13.
Wells—West Front.
This is Wells Cathedral, surrounded by beautiful trees and gardens. And here is the front of the same cathedral, with still more delicate and elaborate work. Do you realise the love which the builders put into each little piece of what they did?
14.
Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford—Interior.
And here lastly is the interior of Oxford Cathedral. It is very interesting, because upon arches of Norman date, roughly and massively hewn, you have a vaulted roof of the latest and most delicate Gothic or pointed style. In this respect the cathedrals of England are like everything else that is English. In each age Englishmen accept with veneration what their forefathers hand down to them, and adapt it with as little change as possible to the needs of their own time. It is only so that a mighty and lasting Empire can be founded.
In the country parts of England, where no town requires a large building for worship, here and there a church has fallen, in times of past strife, into decay. But the people of the present take care of these ruins, and regard them with veneration, for they are often very beautiful, and preserve a record of the past most faithfully, because there has been no need to adapt them to modern requirements.
15.
Glastonbury.
16.
Netley.
Here, for instance, is the ruin of Glastonbury Abbey, and here that of Netley Abbey. In both, as you see, the roof has fallen in, but you can imagine what kind of church there must have been formerly. With these exceptions the buildings in England are maintained in perfect order, for the cool, moist climate requires that, for comfort sake, the weather should be kept out.
While the cathedrals were built without defence, and beautiful churches were often set in the green country and yet were not attacked even in wild ages, the houses of the great men of the land were formerly small fortresses or castles. These castles still stand in different parts of the country, having in some cases been adapted to modern requirements; but for the most part they have become ruins, for it was easier to build again from the foundations. Moreover, many of them were broken in warfare.
17.
Stirling Castle.