This collection consists of data from the Windows on the Past: Digital Analysis of Window Design in Later Medieval England project by the University of Edinburgh in 2024.

The project aims to study the design processes behind the early development of bar tracery windows in England and France. It focused on five case study sites dating from the period 1200 to 1300 CE:

· Reims Cathedral, Reims, France

· Ely Cathedral, Ely, United Kingdom

· Binham Priory, Binham, United Kingdom

· Lincoln Cathedral, Lincoln, United Kingdom

· Westminster Abbey, London, United Kingdom

Laser scanning (LiDAR) surveys were taken for the South Transept at Ely Cathedral and Binham Priory using a Leica BLK360 G1 Scanner, creating RAW scan data and processed point cloud models (https://doi.org/10.7488/ds/7783 and https://doi.org/10.7488/ds/7784). These were combined with existing point cloud data provided by the Tracing the Past: English Medieval Vaults project at the University of Liverpool for Lincoln and Westminster (https://doi.org/10.5284/1084971), and by Prof. Robert Bork and his team at the University of Iowa for Reims Cathedral. The models were then processed using Rhinoceros 3D to trace the curves of the window tracery, resulting in a series of measurements which could be analysed geometrically. This was used to build hypotheses regarding the design processes behind these windows. The results were then compared and contrasted with the aim of uncovering the relationships between the earliest known English and French examples of bar tracery. Data is archived in the form of measurements and images, including traces and orthoimages of the individual windows as well as hypothesised design processes.

The collection contains three different types of image files in . jpg format:

1. Traces - geometry and associated measurements for individual windows.

2. Orthoimages - orthorectified images of individual windows derived from point clouds.

3. Design process images - hypothesised design processes for groups of windows.

Detailed metadata identifying these images and the processes by which they were created can be found in the accompanying Microsoft Excel spreadsheets (.xlsx format). These spreadsheets also contain measurement data for the windows, with embedded images that identify the process. Detailed descriptions of the design process images can be found in the accompanying Microsoft Word documents (.docx format).Each site is also accompanied by a planimetric map (.jpg format) which allows the windows and their associated images to be located within the building.

The project was funded by a Digital Projects Grant from the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art.