On the wall above this recess may be seen a bust of the founder, with crossed swords on either side of it, and a flintlock hung below it. The illustrations show that the walls are built of large-size squared stones, and are not covered with plaster. Across the end of the hall, cutting off the western part of it to form the main passage spoken of above, is a battlemented screen. This is peculiar in that it is not a continuous screen furnished with doorways for entrance, and does not rise to the level of the roof, but consists of three detached pieces, one resting against the east, one against the west wall, and one standing in the middle, each rising to the height of about nine feet. Thus two entrances, each about five feet wide, are left. Here, as in other parts of the building, the improvements of the nineteenth century have found their way, and the mediaeval walls of the old hall are lighted with electric lamps—a most convenient and safe addition, but striking one, at first, as out of harmony with the surroundings. Sundry portraits adorn the walls, the floor is neatly sanded, and the room is kept scrupulously clean; an air of refinement is added to it by vases of fresh flowers placed on the table. In this hall the boys of the Hospital assemble at stated hours for prayers and meals.
The next part to be examined is the cloister court. This is a very small enclosure, surrounded by somewhat high walls. Admission to it is obtained from the west walk through the archway cut in one of the windows, shown in the illustration. The curious form of the glass in the windows is worthy of note; the pavement of the cloister-garth is formed of cobblestones, and towards the south end may be seen the top of the college well. The cloister is not rectangular, the line of the eastern side being broken by sundry projections.
As we leave the cloister, we examine the walks to the south and west. The latter (see illustration, p. [83]) is terminated at its south end by a wrought iron gate through which we get a glimpse of the outside view and the entrance to the library. The roof is nearly flat, with massive oaken beams. Several doors may be seen on the western side opening into cells—the living-rooms of the clergy connected with the college. As we turn round the corner and pass into the south walk, we see before us the door of the audit room. The oaken ceiling of this room is of fifteenth century date; the walls up to a certain height are wainscoted; above this they are covered with a plaster frieze. Here may be seen what is known as the "Founder's Chair," although it is of far earlier date than Chetham's time—earlier, indeed, than the date of the conversion of the baron's residence into a college in the fifteenth century.
Leaving this room, we pass through the two cloister walks already described, and proceed towards the hall until on the right hand we see a staircase with balusters of oak, black from age. We mount this, and when we reach the top find ourselves in the upper corridor that runs along the north side of the cloister-garth. This is lit by windows looking into the cloister, and is covered with a wooden ceiling, just at the head of the staircase is the doorway leading into the private rooms of the governor, with exquisite oak fittings; on the north side of this corridor are doors similar to those that we noticed in the corridor below, opposite to the hall; these lead into the librarian's rooms; beyond these, to the west, stands a beautiful Tudor table of carved oak. At the west end of the corridor is an iron studded door. The carvings over the doorway on the west side should not be passed by unnoticed (see p. [65]). The corridor over the west walk of the cloister is filled with bookcases plentifully supplied with books.
Parallel to this runs the old dormitory of the College, a room with a fine timber roof lighted from above; on the west side of this are a number of compartments formed of tall bookcases, and entered from the corridor by open-work doors. At the north end of the corridor is a window filled with painted glass, one light of which represents St. Martin of Tours dividing his cloak with a beggar, and the other Eutychus falling out of the window.
At the south end of this corridor we find a staircase which leads from the ground floor close to the main entrance to the library, and is, in fact, the way by which readers usually enter it. There is a room with a similar timber roof running along the south side of the building parallel to the corridor above the south walk of the cloister. This was once a chapel dedicated to St. Mary, and now, like the dormitory, is filled with bookcases; but an oak altar rail, dating from the middle of the sixteenth century, with double spiral rails, may still be seen here.