What is a buttress?

4000 BC / Uruk

The imposing White Temple in Uruk, built to honour the Sumerian sky god, An, predates the pyramids of Egypt, and was supported by an elaborate system of buttresses. An interesting fact about Uruk, is that it is widely considered to be the second city founded by Nimrod, called Erech.

1 - 8 AD / Roman

Buttresses made a comeback during this period, and did not feature as much in the Egyptian and Greek periods due to different design choices, replaced by thicker walls, radical shapes and columns as seen in the Pyramids of Egypt and the Parthenon in Greece.

Rome was founded in 753 BC and numerous forms of buttressing were used to not only fortify buildings and homes but also larger structures like dams and aqueducts.

4 - 5 AD / Byzantine

We begin to see a pre-Gothic version of what will come to be known as flying buttresses in some structures built during this period, the best example being those found in the Baths at Constantia, located in ancient Cyprus. However, they seem to have been purely functional and had no aesthetic purpose.

We see some clear examples of pier buttressing being used during this period, an early example being those seen on the Temple of Minerva Medica in Rome. Each corner of the decagonal structure was fortified to support the weight of the large dome the walls were holding up.

Similarly, buttressing can be seen on the apses of the Temple of Venus and Cupid, also in Rome.

5 - 10 AD / Medieval

The use of standard pier buttressing seemed to have continued through this period, as seen in the ruins of St Augustine’s Abbey in Kent, built in 598.

Another surviving example is the Chapel of St Peter-on-the-Wall, in Essex, dating back to around 660 AD.

12 - 16 AD / Gothic

Buttressing changed significantly during this period. Not only did they play an increasingly important structural role, but also a decorative one. The buttresses used during this period leave a lasting impression as they add a sense of majesty to the already impressive and tall structures. Even though external buttressing was seen previously, large, prominent and heavily decorated versions such as those of Notre Dame are especially associated with the Gothic era. The standard pier supports were detached from the main structure and connected with an arch that “flies” to the ground or another structure some distance away. This design created better support and allowed for larger windows and higher walls, a typical feature for churches built during this period.

The master-mason appointed to rebuild the quire was a Frenchman, William of Sens. Following his injury in a fall from the scaffolding in 1179 he was replaced by one of his former assistants, known as “William the Englishman”, credited with the design and introduction of rudimentary flying buttresses.There are some excellent examples at Gloucester cathedral.

14 - 16 AD / Renaissance

Standard buttresses made a comeback during this period, as domes became the defining feature of this architectural period. St.Peter’s Basilica is the best example of the focus on large domes that dominated the architectural style that dominated this period.

Rudimentary flying buttresses were built to fortify the Hagia Sophia in Turkey after the Latin Conquest of Constantinople in the 13th Century AD.

16 - 18 AD / Baroque Period

With its origins born out of the Counter-Reformation movement, organic shapes based on the oval, were used extensively to soften the impression of distance thought to have previously been created by the church. There was a greater emphasis placed on internal features and ​finer ​adornments to boost the internal grandeur​ of churches​.​ ​This saw the reduction of the use of large external buttresses and there was a return to a more functional use. 

While St. Paul’s Cathedral in London combines Neoclassical, Gothic, and Baroque elements in its design, it was completed during this period and shows how the use of fortifications had changed.

19 AD - Present Day / Neo Classical & Modern

This functional use of a buttress in church architecture continued to evolve and with the advent of globalisation there was an inevitable melding of styles and features.