A history of the Church of St Giles, Northampton . and piercing these with narrow, acutely-pointed arches. Itshould be remembered that the necessity of close connexionbetween the chancel and the nave which we feel to-day wasby no means so keenly felt in the Middle Ages ; the cross-planwith central tower, which often is so inconvenient to moderncongregations, offered no disadvantages to the builders ofthat time; and the method employed here for checking ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY. 117 structural dangers was one which occurred naturally to theirminds, The fillings of the northern and southern arches
A history of the Church of St Giles, Northampton . and piercing these with narrow, acutely-pointed arches. Itshould be remembered that the necessity of close connexionbetween the chancel and the nave which we feel to-day wasby no means so keenly felt in the Middle Ages ; the cross-planwith central tower, which often is so inconvenient to moderncongregations, offered no disadvantages to the builders ofthat time; and the method employed here for checking ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY. 117 structural dangers was one which occurred naturally to theirminds, The fillings of the northern and southern arches havenever been removed. The masonry of the south side ispierced by a narrow arch of three chamfered orders, of whichthe first is continued without a break round jambs and head,the second dies away in the adjacent walls, and the third is. supported by corbels formed of moulded capitals resting onsculptured human heads. The carving is rather rough, butthe date is obviously about 1300. The two inner chamfers ofthe corresponding arch on the opposite side of the tower bothdie away in the walls ; and, from drawings made in the middleof the nineteenth century, the eastern and western openingsappear to have been of the same plain character. The dif- Il8 ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY. ference between these and the more ornamental southernopening may indicate that they were remodelled at a laterdate. Probably, however, the south arch was blocked upfirst; and the builders, feeling, after their new opening wasmade, that strength was after all more necessary than orna-ment, made the remaining openings as plain as possible. It seems that the danger threatened by the tower had beenfelt on the side of the chancel rather than on that of the nave ;for, instead of going back at once to finish the projectedarcades and aisles, the next course whi
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