Afan vault is a form ofvault used in theGothic style, in which the ribs are all of the same curve and spaced equidistantly, in a manner resembling afan. The initiation and propagation of this design element is strongly associated withEngland.

The earliest example, dating from about 1351,^[1] may be seen in the cloisters ofGloucester Cathedral.^[2] The largest fan vault in the world can be found inKing's College Chapel, Cambridge.

The fan vault is peculiar to England. Thelierne vault of the cathedral ofBarbastro in northern Spain closely resembles a fan vault, but it does not form a perfectconoid.John Harvey (1978) suggestsCatherine of Aragon as a possible source of English influence inAragon.^[3]

The fan vault is attributed to development inGloucester between 1351 and 1377,^[3] with the earliest known surviving example being the east cloister walk ofGloucester Cathedral.^[4]Harvey (1978) hypothesises that the east cloister at Gloucester was finished under Thomas de Cantebrugge from thehamlet ofCambridge, Gloucestershire, who left in 1364 to work on thechapter house atHereford Cathedral (also thought to have been fan vaulted on the basis of a drawing byWilliam Stukeley).^[5] The other three parts of the cloister at Gloucester were begun in 1381, possibly under Robert Lesyngham.

Other examples of early fan vaults exist around Gloucester, implying the activity of several 14th century master masons in that region.^{[citation needed]}

The ribs of a fan vault are of equal curvature and rotated at equal distances around a central (vertical) axis, forming the conoid shape which gives rise to the name. In between sequences of conoids, flat centralspandrels fill the space. According to Leedy (1980), the fan vault was developed in England (as opposed to France and other centres ofGothic architecture) due to the manner in which Englishrib vaults were normally constructed.^[6] In an English rib vault, the courses are laid perpendicular to therib while in France they are laid perpendicular to the wall.

• Gloucester Cathedral, cloisters, earliest fan vaulting begun 1373 by Abbot Horton
• King's College Chapel, Cambridge, the world's largest fan vault (1512–1515)
• Bath Abbey, Somerset, nave and chancel (1860s restoration; originally byWilliam Vertue)
• Brasenose College, Oxford, Chapel ceiling – a spectacular example of plaster pendant fan vaulting
• Canterbury Cathedral, crossing tower byJohn Wastell, Henry VI's chantry chapel
• Christ Church, Oxford, staircase to the great hall
• Church of St Andrew, Mells, Somerset, porch^[6]
• Church of St John the Baptist, Axbridge, Somerset, crossing^[6]
• Church of St Peter and St Paul, Muchelney, Somerset, under the tower^[6]
• Church of St. John the Baptist, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, porch and north chapel
• Collegiate Church of St Mary, Warwick, Dean's Chapel
• Convocation House, Oxford
• Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, main gateway
• Ely Cathedral,Bishop Alcock's chantry chapel
• Eton College Chapel (the vault dates from 1958)
• Hampton Court Palace, Great Gate and oriel window in the Great Hall
• Henry VII's Lady Chapel,Westminster Abbey, London, 1503–1509^[7] (withpendants, byWilliam Vertue)
• Lincoln's Inn Chapel, undercroft^[8]
• Manchester Cathedral, under the tower
• Milton Abbey, Dorset, crossing (byWilliam Smyth)^[3]
• Peterborough Cathedral, Cambridgeshire, retrochoir
• Red Mount Chapel,King's Lynn
• Sherborne Abbey, Dorset, quire c. 1430, nave c. 1490 (byWilliam Smyth)^[3]
• St Andrew's Church,Cullompton, Devon, south aisle
• St Bartholomew's Church,Tong, Shropshire, chantry chapel^[6]
• St David's Cathedral, Wales, Trinity Chapel
• St Mary Aldermary, London (byChristopher Wren)
• St Mary's Church, North Leigh, Oxfordshire, Wilcote chantry chapel^[6]
• St Mary's Church,Ottery St Mary, Devon, aisle
• St Stephen'scloister at thePalace of Westminster (1529)^[9]
• St. George's Chapel, Windsor, crossing, Urswick chantry chapel
• Tewkesbury Abbey, cloister (only one bay remains)
• University College, Oxford, gatehouse vaults
• University Church of St Mary the Virgin, Oxford, porch
• Wells Cathedral, crossing (byWilliam Smyth)^[3]
• Winchester Cathedral, Beaufort and Waynflete chantry chapels
• St. Mary's Church, Putney, Bishop West chapel

• Centre Block, Parliament of Canada,Ottawa
• Eastnor Castle, drawing room
• Grand Theatre,Leeds
• Harkness Tower,Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, US^[10]
• House of Lords lobbies, committee staircase, in thePalace of Westminster
• John Rylands Library, balcony, Manchester
• Middlesex Guildhall, Westminster
• Palau de la Música Catalana, Barcelona
• Basilica Minore de San Sebastián, Manila, Philippines
• St John's,Edinburgh
• St Mary's Church, Wellingborough, Northamptonshire
• Saint Patrick's Church, New Orleans, Louisiana, US (apsidal fan vault)
• Strawberry Hill, Twickenham, London
• Unitarian Church in Charleston, South Carolina, US
• Washington National Cathedral, Washington, DC, US (Children's Chapel)
• Wills Memorial Building, University of Bristol
• Cathedral Basilica of Christ the King, Hamilton, Ontario

Wikimedia Commons has media related toFan vaults.

• List of architectural vaults
• Gothic architecture
• Gothic cathedrals and churches

• Arches and vaults
• Architecture in England
• Medieval architecture

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