 In France, tall untapered columns were common in the Romanesque style.The use of columns of this type was rare in Norman England, where at Durham, Gloucester and Hereford there were massive circular piers built of masonry, and at Durham, alternating with rectangular piers.In Early French Gothic architecture, the columns became much more Classical in shape, proportion and the nature of the capital, which was often a modification of the Corinthian capital.