“The scenes depicted are, by the artist’s own account, as follows:—
“First Light: St. Frideswide and her companions brought up by St. Cecilia and St. Catherine; St. Frideswide founds her first convent; A messenger from the King of Mercia demands her in marriage; The King comes to take her by force, and the first convent is broken up.
“Second Light: Flight of St. Frideswide to Abingdon; The King of Mercia and his soldiers in pursuit; The Flight continued; The Pursuit continued; St. Frideswide takes refuge in a pig-sty.
“Third Light: Flight of St. Frideswide to Binsey; The King of Mercia in pursuit; St. Frideswide founds a new convent at Binsey; Her merciful deeds.
“Fourth Light: Return of St. Frideswide to Oxford; The Siege of Oxford by the King of Mercia; The Siege continued; The King struck blind; The Death of St. Frideswide.
“In the tracery above are the trees of life and of knowledge, and a ship of souls convoyed by angels.”—(P. D.)
Passing into the north transept we note that the eastern aisle has been merged into the Lady-Chapel and Latin-Chapel of which it forms the western bays; but that the western aisle remains.
The north window (modern glass) was restored back to its original design by Sir Gilbert Scott. Beneath it is a panelled tomb of Henry VII.’s period. It is supposed to be that of a monk named Zouch (died 1503), probably a scribe, because his ink-horn and pen-case appear on the shields of his tomb. He left a bequest to pay for the vaulting.
The Tower is not perfectly square. The nave and choir sides are wider than those of the transepts, and therefore the north and south arches are pointed and the east and west arches are round. Foliage decorates the capitals of the shafts. The lantern is open and is ornamented with arcades and arches. At the south-east pier the break in the masonry indicates, in the opinion of some students, the place where the builders stopped work when Sweyn drove Ethelred out of England.
The fine Jacobean Pulpit (1635), elaborately carved with grotesques on the panels, deserves at least a passing glance.