Hereford Cathedral

The Early English, or Lancet phase of Gothic can be seen to terminate with this decorated and pierced arcade at Hereford. It was executed by Henry III's masons from Westminster and is unusual for the form of the arches and the use at this late stage of the notched dog tooth molding, common to Norman building. Almost two hundred years separate this design from the Romanesque arcade of the main building. In these two centuries Gothic, both in England and on the Continent, was born; in the next two centuries it was to develop further and mature into a distinctly English architecture.