Editing Anglo-Saxons (section)

=== Architecture ===
{{Main|Anglo-Saxon architecture}}
[[File:Anglo-Saxon hall1.png|thumb|Reconstruction of an Anglo-Saxon hall at Wychurst, Kent,{{circa|1000 AD}}|241x241px]]
Early Anglo-Saxon buildings in Britain were generally simple, not using masonry except in foundations but constructed mainly using timber with [[thatch]] roofing.<ref>{{cite web |title=Early Medieval Architecture |url=https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/learn/story-of-england/early-medieval/architecture/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201208134423/https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/learn/story-of-england/early-medieval/architecture/ |archive-date=8 December 2020 |access-date=26 January 2021 |website=English Heritage}}</ref> Generally preferring not to settle within the old Roman cities,<ref>{{cite news |title=When did the Anglo-Saxons come to Britain? |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zxsbcdm/articles/z23br82 |website=BBC Bitesize |access-date=26 January 2021}}</ref> the Anglo-Saxons built small towns near their centres of agriculture, at fords in rivers, or near natural ports. In each town, a main hall was in the centre, provided with a central hearth.{{Efn|York and London both offer examples of this trend.}}

Only ten of the hundreds of settlement sites that have been excavated in England from this period have revealed masonry domestic structures and confined to a few specific contexts. Timber was the natural building medium of the age;<ref>Turner, H. L. (1970), Town Defences in England and Wales: An Architectural and Documentary Study A. D. 900–1500 (London: John Baker)</ref> the Anglo-Saxon word for "building" is ''timbe''. Unlike in the [[Carolingian Empire]], late Anglo-Saxon royal halls continued to be of timber in the manner of [[Yeavering]] centuries before, even though the king could clearly have mustered the resources to build in stone.<ref>Higham, R. and Barker, P. (1992), Timber Castles (London: B. T. Batsford):193</ref> Their preference must have been a conscious choice, perhaps an expression of deeply–embedded Germanic identity on the part of the Anglo-Saxon royalty.

Even the elite had simple buildings, with a central fire and a hole in the roof to let the smoke escape; the largest homes rarely had more than one floor and one room. Buildings varied widely in size, most were square or rectangular, though some round houses have been found. Frequently these buildings have sunken floors, with a shallow pit over which a plank floor was suspended. The pit may have been used for storage, but more likely was filled with straw for insulation. A variation on the sunken floor design has been found in towns, where the "basement" may be as deep as 9 feet, suggesting a storage or work area below a suspended floor. Another common design was simple post framing, with heavy posts set directly into the ground, supporting the roof. The space between the posts was filled in with wattle and daub, or occasionally, planks. The floors were generally packed earth, though planks were sometimes used. Roofing materials varied, with thatch being the most common, though turf and even wooden shingles were also used.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hamerow |first=Helena |url= |title=Rural Settlements and Society in Anglo-Saxon England |date=2012-07-05 |publisher=[[OUP Oxford]] |isbn=978-0-19-920325-3 |language=en}}</ref>

[[File:EarlsBartonChurch.JPG|thumb|left|Distinctive Anglo-Saxon pilaster strips on the tower of [[All Saints' Church, Earls Barton]]|302x302px]]

Stone was sometimes used to build churches. Bede makes it clear that the masonry construction of churches, including his own at Jarrow, was undertaken ''morem Romanorum'', 'in the manner of the Romans,' in explicit contrast to existing traditions of timber construction. Even at Canterbury, Bede believed that St Augustine's first cathedral had been 'repaired' or 'recovered' (''recuperavit'') from an existing Roman church, when in fact it had been newly constructed from Roman materials. The belief was "the Christian Church was Roman, therefore a masonry church was a Roman building".

The building of churches in Anglo-Saxon England essentially began with [[Augustine of Canterbury]] in Kent following 597; for this he probably imported workmen from [[Francia|Frankish Gaul]]. The [[Canterbury Cathedral|cathedral and abbey in Canterbury]], together with churches in Kent at [[Minster, Swale|Minster in Sheppey]] ({{circa|664}}) and [[St Mary's Church, Reculver|Reculver]] (669), and in Essex at the [[Chapel of St Peter-on-the-Wall]] at [[Bradwell-on-Sea]], define the earliest type in southeast England. A simple nave without aisles provided the setting for the main altar; east of this a chancel arch separated the apse for use by the clergy. Flanking the apse and east end of the nave were side chambers serving as sacristies; further [[porticus]] might continue along the nave to provide for burials and other purposes. In Northumbria the early development of Christianity was influenced by the Irish mission, important churches being built in timber. Masonry churches became prominent from the late 7th century with the foundations of [[Wilfrid]] at [[Ripon]] and [[Hexham]], and of [[Benedict Biscop]] at Monkwearmouth-Jarrow. These buildings had long naves and small rectangular chancels; porticus sometimes surrounded the naves. Elaborate crypts are a feature of Wilfrid's buildings. The best preserved early Northumbrian church is [[Escomb Church]].<ref name="Wilkinson, David John 1964">Wilkinson, David John, and Alan McWhirr. Cirencester Anglo-Saxon Church and Medieval Abbey: Excavations Directed by JS Wacher (1964), AD McWhirr (1965) and PDC Brown (1965–6). Cotswold Archaeological Trust, 1998.</ref>

From the mid-8th century to the mid-10th century, several important buildings survive. One group comprises the first known churches utilizing aisles: [[All Saints' Church, Brixworth|Brixworth]], the most ambitious Anglo-Saxon church to survive largely intact; [[Lady St. Mary Church, Wareham|Wareham St Mary's]]; Cirencester; and the rebuilding of [[Canterbury Cathedral]]. These buildings may be compared with churches in the [[Carolingian Empire]]. Other lesser churches may be dated to the late eighth and early ninth centuries on the basis of their elaborate sculptured decoration and have simple naves with side porticus.<ref>Whitehead, Matthew Alexander, and J. D. Whitehead. The Saxon Church, Escomb. 1979.</ref> The tower of [[St John the Baptist's Church, Barnack|Barnack]] hearkens to the West Saxon reconquest in the early 10th century, when decorative features that were to be characteristic of Late Anglo-Saxon architecture were already developed, such as narrow raised bands of stone (pilaster strips) to surround archways and to articulate wall surfaces, as at [[St Peter's Church, Barton-upon-Humber|Barton-upon-Humber]] and [[All Saints' Church, Earls Barton|Earls Barton]]. In plan, however, the churches remained essentially conservative.

From the monastic revival of the second half of the tenth century, only a few documented buildings survive or have been excavated. Examples include the abbeys of [[Glastonbury Abbey|Glastonbury]]; [[Old Minster, Winchester]]; [[Romsey Abbey|Romsey]]; [[Cholsey Abbey|Cholsey]]; and [[Peterborough Cathedral]]. The majority of churches that have been described as Anglo-Saxon fall into the period between the late 10th century and the early 12th century. During this period, many settlements were first provided with stone churches, but timber also continued to be used; the best wood-framed church to survive is [[Greensted Church]] in Essex, no earlier than the 9th century, and no doubt typical of many parish churches. On the continent during the eleventh century, a group of interrelated [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] styles developed, associated with the rebuilding of many churches on a grand scale, made possible by a general advance in architectural technology and mason-craft.<ref name="Wilkinson, David John 1964" />

The first fully Romanesque church in England was Edward the Confessor's rebuilding of Westminster Abbey ({{circa|1042}}–60, now entirely lost to later construction), while the main development of the style only followed the Norman Conquest. However, at [[Stow Minster]] the crossing piers of the early 1050s are clearly proto-[[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]]. A more decorative interpretation of Romanesque in lesser churches can be dated only somewhere between the mid and late 11th century, e.g. [[Hadstock]] (Essex), [[Clayton, West Sussex|Clayton]] and [[Church of St Mary the Blessed Virgin, Sompting|Sompting]] (Sussex); this style continued towards the end of the century as at Milborne Port (Somerset). At St Augustine's Abbey in Canterbury ({{circa|1048}}–61) Abbot Wulfric aimed to retain the earlier churches while linking them with an octagonal rotunda, but the concept was still essentially [[Pre-Romanesque architecture|Pre-Romanesque]]. Anglo-Saxon churches of all periods would have been embellished with a range of arts,<ref>Conant, Kenneth John. Carolingian and Romanesque architecture, 800 to 1200. Vol. 13. Yale University Press, 1993.</ref> including wall-paintings, some [[stained glass]], metalwork and statues.

<gallery class="center" heights="180px" widths="220px">
File:St Peters Chapel.jpg|[[Chapel of St Peter-on-the-Wall|St Peter-in-the-Wall]], Essex: A simple nave church of the early style {{circa|lk=no|650}}
File:Brixworth Church Northamptonshire.jpg|[[All Saints' Church, Brixworth|Brixworth]], Northants: monastery founded {{circa|lk=no|690}}, one of the largest churches to survive relatively intact
File:Barnack church.JPG|[[St John the Baptist's Church, Barnack|Barnack]], Peterborough: Lower tower {{circa|lk=no|970}} – spire is later
File:Sompting Church ext from west.JPG|[[Church of St Mary the Blessed Virgin, Sompting|Sompting Church]], Sussex, with the only Anglo-Saxon [[Rhenish helm]] tower to survive, {{circa|lk=no|1050}}
</gallery>