Pendant vault

Pendant fan vault of Henry VII's chapel at Westminster Abbey.
Pendant vault, St. Madeleine, Troyes.

Pendant vaulting is considered to be a type of English fan vaulting. The pendant vault is a rare form of vault, attributed to fifteenth century English Gothic architecture, in which large decorative pendants hang from the vault at a distance from the walls. In some cases, the pendants are a large form of boss.[1]  In his book on fan vaults, Walter Leedy defines the fan vault stating: “Fan vaults have the following specific interrelated visual and structural characteristics: (1) vaulting conoids of regular geometric form, (2) vertical ribs, each of consistent curvature and placement, (3) a distinct central spandrel panel, (4) ribs perpendicular to the vaulting surface, and (5) applied surface patterning.”[2]

  1. ^ Encyclopedia Britannica 2018.
  2. ^ Leedy 1980, p. 1.