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ECCLESIASTICAL ARCHITECTURE 465
Henry III at Westminster, when he took over the work in
1244 and carried out a complete reconstruction of the main
parts of the church, together with a part of the cloister and
a new chapterhouse, completing the work, which included
several bays of the nave, by 1269. Westminster abbey is in
many ways an extremely French design;
it is a return to the
apse and ambulatory plan which had almost completely gone
out ofuse in England since the mid/twelfth century, though at
Westminster it is revived in the developed form of contempox
rary French churches. All the windows in the church are
traceried on a geometrical system consisting of a pair of foiled
lancet lower lights surmounted by a circular foiled figure above.
The most remarkable Westminster windows were, however,
in the chapterhouse, which was an octagon in plan, and
henceforward the octagonal form generally prevails as giving
better opportunities for the new fashionable windows than
would be afforded by a greater subdivision of the walls.
Beside the plan and the very tall, rather narrow proportions
ofthe main vessel ofWestminster, both French characteristics,
and the introduction of the French type of traceried window,
King Henry Ill's building was revolutionary also in its
decorative treatment. It is traditional that he was attempting
to
rival St. Louis's splendid chapel in his palace at Paris, which
was, however, begun a year after Westminster, though conv
pleted within three years. One of the outstanding qualities of
the design ofthe Sainte Chapelle was the elaboration ofits in^
ternal colouring, the whole surface of the stonework of the
building being coloured or gilded. Equally at Westminster the
decorative treatment ofthe interior is carried a stage
farther than
in any ofthe immediately preceding or contemporary English
buildings. It is, moreover, different in character, the emphasis
being rather on quality of texture and colour than on linear
pattern. This is clearly seen if one considers the treatment of a
single bay of the main vessel of the church. The piers of the
arcade are entirely ofPurbeck marble, a material valued for its
colour and texture; the arches are very elaborately moulded even
for English thirteenth/century work and the spandrels of the