“All the carving is most interesting and beautiful: the caps and corbels of the vaulting shafts; the little heads at the angles of the arches, which are vivid sketches of every type of contemporary character; and the carvings in the tympana, which are best in the seventh, eighth and ninth bays (counting from the west end), those on the north excelling in design and execution, while those on the south are more grotesque. But the capitals of the piers are the best of all, and the most hurried visitor should spare some time for the study of these remarkable specimens of sculpture, vigorous and lifelike, yet always subordinated to their architectural purpose. Those in the transepts[4] are perhaps the best, but the following in the nave should not be missed:—
North side, Sixth Pier (by north porch): Birds pluming their wings: Beast licking himself: Ram: Bird with human head, holding knife (?).
“Eighth Pier. Fox stealing goose, peasant following with stick: Birds pruning their feathers. (Within Bubwith’s Chapel) Human monster with fish’s tail, holding a fish: Bird holding frog in his beak, which is extremely long and delicate.
“Ninth Pier. Pedlar carrying his pack on his shoulders, a string of large beads in one hand. Toothless monster with hands on knees.
“South side, Seventh Pier. Birds with human heads, one wearing a mitre.
“Eighth Pier. Peasant with club, seized by lion: Bird with curious foliated tail (within St. Edmund’s chapel). Owl: Peasant with mallet (?).”
If we look back towards the west end of the Nave we note an arcade of five arches, the middle one widest of all to accommodate the two small arches of the doorway. The three lancet windows are Perpendicular, remodelled, and some of their dogtooth moulding, medallions in the spandrels and little corbel heads of Early English work remain. There is a gallery below the sill of the window.
The two western towers form two small transepts that project beyond the aisles. Each is connected with the aisle by an arch. The Chapel of the Holy Cross under Bubwith’s Tower (north) is the choir-boys’ vestry. The chapel under Harewell’s Tower (south) is used by the bell-ringers. An Early English doorway leads from it into the Cloister.
“The nave, as far as the piers of the central tower, consists of ten bays, divided by octangular piers, with clustered shafts in groups of three. The capitals are enriched with Early English foliage, much of which is of unusually classical character,—one of the many indications of a lingering local school, with its Norman traditions. Birds, animals and monsters of various forms—among which is the bird with a man’s face, said to feed on human flesh—twine and perch among the foliage. Above the pier arches runs the triforium, very deeply set, and extending backward over the whole of the side aisles. The roof retains its original position. (The whole arrangement should be compared with the Norman triforia of Norwich and Ely, both of which extend over the side-aisles; but their exterior walls have been raised and Perpendicular windows inserted). The narrow lancet openings toward the nave are arranged in groups of three, with thick wall-plates between them. The head with each lancet is filled with a solid tympanum, displaying foliage and grotesques, of which those toward the upper end of the south side are especially curious. At the angles of the lancets are bosses of foliage and human heads, full of character. In the upper spaces between each arch are medallions with leafage. Triple shafts, with enriched capitals, form the vaulting-shafts, the corbels supporting which deserve examination. A clerestory window (the tracery is Perpendicular, and was inserted by Bishop Beckington (1443-1464)) opens between each bay of the vaulting, which is groined, with moulded ribs and bosses of foliage at the intersections.”—(R. J. K.)
In the clerestory of the sixth bay on the south side there is a Music Gallery, early Perpendicular, the front of which consists of three panels with large quartrefoils containing shields. It is very fine, but not equal to the Minstrels’ Gallery in Exeter. It is finished with an embattled cornice.