13/06/2021 Fan vault - Wikipedia

Fan vault
A fan vault is a form of vault used in the Gothic style, in which
the ribs are all of the same curve and spaced equidistantly, in a
manner resembling a fan. The initiation and propagation of this
design element is strongly associated with England.

The earliest example, dating from about the year 1351,[1] may be
seen in the cloisters of Gloucester Cathedral.[2] The largest fan
vault in the world can be found in King's College Chapel,
Cambridge.

The fan vault is peculiar to England. The lierne vault of the

cathedral of Barbastro in northern Spain closely resembles a fan
vault, but it does not form a perfect conoid. Harvey (1978)
suggests Catherine of Aragon as a possible source of English
influence in Aragon.[3]

Contents Fan vaulting over the nave at Bath

Abbey, Bath, England. Made from
Birth of the fan vault local Bath stone, this is a Victorian
restoration (in the 1860s) of the
Structure original roof of 1608.
Buildings with fan vaulting
Medieval and Early Modern
Gothic Revival
See also
References

Birth of the fan vault

The fan vault is attributed to development in Gloucester between 1351 and 1377,[3] with the earliest
known surviving example being the east cloister walk of Gloucester Cathedral.[4] Harvey (1978)
hypothesises that the east cloister at Gloucester was finished under Thomas de Cantebrugge from the
hamlet of Cambridge, Gloucestershire, who left in 1364 to work on the chapter house at Hereford
Cathedral (also thought to have been fan vaulted on the basis of a drawing by William Stukeley).[5]
The other three parts of the cloister at Gloucester were begun in 1381, possibly under Robert
Lesyngham.

Other examples of early fan vaults exist around Gloucester, implying the activity of several 14th
century master masons in this region, who really created the fan vault and experimented with forms
of its early use.

Structure
The ribs of a fan vault are of equal curvature and rotated at equal distances around a central (vertical)
axis, forming the conoid shape which gives rise to the name. In between sequences of conoids, flat
central spandrels fill the space. According to Leedy (1980), the fan vault was developed in England (as
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opposed to France and other centres of Gothic architecture) due to the manner in which English rib
vaults were normally constructed.[6] In an English rib vault, the courses are laid perpendicular to the
rib while in France they are laid perpendicular to the wall.

Buildings with fan vaulting

Medieval and Early Modern

Gloucester Cathedral, cloisters, earliest fan vaulting begun 1373 by Abbot Horton
King's College Chapel, Cambridge, the world's largest fan vault (1512-1515)
Bath Abbey, Somerset, England, nave and chancel (1860s restoration; originally by William
Vertue)
Brasenose College, Oxford, Chapel ceiling – a spectacular example of plaster pendant fan
vaulting
Canterbury Cathedral, crossing tower (by John Wastell), Henry VI's chantry chapel
Christ Church, Oxford, staircase to the great hall
Church of St Andrew, Mells, Somerset, porch[6]
Church of St John the Baptist, Axbridge, crossing[6]
Church of St Peter and St Paul, Muchelney, under the tower[6]
Church of St. John the Baptist, Cirencester, porch and north chapel
Collegiate Church of St Mary, Warwick, Dean's Chapel
Convocation House, Oxford
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, main gateway
Ely Cathedral, Bishop Alcock's Chantry Chapel
Eton College Chapel (the vault dates from 1958)
Hampton Court Palace, Great Gate and oriel window in the Great Hall
Henry VII's Lady Chapel, Westminster Abbey, London, England, 1503-1509[7] (with pendants, by
William Vertue)
Lincoln's Inn Chapel, undercroft[8]
Manchester Cathedral, under the tower
Milton Abbey, crossing (by William Smyth)[3]
Peterborough Cathedral, Cambridgeshire, retrochoir
Red Mount Chapel, King's Lynn
Sherborne Abbey, Quire c1430, Nave c1490 (by William Smyth)[3]
St Andrew's Church, Cullompton, south aisle
St Bartholomew's Church, Tong, Shropshire, chantry chapel[6]
St David's Cathedral, Wales, Trinity Chapel
St Mary Aldermary, London (by Christopher Wren)
St Mary's Church, North Leigh, Wilcote chantry chapel[6]
St Mary's Church, Ottery St Mary, aisle
St Stephen's cloister at the Palace of Westminster (1529)[9]
St. George's Chapel, Windsor, crossing, Urswick chantry chapel
Tewkesbury Abbey, cloister (only 1 bay remains)
University College, Oxford, gatehouse vaults
University Church of St Mary the Virgin, Oxford, porch
Wells Cathedral, crossing (by William Smyth)[3]
Winchester Cathedral, Beaufort and Waynflete chantry chapels
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Gothic Revival
Centre Block, Parliament of Canada, Ottawa
Eastnor Castle, Drawing room
Grand Theatre, Leeds
Harkness Tower, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA[10]
House of Lords lobbies, committee staircase, in the Palace of Westminster
John Rylands Library, baconcy, Manchester
Middlesex Guildhall, Westminster
Basilica Minore de San Sebastián; Manila, Philippines
St John's, Edinburgh
St Mary's Church, Wellingborough
Saint Patrick's Church, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA (apsidal fan vault)
Strawberry Hill, London
Unitarian Church in Charleston, South Carolina, USA
Washington National Cathedral, Washington, DC, USA (Children's Chapel)
Wills Memorial Building, University of Bristol

Fan vaulting (detail) in Peterborough King's Pendant fan vault of the Henry
Cathedral College VII chapel at Westminster Abbey
Chapel,
Cambridg
e

Bath Abbey, Fan vaulting in the staircase at Christ

South aisle Church, Oxford Canterbury Cathedral, fan vaulting of
the crossing

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13/06/2021 Fan vault - Wikipedia

Gloucester Chantry Chapel of Peterborough

Cathedral cloisters Henry Beaufort, Cathedral
Winchester retrochoir
Cathedral

Fan vaulting as used in Gothic Revival

architecture: Confederation Hall, Centre
Block, Parliament Hill, Ottawa, Ontario

See also
List of architectural vaults
Gothic architecture
Gothic cathedrals and churches

References
1. "Britannia: Architecture of Gloucester Cathedral" (https://web.archive.org/web/20181130072100/ht
tp://www.britannia.com/church/studies/glosarch.html). Archived from the original (http://www.britan
nia.com/church/studies/glosarch.html) on 2018-11-30. Retrieved 2006-11-17.
2. "Pevsner Architectural Guides fan vault design" (https://web.archive.org/web/20070927235052/htt
p://www.lookingatbuildings.org.uk/default.asp?Document=1.C.2.2.1.4). Archived from the original
(http://www.lookingatbuildings.org.uk/default.asp?Document=1.C.2.2.1.4) on 2007-09-27.
Retrieved 2006-11-17.
3. Harvey, John (1978). The Perpendicular Style. London: Batsford.
4. David Verey, Gloucestershire, Yale University Press, New Haven, Connecticut, USA (1976)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_vault 4/5
13/06/2021 Fan vault - Wikipedia

5. Aylmer, Gerald (2000). Hereford Cathedral : A History (https://books.google.com/books?id=NFXd

QLOR_XIC). The Hambledon Press. p. 62.
6. Leedy, Walter (1980). Fan Vaulting: A Study of Form, Technology and Meaning. Arts+Architecture.
7. Art and Architecture fan vault example from Henry VII Lady Chapel (http://www.artandarchitectur
e.org.uk/images/conway/92eafb11.html)
8. Teller, Matthew (2004). The Rough Guide to Britain (https://books.google.com/books?id=AOt1Hb8
MOQUC&lpg=PA114&q=%22fan-vaulted%20open%20undercroft%22). Rough Guides. p. 114.
ISBN 978-1-84353-301-6. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
9. Westminster Palace (http://www.englishheritageimages.com/low.php?xp=media&xm=1177814)
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20110710193239/http://www.englishheritageimages.com/lo
w.php?xp=media&xm=1177814) 2011-07-10 at the Wayback Machine - English Heritage images
10. Harkness Tower Memorial Hall (http://www.library.yale.edu/mssa/exhibits/building/part2/page10.ht
m)

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