Bk. II. Cu. III. ANJOU. 485 'icw ul the liileriur of Luches. sketch by the author.) (From a altogether the effect of the 7 recesses on each side is pleasing and satisfactory. Indeed it may be considered as the typical and best ex- anii)Ie of that class of churches, of which a later specimen Avas the cathedral at Alby, described in the last chapter, and which are so beautiful as to go far to shake our absolute faith in the dogma that aisles are indispensably nec- essary to the proper effect of a Gothic church. Even more interesting than either of these in an archaeo- logical point of vicAv, is the little castle chapel at Loches, com- menced by Geoffrey Grise Go- nelle, Count of Anjou, in the year 962, and continued by his son, Foulques Xerra,to whom the 351. nave must be ascribed ; while the Avestern toAver is probably the only part noAV remaining of the older church. The eastern portion Avas rebuilt in the 12th century by Thomas Pactius, the prior, and completed in 1180 — the latter part being in the av ell- known Norman style of that age. An in- teresting point in this church is that the Norman round-arch style is built over and upon the pointed arches of the naA'e,which are at least a century older, haA'ing been erected betAveen the years 987 and 1040. Tt Avill be seen from the iev given of this chapel that the pointed style here used has nothing in common with the pointed archi- tecture of the North of France, but is that of the South, such as Ave have seen in the churches of Perio;eux and Souillac. It is used hei*e, as there, to support domes. These, however, in this instance, instead of being circular,are octagonal, and rise ex- ternally in octagonal straight-lined cones of stone Avork, giving a very peculiar Init interesting and elegant outline to the building. They also point out a method by which roofs at least as high as those which afterwards prevailed could have been obtained in stone if this mode of vaulting had been persevere 1 352. Plan of Church at Fonte- vrault. (From A'eriieilh.) Scale 100 ft. to 1 in.
