The initiation and propagation of this design element is strongly associated with England.
A fan vault is a form of vault used in the Perpendicular Gothic style, in which the ribs are all of the same curve and spaced equidistantly, in a manner resembling a fan.
The earliest example, dating from about the year 1351, built by Thomas of Cambridge. In the fourteenth century the structure was known as the Abbey Church at Gloucester. A fine later example, from 1640, is the vault over the staircase at Christ Church in Oxford. The largest fan vault in the world, however, can be found in the chapel of King's College, Cambridge.

Further examples