Compound pier or cluster pier is the

architectural Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

term given to a clustered

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...

pier A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of water and usually juts out from its shore, typically supported by piling, piles or column, pillars, and provides above-water access to offshore areas. Frequent pier uses include fishing, b ...

which consists of a centre mass or

newel A newel, also called a central pole or support column, is the central supporting pillar around which a helical staircase winds. It can also refer to an upright post that supports or terminates the handrail of a stair banister (the "newel post") ...

, to which engaged or semi-detached shafts have been attached, in order to perform (or to suggest the performance of) certain definite structural objects, such as to carry

arch An arch is a curved vertical structure spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th millennium BC, but stru ...

es of additional orders, or to support the transverse or diagonal ribs of a vault, or the tie-beam of an important roof. In these cases, though performing different functions, the drums of the pier are often cut out of one stone. There are, however, cases where the shafts are detached from the pier and coupled to it by annulets at regular heights, as in the Early English period. Compound piers can often be found in Romanesque cathedrals of France and

Norman architecture The term Norman architecture is used to categorise styles of Romanesque architecture developed by the Normans in the various lands under their dominion or influence in the 11th and 12th centuries. In particular the term is traditionally used f ...

of England, including cathedrals of Durham,

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

, Ely, and

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

. The Gothic evolution of the idea is frequently called a clustered column or cluster column.

Pilier cantonné

A pilier cantonné is a type of compound pier commonly associated with High Gothic architecture. First used in the construction of the

Chartres Cathedral Chartres Cathedral (, lit. Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres) is a Catholic cathedral in Chartres, France, about southwest of Paris, and is the seat of the List of bishops of Chartres, Bishop of Chartres. Dedicated in honour of the Virgin Mary ( ...

, the pilier cantonné has four

colonettes A colonnette is a small slender column, usually decorative, which supports a beam or lintel. Colonnettes have also been used to refer to a feature of furnishings such as a dressing table and case clock, and even studied by archeologists in Roma ...

attached to a large central core that support the arcade, aisle vaults and

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

-vaulting

respond In architecture, a respond is a half-pier or half-pillar that is bonded into a wall and designed to carry the springer at one end of an arch An arch is a curved vertical structure spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support th ...

s. File:Cathedral antiquities (1814) (14771846012).jpg, Diagram of compound pier in

Winchester Cathedral The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity,Historic England. "Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity (1095509)". ''National Heritage List for England''. Retrieved 8 September 2014. Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun, commonly known as Winches ...

in Winchester, England File:Saint-Leu-d'Esserent (60), église St-Nicolas, nef, pilier cantonné au nord 2.jpg, Pilier cantonné

References

Sources

* * Architectural elements Gothic architecture {{Architecturalelement-stub

Pilier cantonné

See also

References

Sources