Gloucester Cathedral on my desktop

In November, I used this picture of Gloucester Cathedral as my desktop image:

Gloucester Cathedral from town, 9/1984, Blomme/McClure

It's not just a wonderful photo with a dramatic autumn sky over a town scape illuminated by a late afternoon sun.  It also presents the Cathedral as a textbook example on evolving English Gothic style.

The nave on the left is mostly in the Norman (Romanesque) style, except for the westernmost bay and west front, which was added or remodeled later, presumably to complement the very fine Perpendicular Gothic central tower.  You can also see the distinct change in height between the Norman nave and the Perpendicular Gothic choir on the right.

Here's a photo of the west front and the top of the central tower which shows the stylistic relationship between the two:

West Front & Central Tower of Gloucester Cathedral from WNW, 9/1984, Blomme-McClure

While the west front is in relatively squat Early English Gothic style, there are definite intimations of the Perpendicular style of the 15th century tower in the strong verticals of the composition.

Here's another photo of the central tower, which rises above the crossing, but on the exterior also marks the transition in height from the relatively low Norman/Early English nave to the soaring choir in Perpendicular Gothic style:

Central Tower & South Transept from SW, 9/1984, Blomme-McClure

Note the diagonal buttress that braces the tower across the outside of the transept.  Another diagonal buttress emerges from the roof of the nave to support the weight of the tower. 

Inside, that buttress crosses down through the nave, as shown in this photo taken from the north side aisle of the nave:

View of  Tower Buttress from North Aisle of Nave, 9/1984, Blomme-McClure

Here's a view of the nave from the crossing which shows the heavy Norman arches in the foreground changing to the Early English Gothic arches of the final two bays.

Gloucester Cathedral Nave viewed from Crossing, 9/1984, Blomme-McClure

Also note in the clearly defined Early English Gothic vaulting that was added above the Norman arcade, springing from brackets attached at the triforium, which also changes to a later, more elaborate style in two Western-most bays.

The lierne vaulting in the soaring choir is a much more elaborate example of Perpendicular Gothic:

Gloucester Cathedral Choir & East Window, 9/1984, Blomme-McClure

The east window contains much of the cathedral's surviving Medieval stained glass.

The fan vaulting in the cloisters dating from the second half of the 14th century is particularly fine.  It was used as a Hogworts corridor in several Harry Potter films.

Gloucester Cathedral Cloisters with Fan Vaulting, 6/1971, Blomme-McClure

We've visited Gloucester Cathedral twice.  In 1971 on our first driving tour of Great Britain we thought that it was a run-down dilapidated mess.  By the time we returned on our 1984 driving tour, the cathedral had been extensively cleaned and repaired.