This pointed style of architecture occupied little more than four centuries. As it acquired its character by be ing elevated above the semicircle, so its decline com menced by a depression below that standard. This took place in the latter end of the 15th century, of which the most celebrated examples are St George's Chapel at Windsor, built by Edward IV. who died in 1483 ; King's College Chapel, Cambridge; and Henry Seventh's Cha pel, Westminster. The' architects were Bishop Cloose and Sir Reginald Bray. The royal chapels and ora tories during the reigns of the two last Henry's, arc co vered with a redundancy of tracery and ornaments of excellent execution, but tiresome from its excess and want of relief. The whole walls of the edifice were con verted into a glass frame. The Lady's Chapel at Glou cester is a striking example of this style ; but from this false taste must be excepted the cathedral church at Bath, built by Bishop Oliver King in 1500, and the chan cel of Winchester, built by Bishop Fox in 1525.
The chief symptoms of the decline of this pointed style, were rendering the walls a mere glass case, de pressing the arches, employing a redundancy of tracery ramified into fibres, and loaded at meetings with heavy armorial bearings, badges and releases, towers covered with hemispherical cupolas, and portals inclosed with square architraves.
The first order of the pointed style is to be traced up to Henry I. in 1132, or more certainly to the beginning of Stephen, 1136. It was perfected before the conclusion of the 12th century, and continued till near the conclu sion of the 13th century. It is distinguished by its sharp arch, pillars frequently Saxon, but afterwards by detach ed slender shafts, groining of simply intersecting ribs, plain pediments without crockets or side pinnacles, the either without mullions or only having a simple bisecting one, and with a single trefoil or quatrefoil, or other flower, at top. The specimens are the east end of Canterbury, west end of Lincoln, the whole of Salisbury, and the transepts of York and Westminster.
The second order reigned from the latter end of the 13th to the middle of the 15th century. Its character istics are, the finely formed arch, including an equilateral triangle, clustered columns, formed mostly of one stone, elegant and chaste tracery in windows and groins, crock eted pinnacles, tabernacles, and pediments ; the latter, towards the end of the 14th century, being formed with a sweep. The specimens are, the nave of Westminster, nave and choir of York, naves of Winchester, Exeter, Canterbury, Wykeham's two colleges, and St Stephen's, Westminster.
The third order has been minutely detailed in men tioning the symptoms of decline. It reigned from the latter end of the 15th to nearly the middle of the 16th century. The specimens are, St George's Chapel at Windsor ; King's College Chapel, Cambridge ; and Henry Seventh's Chapel, Westminster.
Having distinctly traced the progress of the pointed style in England,--having also arranged it into three se parate orders, distinguishing the periods in which each was employed, and referred to numerous and splendid specimens new existing,—Dr Milner, with the view of removing some objections and assumptions made by Mr Whittington, concludes with the following remarks : There is no good reason for alleging, that the inter secting and open pointed arches of St Cross, near Win • chester, were not a part of the original structure, but in troduced in subsequent alterations and repairs ; because, 1. Without the twenty windows, the whole would have been dark at noon-day.
2. The cornice from which the pointed arches spring goes quite through the wall, and is evidently a part of the structure.
3. The pointed arches in the south transept are the same as the windows, both in regard to design and work manship.
The primary object of the inventors of pointed archi tecture being to excite devotion and awe, for this pur pose they studied sublimity rather than richness: Hence the portals of Amiens and Rheims are, notwithstanding the armies of saints, prophets, martyrs, and angels, infe rior to those of York and Litchfield. Admitting the French taste, the façade of walls would be the most beau tiful of our English cathedrals. But the same false taste prevails in producing Amiens as a model of perfection, on account of having the appearance of being all win dows ; and Dr Milner produces the choir of Lincoln and nave of York as superior to the same parts in the boast ed cathedrals of Beauvais and Amiens.
Having impartially sketched out the views taken by these well informed men, of the rise and progress of Go thic architecture in France and England, the reader will form his own judgment respecting the claims of the two countries. 'We shall probably be not far from the truth in admitting, that the advantages were mutual, and that benefits alternately flowed from the operations on each side of the channel. That the French and Normans had, earlier than the Saxons in England, erected splendid ec clesiastical edifices, must be admitted ; and that the Eng lish did not acquire information from examining the French works, during the wars they carried on in that country, is improbable ; but, on the other hand, as Eng land was tranquil while France was harassed during the 14th and 15th centuries, it is admitted, even by Mr Whittington, that the former country was, from that cir cumstance, enabled to carry Gothic architecture to a greater degree of perfection than the former ; and with out disputing as to the mere discovery of the first, or exclusive claim to the latter, the regular steps so dis tinctly traced by Dr Milner seem to secure to England the merit of forming, and practising most extensively, the second or most perfect order of the pointed style.