What is a Tudor arch?

A Tudor arch is a low, wide pointed arch set out from four centres, which is why it is also called a four-centred arch. At each springing a short, tightly curved arc with a small radius rises steeply, then runs into a much flatter arc with a large radius (or an almost straight line). The two flat parts meet at the apex at an obtuse angle, giving a depressed pointed arch.

Origins

The arch is named after the Tudor dynasty, which ruled England from 1485 to 1603. The form was already in use earlier in English late Gothic, the Perpendicular style, where Tudor arches frame large church windows divided by vertical mullions and horizontal transoms. Well-known examples are King’s College Chapel in Cambridge and the gatehouse of Hampton Court Palace near London. In the 19th and early 20th centuries it came back with the Gothic Revival and Tudor Revival.

Uses

• Doorways and gateways, often with a square hood mould above.
• Windows in late Gothic churches and great houses.
• Fireplaces in the Tudor style.
• Villas and country houses in Gothic Revival or Tudor Revival style.

How to recognise it

• Pointed arch: two centres, much taller and steeper.
• Basket arch: also low and wide, but with no point at the apex.
• Ogee arch: has a reverse, S-shaped curve towards the apex; a Tudor arch does not.
• Depressed arch: the general term for low arches; the Tudor arch is a pointed version.

Practical tips

• Make a template: set out the arch full size from its four centres and build a timber centering from it. Arches set out by eye almost always end up with a lopsided apex.
• Check symmetry: when restoring, measure each half separately. Old arches have often distorted through settlement; do not copy that into new work by accident.
• Thrust: a flat arch pushes outwards harder than a steep pointed arch. Make sure there is enough masonry beside the opening, or ask a structural engineer.

Related terms

• Pointed arch
• Basket arch
• Ogee arch
• Depressed arch
• Perpendicular style
• Gothic Revival

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