel runs continuously
between the capitals and below the arches of the arcading, as well as
the position of the tympana, which are not recessed under the arches
but instead are placed flush with their outer surfaces, are methods of
assemblage not paralleled among the monuments of the Poitou.
Indeed, they appear absolutely unique, as there are no parallels in
England either. Notwithstanding these differences, the relationship
to the sculpture of western France once again is asserted by the
archivolts of the west portal itself. Because ofthe radial arrangement
of the voussoirs and the various motifs which appear on them, there
can be no doubt of the connection. 15 Thus, it is a surprise to see that
the same portal also possesses both a tympanum and column figures,
elements which are not associated with the west of France,'6 but
13 For tympana in the Poitou, see Crozet, op. cit., in note 11, 239. Small tympana
under arcades are not strictly limited to the Poitou: for example, similar ones are found
at Jussy-Champagne (Cher) in Berry, and formerly at Ronsenac (Charante) in the
Angoumois. In England, a similar use of small tympana decorated with grotesques and
foliage trails appears at the Cluniac priory of Castle Acre, pointed in shape because
they occur under the arches of a register of intersecting arcading.
14 Crozet, op. cit., in note 11, 76-8, pl. XXX.
,s Observed by E.S. Prior and A. Gardner, An Account of Medieval FigureSculpture
in England (1912), 198, and specifical!y compared to Notre-Dame-laGrande.
They also felt (194-5) that some corbels aod capitals of the arcading revealed
influence, but less purely, from the same general region (Poitou, Charente;
Angoulme, Saintes, Angers). See also A. Gardner, A Handbook of English Medieval
Sculpture (1935), 91-5.
16 Tympana in western France were not placed over doorways.
148
THE WEST FRONT OF ROCHESTER CATHEDRAL
rather are typical of the He-de-France and Burgundy.
The column figures are only two in number and they are rather
small. Nonetheless, in their iconography and style they are a direct
reference to the grander schemes of the west portals of the towered
fa<;ades of St.-Denis and Chartres, a decade or two earlier. The
tympanum has the subject of Christ in Majesty, represented in the
Burgundian manner with a mandorla supported by two angels,
surrounded by the beasts of the Evangelists. The Apostles are carved
on the lintel, as is the case at Chartres. 17
The sculpture of the fai;ade of Rochester has been well-studied,
especially that of the main portal. This is not so much because of its
quality; rather, it is a consequence of its being there at all. Generally,
English Romanesque fai;ades are distinguished by the absence of
sculpture, except for geometric ornamental motifs applied to archivolts.
Rochester is the rare exception to this 'rule' and has few
parallels among major cathedral or abbey churches of the period.
Lincoln Cathedral is the only other known example of a major church
whose fa<;ade received some kind of figurative sculpture during the
Romanesque period. 18 In this respect, the English fai;ades as a group
stand in sharp contrast to those of many regions of France, including,
most notably, those already alluded to, Aquitaine, Burgundy, the
Ile-de-France, to which may be added the Languedoc and Provence.
While the sculptured ensembles of many small - parish - churches
have long been recognized as being heavily influenced by developments
in France, this aspect of French fai;ades seems by and large not
to have made much impression on those responsible for building the
larger churches in the British Isles. While it can be seen that the
interesting sculpture of Rochester does not relate to Insular traditions,
nor appear to have started new ones, it remains to be seen in
what directions an analysis of the architectural framework leads. The
17 Both tympana and column figures have long been considered as later insertions;
see Prior and Gardner, op. cit., in note 15, 199, 201-2; Gardner, op. cit., in note 15,
95; G. Zarnecki, Later English Romanesque Sculpture, 1140-1210 (1953), 39; L.
Stone, Sculpture in Britain: The Middle Ages (1955), 85: they date them 1180, after
1140 to before 1180, 1175, and,' ... soon after the middle of the century' respectively.
A. W. Clapham, English Romanesque Architecture (1934), II. After the Conquest, 143,
dated the tympanum to c. 1160-70.
The tympanum is not quite properly assembled: the mandorla around Christ is cut
off under his feet and the top part is discontinuous with the curve of the side sections,
as if there was not enough height. However, Zarnecki no longer believes that the
tympanum and column figures were later insertions: he has suggested that the
interlocking voussoir construction of the lintel would make a later insertion impossible.
18 See: G. Zamecki, Romanesque Sculpture at Lincoln Cathedral (Lincoln Minster
Pamphlets, 2nd Ser., No. 2, n.d. [c. 1963)).
149
J.P. McALEER
rareness, if not uniqueness, of the tympana, column figures, and
some of the archivolt designs of Rochester have attracted more
attention than the forms to which they are attached.
THE ARCHITECTURAL FORM: SOURCES AND SIGNIFICANCE
At first, it would appear that the fa<;ade of Rochester Cathedral
(Plate IA) was of the sectional type, similar to that, of about the same
date, that formerly existed at Hereford Cathedral (Plate IB), 1
• a type
quite common among English Romanesque churches. However,
upon closer examination the turrets at the angles of the fa<;ade are
seen to be noticeably larger than most angle turrets, appearing more
like little towers. Indeed, they can more accurately be described as
stair-towers, for their insides are completely filled by newel-stairs. On
the exterior, the result is a bold individualisation of a feature
formerly frequently hidden behind pilaster-buttresses. Instead, at
Rochester, the stair-turrets have been enlarged to form a conspicuous
feature of the fa<;ade, vigorous and prominent, almost squeezing the
aisle-ends out of sight. In addition to projecting beyond the aisleends,
the stair-towers also project beyond the aisle walls.
In its basic architectural form, the fa<;ade of Rochester is now and
would appear to have been unique, certainly within the British Isles.
Because its original profile would have revealed the height of the
aisles and their relationship to the nave, it is technically a sectional
fa<;ade. However, this basic shape is complicated by several features
that were not normally a part of a fa<;ade of this type, as can be seen
by comparison with the original fa<;ade at Hereford. The nave-end is
distinguished both by its lack of buttresses, as well as by its forward
projection, as if in substitution, beyond the plane of the aisle west
walls. Yet at the top, where the nave rises above the aisles, the angles
are transformed into turrets, as if there indeed had been buttresses
below, or newel-stairs within. The aisle-ends are squeezed between
the mass of the projecting west wall of the nave and the equally
projecting stair-towers, attracting attention because of the large
recesses that rise to a height slightly greater than that of the west
portal and which initially sheltered no more than a window. These
19 The Romanesque fa<;ade was destroyed in 1786 when a fourteenth-century tower
that had been built behind it collapsed. Its design was preserved in the engraving of G.
Merricke and J. Harris for B. Willis, A Survey of the Cathedrals of York, etc. (1727),
opposite p. 499. This engraving served as the basis for the restoration drawing of G.G.
Scott, 'Hereford Cathedral', Arch. Journ., xxxiv (1877), opposite p. 329. The present
fac,ade of 1904-8, by Oldrid Scott, has nothing to do with the original design.
150
THE WEST FRONT OF ROCHESTER CATHEDRAL
PLATE III
Le Mans Cathedral, west Fa<;ade (Photo: Courtesy Courtauld Institute of Art,
London).
151
J.P. McALEER
large recesses are echoed, rather modestly, by the shallow, flatbacked
niches placed to either side of the west portal. Over these
different planes are spread the tiers of arcading, which, as has been
described, do not keep to one level across the faade, as at Hereford,
but change height according to the size of the area on which they are
placed.
Can it be coincidence that the only building which apparently
offers a precedent or prototype for the architectural form of Rochester
has a similar, even if less extreme, reduction of the iconographic
scheme of the west portals of Chartres Cathedral?
Admittedly, the famous column figures and tympanum of the
cathedral of Le Mans belong to a south porch, not to its west faade. 20
Like Rochester, the faade of Le Mans (Plate III) has at its angles
stair-towers- or had, as only one survives-which, although not quite
so majestic as those of Rochester, are clearly a similar idea. Another
similarity is the arched recesses flanking its west portal. At Le Mans
they are taller in proportion to the west portal and shallower than
those at Rochester: essentially, it is the same motif placed in the same
way. At Le Mans, however, the deep recesses of the aisle-ends of
Rochester are absent; there was at first simply a window. Both
faades, therefore, originally lacked portals in the aisle-ends. One
additional similarity can be brought forward. At Le Mans there is a
certain interest in ornamental patterns, especially reticulated ones
formed by decorated stonework, which also appears at Rochester
under the aisle windows.
What has been added to the original design at Le Mans are the
massive and rather ugly buttresses placed in line with the nave
arcade. The fade of Le Mans, created by Bishops Hoel and
Hildebert de Lavardin, had been completed in its initial grim and
austere style by about 1120; only later, when the nave arches were
rebuilt to receive vaults by Bishop Guillaume de Passavant, that is
sometime before 1158, were the buttresses added against the faade. 21
It is certainly possible and quite logical that an English traveller on
his way to or from the Poitou could have passed through Le Mans
sometime during this period.
Whether or not these similarities can be considered proof of the
derivation of the Rochester faade from that of Le Mans Cathedral,
or are admitted as evidence of some dependence, there can be no
doubt of the originality of its architect. The significance of Rochester
20 Prior and Gardner, op. cit., in note 15, 199, have already singled out the Le Mans
portal for particular comparison with the Rochester figures.
21 G. Fleury, La Cathedrale du Mans (PetiJes monographies, n.d. (1908?]), 78-82; F.
Salet, 'La Cathedrale du Mans', Congres archeologique, cxix (Maine, 1961), 34-7.
152
THE WEST FRONT OF ROCHESTER CATHEDRAL
in England, if indeed it actually had any direct influence, may reside
in the introduction of the prominent stair-towers which eventually
became part of a different faade type, the screen faade. Although
not a screen faade in the manner of that built a few years later at
Malmesbury Abbey, the disposition of the stair-towers at Rochester
does create a greater width than is actually present behind it. As
equally important is the accompanying rejection of either twin-towers
and/or the angle-turrets of a normal sectional faade, both of which
faade types seem to have been actuallly contemplated at various
times by the succession of architects at Rochester.
It was during the extensive late nineteenth-century restorations,
first about 1872 under the supervision of Sir Gilbert Scott, and again
in 1888 by J.L. Pearson, which included the underpinning of the west
front, that the two earlier intentions for the west faade were
discovered. The first faade was probably never completed. It was of
simple sectional type with a central portal of two jamb-shafted orders
and pilaster-strip buttresses projecting eight inches. It survived above
the foundations for about two and a half feet and was plastered on the
inside. 22
At the same time, heavier foundations were found under the north
flanking stair-tower 'consisting of great blocks of tufa and rag stone'
similar in character to those found earlier by J. T. Irvine in front of
the north aisle west wall. 23 These blocks have been interpreted as
evidence of preparation for west towers. Similar preparations were
not found on the south side. This evidence perhaps explains why the
westermost nave piers are larger in their east-west dimensions than
are the other piers of the nave: these western piers are an elongated
octagon in plan, with no attached shafts. In fades of the twin-tower
type, as can still be seen at Durham, Worksop or Southwell, the piers
under the towers are always heavier than the others of the nave
arcade.
The sectional faade seems to be associated with the original
building phase initiated by the second Norman bishop, Gundulf; the
towers may be connected with a rebuilding begun shortly after
Gundulf's death by Ernulf, and probably interrupted by the fire in
1137. The present faade would then date from a third building
campaign started sometime after 1137, perhaps as late as c. 1150 (?
Bishop Walter, 1148-82). These facts suggest that the particular form
of the stair-towers eventually built was a conscious compromise
between these two other types of faades.
n G. M. Livett, 'Foundations of the Saxon Cathedral at Rochester', Arch. Cant.,
xviii (1889), 261, 274-5.
23 Ibid., 277-8; Hope op. cit., in note 3, 28.
153
J.P. McALEER
The only building in the British Isles that appears to have
anticipated the basic architectural form of the final fa9ade design at
Rochester - that is the enlargement of the newel-stairs into prominent
stair-towers- was the slightly earlier priory church in the North at
Lindisfarne.2• The church is smaller than Rochester and might, in
some respects, be regarded as a scaled down version of Durham
Cathedral. Its fa9ade, probably constructed c. 1140, and now in ruins,
is characterized by miniature towers that are completely fillled by
newel-stairs, like the stair-towers at Rochester, rather than like the
staged towers of Durham. These miniature towers flanked a fa9ade
wall which was all in one plane, and in a plane behind that of the
tower's west faces: unlike Rochester, the west walls of the nave and
aisles were not differentiated. Also unlike Rochester, the fa9ade of
Lindisfarne was rather plain and bare. There was no arcading on the
towers and the west wall other than two bays of blind arcading
flanking the west portal, which projected strongly from the west wall;
otherwise, there were only two west windows, placed one above the
other. The prominence of the stair-towers, and their relationship in
terms of scale to the rest of the fa9ade, at both Lindisfarne and
Rochester, anticipate the very similar forms at Malmesbury Abbey
where the stair-towers helped create a screen fa9ade in a manner that
provides a direct prototype for the fa9ade of Salisbury Cathedral. 25
The appearance of a screen fa9ade at Rochester was not created, as
the west walls of the aisles were not carried up to the level of the nave
eaves between the stair-towers and the nave-end, as is true at
Malmesbury and, of course, Salisbury. The tiers of arcading, though,
do give Rochester's fa9ade a certain similarity to Malmesbury, and to
the later, more plastic, Gothic forms of Salisbury.
Thus, at Rochester we seem to have, in a fa9ade on a major scale,
the first appearance of a form that might be regarded as being
intermediate between the small newel-stairs of a sectional fa9ade,
where they were hidden behind the angle buttresses of the west wall,
and the full-scale, staged towers of a twin-tower fa9ade, to which a
newel-stair was normally attached. This intermediate form might
then have been the source of inspiration for the development of a
new fa9ade type in the repertoire of the Romanesque British Isles,
the screen fa9ade. The fa9ade of Rochester contained two out of
three ideas fundamental to the new type, the arcaded surfaces
minimally interrupted by verticals (buttresses) and the stair-towers.
14 A. H. Thompson, Lindlsfarne Priory, Northumberland (Official Guide-book,
1949); N. Pevsner, Northumberland (The Buildings of England, 1957), 185-7.
25 Clapham, op. cit., in note 17, 86; Webb, op. cit., in note 6, 49; H. Brakspear,
'Malmesbury Abbey', Archaeologia, I.xiv (1912-13), 419-20.
154
PLATE [VA
Poitiers, Notre-Dame-la-Grande, west Fa9ade (Photo: Courtesy G. Zamecki and Counauld lnstiJute of Arr, London).
J.P. McALEER
PLATE IVB
Yillesalem, Priory Church, west Fac;ade (Photo: Courtesy G. Zarnecki and Courtauld
Institute of Art, London).
156
THE WEST FRONT OF ROCHESTER CATHEDRAL
Only the later, however, was unique to Rochester, as by its date of
construction many other fa<;ades shared or displayed an equal interest
in arcading, as has been seen, for instance, at much the same period,
on the fa<;ade of Hereford Cathedral.
The lavish use of arcading, combined with the sculptural motifs
derived from the region of Aquitaine, may suggest that there was a
similar relationship in the architectural form. A survey of the fa<;ades
of the schools of the Poitou, Angoumois and Saintonge reveals that
both the basic shape of the west wall and the system of decoration
underlying the distribution of the arcading are very different.
Although the fa<;ades of the churches of this large region do not
adhere strictly to a single formula, it is possible to notice and isolate
certain habits and certain basic elements and units that were variously
combined.2
• Perhaps the most important factor to observe is that
none of the many fa<;ades have stair-turrets at their angles; indeed
there are not even newel-stairs. A second factor, only slightly less
significant, is that the west wall is usually treated as a single, vertical,
rectangular field, spanned by one gable: this is generally true of aisled
and unaisled churches alike. This vertical field is 'bordered' at the
outer edges by narrow flat buttresses, slender shafts or nothing at all.
In some cases, there are bundles of shafts which support round or
octagonal, open, arcaded turrets with conical roofs. Within this
framework, there is a very noticeable tendency towards two ( or
three) horizontal tiers of arcading. The ground stage is given the form
of a triple arcade forming either a central portal flanked by blind
bays, or three portals. The second tier is frequently a band of smaller
scale arcading, often with a west window under the centre bay. An
alternate scheme for the second, that is common among the larger
fa<;ades, is a system of three large arcades frequently containing large
windows. When a third tier is preserved, it resembles the system
often used for the second tier: a series of small bays of blind arcading,
sometimes with a window under a central bay. These horizontal
orderings are frequently underscored by prominent and heavily
decorated string-courses. They may also be accompanied by vertical
divisions between the three ground-stage bays in the form of single or
paired shafts, which divide the bands of arcading of the second stage
into units, or effectively complete the grid of the fa<;ade when the
second stage is composed of three large bays. In all cases, the total
effect is very different from the fa<;ade of Rochester. In spite of the
26 See especially L. Seidel, Songs of Glory: The Romanesque Fa(ades of Aquitaine
(1981), 17-34; and 85, 86, notes 15-17, for significant earlier bibliography; also
Bibliography under Daras, Charles (134) and Heliot, Pierre (140).
157
J.P. McALEER
fact that the Aquitainian fa9
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