Photo. G.P. Heisch.
REMAINS OF THE PRIOR'S DOORWAY.[ToList]
Of these the outermost was of leaf ornament, the second zigzag, and the third a conventional floral design, suggesting a combination of the trefoil and Greek honeysuckle. The zigzag moulding forming the innermost order was continuous along the jambs and arch. Close to this doorway, on its eastern side, there is a smaller, but equally interesting, relic in the remains of a Holy-water Stoup. It is fixed in a large and deep recess, with an angular arch above it, too dilapidated to afford a hint as to the original moulding, which we can only assume was not unworthy of the rich doorway by its side.
A few yards westwards we are reminded of the antiquity of the site by a mass of Roman tiles, arranged herring-bone fashion, as if they had been used in the wall of some earlier (probably Saxon) building on the spot. They are now tightly packed in a case, exactly as they were discovered, for their better protection against relic hunters, whose ideas of property, when it happens to be of a portable kind, are a constant source of anxiety to the vergers.
Our progress along the north wall is here interrupted by the projecting transept, which touches the wooden fence separating the Cathedral from private property. Neither the north end of this transept, nor the north side of the "Lady Chapel," is to be seen from the exterior. It may be mentioned, however, that the windows on the east and west sides of the north transept are extremely simple compared with that in the end of the same transept or with those in the south arm; and that the north side of the "Lady Chapel" differs slightly from the south in the disposition of the windows. Here the largest (a fine example of modern work) is in the easternmost bay, the other two bays being lighted by simple lancets, whereas on the opposite side the largest window occupies the central bay, with a lancet in the bays on either side of it.
Before entering the church, it may be well to walk once more along the east front to see the outside of the new Harvard window in the chapel below the north transept, which stands out in marked contrast to the older work around it. It may also be noticed that while the windows in the choir clerestory are all plain lancets, like those in the restored nave, there is a considerable difference in the glazing. In the choir we have an ornamental pattern of Mr. Gwilt's invention. In the nave Sir Arthur Blomfield has preferred small square panes of glass, as more in character with the lancet type of window, and the other Early English work, which he has so well reproduced.
