ade.
Abbots Langley, Herts. _Photograph Mr. A. W. Anderson._]

The Norman style of church architecture with its varied forms of
columns, moulded and recessed arches and vaulting, may be roughly stated
to have been introduced into England at the time of the Conquest. The
Saxon masons do not appear to have understood vaulting sufficiently well
to have roofed over any large space with stone, and for this reason
alone the Saxon form of building was bound to give way before the
Norman, which of all the earlier styles was the most advanced in this
respect.

[Side note: Norman Architecture.]

Generally speaking, Norman arches were semi-circular, but they were by
no means universally so, for a form frequently found is one in which the
spring of the arch does not take place from the abacus, or upper member
of the capital, but at some distance above it and when it assumes this
form it is called a "stilted" arch, suggested by some authorities to
have been unintentional and the result of imperfect construction or
planning. _See page 10._

[Illustration: Examples of Norman Mouldings.
Chevron or Zig-zag. Star.
Alternate Billet. Square Billet.
Double Cone. Lozenge.
Beak Head. Bird Head.]

The main features in the ornamentation of this period are the sculptured
bands worked round the arches, which, although generally called
"mouldings," are more in the nature of decoration, and in some instances
they appear to be additions carved on the originally unadorned surface
of the masonry.

[Side note: Ornament.]

The earliest and most general ornament is the chevron or zig-zag, which
is frequently found doubled, trebled and quadrupled. The next most
common form is the beak-head, consisting of a hollow and large round.
In the hollow are placed heads of beasts or birds whose tongues or beaks
encircle the round. On the west doorway of Iffley church, Oxford, are
many of these beak-heads extending the whole length of the jamb down to
the base moulding. They also figure prominently among the ornamentations
of the hospital church of S. Cross, near Winchester. The zig-zag
moulding is very common on Norman churches and is so easily recognised
that no further description is needed here. The less prominent decorations
of Norman mouldings include the alternate billet, the double cone, and
the lozenge, together with an immense number of others less commonly
found.

[Side note: Windows