A closer view may seem at first disappointing. Every writer has echoed Dr. Oliver's regret that it should be surrounded "by dwelling-houses of such disparate character." But even a nearer survey is, with patience, rewarded. The towers, exquisitely traceried windows, sculptured doorways, and magnificent roof, easily persuade us to forget its mean surroundings.
The Towers.—To many these will be the most interesting portion of the building. The exterior of no other cathedral boasts so unusual a feature. Their position is extraordinary and has given rise to endless controversies. It has been suggested that they were meant to stand as western towers, and that the building was to stand east of them, and that, as an afterthought, they were converted into transepts. But Canon Freeman, in his history,[ 3] dismisses this view as merely attractive. They would certainly be more elaborate, he thinks, if they had been built as western towers, but they have neither portal nor ornamental work. Indeed, up to more than half their height they have very much the appearance of fortresses. It may well be that they served as such in Stephen's time, for the northern one was severely battered. It differs somewhat in detail from that on the south side, there being an interlacing arcade half-way up, possibly being so rebuilt when the devastation caused by the siege was being repaired. There are six stages on each tower, but only the uppermost four are in any way ornamented. These have blind arcades and window openings of circular form; but the details differ slightly on each. The turrets at the angles of the summits, and the battlements were added in the fifteenth century, but the effect is not inharmonious, and the original details are well preserved. According to an old seventeenth-century print, the north tower formerly had an attic with a pyramidal roof. This was probably an addition when the great bell was first hung (see p. [74]). The effect of
these transeptal towers is so fine as to make us regret their rarity. A case in which they were obviously imitated is to be seen in the fine parish church of Ottery S. Mary, Devon. There are also most practical reasons in their favour, and a consideration of them tends to increase one's wonder that they should not be found more frequently. In the first place it is possible to get a continuous, uniform, stretch of vault, the roof being broken by no central tower. Also the plan is simplified, and nave and choir have more architectural continuity. Again, by building transeptal towers and discarding the usual central tower, the interior escapes a danger it is often hard to overcome, the difficulty of holding up the central tower. It is quite possible that Warelwast was far-seeing enough to anticipate this trouble. The histories of other cathedrals prove it to be a very real one. In 1107 the tower of Winchester fell in. At Salisbury the spire is still a constant source of anxiety, despite "a complex arrangement of iron bands and ties," which has been reinforced more than once. The tower of Chichester collapsed in 1861. There is a legend of the fall of a central tower at Christchurch Priory, and other warnings could be cited, such as Hereford, Selby, Peterborough, and Wells.
Originally these two towers were cut off, by two arches underneath, from the body of the church. But Quivil, wishing to enlarge the interior, did so by "throwing the Tower spaces into it."
The Roof is one of the most striking features of the building, especially as it is seen from a distance. The long line of the ridge of nave and choir, unbroken by a central tower, give it a unique distinction amongst English cathedrals. The delicate cresting of fleurs-de-lis, and the pinnacles which crown the supporting buttresses obviate any impression of heaviness, and together with the long series of clerestory windows, alike in form yet differing in their admirable tracery, give a singular impression of beauty.
The North Porch.—This was the northern entrance of the Norman church, and from the outside it is possible to trace the line where the fifteenth-century front was added to the old structure. It is decorated with seven canopied niches in the style of that period. These, however, remained vacant until 1920, when they were filled with statues, by Mr. H. Read of Exeter, representing the patron saints of England and the Allies: St. George, St. Denys, St. Joseph; SS. Cyril and Methodius; St. Vladimir, and St. Ambrose. The roof is vaulted, and on the central boss is a finely-carved Agnus Dei. Within a recess of the eastern wall are three headless figures, representing, in the centre, the Crucifixion, St. Mary and St. John standing on either side. Over the inside doorway is a niche that probably once held a figure of the Virgin.
