The first single volume work in 30 years on the architecture of Canterbury Cathedral.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1845.

Belief in the heavenly nature of geometrical forms has existed since prehistoric times, but only now, in these pages, can we see and understand how this belief inspired the design of a great religious building. Without mathematical complexities, but in simple language and with many clarifying illustrations, the author demonstrates the geometrical constructions that the great architects of Canterbury Cathedral devised to bring the geometry of their building into harmony with that of the Universe, and with the geometries of their predecessors. The secret but simple means that they must have used to transfer plans to scale from parchment to building site is also brought to light, as is the geometry and remarkable history of the Cathedral’s superb “marble pavement:.

Excerpt from The Architectural History of Canterbury Cathedral The translation of Gervase, which it is the principal object of the following history to illustrate, was read by me with a few necessary omissions at the evening meeting of the Architectural Section of the British Archæological Association, on the 11th of September 1844, and on the following morning I had the honor of explaining to a numerous audience in the cathedral itself, the application of this translation to the building, and also of pointing out those later parts of which the history has been recorded, and which arc the subject of the concluding chapters. The work may therefore be considered as forming part of the Transactions of the Association in question, although it is obviously too bulky and independent for insertion in the Journal, which is the recognised organ of that body. In preparing it for the press, however, I have made many additions to it, including especially the entire history of the Saxon cathedral; and on a subsequent visit, with the able assistance of Mr. De la Motte, the drawings were made which illustrate its pages. These, however, have no pretensions to form a complete delineation of the building, architecturally speaking, which would plainly have required larger paper and a different material. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.