; ordinarily they have arched heads. The shape of the
arch varies at all periods. Architects always felt themselves free to
adopt any shape which best met the requirements of any special case;
but at each period there was one shape of arch which it was customary
to use.

In the first transitional period (end of twelfth century) semicircular
and pointed arches are both met with, and are often both employed in
the same part of the same building. The mouldings and enrichments
which are common in Norman work are usually still in use. In the E. E.
period the doorways are almost invariably rather acutely pointed, the
arched heads are enriched by a large mass of rich mouldings, and the
jambs[17] have usually a series of small columns, each of which is
intended to carry a portion of the entire group of mouldings. Large
doorways are often subdivided into two, and frequently approached by
porches. A most beautiful example occurs in the splendid west entrance
to Ely Cathedral. Other examples will be found at Lichfield (Fig. 1)
and Salisbury. It was not uncommon to cover doorways with a lintel,
the whole being under an archway; this left a space above the head of
the door which was occupied by carving often of great beauty.
Ornamental gables are often formed over the entrances of churches, and
are richly sculptured; but though beautiful, these features rarely
attained magnificence. The most remarkable entrance to an English
cathedral is the west portal of Peterborough--a composition of lofty
and richly moulded arches built in front of the original west wall. A
portal on a smaller scale, but added in the same manner adorns the
west front of Wells. As a less exceptional example we may refer to the
entrance to Westminster Abbey at the end of the north transept (now
under restoration), which must have been a noble example of an E. E.
portal when in its perfect state.

[Illustration: FIG. 16.--LANCET WINDOW. (12TH CENTURY.)]

The windows in this style were almost always long, narrow, and with a
pointed head resembling the blade of a lancet (Fig. 16). The glass is
generally near the outside face of the wall, and the sides of the
opening are splayed towards the inside. It was very customary to place
these lancet windows in groups. The best known group is the celebrated
one of "the five sisters," five lofty single lights, occupying the
eastern end of one of the transepts of York Minster. A common
arrangement in designing such a group