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Dr James Alexander Cameron @drjacameron.stainedglassattitudes.com · 31/08/2026

Okay Bourne isn't the most spectacular fragment of an abbey church. But the N tower does have this cool revealed bit that shows there was an early 13thc plan to basically double the height of the nave arcade. I tried to decipher it.

View into NW tower of Bourne Abbey from nave, looking NW

Labels showing the planned early 13thc Early English Gothic rebuilding parts over the original post 1138 Romanesque build. E.E. in blue, Romanesque in red.

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Dr James Alexander Cameron @drjacameron.stainedglassattitudes.com · 31/08/2026

importantly(!) you can see clearly that there was at least initially planned a Romanesque W block from the transverse arch springing from the other side of the Romanesque N arcade (it isn't vaulted, so this is arch into a W tower), and the new 13th tower was built outside of it.

This is the opposite side of the view of the previous post, note the reveal hole. By the arcade springing that has a capital with nicked corners, you can see the angle shaft is supporting the beginning of a plain transverse arch, and the equal of the ceiling roll shaft on the other side has a scalloped capital to take an arch. Then there is the much-more fancily moulded 13thc arch into the existing tower base.

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Dr James Alexander Cameron @drjacameron.stainedglassattitudes.com · 02/09/2026

what about Bourne Abbey's SW tower you ask? [...?] WELL! its NW pier (integral with the S arcade respond), and the major arch along with the aisle transverse are all simple Perp. So the Romanesque evidence has been eliminated here (except for the intersecting arcading on the W front)

View of Bourne Abbey's SW tower from N. You can see two tiers of 13thc E.E. arcading internally, now divided by a mezzanine floor for a ringing chamber. The NW pier, attached to the W wall is the same as the opposite side (compound, interspersed with minor shafts with rings) but the arch it supports is very plain, two orders with a chamfer. It "dies" into the NE pier, which is basically just an octagon. The masonry in the top R is rough, as it recesses back to marry the difference in thickness between the two piers.

View of the NE pier showing the transverse, which also has simple dying moudlings.

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