Vaulting is the construction of arched ceilings or roofs in stone, brick or plaster, in which the weight is carried outwards and downwards onto walls, piers or columns. It is one of the defining features of Roman, Romanesque and Gothic architecture, and was also used in cellars, crypts, undercrofts and grand houses.
The simplest form is the barrel or tunnel vault, a continuous semicircular arch. Where two barrel vaults intersect they create a groin vault, and the addition of projecting stone ribs led to the rib vault of the Gothic period, which allowed taller and lighter buildings with larger windows. English medieval masons developed increasingly elaborate forms, including tierceron and lierne vaults and the fan vault, seen at its finest in late Gothic chapels and cloisters. In later centuries vaulting was revived in Georgian and Victorian buildings, often in lath and plaster rather than stone. For collectors of architectural antiques, carved bosses, corbels and rib fragments from vaulted buildings are sought for their sculptural quality, while vaulted rooms remain prized in historic homes.
