This project is also featured on Burford Church’s official website.
Created with the late Cathy Oakes, medieval art historian at the University of Oxford
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Construction Sequence: 1175-1475
While studying history at Oxford University, I based my final research project on Burford Church near Oxford, England. With the generous help from Cathy Oakes, I visited this humble parish church and recreated its 300 year construction and evolution through a computer model. View the resulting animation above or download the digital source files for free at this link. Narration below:
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c.1175 – Work begins on the Norman church working from east to west.
It is a simple structure with round Norman windows and a choir, nave, and tower. -
c.1200 – Demolition to construct a chapel, aisle, and entrance foyer.
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c.1250 – Addition of north and south transept. Chancel is expanded.
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c.1400 – The crypt is added, and the tower is heightened. The architectural style changes from Norman to Gothic, from round arches to pointed. Local cloth merchants construct a separate guild chapel at a slight angle to the main church.
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c.1475 – Guild chapel is demolished to build the Lady Chapel. Most of the remaining nave is demolished to construct two new aisles, a larger west window, and new clerestory windows. Two chapels are added to either side of the choir, as well as a three floor entrance tower (not visible from this angle).
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This completes the construction of Burford Church.
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Burford Church
Churchyard
West façade (left) and Lady Chapel (right)
West façade
Norman era entrance to the church, dating from around 1175.
Churchyard door
Nave
Steeple
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Visual Analysis
What is the visual language of Burford Church? What aspects of medieval social history can be deduced from the church decoration? Without written historical records, building fragments alone can tell the story of church construction.
Here is my tour of the architectural fabric.
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