Wooden boss from the roof of St Alban's Cathedral, England, early fourteenth century.

Wooden boss from the roof of St Alban's cathedral, carved with a pattern of swirling hawthorn foliage. The size of this boss suggests that it was in a secondary position in the vault. The overall profile of the boss is hemispherical

This boss is one of a group of thirteen acquired by the Museum, which were removed from St Alban's Cathedral, Herts. during the restoration of the Abbey about 1890. Some have since been returned to the cathedral. The boss is of early 14th century type and can be associated with the building activity of Abbot Hugh of Eversden (1308-26) who was responsible for the roofing of both Lady Chapel and retrochoir.

The flat ceiling in the retrochoir and the vaults of the Lady Choir must have been made at much the same time. A large number of bosses would have been required for the Lady Chapel and retrochoir ceilings. They could have been carved by a few master carvers over a fairly wide time span (say, five years) or by a larger team over a shorter period. Some of the bosses are quite naturalistically treated and, therefore, early in type. Others are reminiscent of the conventionalised Decorated style of carving of c.1315 as is exemplified at Chichester Cathedral on the vault of the Lady Chapel and the misericords of the choir-stalls. These differences may have been due to the presence of older and younger men employed in the same workshop.

Several types of foliage commonly used in the early 14th century are present on the V&A's bosses, such as hawthorn, oak, maple and 'stiff-leaf' survival. In some the treatment is still naturalistic with two or more leaves springing from the same stalk. Fruit and flowers are also present and the technique of juxtaposing leaves back and front is found. The leaves were originally gilded and the interstices painted red.

Some of the carvings are pierced right through over a large area and the profile of the whole boss is hemispherical. On one of the bosses, the underside provides evidence for the surplus material having been removed on a turning lathe. At Winchester Cathedral the same regular grooving can be seen inside the finials of the choir-stalls reflecting the use of the same technique.

Note from acquisition register:
Stated to have come from St Alban's Abbey, and to have formed part of the roof of the nave. Removed in the course of the late Lord Grimsthorpe's restoration. The contractor was under contract to take away the old material (which was too much decayed for use) and these fragments were given by him to his daughter. She was Mr Willson's [the vendor] predecessor in the house at Cricklewood and when she left, the bosses being too unwieldy to take away, she disposed of them to Mr Willson who was an old St Alban's resident.

Historical significance: This is a good example of a Gothic roof boss from a major church.

Bosses like this were placed where the ribs of a vault met. They could be made of stone or wood. Bosses also had a decorative function as well as a structural one. Bosses that were made for cathedral vaults needed to be carved and decorated boldly in order to be visible from the ground.

Bosses were placed where the ribs of a vault (or ceiling) met. The back of this boss has four deeply carved channels, forming a cross-shape, which would have accommodated the ribs. Bosses often had a decorative role as well as a functional one. This example is carved with a pattern of swirling hawthorn foliage, reflecting an interest in nature characteristic of the time it was made.

Bosses from cathedral vaults could be made of wood or stone. They can be very large in scale and because they were placed so high the carving needed to be bold in order to be seen from ground level. This boss is smaller than other examples from St Alban's Cathedral (Hertfordshire) which indicates that it occupied a secondary position in the vault from which it came. The boss was removed from St Alban's about 1890 during restoration of the cathedral.

W.51D-1914