Tracing the past: analysing the design and construction of English medieval vaults using digital techniques.

Some of the most remarkable features of medieval works of architecture, particularly greater churches and cathedrals, are the ribbed vaults spanning their vast interior spaces. For over nine hundred years, they have inspired worshippers and visitors alike, their eyes drawn heavenwards by these captivating constructions and prompted to ask 'how did they do that?' No corresponding texts or drawings survive but digital methods now enable us to propose answers. Beyond their decorative role, gothic vaults fulfil a structural function and the interaction between the two merits further analysis, to help to understand how this might have been conceptualised by medieval masons. Across sites, the interaction between 2D and 3D geometries shows great variety and astounding levels of creativity.

Whilst recent medieval architectural research has initiated a new critical analysis of practical geometry and its possible symbolism, the origin and development of complex rib vaulting and its associated geometries remains a significant scholarly lacuna. This project investigates the design and construction of medieval vaults at significant sites in England using the latest digital surveying tools, producing accurate records of their forms. Digital analysis tools are then used to forensically examine the vaults in 2D and 3D, allowing new readings of their design to a level of detail not previously possible with analogue techniques. Using this pioneering process we can identify patterns at individual sites, in addition to trends across related sites, complicating existing interpretations and prompting new questions which our research will address. For example, at Wells Cathedral, we have identified the use of four different design processes in a space which was previously considered to only use one, thus supporting new interpretations of the design input, construction sequence and site management. Our research questions the validity of most previous study of canonical design/symbolic geometry as it lacks rigour in terms of the base data employed, gathered by traditional surveying techniques, often not for the purposes of geometrical analysis and usually analysed via plans in small-scale reproduction.

Beyond the main value of understanding how medieval vaults were designed and constructed in England, our survey data will be freely accessible to all via the Archaeology Data Service (ADS), acting as assets for heritage and conservation purposes. For example, in repair work undertaken by stonemasons our analysis will ensure a clearer understanding of approaches to original construction techniques so they are better equipped to preserve these structures for future generations, along with the cultural heritage they embody. Digital surveys are expensive: a partial survey such as ours would cost over £5,000 if carried out commercially, whereas we can make our data freely available. We will also share our findings with the custodians and public at sites through an exhibition and workshop series, tailored to individual sites whilst also discussing the broader results of the project.

The timeliness of our project is crucial to wider academic studies on continental Europe and beyond. Our data and analysis is required to test their findings and set them in a wider historical context and vice versa; England is the only country with a significant vaulting tradition where such original research is yet to be undertaken. This country saw the earliest and/or fullest development of the techniques of tierceron, lierne and fan vaulting and the greatest experimentation in 3D geometry prior to the sixteenth century, therefore our research is unique in being directed towards the place and period where such techniques first emerged. These vaulting forms have been identified as England's main contribution to European Late Gothic and our research therefore has the potential to transform understanding of the international transmission of ideas.

The research will benefit custodians, architects and archaeologists working at sites of medieval vaulting (notably our case study sites), members of the public with an interest in each site studied and/or the use of digital tools (e.g. 'friends of' groups), students in school/college and university, as well as the opportunity for a postdoctoral researcher to join the project.

For custodians, architects and archaeologists of each site, our findings will add to knowledge of how the vaulting was designed and constructed, aiding historical and structural understanding and interpretation. Likewise, we work with these groups so that their local knowledge of sites informs our research. Also, the digital survey and analysis data will have specific impact by being shared with these stakeholders and the public via the Archaeological Data Service (ADS). For example, in repair work undertaken by stonemasons, our analysis will ensure a clearer understanding of approaches to original construction techniques, so craftspeople are better equipped to preserve these structures for future generations, along with the cultural heritage they embody. At Gloucester Cathedral, our data has already been used by the cathedral architect to support an HLF-funded project to install disabled access to the eastern arm where previous surveys from traditional methods proved inadequate.

The main sites selected for our research see excellent visitor numbers each year (Exeter 130,000, Lincoln 150,000, Chester 250,000, Ely 250,000, Wells 250,000 and Gloucester 500,000). We know from our pilot studies how fascinated the public are by our use of 21st-century methods to solve the mysteries of the medieval masons. We will engage with visitors by organising an exhibition at the above sites to be held in situ for several weeks, in tandem with workshops and talks (developed in consultation with each site based on their visitor strategies). The exhibition will provide new ways of understanding these buildings as sites of creativity and innovation, supplementing existing historical and religious interpretations. Workshops and guidance sheets will enable local people to learn new skills in digital surveying, such as photogrammetry and laser scanning, to enable them to digitally document their own heritage assets. We will create a workshop pack for schools, enabling students to learn about medieval vaults and their use of geometry. This will offer a practical application in STEM subjects, principally skills learned in mathematics, as well as design. These resources will also be made available more widely via the Churches Visitor & Tourism Association. We anticipate that our workshops and talks will also help to boost visitor numbers and attract different audiences. We will have wider impact by disseminating our findings through the interactive website, which includes blog posts giving regular updates on our progress. These will be promoted through the exhibition series and we aim to create additional dialogue with the public through this resource.

We will use our findings to contribute directly to university teaching, including undergraduate architecture studio design, for example digital skills and tools, as well as the relevance of medieval architecture to current design issues such as parametric language and geometry. The findings will also have impact on history and theory lectures in the architecture department, as well as postgraduate teaching including the development of dissertation topics around the subject. The findings will also contribute to the MA module 'Art, Architecture and Literature in the Middle Ages' in the history department, especially by enhancing the digital content, in line with Liverpool's emphasis on research-led teaching and digital research. Finally, an additional researcher will be brought on board to form part of the team, offering them the opportunity to develop their skills in both research and teaching, as well as project management.