Architecture
St Peter's is one of the best examples of Norman architecture in England. It was built in the form of a cross with a great tower at the crossing and with two smaller towers at the west end. It took 70 to 80 years before the church was complete. Ten years later a storm destroyed much of the front of the church. The damaged part was rebuilt in Early English style. The west front has a huge entrance consisting of four arches (1170–90) above a later 15th century doorway. The entrance is decorated with diaper pattern and stiff-leaf moulding providing relief for a profusion of small arches. To the south west of the church is the 15th century gateway, a reminder of the long vanished priory. The old west doors still show the marks of shots fired during the English Civil War.
Inside the church, the highlight is the intricate 14th century screen, with five open bays. The roof is a sympathetic restoration dating from 1871 of the Perpendicular original. There are several funerary monuments and floor brasses. Among the possessions of the church is the Fayrey Pall, a 15th century embroidered cloth.
Read more about this topic: Dunstable Priory
Famous quotes containing the word architecture:
“Defaced ruins of architecture and statuary, like the wrinkles of decrepitude of a once beautiful woman, only make one regret that one did not see them when they were enchanting.”
—Horace Walpole (1717–1797)
“Art is a jealous mistress, and if a man have a genius for painting, poetry, music, architecture or philosophy, he makes a bad husband and an ill provider, and should be wise in season and not fetter himself with duties which will embitter his days and spoil him for his proper work.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Art is a jealous mistress, and, if a man have a genius for painting, poetry, music, architecture or philosophy, he makes a bad husband and an ill provider.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)