Norman style

The chief characteristic of Norman architecture is the semicircular arch, often combined with massive cylindrical pillars. Early Norman buildings have an austere and fortress-like quality. The Chapel of St John within the Tower of London is one particularly early and atmospheric example.

In larger churches, such as Durham Cathedral and the ruined St Botolph’s Priory, Colchester, dizzying sweeps of double or triple tiers of round arches rise above one another, clerestory over gallery over main arcade.

The Norman style appears at its most uncompromising in the great keeps of castles such as Dover and Rochester in Kent and Richmond in North Yorkshire. Surviving domestic examples are far rarer, but include the so-called Jews’ Houses of Lincoln and the Constable’s House within Christchurch Castle, Dorset.