Cathedral, England Tewkesbury Abbey, England St Bartholomew-the-Great, London, England St Mary the Virgin, Iffley, England Kilpeck Church, England The Leper Chapel, Cambridge, England Dunfermline Abbey, Scotland Kelso Abbey, Scotland (ruined) Cormac's Chapel, Ireland St Mary Magdalene, Campsall, England Romanesque churches in Spain, Portugal and Andorra Influences Prior to the beginning of the period, the greater part of the Iberian Peninsula was ruled by Muslims, with Christian rulers controlling only a strip at the north of the country. By 900 the Reconquista had increased the area under Christian rule to about one third of Iberia. This expanded to about half the area by 1150 and included Galicia, Leon, Castille, Navarre, Aragon, Catalonia and Portugal. Romanesque churches are located in the northern half of the peninsula, with a number occurring in Avila which was re-established and fortified around 1100 and Toledo in central Spain from 1098. Many small Pre-Romanesque churches were established in the 10th century with distinctive local characteristics including vaults, horseshoe arches, and rose windows of pierced stone. Many Benedictine monasteries were established in Spain by Italian bishops and abbots, followed by the French orders of Cluniacs and Cistercians. In 1032, the church of Santa Maria de Ripoll was built to a complex plan with double aisles, inspired directly by Old St. Peter's Basilica. The church set a new standard for architecture in Spain. Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela began as early as the 9th century, and by the 11th century was drawing pilgrims from England. The Way of Saint James (Camino de Santiago) was well established by the early 12th century and encouraged the foundation of monasteries along the route. Most of the area has abundant building stone, granite, limestone, Red Sandstone and volcanic rubble. There was little timber, so it was used sparingly for roofs. The northern part of the region is dotted with numerous small churches such as those of Andorra and the Vall de Boí in Catalonia. There are also larger monasteries. Many cathedrals were commenced at this time. Characteristics It is characteristic of both cathedrals and large abbey churches that they have many accretions of different periods, particularly flanking chapels, in later styles, often Baroque. Most churches are built of stone. In areas where brick is used, Toledo, Sahagún, Cuéllar, the bricks are similar to Roman bricks. The exterior of brick churches, particularly the apses, are decorated with tiers of shallow blind arcading and square-topped