2011

TF3244 : St Botolph's - Tower ceiling

taken 12 years ago, near to Boston, Lincolnshire, England

St Botolph's - Tower ceiling
St Botolph's - Tower ceiling
A view of the ceiling of the tower at St Botolph's showing the intricate boss-work at the intersections of the geometrical ribbing on this ceiling 137' above the floor of the tower. (For a slightly wider view see TF3244 : St Botolph's - Tower (internal))
The patterns formed by the ribbing are of four small circles around a central larger circle - or more accurately octagons rather than circles. Each outer octagon has a central boss and eight outer bosses; the central octagon has a central boss and incorporates three of the outer bosses of each of the outer octagons, with another single boss between each of the four outer octagons, making a total of 41 bosses.
St Botolph's, Boston (The Stump)

The parish church of St Botolph's in Boston, colloquially known for centuries as "The Stump", is one of the finest churches in Britain. Commenced in 1309 in the Decorated (middle) Gothic architectural period, the main part of the church was completed in 1390. However the tower for which it is famous was not started until somewhere between 1425 and 1450, and was completed in 1520 placing it in the last phase of Gothic architecture, the Perpendicular. The tower is a particularly good example of Perpendicular Gothic, rising to 272' (83m) making it the tallest church tower in Britain (though there are several spires that achieve a greater height). The internal roof of the tower, at 137' (42m) was the tallest internal roof in any building anywhere in the world until the C19th. The nave and chancel form an impressively large space, and indeed volume when combined with their substantial height. The nave is 242' (74m) long and with its side aisles is 104' (32m) wide, making it the widest parish church in Britain while the total floor area is over 20,000 ft² - second only to Holy Trinity, Hull (for a parish church).
One of the most interesting features of St Botolph's is its magnificent choir stalls and misericords dating from the C14th and decorated with numerous interesting and whimsical carvings.


Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright Rob Farrow and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Geographical Context: Religious sites other tags: Tower Ceiling Church Ceiling Church Click a tag, to view other nearby images.
This photo is linked from: Automatic Clusters: · St Botolph's Church Tower [71] Other Photos: · St Botolph's - Tower (internal) ·
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TF3244, 696 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
Rob Farrow   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Friday, 28 October, 2011   (more nearby)
Submitted
Tuesday, 1 November, 2011
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! TF 3265 4418 [10m precision]
WGS84: 52:58.7135N 0:1.5470W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! TF 3265 4418
View Direction
NORTH (about 0 degrees)
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Image classification(about): Supplemental image
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