The influence of European church architecture pervades many of the architectural fundamentals in churches of today. The modern church may have different interiors as compared to churches of yesterday but architects today continue to draw inspiration from the elements from long ago, especially in the design of church small windows. These church small windows continue to be deeply symbolic and they are also very attractive and are in fact, also extremely functional as well.
Small windows – Clerestory small windows
Clerestory small windows are one type of church small windows that you will want to find out more about. These window types have been popularised in churches as well as cathedrals from the Roman times. Such church small windows run along tops of naves or central approaches to an altar and they are able to offer abundance of light into an interior that would otherwise remain very dim if these windows were not present.
Not for seeing the view outside
Such church small windows are used to provide some light and more particularly overhead light but are not meant to provide views of the outside as that would only end up distracting the interests and minds of people taking part in religious ceremonies.
Frank Lloyd Wright
In the early part of the twentieth century, these church small windows fell out of favour but when Frank Lloyd Wright created some excellent examples of such church small windows, there was renewed interest in these windows. In fact, today these church small windows are generally seen in secular buildings and also in modern churches.
Rose windows
Rose church small windows are another option and are actually a type of small church window that is most recognisable. These windows have their origins in the early Roman sacred architectures and are often interpreted as small and round windows that do not have any panes. They were first used in Pantheon in the early ages and today are often used as centrepieces of churches and will be located above or even facing the church's altar.
Rose church small windows were very popular in the Gothic times and were often used in European cathedrals. In these modern times, rose church small windows are still being used in churches but they are not as ornate today as they were in days gone by.
The best example of church small windows can be seen in the Saxon architecture. These church windows are normally very small and they can also be glazed if required. They also have large sized splays both internally and externally and examples of these church small windows can be seen in churches of Bedfordshire, Clapham and Huntingdonshire.
During the Norman period, many a church was fitted with church small windows. These windows were normally of a rather small proportion but later days their sizes increased quite significantly. The best examples of these church small windows were the ancient windows which had a small sized chamfer (plain shallow recess) round the external part of the window and they had large sized splays within. However, in a few cases, there could also be a small sized shaft on either side of the external recess and there could also be label moulding over the arches.