<P> The Norman arch is a defining point of Norman architecture . Grand archways are designed to evoke feelings of awe and are very commonly seen as the entrance to large religious buildings such as cathedrals . </P> <P> Viking invaders arrived at the mouth of the river Seine in 911, at a time when Franks were fighting on horseback and Frankish lords were building castles . Over the next century the population of the territory ceded to the Vikings, now called Normans, adopted these customs as well as Christianity and the langue d'oïl . Norman Barons built timber castles on earthen mounds, beginning the development of motte - and - bailey castles, and great stone churches in the Romanesque style of the Franks . By 950 they were building stone keeps . The Normans were among the most travelled peoples of Europe, exposed to a wide variety of cultural influences including the Near East, some of which became incorporated in their art and architecture . They elaborated on the Early Christian basilica plan, longitudinal with side aisles and an apse, and a western façade with two towers as at the Church of Saint - Étienne at Caen begun in 1067, which formed a model for the larger English cathedrals beginning some twenty years later . </P> <P> In England, Norman nobles and bishops had influence before the Norman Conquest of 1066, and Norman influences affected late Anglo - Saxon architecture . Edward the Confessor was brought up in Normandy, and in 1042 brought masons to work on Westminster Abbey, the first Romanesque building in England . In 1051 he brought in Norman knights who built "motte" castles as a defence against the Welsh . Following the invasion Normans rapidly constructed motte - and - bailey castles, and in a burst of building activity built churches and abbeys, as well as more elaborate fortifications including Norman stone keeps . </P> <P> The buildings show massive proportions in simple geometries, the masonry with small bands of sculpture, perhaps as blind arcading, and concentrated spaces of capitals and round doorways and in the tympanum under an arch . The "Norman arch" is the round arch . Norman mouldings are carved or incised with geometric ornament, such as chevron patterns, frequently termed "zig - zag mouldings", around arches . The cruciform churches often had deep chancels and a square crossing tower which has remained a feature of English ecclesiastical architecture . Hundreds of parish churches were built and the great English cathedrals were founded from 1083 . </P>

Who was responsible in bringing to england the norman romanesque architecture