Romanesque style developed in medieval Europe between the 6th-12th centuries and was characterized by semi-circular arches. Durham Cathedral, built between 1093-1133, is an important example of Romanesque architecture known for innovations like rib vaulting. Its pointed arches allowed greater height and width over previous semi-circular styles. Other features include thick walls, barrel vaults, arcades supported by cylindrical and compound piers, and three towers up to 218 feet tall.

1. ROMENESQUE STYLE

2. Romanesque style
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular
arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging
from the 6th to the late 10th century, this later date being the most commonly held. It developed in the
12th century into the Gothic style, marked by pointed arches.
Combining features of ancient Roman and
Byzantine buildings and other local traditions,
Romanesque architecture is known by its
massive quality, thick walls, round arches,
sturdy pillars, groin vaults, large towers and
decorative arcading.

3. ! Due to collapse of Roman Empire, Romanesque Architecture developed in Western
Europe.
! This is the direct modification of Roman Architecture.
! This style developed in Italy, France, Germany, Central Europe, Spain and Britain.
Formation And Development
Geographical Conditions
! This style had its building materials like stone, brick, marble, ready made columns or
other remains from ruins of roman buildings.
! Materials were available from Italy and France
Geological Conditions

4. ! There were huge variations in the climate of Italy, France and England.
! Climate of north being dull, large window openings were provided to allow sufficient
sunlight, whereas south being hot, small windows were kept to cut off dazzling sunlight.
! Due to less rainfall in the south part, roofs were flat, whereas in north high pitched roofs
were provided to drain out water and snow.
Formation And Development
Climatic Conditions
Historical Condition
! From the fall of Roman Empire to the period of Charlemagne, many churches were
constructed.
! He encouraged artists & craftsmen and restored art & civilization in west Europe.
! For the next two centuries, architecture made little progress with slight changes.

5. Romanesque architects built a wide variety of different buildings, of which the most common were:
village churches, abbey churches, cathedrals and castles. The most important were the great abbey
churches, many of which are in use. Typical characteristics of Romanesque architecture include:
• Semi-circular Arches
Most arches were semi-circular although a few buildings (Autun Cathedral, France; Monreale
Cathedral, Sicily) have pointed arches. Narrow windows/doors might be topped by a stone lintel.
Larger openings were nearly always arched.
• Thick Walls
These massive supporting walls had few and comparatively small openings and almost eliminated
the need for buttresses.
Construction techniques

6. Arcades
These were a particularly popular feature. Note: an arcade consists of a row of arches,
supported on either columns or piers. Columns were either drum columns (if small) or hollow
core (if large). Piers were typically built out of masonry and were either square or rectangular.
Capitals on columns were usually of the foliate Corinthian style.
• Roofs
These were made from wood, then stone. Vaulted roofs generally featured barrel-vaults and
groin vaults made of stone or brick. Eventually, these evolved into the pointed ribbed arch used
in Gothic architecture.
• Towers
These were a regular feature of Romanesque churches. Types included: square, circular and
octagonal towers.

7. Durham cathedral

8. Architectural Terms
Choir - A choir, also sometimes spelled quire, is the area of a church
or cathedral that provides seating for the clergy and church choir.
Altar - It is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices
and worship are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually
found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and
other places of worship.
Nave - the nave is the main body of the church. It provides the
central approach to the high altar.

9. Introduction
• Durham Cathedral is a Norman building
constructed between 1093 - 1133 in the
Romanesque style.
• It was founded as a monastic cathedral
built to house the shrine of St Cuthbert,
replacing an earlier church constructed in
his honour.
Architectural Features
• It is important for its architectural
features, specifically, its rib vaulting
(the first of its kind in England), its
pointed arches, and its high standard
of masonry.

10. • Durham is built with a three storey elevation,
comprising an arcade, gallery and clerestory.
• The main arches, which are supported alternately
on cylindrical (minor) and compound
(major) piers, have their soffits (under surfaces)
decorated with roll mouldings.
• The minor cylindrical piers are furnished with
incised decoration—spiral patterns, zig-zags,
losenges and flutes.
• The gallery opens to the nave through a sub-
divided arch. Single round headed windows
provide illumination at clerestory level.
• The nave vault of Durham Cathedral is the most significant architectural element of the
Durham World Heritage Site because it marks a turning point in the history of
architecture. The pointed arch was successfully used as a structural element for the first
time here in this building. Semi-circular arches were the type used prior to the adoption of
the structural pointed arch — the limitations of which is that their height must
be proportionate to their width.
The nave vault and arches of Durham Cathedral. Pointed
arches (indicated by the grey arrow) replaced semi-circular
arches (indicated by the yellow arrow), allowing for greater
height and width.

11. Architectural Detail
• Length- 469 feet (143 m) (interior)
• Nave width- 81 feet (25 m) (inc aisles)
• Nave height- 73 feet (22 m)
• Choir height- 74 feet (23 m)
• Number of towers- 3
• Tower height- 218 feet (66 m) (central tower)
144 feet (44 m) (western towers)

12. Plan of the Cathedral
The building takes the form of a Latin cross, centred on the four great piers of the crossing. The
choir extended four bays to the east and originally terminated with a short bay which lead into a
semicircular apse (some remains of which were recovered in nineteenth-century excavations).
Choir
Nave
PLAN
The aisles also terminated in
apses and these were encased
with rectangular outer walls.
The transepts, which extend
north and south for four bays,
are furnished with an aisle on the eastern
side. Stair turrets project at the
north-west and south-west angles.
The aisled nave is eight bays long, and
terminates at the west in two towers.
Throughout the building there is an
alternating system of major and minor
piers.

13. Section

14. • In comparison with the nave of Gloucester,
which also has heavy round columns
carrying the arcades, Durham, in the
manner of Speyer, introduces the idea of
attached half- columns that guide the eye
to the ceiling.
• A basic principle of Norman building was
the reduction of solid walls to a thick but
open skeleton of arches. The arches were not
just interruptions in the wall but were
defined in a regularised way, with
surrounds framed by attached half-
columns and horizontal string courses.

15. The decoration of the columns, with its
zigzag and chevron motifs, also made
extensive use of color, specifically black and
red, which was an influence from Islamic
architecture that came to the country
through the Crusades and the Norman-
Arab connections in Sicily and northern
Africa

16. The building does not have buttresses and
so appears from the outside quite boxy,
unlike later Norman cathedrals, such as
Canterbury Cathedral, where buttresses
contribute to a vertical articulation