ABSTRACT
This article attempts an overview of architectural style in the whole of south Wales in the Decorated and Perpendicular periods, covering both ecclesiastical and secular buildings. It is based primarily on a study of surviving fabric, especially with regard to moulding profiles and types of building stone, and explores the themes of workshops, imported stone and prefabricated components. The study is set within the wider context of medieval ‘Severnside’ and demonstrates the predominant role of south-west England — and the city of Bristol — for architectural practice in south Wales. The first part of the article presents a chronological survey of a selection of Welsh works, with their stylistic affiliations, arranged in three sections: c. 1270–1350, c. 1350–1420, and c. 1420–1530. The second part assesses to what extent the region possesses distinctive architectural features, in such categories as vaulting, window tracery, arches and mouldings. Overall, later Gothic in south Wales appears as largely derivative and generally poorly resourced in comparison with neighbouring English regions. Nevertheless, some characteristics, like polychromatic stonework and unusually shaped arch-heads, reflect a tendency for inventiveness by masons working in south Wales, and some commissions have a significance for medieval architectural history beyond the region. The article concludes with three such case studies: the gatehouse at Caldicot Castle (Monmouthshire), the Berkerolles transept at St Athan (Glamorgan) and the tiles with tracery patterns at Neath Abbey (Glamorgan).
