The Building of the Cathedral
The Norse Cathedral
The Usage of the Cathedral in History
The Usage of the Cathedral Today
The Art of the Cathedral
Behind the Scenes in the Cathedral
Famous Orcadians & Others With Links
Blind arcadings - SMC056
An arcade is a series of connected archways which are carried on either columns or piers. A blind arcade, sometimes called a wall arcade, is a set of connected archways set into a wall.
In St Magnus Cathedral blind arcading can be found on both sides of the nave and in both transepts and is clearly Romanesque in style. As the arcading travels no further than the fifth bay of the nave this can be seen as the extent of the first building campaign.
Wall arcading was used as an ornamental feature to vary plain areas of masonry and also as a method to decrease the weight of a wall.