On the eastern side of this transept is St. Paul's Chapel, now used as a vestry.
OLD COURTYARD IN THE CLOSE
The south transept, that corresponds with the northern one, is formed from the lower part of the south tower, which contains a fine set of bells, although only ten of them are now rung. There are some interesting monuments in this transept. Here are the great Courtenay tomb, originally occupying a place in the nave; the Elizabethan tomb of Sir John Gilbert, brother of Sir Humphrey Gilbert and half-brother to Sir Walter Ralegh; and the monument to Sir Peter Carew. A niche in the wall holds a few fragments of sculptured stone saved from the tomb of Leofric, first Bishop of Exeter, who was buried in "the crypt of his own church". A marble slab against the south wall is believed to be the resting place of "Bishop John the Chanter" (1186-91). A small door in this transept leads to the Chapel of the Holy Ghost and to the Chapter House.
On the roof of the south choir aisle are bosses carved with representations of the heads of Edward I and Queen Eleanor. This aisle contains many interesting effigies, among them two of those of unknown knights, considered to commemorate Sir Humphrey de Bohun and Sir Henry de Ralegh. The body of the latter knight was the cause of a contention, between the Dean and Chapter of the Cathedral and the Dominican Friars, in the year 1301. The quarrel was a bitter one, and lasted for five years. The Dean and the Chapter affirmed that from time immemorial, and by special arrangement with the friars, they had the right to have all bodies which were intended to be buried in the Dominican church, with the exception of those which belonged to the convent, brought to the Cathedral with the usual wax and offerings for the first mass. The friars refused to allow Sir Henry Ralegh's body to be taken to the Cathedral, and they claimed the wax and offerings. After a lengthy dispute the executors and friends of the knight took his body to the Cathedral, where the usual mass was celebrated, after which the body, with the bier and pall belonging to the friars, was carried back to the convent doors. The friars now refused to readmit the body, upon which the executors took it again to the Cathedral, "and after keeping it for a day and a night, and the friars still refusing to receive it, they carried it to be buried in the Cathedral, as it could not be left longer unburied owing to the stench (fetare)".
On the south side of the aisle is the Chapel of St. James, which was built by Bishop Marshall and restored by Quivil in the early Decorated style. The vaulting and the windows are similar to those of the choir aisles. Over it was formerly the muniment room, but in 1870 the archives were removed to the Chapter House for greater safety. During some excavations a crypt was found beneath the chapel with a finely groined roof. The crypt now contains the machinery used for blowing the organ. The next chapel on the south side is the chantry of Bishop Oldham, or St. Saviour's Chapel, richly decorated with carvings, among which the "owl" of the bishop, forming part of the rebus of his name, is prominent. His armorial bearings are also charged with the three owls. The effigy of the prelate rests beneath an ogee arch, and is lavishly coloured, although the original work has been restored by Corpus Christi College, Oxford, in memory of Bishop Oldham, who contributed 6000 marks to the collegiate foundation. On the south side of the Lady Chapel is St. Gabriel's Chapel, built by Bishop Bronescombe in honour of his patron saint. Here lies the effigy of the bishop in a carved and richly gilded tomb.
The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene, originally built by Bronescombe, was altered by Quivil. It has a Perpendicular screen and some fifteenth-century glass in the east window. Close by, on the north side of the north choir aisle, is Sir John Speke's Chantry, or St. George's Chapel, of Perpendicular work and containing the effigy of the knight. When the Cathedral was divided into two parts, in Puritan days, a doorway was made where the altar now stands, leading into "East Peter's". On the north side of the choir aisle is St. Andrew's Chapel, corresponding with that of St. James on the south. By the north wall is the large sixteenth-century monument of Sir Gawain Carew, his wife, and his nephew, Sir Peter Carew (1571). The effigy of the last-named is cross-legged, and so late an example of this disposition of the lower limbs supports the now generally accepted archæological fact that the cross-legged attitude had no particular reference to the romantic wars of the Crusades.
Other interesting monuments in this aisle are the cross-legged effigy of Sir Richard de Stapledon, half-brother to the bishop, and that of Bishop Stapledon. The latter, although in the choir, is seen to better advantage from below. A story runs to the effect that while Sir Richard was riding one day in London with his brother, a cripple laid hold of his horse by one of the fore legs, throwing both horse and rider to the ground, and causing the knight's death, hence the name "Cripplegate". Bishop Stapledon was Treasurer to Edward II, and held London against Queen Isabella. The bishop was taken prisoner, and condemned to death at a mock trial. He was beheaded at Cheapside, and his body cast on a rubbish heap, whence it was eventually taken to Exeter and accorded an honourable burial.
THE ABBOT'S LODGE