Fan vault

Fan vaulting over the nave at Bath Abbey, Bath, England. Made from local Bath stone, this is a Victorian restoration (in the 1860s) of the original roof of 1608.

A fan vault is a form of vault used in the Perpendicular Gothic style, in which the ribs are all of the same curve and spaced equidistantly, in a manner resembling a fan.

The earliest example, dating from about the end of the 14th century, may be seen in the cloisters of Gloucester Cathedral, built by Thomas of Cambridge about 1350. A fine later example, from 1640, is the vault over the staircase at Christ Church in Oxford. The largest fan vault in the world, however, can be found in the chapel of King's College, Cambridge.

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