Porticus

This article concerns the ecclesiastical archetectural term. For other uses, see portico.
refer to caption
In this plan of St Mary's Church, Reculver, in north-east Kent, the porticus of the 7th-century church are represented by the extensions to north and south from the main structure, which is in yellow. Other colours represent later additions.

In church architecture, a porticus (Latin for "portico")[a] is usually a small room in a church.[2] Commonly, porticuses form extensions to the north and south sides of a church, giving the building a cruciform plan. They may function as chapels, rudimentary transepts or burial-places. For example, Anglo-Saxon kings of Kent were buried in the south porticus at St Augustine's Abbey in Canterbury, with the exception of Eadberht II, who was buried in a similar location in St Mary's Church, Reculver.[3]

This feature of church design originated in the late Roman period and continued to appear in those built on the European continent and, in Anglo-Saxon England, until the 8th century.[4]

  1. ^ Lewis, C.T.; Short, C., eds. (n.d.). "porticus". A Latin Dictionary. www.perseus.tufts.edu. Archived from the original on 31 January 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  2. ^ "Glossary of ecclesiastical terms". Archi UK. n.d. Archived from the original on 29 June 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
  3. ^ Kelly 2008, pp. 78–9.
  4. ^ Cherry 1981, p. 168.


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