Lichfield is one of the smallest cathedrals in England. In length it only measures 370 feet from the inside of the west door to the extreme end of the inside of the Lady Chapel, while the interior of the nave, with its aisles, is only a little more than 68 feet wide; and yet its smallness is not the first fact that will strike the visitor on entering the west door: rather, on the other hand, its immense length in proportion to its height and width will be noticed, but probably all other feelings will be forgotten in the beauty of the vista that lies before him. The long line of arches and the long low roof, with its almost countless bosses, lead the eye down to the Lady Chapel, where a mass of blue and red shows that the cathedral has some of the most beautiful glass in the kingdom.

The orientation of the nave and choir are not the same—the choir and Lady Chapel being considerably inclined to the north. Many have been the theories raised by the curious discoveries made as to the deflections of various parts of this cathedral. They are too numerous to quote here, and it will be sufficient to note that the total deflection of the east end from the true east is about ten degrees.

The Nave.—The view of the interior of the cathedral from the inside of the west door is, as we have said, extremely beautiful. This beauty is much enhanced by the general appearance of unity in the whole design. There seems to be no mixture of styles, and though a closer examination of the details of the interior shows that there is a very marked difference between the style in which the nave is built and that which was in vogue when the Lady Chapel and presbytery were erected; yet the whole, having been built at a time when the Early English style was giving place gradually to the Decorated, or, in the more eastern portion, when that later style was well established, the general effect of the cathedral, seen from this aspect, is one of unity. The exact date of the nave cannot be determined, and there is no direct evidence on which to base a theory; but it is very clear, from a comparison of its style with that of churches whose history is known, that it must have been commenced and carried to a speedy conclusion about the middle of the thirteenth century. Professor Willis gives the date as 1250, and other archaeologists at various dates between that and 1280. There is no doubt, at any rate, that it was built at the transitional period of the Early English style, and it would be described by some as belonging to the Early Decorated period, and by others as belonging to the geometrical period of the Decorated style. The nave, including the western front, consists of eight bays, having aisles on the north and south sides, with the same number of bays; but the spaces underneath the two western towers are considerably larger than the other aisle bays, though not large enough to be looked upon as western transepts, as is possible in some churches where there is a similar arrangement. Many writers have complained of the insufficient height of the nave, and that the general effect is thereby spoilt, and to a very limited extent this may be true. Probably the nave roof was at one time of much higher pitch; the course on the outside of the great tower suggests it, as also does the fact that the great west window runs into the roof. Probably the roof was lowered when the presbytery was built, and the whole roofing of the cathedral brought down to the same level.

The piers are large, and consist of clustered shafts, lozenge-shaped in plan, set on much moulded bases, and having beautifully carved foliated capitals from which spring architrave mouldings of great variety. From the base and up the centre of each pier runs a cluster of three fine columns to capitals, also foliated, at the top of the triforium; from these spring five vaulting ribs, three of which diverge to an ornamental central rib, and two to a small similarly decorated transverse rib. There are finely carved bosses at the intersection of all the various ribs. The top of each arch touches the string course, above which is the beautiful triforium. This consists of a row of double arches, each arch being sub-divided into two lights with geometrical tracery above. The mouldings are highly decorated with dog-toothing, and the string course between the triforium and the clerestory, as well as the moulding enclosing the clerestory windows, has this same ornament, which is freely used and produces a very rich effect. The clerestory windows are spherical triangles enclosing three circles with quatrefoil cusps; the form of these windows is somewhat rare, but similar windows are to be seen at Westminster, Hereford, Carlisle, and York. The spandrels of most of the pier arches are ornamented with a large circle with five cusps, across which the vault shafts pass; this decoration will be seen again in the choir. A notable feature in these bays is the size of the triforium in proportion to the size of the pier arches and clerestory; this gives it unusual importance in the general scheme. At Lincoln, where there is a similar triforium, a very different effect is produced by its comparative smallness. The open tracery here is very much like that in Westminster Abbey. It will be seen that the dripstones of the arches and windows terminate in small sculptured heads: a usual arrangement at this period. It may be added that the beautiful capitals have scarcely been restored at all; so little damage had been done to them, that when the whitewash was removed during the recent restorations, they were found to have been hardly touched either by decay, Puritans, or previous restorers.

The roof of the nave was greatly damaged at the time of the Civil Wars—indeed, it has been said that the central spire, in its fall, completely smashed it in; but this is probably not the case, as the spire almost certainly fell on the other side of the tower. Still, it is not difficult, after reading an account of the siege, to understand that the roof would be much injured. About a century after its repair by Bishop Hacket, it was found that the great weight of the stone groining was forcing out the clerestory walls, already much weakened by rough usage, and, in consequence, Wyatt removed the stone work in several bays, and replaced it with lath and plaster work made to imitate the rest of the roofing. Sir Gilbert Scott was urged to restore the old stone vaulting, but he decided that without great structural alterations, principally to the buttresses, which he did not feel justified in making, this could not be done. The vaulting has been coloured so that the difference between the stone compartments—the most eastern and the two western ones—and the plaster compartments might not be noticed; it will easily be seen how much the clerestory walls have been thrust out. It is also interesting to note that at about the same time Wyatt restored the roof of the aisles to its old pitch. Originally, as now, the aisle roof ascended so as to reach to just below the clerestory windows. In Hollar's picture the upper portion of the triforium windows can be seen, so that they must have become practically a portion of the clerestory during this time. Investigation of the windows themselves proves that they have been glazed, and this confirms what otherwise, considering the great inexactness of the pictures of the period, could not be inferred with certainty. There is a view of the cathedral as late as 1781 showing this arrangement; but in Jackson's "History of Lichfield," 1796, the aisle roof hides the whole of the triforium as at present.

The windows of the aisles agree well with the other windows of the nave, and have three lights with trefoiled circles in the head, while below the windows is an arcade resting on a bench, the arches of which are surmounted with pediments richly carved. There are six of these arches in each bay, and between the bays rise triple vaulting shafts with carved capitals of leafage; from these spring three ribs running to a central rib on which are beautiful bosses like those in the nave.

The Great West Window.—The tracery of this window has already been discussed in the description of the exterior. The present glass was placed there in 1869, to the memory of Canon Hutchinson, who, perhaps, of all was most eager for the restoration of the cathedral, and to whose untiring energy, it is said, is due the wholesale renovation of the interior by Sir Gilbert Scott. This window was the result of a public subscription, and is the work of Messrs Clayton & Bell. The six large figures represent St. Michael, St. Joseph, St. Mary, and the Three Magi, while underneath are small pictures of the Annunciation, the Angel warning Joseph, the Nativity, the Journey of the Magi, the Magi inquire of Herod, and the Flight into Egypt. As to the previous glass in this window, there seems to be no record of that which must have decorated it before the Civil Wars. In Shaw's "History of Staffordshire," there are long lists of the glass to be found in the cathedral; but it is difficult to decide which window is being described. After the Restoration, we have in a Bodleian MS. the following record:—"Oct. 6, 1671. Arms in the Great West Window, Arms of King Charles the Second, Crest and Supporters; Arms of James Duke of York, his brother, Crest and Supporters. And beneath them, Serenissimus princeps Jacobus dux Ebor hanc fenestram. F.F." Britton says it was afterwards filled with painted glass, the work of Brookes, by the legacy of Dr Addenbroke, who died dean of this cathedral in 1776.

Over the great west door in the inside of the cathedral was formerly inscribed:—

Fundata est ecclesia Merciencis
Quae nunc Lichfieldia dicitur
Facta Cathedralis
Anno Domini
DCLVII

Dugdale, in his "Visitation of Staffordshire," gives us this inscription. It has long since disappeared. Pennant mentions a curious or, as he calls it, "droll" epitaph on the floor near the west door, but there is no sign of it now:—"William Roberts of Overbury, some time malster in this town (tells you) for the love I bore to choir service, I chose to be buried in this place. He died Decr. 16th, 1768."

From a MS. quoted by Shaw we learn that before the Great War "on a fair marble gravestone, placed on the right-hand at the entrance into the choir, is this inscription on a brass plate:—

"Here lyeth George Bullen lat dean of this church who made his own epitaph—viz.,

Bullen or Boleyn was dean during the greater part of the reign of Elizabeth, who offered him the bishopric of Worcester, which he refused. Elizabeth, it will be remembered, was the daughter of Anne Boleyn, whose kinsman the dean was.

The Font stands between the first and second pillars from the west door on the north side of the nave. It is quite modern, and is the gift of the Honourable Mrs Henry Howard, widow of the late dean. It is made of alabaster and Caen stone, and is supported on marble pillars. There are four sculptured panels in relief, representing—"The Entry into the Ark," "The Passage of the Red Sea," "The Baptism of our Lord," and "The Resurrection." Between these there are niches containing figures of St. Mary, St. Peter, St. Chad, and St. Helen.

A curious old font was discovered in 1856 immediately under the place where the present altar stands. It was very simple in form, being about a yard and a half square and two feet thick, with a hemispherical cavity in it. It had been coloured bright red, and was much cracked, as though it had been subjected to intense heat. How it came where it was is not known. It may have been discarded as rubbish or hidden as a relic.

The Pulpit is in the nave, and is fixed to the north-western pier of the tower. Its design and execution were by Sir Gilbert Scott and Mr Skidmore respectively, who were also responsible for the choir screen. The pulpit is of wrought-iron, brass, copper, enamels, and marble. In the middle there is a bronze group representing St. Peter preaching on the Day of Pentecost. There are stairs on each side of the pulpit. The brass Lectern is also modern, and is in the usual form of an eagle. It was presented by the members of the Lichfield Theological College, and was executed by Mr Hardman of Birmingham. The Litany Desk is by Messrs Rattee & Kett of Cambridge, the well-known carvers; and the Bishop's Chair, which stands under the great tower, was presented by the clergy of Derbyshire when that county was transferred from this diocese to the new diocese of Southwell. The chair is not of striking beauty.

In the North Aisle of the Nave there are several monuments and some modern glass. The window in the north-west tower has recently been adorned with glass to the memory of Bishop Lonsdale, under whom the recent restoration commenced. The subject is "The Presentation of Christ in the Temple," and it is the work of Messrs Burlison & Grylls. Close to this is a tablet, originally placed in the north transept by order of Ann Seward, who had considerable fame as a poetess in the last century, to the memory of her father, Canon Seward, his wife and daughter Sarah. It also commemorates her own death. The lines are by Sir Walter Scott, but it is impossible to be enthusiastic over them. They end—

There is a representation of the poetess mourning her dead relatives, while her harp is hanging neglected on a tree. On the other side is a memorial tablet to Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, who was a native of Lichfield. In these days of anti-vaccination agitations it is interesting to read the inscription which runs:—

"The Right Honourable Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, who happily introduced from Turkey into this country the Salutary Art of inoculating the Smallpox. Convinced of its efficacy, she first tried it with success on her own children, and then recommended the practice of it to her fellow-citizens. Thus, by her example and advice, we have softened the Virulence and escaped the danger of this Malignant Disease. To perpetuate the memory of such benevolence, and to express the gratitude for the benefit she hereby has received from this Alleviating Art, this Monument is erected by Henrietta Inge, Relict of Theodore William Inge, Esq., and Daughter of Sir John Wrotesley, Baronet. In the year of Our Lord, 1789."

Close at hand is a tablet in memory of Mr Gilbert Walmesley, who was registrar of the diocese, and an early and close friend of Dr Johnson. Of him the latter wrote, in his life of Edmund Smith (one of the well-known "Lives of the Poets"), that passage which contains the celebrated sentence about David Garrick so often quoted. Speaking of Gilbert Walmesley, he says that he is "not able to name a man of equal knowledge. His acquaintance with books was great; such was his amplitude of learning, and such his copiousness of communication, that it may be doubted whether a day now passes in which I have not some advantage from his friendship. At this man's table I enjoyed many cheerful and instructive hours with companions such as are not often found; with one who has lengthened, and one who has gladdened life; with Dr James, whose skill in physic will be long remembered, and with David Garrick, whose death has eclipsed the gaiety of nations, and impoverished the public stock of harmless pleasure."

There are other monuments in this aisle, but they are scarcely of such general interest. Here are tablets in memory of Jane and Catherine Jervis and of Elizabeth and Arabella Buchanan. There is a stained glass window by Messrs Burlison & Grylls containing three large figures of Joshua, St. Michael, and the Centurion, with, underneath, pictures of the Angel appearing to Joshua, the Centurion at the Cross, and the Centurion coming to Our Lord; above, in the tracery of the window, are angels. This window was the gift of the officers of the 38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment; on one side are their Peninsular, and on the other their Crimean colours, which the dean and chapter received from the regiment with much ceremony in 1886 and 1887 respectively. Beneath the window is a brass in memory of those members of the regiment who died in the Peninsula, first Burmah, Crimean, and Egyptian (1882) wars, and the Indian Mutiny. There are also brasses to Lieutenant-Colonels Sinclair and Eyre and the officers and men of this regiment who fell in the first Soudan war, and also brasses to Colonel Bromley Davenport and Sir Arthur Scott, Bart. Here, too, is a window in memory of Canon Madan, his wife and children: the subject being Faith, Hope, and Charity. In the window next the transept is some quite new glass in memory of Canon Curteis, the large figures representing Samuel, St. Paul, and Origen, while below are Samuel teaching the Sons of the Prophets, St. Paul saying farewell to the Elders at Miletus, and St. Catherine and the Philosophers of Alexandria.

The famous Dr Stukeley, writing about 1715, says: "As you walk down the north aisle, by a little doorway, formerly a chapel, where lay several figures now demolished, yet one remains, who was dean Yotton, his coat of arms at his head and Yot with a tun by it which shows his name." The only remaining sign of this chapel is the entrance, which can be plainly seen from the outside of the cathedral.

In the South Aisle of the Nave, at the west end, there is a monument to Dean Addison, the father of the great essayist and poet; he died in 1703. His memorial slab is now under the Jesus Tower, but formerly it was on the north of the west door. The glass in the window of the tower is in memory of Dean Howard, during whose time as dean so much of the work of restoration was done, and who so munificently aided the work. This glass, which is by Messrs Burlison & Grylls, represents St. Michael and the Dragon, and St. Chad. The other glass on this side is the window of the fifth bay, by Messrs Clayton & Bell, the subjects being Our Lord and Lazarus, Our Lord and Mary and Martha, and Mary Magdalene washing Our Lord's feet; in the next bay the glass, by Messrs Ward & Hughes, shows Faith, Hope, and Charity; in the seventh bay the glass is by Messrs Clayton & Bell, and has David and Goliath for its subject, and is in memory of the officers of the 64th (2nd Staffordshire) Regiment who fell in the Indian Mutiny. There is in the eighth bay a window by Hardman in memory of Helen, wife of Josiah Spode. Between the aisle and the nave there is a brass in the floor in memory of the late Earl of Lichfield, placed there in 1854. There are several other modern brasses and tablets.

In this aisle are two of the three semi-effigies to be seen in the cathedral. These show only the heads and the feet. Britton says: "They are said to represent two old canons of the church; and are evidently of ancient date, as they appear to have been placed in the present situation at the time of building or finishing the nave." One of these is in a better state of preservation than the other, and shows in the drapery the remains of colour.

The Transepts are earlier than the nave in style, having been built in the beginning of the thirteenth century: the south transept first, and then the north. It must have been for these transepts that Henry III., in 1235 and 1238, granted licences to the dean and chapter of Lichfield to dig stone from the royal forest of Hopwas for the new fabric of the church of Lichfield. Whether these ecclesiastics did more harm than the king liked in digging on the first occasion cannot be said, but on the second occasion they are permitted "fodere petram ad fabricam ecclesiae suae de Lichefeld in quarrera de Hopwas; ita tamen quod hoc fiat sine detrimento forestae nostrae"—that is to say, they were to do as little damage as possible.

The transepts have three bays each, with eastern aisles, the aisle belonging to the north transept being very much the larger. There can be no doubt that when the Norman transepts were standing there were no aisles; nor were any contemplated when the choir was built, for, as Professor Willis says: "The side walls of the choir are continued to the transepts, and had windows in the part looking into the present transept aisles. Probably when the choir was built Norman transepts were standing, and had each an apsidal chapel looking east in the usual manner."

The history of the roof is extremely interesting. We know that "in 1243 King Henry III. issued a commission to Walter Grey, Archbishop of York, to expedite the works at St. George's Chapel, Windsor, in which he orders a lofty wooden roof, like the roof of the new work at Lichfield, to appear like stone work, with good ceiling (celatura?) and painting. The transepts of Lichfield have now stone vaults, considerably later than the walls, and, therefore, may have had a wooden vault at first. The date would suit the transepts better than the choir, and it may be remarked that the early abacus of the vault shaft (at least, in the south transept) is surmounted by a second abacus in the Perpendicular style, which shows the later construction of the springing stones of the present stone vault." The low stone vaulting has destroyed the effect which the original windows in the north and south ends of the transepts must have produced. At the south end was probably a large five-light Early English window, surmounted by a rose window. The rose window still remains, but, being above the present groining, cannot be seen from inside the cathedral; the five lights are replaced by a nine-light obtuse-headed window, which seems much too large for the transept; and this effect is increased by the extreme whiteness and transparency of its glass. At the north end, the five-light window is surmounted with three small lights, but these last again are hidden in the roof.

The windows in the transepts have seen many changes, and are now mostly in the Perpendicular manner, the exceptions being in the west wall of the south transept, and the north window just referred to. Until 1892 this was a large Perpendicular window—which, though early, and prior to the Civil War, was a manifest intrusion on the space originally occupied by an Early English window. The old design, which is not unlike that of the famous window at York, has again taken its place. Canon Lonsdale says that this change is "in every sense a restoration: for, on taking out the Perpendicular window, and removing such of the stone work as was defective on either side, the headings of the five Early English lights, which had unquestionably composed the original window, were discovered, hidden away by the later workmen. The cusps, or headings, of the lights, as they are now seen from the inside, are, with the exception of six stones, the very identical material which the Early English builders carved, and placed in that spot. Of these six missing stones, three have since been discovered during the work going on in the south transept."

There can be no doubt that some of the Perpendicular work in the cathedral is due to the general repair at the Restoration; but Professor Willis declares that many of the changes are earlier, and that they were perhaps effected in the time between Bishops Heyworth and Blythe, 1420 to 1503. The engravings of Hollar, already referred to, were published before 1660, and show Perpendicular windows in the gable of the south transept and in the clerestory; and though from these pictures nothing can be gleaned about the north transept, the character of the Perpendicular work was such that it also, as has just been stated, must have been prior to the Rebellion. It is possible, on the outside western face of the north transept, to trace the old lancet windows, which must have been arranged in groups of three, while the lower windows on the west side of the south transept are still in their old form, though on this side there are only two lancets to each bay. It may be mentioned here that underneath these last windows, on the outside, there is an arcading with simple pointed arches which does not appear on the other transept. Inside the arcading differs in the two transepts; in the south and older one the pointed arches are plain, while on the north they are cusped. This arcading is almost entirely new; what there was of it until recently was principally of plaster.

From the ground plan of this cathedral published by Browne Willis in 1727, we see that the whole of the aisle of the north transept is described as "The Bishop's Consistory Court and St. Stephen's Chapel," while the aisle of the south transept is divided into two parts, the southern being called "The Dean's Consistory Court," the northern "The Vicar's Vestry." St. Stephen's Chapel was in the inner bay of the aisle; and it has been suggested that "the chantry of St. Anne and the image of Jesus" was in the rood loft of the same transept.

In the North Transept are many memorial tablets, but it cannot be said that they are of general interest either from their beauty, age, or on account of the eminence of the persons commemorated. On the west side of the steps down from the north door is the curious monument to Dean Heywood, who died in 1492, and whose benefactions are mentioned in their proper places. The monument is sadly decayed, but there is a print of it in Shaw's "Staffordshire," taken, says Britton, from Dugdale's "Visitation." From this we know that the upper part is now missing; the lower part, which remains, shows the skeleton of the dean—his body after death—while above was his representation in full canonical costume. Similar monuments may be seen at St. John's College, Cambridge, in the chapel, and at Exeter and Lincoln Cathedrals. On the other side of the door is a large modern monument to Archdeacon Iles, who died in 1888: the figure is recumbent. Above the door is a marble tablet to Dean Woodhouse; he gave the glass—now in the Guildhall—which filled the Perpendicular window recently replaced by the present Early English window. The new glass, and indeed the new window, was given by Mr James Chadwick of Hints Hall, near Tamworth; it is known as the Jesse window, and gives the genealogy of our Lord according to St. Matthew. The figures beginning from the west side represent (1) Achaz, Asa, Abia; (2) Ezekias, Solomon, Roboam; (3) the Virgin Mary and Child, Salathiel, David, Jesse; (4) Josias, Josaphat, Joram; (5) Manasses, Joatham, Ozias; with angels in the four side lights. The inscription under the window says: "Hanccine fenestram Jacobus Chadwick de vico Hints reficiendam vitroque picto ornandam impensis suis curavit. A.D. MDCCCXCIII." Messrs Clayton & Bell are responsible for this window.

The whole of the aisle of this transept is taken up with the organ, in front of which a metal screen or gryll was placed in 1881 by the officers and men of the 80th Regiment, in memory of their comrades who fell in the Zulu War. The screen is ornamented with imitations of Zulu shields and assegais. There are many tablets in this aisle, but they are entirely hidden by the organ.

The Organ was presented by Mr Spode of Hawkesyard Park, near Lichfield, in 1860, and was first used at the reopening in 1861; in 1884 it needed repair, and was then very much enlarged by Messrs Hill & Son, the well-known organ-builders of London, the expense being defrayed by voluntary subscriptions. It was dedicated, at the same time as the restored west front, in the presence of a vast concourse of people, on May 29th, 1884. The console of the organ is now behind the stalls in the first bay of the south aisle of the choir. It is interesting to learn from Canon Lonsdale that, when it was found necessary to build an engine-house in the close to supply motive power to the organ, in digging out the chamber, somewhat to the east of the steps leading to the north door, two or three cannon balls and the remains of a shell were unearthed at a short distance from the surface.

The present organ is the successor to many other organs. The first of which there is any record was given to the cathedral by Dean Heywood, as is known from this entry in the Cantaria S. Blasii, in the cathedral library: "Magna organa in pulpito. Item cito post festum nativitatis Sancti Johannis Baptiste. Anno domini MCCCC. octogesimo secundo. ex providencia et sumptibus magistri Thome Heywode decani antedicti. conferuntur ecclesi cath lich organa nova magnae quantitatis. et formae decentis. ad honorem sancti cedde et ornamentirm ecclesiae precij xxvi. Li. iij.s. iiij.d. totalitur de sumptibus et expensis predicti decani. Sma xxvj. Li. iij.s. iiij.d."

Dean Heywood also presented another organ, which was known as the Jesus organ; but it was much smaller presumably, as it cost rather less than half as much.

The next time there is mention of an organ is in 1634, when, in an account of their travels by three tourists, they say: "The organs and voices were deep and sweet, their anthems we were much delighted with, and of the voyces, 2 Trebles, 2 Counter-tenors, and 2 Bases, that equally on each side of the Quire most melodiously acted and performed their parts."

The organ here referred to, however "deep and sweet," was not considered good enough, for in 1636, according to a deed still preserved in the cathedral, the dean and chapter purchased an organ from Robert Dallam of Covent Garden, which, no doubt, "was the pair of organs valued at £200" destroyed by the Puritans. The organ that Hacket set up was obtained by the subscriptions of ladies; the bishop writes: "An Organ is bespoke at £600 price, to be call'd the Ladies Organ, because none but the honourable and most pious of that sex shall contribute to that sum." The names of the chief subscribers were written on the organ: "Illustrissima heroina Francisca ducissima Somersetensis. Honoratissima domina, comitissa Devon: Clarissima domina, Jana, domina de Gerard Bromley," and many others, as set out by Ashmole, who also tells us that there were "coats of arms under the organ at the entrance into the choir," showing that the organ loft was situated between the two eastern piers of the tower. Harwood, in his "History of Lichfield," tells us of another organ "which was removed in A.D. 1740 to the vicar's hall, and became at length an ornament to Mr Greene's museum," whence it afterwards found its way to the church at Hamstall Ridware. While in the vicar's hall it was damaged by soldiers quartered there in the '45. It is now in the bishop's palace. In 1740 it was replaced in the cathedral by an organ by Schwarbrook, which in turn, in Wyatt's time, was superseded by one by Samuel Green—this was much larger, and took up the whole of the western bay of the choir. The present organ is much the largest the cathedral has possessed, and, compared to the old one in the palace, is so large that, according to Mr Hewitt, the whole of the latter would go inside the pedal pipes of the former.

The south transept has its full share of monuments, two of which are of great interest. These are the memorials to Dr Johnson and to his friend, David Garrick, the actor. The busts are both by Sir Richard Westmacott, R.A. The inscription to the first says:

The Friends of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. (a native of Lichfield), erected this Monument as a tribute of respect to the Memory of a man of extensive learning, a distinguished Moral Writer, and a Sincere Christian. He died the 13th of December 1784; Aged 75 years.

The other reads:

EVA MARIA, Relict of DAVID GARRICK, Esq., caused this Monument to be erected to the Memory of her beloved Husband, who died the 20th January 1779: Aged 63 years.

Garrick had not only the amiable qualities of private life, but such astonishing dramatic talents as to well verify the observations of his friend, which have already been quoted (p. 66), in reference to the memorial of Gilbert Walmesley.

Samuel Johnson was born in Lichfield, where his father was a bookseller; his shop is still standing, scarcely altered, on the west side of the Market Place, close to the monument of his famous son (see p. 136). David Garrick came with his parents to live in Lichfield when very young, and he and Johnson attended the Grammar School together. There was a difference of several years in their ages, but their life-long friendship must have begun early, seeing that Johnson wrote the Prologue for Garrick's performance of Farquhar's comedy, "The Recruiting Officer," which took place at the Bishop's Palace when Garrick was only eleven years old. Some years after, when Johnson had left Oxford and had set up a school in the neighbourhood of Lichfield, Garrick joined him as a pupil; but the venture did not prove successful, and master and pupil left Lichfield for London, where each in his own line reached the highest summit of fame.

These memorials stand side by side in the aisle; for some reason, the busts were removed to the library when the interior was being restored by Sir Gilbert Scott, but they have once again been replaced in the spot originally chosen for them. The friendship of Johnson and Garrick was long and cordial: it is fitting we should see that in their death they were not divided.

In this aisle, which until recently was used as the Dean's Consistory Court, is another monument by Westmacott; this is in memory of Andrew Newton, who was so munificent a friend to his native Lichfield. He founded the institution on the west side of the close for the widows and orphans of clergymen, which he also endowed; and on his death, in 1806, he left a library of books to the cathedral.

In the first bay of the aisle is a monument to the officers and men of the 80th Regiment (Staffordshire Volunteers). The design is Egyptian, and is surmounted by a sphinx. Over the monument hang colours taken from the Sikhs, and on the wall behind are the old regimental colours. At the south end is a very fine and costly altar tomb—to Admiral Sir William Parker, who, when he died in 1866, was the last survivor of Nelson's captains. The slab of Pyrenean jasper is inlaid with a gold cross, and the front is adorned with stones of porphyry and lapis lazuli. The window above has some of the Herkenrode glass left over from the Lady Chapel, together with some modern glass. The great south window, which, as has just been stated, is in the Perpendicular style, was in 1895 adorned with new glass; this was the gift of Mr A. P. Heywood-Lonsdale, in memory of his father and his uncle, Bishop Lonsdale. The subject is "I am the vine, ye are the branches," and represents Our Lord in the centre surrounded by angels, with the principal bishops of the Early Christian Church. The six early British bishops: St. Columba, Scotland; St. Wulstan, Worcester; St. Chad, Lichfield; St. Augustine, Canterbury; St. Aidan, Northumbria; St. Hugh, Lincoln, are at the feet of Our Lord. The other bishops are St. Basil, Caesarea; St. Cyril, Jerusalem; St. Patrick, Ireland; St. Ignatius, Antioch; St. Polycarp, Smyrna; St. Boniface, Germany; St. Martin, Tours; St. David, Wales; St. Gregory, Rome; St. Augustine, Hippo; St. Athanasius, Alexandria; St. Cyprian, Carthage; St. Isidore, Spain; St. Chrysostom, Constantinople; St. Ambrose, Milan; and St. Vigilius, Aries. This glass is by Mr C. E. Kempe. On the west side are several brasses and tablets, including one to John Saville, vicar choral of the cathedral, who died in 1803. The lines underneath are by the Miss Seward whose own memorial is in the north aisle of the nave; they, like so much of the elegiac poetry of the period, owe not only their style, but a good many of their phrases, to the poet Gray.

The Choir, with the presbytery and retro-choir—that is to say, the whole extent of that part of the cathedral between the central tower and the entrance to the Lady Chapel—has eight bays. The most noticeable difference between it and the nave, is the absence of a triforium. Professor Willis says: "The entire height of the severey (or bay) is divided into two nearly equal parts, of which the lower is given to the pier arches, the upper to the clerestory. The window-sills of the latter are high, and there is a passage in front of them immediately above the tablement or string course over the pier arches. This passage, the veritable triforium, pierces the great piers of masonry which sustain the vault. The high sills receive the sloping roof of the side aisles, and have three plain open arches in each severey to air the roof." These sills are panelled with a foliated arcading, and in front of the passage there is an open trefoil work parapet. The effect of the windows inside is much enhanced by the lovely quatrefoil ornamentation with which their splays are decorated. In the single window—the east on the south side—where the original tracery remains, it is very beautiful and graceful, and is a good example of the Decorated period; but into the other windows Perpendicular tracery has been introduced.

The vaulting is very much the same as in the nave, but the vaulting shafts divide into seven instead of five ribs. The bosses, as everywhere else in the cathedral, are very deeply and richly carved.

On the four eastern sets of piers long slender shafts run up from the base of the piers in the same way as in the nave, and similarly the spandrels are ornamented with foliated circles, of which nearly all trace had disappeared before the recent restoration. This, however, is not the arrangement on the three western pairs. It was found here that these shafts did not reach the ground; and so Sir Gilbert Scott, having discovered a portion of the sculptured wing of an angel just above the dean's present stall, decided upon finishing the shafts with corbels in the form of angels occupied in minstrelsy. Above each of these angels—which were innovations—he placed, under richly crocketted canopies and standing on very finely-carved brackets, the figures of six saints. These were not innovations, though no signs of them appear in the engraving in Britton's "Cathedrals," where, indeed, the incomplete shafts just mentioned are to all appearance complete. But in Pennant's "Journey from Chester to London," 1782, the six statues are mentioned, and he tells us not only their names, but also that they were richly painted. The new statues represent the same original characters: St. Mary, St. Mary Magdalene, and St. Peter on the north side; St. James, St. Philip, and St. Christopher on the south: these with their niches have been executed partly from the old description of them and partly by reference to the niches remaining in the Lady Chapel.

An investigation of the roof proved that its bosses had been originally profusely gilded and painted, and that the ribs had been painted in tri-colour, though, oddly enough, this apparently had not been the case in the Lady Chapel. Mr Dyce, R.A., was called in to give an opinion, and suggested a large scheme, upon which he actually started, but after having proceeded only a small way, difficulties arose and he departed. What little paint had been applied to the ribs was removed; but a few of the more easterly bosses remain gilt to this day, and afterwards the others were reddened to bring out the sculpture.

The architectural history of the choir and presbytery is very interesting. There is practically no documentary evidence at all to tell when and how it was built; and what we know about it now is due to the antiquarian skill of the late Professor Willis. Nothing can have been more fortunate than that he should have been able to make an inspection of the foundations of the choir, for no man had a greater genius for using the smallest discoveries to the greatest advantage. Numerous stories are told of his extraordinary gift for divining what was to be found. As Canon Lonsdale says: "He knew, as it were, by instinct what was hidden under the soil. 'Dig there,' he said, and the base he wanted came to light. 'Open out the earth here,' and the solid piece of stone which he had been looking for to complete his imaginary plan was straightway disclosed to view." He came here in August 1859, when excavations were being made in the choir, and on what he saw then he based the theory of the growth of the cathedral which has found favour with everyone ever since. The nature of his discoveries here, and the conclusions he drew from them, have been briefly given in the section of this book devoted to the history of the cathedral, so that it is unnecessary to further discuss them, except when they apply to buildings which are now in existence.

The present choir was commenced at the very beginning of the thirteenth century. Of this choir only the lower portions of the three bays nearest the tower remain above ground, but there is no doubt that the original eastern termination had been removed to make way for the beautiful presbytery which now remains and extends eastward, with its vaulting at the same elevation as that of the choir. This was done probably immediately after the Lady Chapel had been built, or at the same time, and it is supposed that the work proceeded from the east end and the old choir was gradually pulled down, leaving the three western bays standing, and that then the clerestory of these bays was replaced by work in uniformity with that in the new presbytery; at the same time the front half of their pier arches was removed and mouldings given to them corresponding to those in the presbytery, their piers were also slightly altered. In this way the choir and presbytery acquired a uniform appearance, both inside and out; for the portion of the old side aisle on the south is hidden by the sacristry, and that on the north by the chapter-house and vestibule.

As has been said, only one of the original Decorated clerestory windows now remain; the others, it may be supposed, were destroyed in the sieges of the Civil War, for they have been replaced with Perpendicular tracery which belongs to a period when this style was only being imitated; it was probably put in at the Restoration.

The high altar is now placed between the sixth pair of piers (counting from the west). This is probably the old arrangement, but until the recent restorations the altar was placed in the Lady Chapel: the pier arches of the choir were walled up, and a large screen placed in the eastern tower arch; so that the choir and Lady Chapel were converted into one long aisleless chapel.

It is very interesting to note the signs in the choir of the attempt to combine the two styles which, as has been explained, met here. The third piers stand on the line of demarcation between the part retained and the part rebuilt, and consequently carry an Early English arch to the west and a Decorated arch to the east. The Early English column was partially cut away and partially used in the new work, as may be seen on inspection of these piers. It will also be seen that the vaulting in the aisles is much rougher in the old part than in the eastern bays. The plaster used to hide this; but Sir Gilbert Scott caused it to be removed, and is said afterward to have regretted having done so.

Another interesting junction between two buildings of different dates is the entrance to the vestibule of the chapter-house. This entrance is in the third bay of the north aisle, and is obviously a combination of doorway and window, as may be seen by comparing the window of the first bay with it.

Again, in the first bays of the aisles there are windows in the Early English style, but they look only into the aisles of the transepts; showing, as has before been stated, that the transept aisles were not originally contemplated, and certainly did not take the place of earlier Norman aisles.

The arch at the west end of the north choir aisle is decorated with a double chevron moulding—evidence that it is one of the oldest pieces of work left in the cathedral. This arch has at a more recent date been lined with another arch of the Decorated period, probably in order to strengthen it.

The arcading in the aisles is very interesting. In the first three western bays in both aisles the large arcading, with its plain trefoiled arches, is clearly Early English. The arcading in the other bays is equally clearly of the Decorated period, and is considerably smaller. In the four eastern bays in each aisle the arches go right up to the course which forms the top of the arcading, and the triangular spandrels thus formed are ornamented each with a curious little head, having queer headgear; the rest of the spandrel is carved with foliage, and in the plates of the foliated arches are quaint animals. The arcading in the remaining bay is similar, but angels' heads with wings take up the whole spandrel. Some of the arcading, notably that in the three easterly bays of the south aisle, is unrestored. The inferiority of the modern work in the next bay is only too patent.

In the south choir aisle the third window from the east has very beautiful carved work, the splays being covered with two bands of richly-carved foliage. Under the window is now the tomb of Bishop Hacket, and Dean Heywood's monument is said to have also been in this place.

In the south aisle, over the entrance to the sacristy, there is a very charmingly-proportioned gallery which is known as the "minstrel gallery." A gallery of this kind, though not unique, is very rare, but Exeter Cathedral has two—one in the north transept and another in the nave. In this case the arcading has been altered to accommodate this obviously later addition, made probably in the early part of the fifteenth century. Three shafts from the arcade have been left, which support a fan-shaped vaulting, upon which the gallery rests. There is little doubt as to the object of the gallery, though various theories have been advanced. By some it is supposed that it was used by the priest whose duty it was to watch the lights burning on the various altars; others suggest that it was indeed used by the instrumentalists to keep time during the procession, etc.; but, as it is immediately in front of the chapel of the Head of St. Chad, it was no doubt intended for the exhibition of the head to those below in the aisle. However, it may be said that the raised galleries in mediÆval halls were always called by the name of "minstrel gallery," and so the name came to be used of galleries generally. This gallery is reached by the staircase in the wall which leads to the upper floor of the sacristy. Just against the entrance to this staircase, in the wall of the aisle, is an ancient piscina. Its presence here is unexplained, as there is no record of a chapel at this spot; though it has been suggested that the altar dedicated to St. Blaise occupied a position in this aisle.

It is perhaps worth noticing that in the old days the two bays of the cathedral between the high altar and the Lady Chapel, together with their portions of the aisles, were generally spoken of as the Lady Choir, and are marked as such in old plans; other writers again speak of this part of the building as "the cross aisle." There were gates across the choir aisles in a line with the reredos, and these are marked in the plan of the cathedral published somewhere about 1720. No doubt the eastern ends of the choir aisles in still earlier days were spoken of as St. Andrew's Chapel or St. Nicholas' Chapel; but, though it is almost certain that the east end of the north choir aisle was dedicated to St. Andrew, there is no certain information as to the dedication of the corresponding chapel in the south aisle, but it is generally believed to have contained an altar to St. Nicholas.

The Choir Screen was designed by Sir Gilbert Scott and Mr J. B. Phillips, and executed by Mr Skidmore of Coventry. It is a very highly-ornamented structure in wrought-iron, copper, and brass, and is said to have been the first screen of this kind; but other screens of the same character are now to be seen at Salisbury, Worcester, Hereford, and other churches. The capitals are of hammered copper; there are imitations of various fruits in ivory, onyx, and red and white cornelian: on the upper part, on each side, are eight angels with instruments of music; the whole is surmounted with a frieze of open scroll work, and a cross rises from the top of the pedimented gate-way in the centre. The side iron gates into the choir aisles were also executed by Mr Skidmore.

The Stalls are modern, and are somewhat disappointing. The canons' stalls have no canopies, and their absence certainly deprives the choir of a feature generally to be found in cathedrals. Otherwise, the stalls are a satisfactory instance of modern carving, and were carried out by Mr Evans of Ellastone in Derbyshire. He is always said to have been the original of Seth in "Adam Bede," and he certainly was a cousin of the great authoress. There is much natural foliage in the carving, with figures of apostles, kings, and bishops, and panels representing scenes from Old Testament history. The Bishop's Throne is by the same artist.

The Reredos is a very gorgeous piece of work, but it must be confessed that the effect is again not wholly satisfactory. It might even be said that in the endeavour to attain magnificence, over-elaboration has ended in a tawdry appearance. However, tastes differ, and this reredos has its admirers. It was designed by Sir Gilbert Scott, and cost £2000, which sum was raised by the Honourable Mrs H. Howard, the wife of the dean. It was part of the scheme that all the materials for the reredos should come from the diocese, and with the exception of the green malachite, this idea has been carried out. The alabaster came from near Tutbury, and the marbles from Derbyshire (then in the diocese): and the Duke of Devonshire was induced to give some of the beautiful red marble, which bears the name of the "Duke's red," from his quarry, so rarely opened.

In the centre is a bas-relief of the Ascension, with, a figure of "The Lamb" underneath; on each side are two compartments containing the emblems of the four evangelists. All five compartments are surmounted with very highly-decorated pediments, the central one being the largest and most magnificent; above it rises a very elaborate pinnacle, ending in a cross. There is an open arcading on each side, extending to the piers of the presbytery. The pediments have each a head in the centre, and between the pediments are angels with ivory trumpets.

The reredos has purposely been kept very low, so that the view of the glass in the Lady Chapel may be intercepted as little as possible. One cannot help feeling that too much was sacrificed to that idea. One of the main principles of the Gothic builder, it has been said, was to suggest an air of mystery. The light screen and the low reredos have the very opposite effect; and it may be prophesied that the days of their admiration are rapidly coming to an end.

The Sedilia are interesting on account of the canopies, which are old, and probably formed part of the original high altar screen. Their style is that known as Perpendicular, but they obviously belong to its early period. No doubt the screen suffered grievously after the siege; and at the Restoration of the monarchy and the cathedral a wooden screen was erected in front of it. Pennant, who saw it in 1780, says: "The beauty of the choir was much impaired by the impropriety of a rich altar-piece, of Grecian architecture, terminating this elegant Gothic building."

This arrangement came to an end in 1788, when Wyatt threw the choir and Lady Chapel into one long chapel, and the old altar screen was utilised in the choir screen and helped to support the organ. When this screen in turn was taken down, the old canopies, much battered and largely repaired with plaster, were examined, and found to be of Bath stone, and in this the repairs were executed. Six of them were used for the sedilia, and the other three are to be found just behind, over the effigy of Dean Howard.

The Pavement between the stalls is of tiles, made after the pattern of old tiles which were found in the cathedral. The modern ones are by Messrs Minton. There is some record of how the cathedral has at various times been paved, as Dr Plot tells us that "the old floor of the choir was paved lozengy with cannel coal and alabaster, the former got at Beaudesert," and at one time the nave and aisles were paved with brick. Some of the old tiles and two slabs of coal are preserved in the floor of the consistory court.

The pavement in the presbytery is different, and is made principally of incised stone, with marble borders. There are four large medallions, which show scenes in the history of the diocese, and these are surrounded with representations of kings and bishops who have had some connection with the see. The general scheme was arranged by Sir Gilbert Scott, but the medallions were designed by the Rev. J. Pitman, headmaster of Rugeley Grammar School. The first medallion represents the consecration of St. Chad as Bishop of York; round it are Oswy, King of Northumbria and Mercia, who was the principal instrument in introducing Christianity into Mercia; Diuma, first Bishop; Wulphere, King of Mercia; and Jaruman, Bishop of Mercia, the immediate predecessor of St. Chad.

The second medallion gives the well-known story of Theodore, the great archbishop, setting St. Chad on a horse; around are Ethelred, king of Mercia after Wulphere; Sexwulf, the bishop who divided up the diocese; Offa, King of Mercia, who made Lichfield an archbishopric, and Higbert, the archbishop.

The third medallion shows the translation of St. Chad's bones from Stowe Church, where they were buried, to the cathedral; around are Stephen, who was king when Bishop Roger de Clinton built the Norman cathedral; Henry III., who gave stone for the transept; and Bishop Langton, who built the Lady Chapel.

The fourth medallion shows the procession to the chapter-house for divine service at the Restoration (1660); around are Charles II. and Bishop Hacket, who then restored the cathedral; Queen Victoria and Bishop Lonsdale, who was bishop at the time of the recent restorations.

The altar space is covered with encaustic tiles, given by Mr C. Minton Campbell. In the centre is the Feast of the Passover, and around are shown Cain and Abel, Melchisedec blessing Abraham, Abraham and Isaac, Joseph and his brethren, Moses striking the Rock, and the Brazen Serpent—all Old Testament types of the Divine Sacrifice.

The Monuments in the south choir aisle are particularly interesting. Commencing from the west end, there is on the south side an altar tomb in memory of Archdeacon Hodson, who died in 1855. The slab is of Serpentine stone, with a brass cross inlaid, and there are alabaster plaques representing the Crucifixion, the Entombment, the Resurrection, and the Ascension. Opposite is a monument to his son, Major Hodson, known as "Hodson of Hodson's Horse," who played a dramatic part in the Indian Mutiny, where he received his death wound. The coped top forms a cross, and underneath are represented the King of Delhi surrendering his sword to Major Hodson, with allegorical figures of Justice, Fortitude, Temperance, and Mercy; and at the corners statuettes of Joshua, David, St. Thomas of India, and St. George of England. Both these monuments are by Mr G. E. Street, R.A., the well-known architect of the Law Courts in London.

Close to the gate is a medallion to Erasmus Darwin, "a skilful observer of Nature," and the author of several books. He died in 1802, and was the grandfather of Charles Darwin, the celebrated biologist, whose name is a household word. The memorial to the grandfather directs attention to the hereditary obligations of the grandson.

In the second bay, between the pier arches, is the monument of Bishop Langton, who died in 1296. This originally stood to the south of the high altar. The figure is of Purbeck marble, and is habited in pontificalibus; the head lies on a plain cushion in a kind of frame. The mitre and shoes were probably once richly jewelled, and the whole, as we know from Sir William Dugdale's "Visitation," had a pedimented canopy. Now nothing remains but the mutilated effigy.

In a similar position in the third bay is the effigy of Bishop Patteshull, who died in 1241. This is also of Purbeck marble, and was probably jewelled. There are ministering angels outside a pediment at the head; the figure has the pastoral staff in the left hand, while the right is obviously raised in benediction, though only the fingers are left, the second wearing the episcopal ring. Pennant and others have drawn attention to the fact that this effigy has the "stigmata" or marks of Our Lord's wounds on his hands and feet. Some antiquarians think that this is the monument of Bishop Weseham, and not of Bishop Patteshull. There are engravings and descriptions of these last two monuments in Gough's "Sepulchral Monuments in Great Britain," 1796, but it is certainly strange that Langton's monument is described as Patteshull's, and vice versa.

Opposite to Bishop Langton is the most curious monument in the cathedral. It has now been identified as the tomb of Sir John Stanley of Pipe. The effigy represents a knight naked to the waist, below which was formerly a deep skirt painted with the arms of Stanley, the legs being in armour, while under the head is a buck's horn, and a similar horn is placed beneath the feet. The whole subject of this tomb is one presenting many difficulties, but they have now been cleared up, and in a communication to the "Archaeological Journal," vol. 24, Mr J. Hewitt has given much interesting information. From it the following account is taken:—The monument was always known as that of "Captain Stanley," who for some offence had been excommunicated, and who, after atonement, had been admitted to sepulture in holy ground on condition that the evidence of his punishment should appear on his sepultured effigy. The mutilations of the Civil Wars have so defaced the monument as to make this story extremely doubtful, until among papers belonging to the Earl of Winchelsea was found a coloured drawing of this effigy, done by Sir William Dugdale just before the wars for Sir Christopher Hatton. This sketch showed that the skin was bare, and that the skirt had the Stanley arms. But this did not clear up the difficulty. Pennant, in his "Journey from Chester to London," describes the tomb and gives the story, and then says: "I find a Sir Humphrey Stanley of Pipe, who died in the reign of Henry VII., who had a squabble with the Chapter about conveying water through his lands to the close ... so probably this might be the gentleman who incurred the censure of the church for his impiety." Shaw, in his "History of Staffordshire," declares that the arms on the base of the tomb show "the arms of Stanley impaling or, three chevronels gules (Clare)," which means that the person represented married a Clare. This Sir Humphrey did not do, and, moreover, he was buried in Westminster Abbey, where his brass still remains. Further investigation showed that the arms of Clare are also the arms of Gerard, and then that Sir John Stanley of Pipe married Margaret, the daughter of Sir Thomas Gerard. Pipe is a domain about a mile from Lichfield, so that the family of the dead knight would naturally have desired his interment in the cathedral of that city.

It does not appear that there was any ignominy implied in scourging as a public penance. On the contrary, many royal personages have submitted to it, and everyone will remember that Henry II. underwent a scourging upon his naked shoulders by the hands of the monks of Canterbury. There is a stained-glass window in the Bodleian Library at Oxford showing this scene.

Dr Rock, in the same volume of the "Archaeological Journal," says that to his thinking "this Stanley, of knightly rank, had drawn upon himself the greater excommunication through the spilling of blood in Lichfield Cathedral on some occasion, from a blow on the face with his hand or possibly by a slight stab with his avelace on the person of one with whom he had quarrelled. He lies bareheaded and naked as far down as the girdle. His upraised hands, according to the representation given by Pennant, and copied in Shaw's 'History of Staffordshire,' held a scroll which must have been the document ... signifying under the bishop's hand that, having undergone the canonical penance, the offender was again admitted to all Christian privileges."

Farther east than the "minstrel gallery" there is a window in memory of Bishop Rawle, who was consecrated Bishop of Trinidad in this cathedral by Bishop Selwyn. The subjects depicted in the window are Christ's Appeal to St. Peter, St. Paul's Vision, and The Baptism of the Ethiopian by St. Philip. Underneath the window is a highly-ornamented altar tomb designed by Sir Gilbert Scott in memory of Archdeacon Moore, whose effigy lies on the top. He died in 1876. Opposite, in the next bay, is the monument of Dean Howard, who died in 1868; the effigy of the dean, in marble, lies under a triple canopy formed from portions of the old screen. These last two effigies were the work of H. Armstead, R.A. It was here that Bishop Langton's monument once stood, and here also was Bishop Hacket's. This last now stands on the opposite side under the very beautiful window of the sixth bay of this aisle: it is in the Jacobean style, and is much painted and gilded. An effigy of the Bishop lies on an altar tomb under a canopy, while in front is a lengthy inscription in Latin.

Near this place, with other monuments, is one to the memory of Colonel Richard Bagot, who received his death wound at the battle of Naseby, 1645, and was buried in the cathedral. His father was Sir Hervey Bagot, Governor of the Close on behalf of the king.

In the seventh bay is another of the semi-effigies, two of which are in the south aisle of the nave, but this one is much more damaged; it is supposed to be the monument of Canon Strangeways. In Jackson's "History of Lichfield," which was published in 1805, it is stated that the name, though not then distinguishable, had only recently become obliterated, and was known and remembered to be Strangeways.

On the south wall, towards the east are, amongst others, brasses to Dean Champneys, 1875, and Dean Bickersteth, 1892, and above these there is a monument to Canon Horton, who died in 1728.

Two windows have recently been ornamented with new glass by Mr Kempe, showing scenes taken from the Acts of the Apostles; one, in memory of Dr H. W. Hewitt, represents Peter and Paul healing the lame man at the Beautiful Gate of the temple. The other is in memory of Mr J. T. Godfrey Faussett, and represents Stephen before the Council, having delivered his apology, looking up and declaring "Behold I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God."

At the east end of this aisle, on the spot where probably once stood the altar of St. Nicholas, is the famous monument known as "The Sleeping Children." This was executed by Sir Francis Chantrey, R.A., and set up in 1817. It is said that this monument established his fame. Britton, in 1820, devotes more than two large quarto pages—a great space for him—to ecstasies over it, and no doubt the taste of the time demanded undiluted admiration. Now we may prize it as an early example of the new style which, in art as well as in literature, was to supersede the artifice of the eighteenth century: the essence of that new style was, Mr Walter Pater tells us, "an intimate consciousness of the expression of natural things."

The monument is in memory of the two daughters of the Reverend William Robinson, Prebendary of the cathedral, and represents the young children locked in each other's arms.

Behind it is a wall memorial to their father, and to the side is a piscina, which has at the back of it an old fresco, probably of the fourteenth century. The subject is the Crucifixion, with figures of St. Mary and St. John, one on each side of our Lord. The illustration is from a drawing preserved in the National Art Library, South Kensington Museum. The window at the end of the aisle contains some of the old Flemish glass, which has in the centre a curious representation of the Trinity.

In leaving this aisle it may be noted that tradition has it that between the pillars of the eighth bay was the monument of Lord Basset: that the tomb of Bishop William de Corkhull was between the pillars of the seventh bay, and that, in a similar position in the fifth bay, was buried Bishop de Molend. The Ashmolean MSS. give a long description of Lord Basset's monument: "Between the choir and the chapel of the Blessed Mary is the monument of Ralph, Lord Basset. He is lying in complete armour, his hands erected, and thereon his gauntlets. On his head, which is laid upon his helm and crest, viz., a boar, is a steel cap, and on his right shoulder a square shield of his arms. His dagger is laid by his right side, and his feet are resting upon a boar." He died in the reign of Richard II. It is always said that Sir Walter Scott had this monument in his mind when he described Lord Marmion's monument:—

The accounts do not entirely tally, so that it may be the tomb described was as little Lord Basset's as it was really Lord Marmion's.

Not very far from this last tomb was the monument of William, Lord Paget, who was not buried here but at Drayton. He was ambassador from Henry VIII. to Charles V., and held other important posts under that king and his daughter, Queen Mary; he died in 1563. There is an engraving of his monument in Shaw's "Staffordshire," which shows it to have been very magnificent.

The monuments in the North Choir Aisle are not only more scanty than those in other parts of the cathedral, but they are of less interest. At the east end is the kneeling figure of Bishop Ryder, who died in 1836. This monument is in white marble, and one of Chantrey's latest works, just as the more famous monument in a similar position in the south aisle is one of his earliest. It was originally intended that the figure should be on a higher pedestal, and no doubt the effect is not increased by its lower position.

Behind, on the east wall, is an inscription in memory of the bishop. The window above this contains some old Flemish glass, which has a figure of St. Christopher in the centre. The window in the north side in the corner is by Mr C. E. Kempe, in memory of Mr Patterson, late sub-chanter of the cathedral. The glass shows King David teaching the singers of the House of the Lord. Beneath is an ancient aumbry.

Opposite, between the pillars, is the traditional site of the burial-place of Bishop Stretton; he is said to have been buried in St. Andrew's Chapel. There is little doubt that the end of this aisle contained an altar dedicated to that saint.

Between the next pair of pillars westward, it is said that Bishop Blythe was buried, but his monument at one time stood in the other aisle of the choir.

On the north side of the altar is the monument to the memory of Bishop Lonsdale, who died in 1867. The monument, which is highly decorative, consists of an effigy of the bishop lying on an altar-tomb of marble and alabaster. The effigy is by Mr G. F. Watts, R.A., the celebrated artist, and the tomb was designed by Sir Gilbert Scott, who is said to have taken the idea of the canopy, with its triple pediment, from the monument of John of Eltham in Westminster Abbey.

In the space between the next pair of pillars westward, Archbishop Scrope, formerly bishop of this diocese, is said to have been buried. He was beheaded in 1405 by Henry IV.

In the most easterly bay but one of this aisle there must have been a doorway leading into the chapel which Dr Stukeley speaks of: "In the chapel over against the lady choir was the burying-place of two Mercian Kings; but it is now chosen for a burying-place by Dr Chandler, present bishop of Lichfield, who has there buried one child."

The Lady Chapel has always most justly been admired by architects and antiquarians. Not only is it peculiarly beautiful in its construction, but also its windows are now filled with some of the most charming old glass to be seen in England. In shape it forms a symmetrical extension, both in height and width, to the choir, but without aisles; and it has an octagonal apse—the only example, it is said, of such a termination in the country. It is lighted by nine high windows, with Decorated tracery. This tracery has recently been restored in the style of that in the three end windows; until this was done most of the windows contained Perpendicular tracery.

The windows rest on an arcade of very beautiful design. The arcade may be said to consist of a series of small decorated canopies, supported by shafts with carved capitals, and separated by ornamented buttresses. The canopies, which bow forward, have trefoil ogee arches, surmounted with crockets and finials. Above the arcade is a similar embattled parapet to that in the choir, with a similar passage round the chapel behind it.

The vaulting of the roof is like that in the choir; the same number of ribs diverging from the slender shafts which run right down to the bends of the arcade. Half-way up these shafts are niches, the brackets and canopies to which are beautifully carved. These are old, but until recently were empty, and no authentic record remained as to what were the characters represented. Dr Stukeley believed that the figures had been those of the five wise and five foolish virgins. This theory has not, however, found sufficient favour to lead to a reproduction of their effigies, for in 1895 the niches were filled with figures of ten virgin saints and martyrs. These were executed by Messrs Farmer & Brindley, from designs by Mr C. E. Kempe, and they may be warmly congratulated on their work. The statues are really beautiful, and are infinitely superior to most of the other modern sculpture in the cathedral. It will be noticed, too, that the figures seem the right size for the niches, instead of being much too large, as in many other cases. The statues are as follow:—

1. St. Werburga, with pastoral staff and book, and a model of Chester Cathedral at her feet.

2. St. Cecilia, with organ.

3. St. Prisca, with palm branch, and lion at her feet.

4. St. Faith, with sword and rack.

5. St. Catherine, with sword and wheel and open book, treading on a monster.

6. St. Margaret, with book and cross, treading on a dragon.

7. St. Lucy, with palm branch and lamp.

8. St. Agnes, with palm branch and book, and lamb at her feet.

9. St. Agatha, with palm branch and tongs.

10. St. Etheldreda, with crown and pilgrim staff, and pastoral staff and a model of Ely Cathedral at her feet.

The present altar-piece, which is in the form of a triptych, has scenes connected with the birth of Our Lord carved in relief. These are: The Annunciation, the Salutation of Elizabeth, the Nativity, the Presentation in the Temple, and the Adoration of the Magi. The doors, which can be closed, have paintings on the back representing David, Isaiah, St. John the Baptist, and St. Chad. There are four carved figures of St. Ambrose, St. Jerome, St. Augustine, and St. Gregory supporting the central panel. The altar rails are of alabaster. Before the recent alterations there was a plaster reredos, which had been placed there by Wyatt, and the continuity of the arcading and open carved work, which originally went right round the chapel, was thus broken. Sir Gilbert Scott is said to have been anxious not to remove the reredos, partly, perhaps, on account of the glass behind, which was known to be plain. However, the restoration to the original style has been made, and the plain glass replaced by a very excellent imitation of the Herkenrode glass, representing the three Marys. This was done by Messrs Burlison & Grylls with great skill. There was a screen between the Lady Chapel and the rest of the cathedral in old days. Stukeley mentions it in his notes. He says: "The partition there betwixt the two choirs is a fine piece of architecture, but demolished also in time of war; and, though the figures are destroyed, and at the foot of the same every cherub defaced, yet it may be perceived to be a fine piece of work; for though it be uniform from top to bottom, yet every capital and pedestall are different works within and without."

What is known of the building of the Lady Chapel has already been told in Chapter I. and in the account of the choir and presbytery. The founder of the chapel, Bishop Langton, was buried here, but his tomb was afterwards removed to the south side of the high altar. Shaw tells us of the monument at one time "in the east part of the chapel, towards the south," of Robert Master and Catherine, his wife, and says that "the drawing in Dugdale's 'Visitation' represents them each under a round arch, in the attitude of prayer at a desk." No trace is left of this monument.

As might be expected from what has been given of the history of the cathedral, there is none of the old glass belonging to it remaining; but in spite of this, all the nine windows of the Lady Chapel have very beautiful old glass in them. This glass is not MediÆval, but belongs to the sixteenth century, and the whole of it is a comparatively recent acquisition for the cathedral. That in the seven most eastern windows, and known as the Herkenrode glass, was put in at the beginning of the century; and the other two windows which, until recently, held modern glass, bearing the arms of various dignitaries of the cathedral, have recently been enriched by old glass of probably very nearly the same period as the other.

The nine windows, for the purposes of explanation, may be numbered in succession 1 to 9. No. 1, being the first window on the north, and No. 9, the first on the south, contain, therefore, the more recently acquired glass. This is supposed to have come from the Low Countries; but, at any rate, about the middle of the century it was brought to England, and lay for years in some cellars in London, where it was forgotten. Finally, it was purchased from the representatives of the Marquis of Ely. The glass shows the arms of the kingdom of Aragon, and amongst other mottoes, that of Charles V.

No. 1. The lower compartment is a symbolic picture on the subject of Baptism. Out of the waters in the fountain come the children, to be received by their guardian spirits, while above are figures representing Faith, Fortitude, and Love, and still higher is a representation of the Divine Presence. No. 9 is a pictorial representation of the legendary Death of the Virgin Mary. The Virgin is represented lying in a canopied bed, surrounded by the apostles, who have been summoned to gather round her death-bed: they are all present except St. Thomas, who has been detained at the baptism of a royal prince. Above is a representation of the Virgin entering into glory.

As stated above, these two windows had originally coats of arms in them, and a reproduction of the arms appears in the tracery of the windows, No. 1 having those of the dean and chapter in 1803, and No. 9 those of the bishops of the diocese from Bishop Hacket to that date.

The glass in the other seven windows—the Herkenrode glass—was purchased in 1802 by Sir Brooke Boothby, who discovered it in Belgium, where it had been hidden for protection from the French. It had been taken from the dissolved Abbey of Herkenrode, near Liege. There were three hundred and forty pieces, each about twenty-two inches square, and some of them are marked with dates between 1530 and 1540. Sir Brooke is said to have given two hundred pounds for it; but it has since been valued at fifteen thousand pounds. He, however, most generously sold it to the dean and chapter for the modest sum he had paid for it. It turned out that there was enough to fill the seven windows it now occupies in the Lady Chapel. Some portions have been used in other windows of the cathedral, which have been already described.

There is a considerable difference in appearance between this glass and that in the other two windows. The subjects depicted in the latter are very distinct, while in the former they are more confused, and it must be said that the Herkenrode glass is much faded. Still, the whole of it is very beautiful, and if it does not satisfy those who crave after the MediÆval stained glass, it is certainly some of the finest glass of the kind to be found in England. The designs have been conjectured to be by Lambert Lombard, the first, and one of the most famous, of the Italianised Flemish School of the sixteenth century; and the other glass belongs to the same period.

The abbey at Herkenrode was founded in 1182, and belonged to the Cistercian Order. It became noted for the miracles performed there; from which reason, no doubt, it acquired great wealth, and increased so much in size that it was almost like a small town. All the nuns were of noble family. A history of the abbey was published in 1744, and a copy was presented to the cathedral library by Sir Brooke Boothby. The book contains a view of the abbey buildings, in the centre of which is seen the church. In the third window of the Lady Chapel is a similar picture of the church. Windows Nos. 2 and 3 contain portraits of founders and benefactors of the abbey, with their patron saints. The other five windows, Nos. 4, 5, 6, and 7 show scenes in the life of Christ.

The following is a brief description of these windows:—

No. 2. In this window the glass is in four pictures. In the lower left-hand compartment is Cardinal Evrad de la Marck, Bishop of Liege, supported by St. Lambert; and in the corresponding space to the right is Floris Egmont, Count de Buren, with his wife, attended by St. Christopher and St. Margaret. The picture above is of Maximilian Egmont, Count de Buren, kneeling before an altar, and attended by St. Christopher and St. Barbara. The remaining picture on the left has John, Count de Horn, and his wife Anne, also kneeling before an altar. They are attended by St. John the Evangelist and St. Anne the mother of the Virgin.

No. 3 contains six pictures, which go right across the window—(1) the lowest, has the church of the abbey already mentioned, with an abbess and two nuns, and the Virgin and Child; (2) the Virgin and Child again, with an angel bearing a shield; (3) the Virgin and Child, an abbot and abbess of the Cistercian Order, and the Emperor Lotharius II.; (4) Agnes Mettecoven and her husband kneeling to St. Agnes, with her lamb; (5) St. John the Evangelist and St. Barbara, St. John the Baptist, and St. Margaret, with members of the Mettecoven family; (6) the highest, has Henry de Lechy and his wife, with St. Henry and St. Christina.

No. 4. Christ scourged, Christ crowned with thorns, the Annunciation.

No. 5, the central window. The Ascension, Christ and the two Disciples at Emmaus, the Three Marys (modern glass).

No. 6. The Last Supper, the Entry into Jerusalem, the Betrayal of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane.

No. 7. The Day of Judgment, the Day of Pentecost, St. Thomas is reproved for his doubt.

No. 8. Pilate delivering Christ to be crucified, Christ bearing his Cross, the Descent from the Cross, the Resurrection.

On the south side of the Lady Chapel, between the buttresses, are three erections, which were no doubt built at the same time as the Lady Chapel itself. They have been known as "the Mortuary Chapels," and also as "the Vestries." They were probably built for the former purpose.

They have recently been restored as a memorial to Bishop Selwyn, who died in 1878. All three chapels have groined roofs, with ribs and bosses, and in the floor some of the old encaustic tiles still remain. The central chapel is the largest, and is lighted by two small windows. It is only entered from the eastern chapel by means of a doorway cut right through the buttress. In this central chapel lies the effigy, in Derbyshire alabaster, of Bishop Selwyn. During his life he had expressed a wish to be buried here, but this was found to be illegal, and he was buried in the close just outside. The effigy is by Mr Nicholls, and the decorations of the walls of the chapel are by Messrs Clayton & Bell. These show the arms of the bishopric of New Zealand, to which the bishop was originally consecrated, and the arms of the dioceses formed out of it, and there are more than usually hideous frescoes showing the labours of the bishop among the Maories and among the pitmen of the English diocese. Here he is not likely to be forgotten; and at Cambridge there is a college known as Selwyn College, founded with a similar idea to that which at Oxford caused Keble College to be erected to the memory of another great modern churchman: there also his memory will remain.

The western chapel has, at its north-western corner, a stair-way leading to three cryptal chambers whose flooring is the solid rock.

The Sacristy.—The building on the south side of the choir, which is generally known as the "sacristy," is a very interesting part of the cathedral. Professor Willis decided that it was erected at the same time as the original Early English choir, and no doubt it belongs to the same period. A careful inspection, however, especially of the entrance from the "minstrel gallery" to the chapel of St. Chad's Head, which now forms the top storey, shows unmistakable signs that, like the entrance to the vestibule in the corresponding bay of the north choir aisle, this doorway was once a window, similar, no doubt, to those two still remaining—one in each aisle—which look into the aisles of the transepts. This being so, it is obvious that the "sacristy," or, at any rate, the upper storey, was an afterthought, and that it is later, though perhaps only a little, than the choir, its date corresponding perhaps with that of the south transept.

The upper storey, which until recently was used as the muniment room, was originally the chapel of St. Chad's Head. It has now been restored as a chapel through the zeal and munificence of the present dean, Dr Luckock, and was re-dedicated and re-opened on St. Chad's Day, March 2nd of this year, 1897. In the order of service of that day the dean gave an account of the chapel as follows:—

"The Chapel of St. Chad, first Bishop of Lichfield, and, with the Blessed Virgin Mary, patron of our Cathedral Church, was destroyed in all probability when the rest of the Cathedral was laid in ruins in 1643, the siege beginning on St. Chad's Day, March 2nd of that year. Little was left: the four walls remained in a broken condition, with the vaulting-shafts and caps for the springers of the stone groining, and the wall-ribs, to mark its original lines; also the very beautiful Early English windows—twelve lancets in groups of three—which, singularly enough, were little injured. Externally these are very plain, but internally they are full of interest, and there is nothing better of the kind in the Cathedral. The site of the old altar is clearly marked; indeed, a small portion of it has been preserved. The piscina also still remains. After the destruction the chapel must have been left roofless for years, as, on breaking up the floor which had been raised by some accumulation of rubbish, the workmen found roots of shrubs embedded in it. At some time quite unknown, the chapel was roofed in again, and the tops of the walls rebuilt where they had been broken down. A flat plaster ceiling was inserted, and being divided into two rooms, the old chapel was filled with cupboards and used till last year for the custody of the muniments. The aumbry remains in which antiquarians suppose that St. Chad's relics were preserved. Dr Cox, in his Catalogue of the muniments, page 90, throws some light upon the subject, from the Chapter Act Books, quoting from F. 4 in the year 1481:—'Two monstrances given to the Cathedral in charge of William Hukyns, the custodian of the Head of St. Chad by Dean Heywood, for keeping relics.' And he appends the following note:—'This very likely gives the date of the stone gallery in front of the muniment room in the South Choir aisle (then the chapel of the head of St. Chad). This gallery is of Perpendicular work, and was chiefly intended for the exhibition of relics, in monstrances, to the pilgrims in the aisle below; the second staircase, that allowed of a flow of pilgrims to the upper chapel, being at this time removed.' All the stone groining and the wood and iron work have been completely restored under the direction of Mr J. Oldrid Scott. There are some very old pieces of stone figure-work, which have been preserved. The new bosses and corbels have been carved with subjects from the history of St. Chad, the chief of which show his being mounted on horseback, by Archbishop Theodore; his protection of the hart that fled to him for refuge; and his death in his cell, surrounded by angels. The reredos, of Staffordshire alabaster, replacing one the existence of which at the east end is clearly indicated, is of a very uncommon design, by Mr C. E. Kempe. It consists of an altar-piece of ornamental arcading, surmounted by three tall canopied niches in which are placed sculptured figures representing the Crucifixion, St. Mary, and St. John. These are supported by angels bearing shields. All the windows are filled with stained glass by Mr Kempe, and contain Choirs of Angels singing the Confessor's hymn, or Psalm cxii., Beatus vir, which runs in scrolls through nine of the lights. The angels over the crucifix in the east window bear a scroll with the words of Psalm xxi. 3, Posimisti in capite, etc. St. Chad is represented in the centre lancet of the west wall."

This chapel is now approached by a staircase, leading from a doorway in the fourth bay on to the gallery, usually and incorrectly known as the "minstrel gallery," from which again two short flights of steps, right and left, lead into the chapel.

The lower storey was originally the sacristy: it is now used as the consistory court. Against the west wall are some of the old Jacobean stalls, which were put into the choir in Bishop Hacket's time; while in the corner are let into the floor some of the old tiles and slabs of cannel coal with which, and alabaster, the cathedral was at one time paved. The windows are filled with Perpendicular tracery, replacing the old Early English windows. Underneath, and reached by a staircase in the south-east turret, now closed, is a vault, at present used as the burial vault of the Paget family. Probably it was once a dungeon.

In the west wall can be seen the place where a doorway led into a chamber built in between the sacristy and the south transept aisle. This was no doubt the treasury of the cathedral, where all the most precious relics and valuables were kept. It is now entered by a doorway in the choir aisle. At present it appears to be a receptacle for odds and ends, and cupboards are placed along the walls. On the west side are several large aumbries, in which, no doubt, the relics were kept. The floor in this chamber has been raised at some time or other, and it is now much higher than that of the adjoining consistory court, so that there are steps in the south-east corner leading to a door into the consistory court. This is not the old doorway already mentioned, which is blocked up, but probably a much later entrance. Some old cannon balls which have been discovered in and round the cathedral may be seen in the treasury. On the north wall in both the consistory court and the treasury can be seen the remains of an old course or housing which, though in both cases incomplete, appears to have a semi-circular form. No theory seems to have been advanced as to these remains, and in this book it were wiser to follow precedent.

The Chapter-House, which lies to the north of the choir, is approached by a vestibule which has a doorway, already described, into the third bay of the north choir aisle. Both the chapter-house and the vestibule were built at the same time as the north transept—that is, somewhere near the middle of the thirteenth century—and the style is therefore that known as the Early English, but it is a later instance than that part of the choir into which the doorway leads. That the vestibule was not built when the early part of the choir was finished is evident, as "its walls abut against those of the choir with a straight joint, and the arch of entrance in the side aisle is a manifest intrusion into the space once occupied by a window." The north end of the vestibule has also been altered, there having been a doorway where now there is a window; the former existed until nearly the end of the last century, but it had been altered before the plate in Britton's "Cathedrals" was engraved. It can easily be seen from the outside that such a door must have existed, from the different colouring of the stone-work. The window has recently been filled with stained glass by Messrs Burlison & Grylls, representing Nehemiah and Simeon, in memory of the late verger, William Yeend. Down each side of the vestibule there is a very fine arcading, that on the west side being double and much deeper than that on the east, which is single; the niches are large enough to be used as seats, and it has been suggested that here the ceremony of washing the feet of the poor took place on Maundy Thursday; as there were thirteen niches, this is highly probable. Some of the capitals of the pillars of the arcade are very finely carved, and, as was usual at the time, are very deeply under-cut; and the dripstones terminate in very interesting corbels in the form of heads and bunches of foliage. Recently, on the west side, some of the arcading has been opened out to afford access to the new vestry, which has been constructed by roofing in the space between the vestibule and the north transept. On the east side near the cathedral is the entrance to the library, which is the upper storey of the chapter-house building, and is approached by a spiral staircase. At the farther end, on the same side, is the very fine entrance to the chapter-house. This, like the central west doorway and that in the north transept, is double and recessed. The mouldings in the arch are deeply and finely cut, and the capitals of the grouped shafts are very richly carved with delicate leaves. The jambs have an enrichment of dog-toothing behind the slender detached shafts, and the two small arches have trefoil archivolts, so that the whole has a very rich effect. In the tympanum of the arch there is a bas-relief figure of Our Lord in a quatrefoil recess.

The chapter-house is a very fine room; it is octagonal in shape, but the north and south sides of it are double the length of each of the other six sides, which are equal. There is a central pillar, the clustered shafts of which are banded in the centre; the capitals of these shafts have a particularly rich and elaborate carving of foliage; and above, the vaulting ribs spread to the roof like the branches of a tree, producing a very fine effect. The bosses where the ribs intersect are also worthy of attention, and the ribs rise from very richly-carved and deeply-moulded corbels. The windows are Early English, and of two lights each. Below is a very beautiful arcading, similar, indeed, to that in the vestibule, which entirely surrounds the building. The arcade is composed of deep, moulded, trefoil arches, resting on single columns, with beautifully-carved capitals, in some of which will be found figures of birds and animals. The canopies of the arches are dog-toothed, and end in curiously-carved heads, which afford interesting illustrations of the head-dresses of the time.

The chapter-house was decorated with frescoes and stained glass by Dean Heywood in the fifteenth century, as we know from the MSS. entitled Cantaria Sancti Blasii in the library. The frescoes have disappeared except over the doorway, where still remain faint signs of the representation of the Assumption, which may have formed part of Dean Heywood's decoration, but more likely is earlier: it has been suggested that it was placed there by Bishop Burghill from the fact that a Dominican Friar, to which order he belonged, is represented in the group in adoration. The glass contained figures of the apostles, with other pictures above; these being all pre-Cromwellian, have, of course, disappeared. More recently the glazing of the chapter-house displayed armorial bearings, more or less correct, in imitation of glass known to have ornamented the cathedral in the past. This armorial glass is gradually giving way to glass representing scenes in the history of the cathedral. At present, five of the windows have been so glazed, and the rest will be changed gradually, as opportunity offers.

The first window on the left-hand side on entering is in memory of Prebendary Edwards. There are figures of St. Chad and King Wulphere, with scenes showing the Consecration of St. Chad, and the Baptism by St. Chad of the two sons of King Wulphere.

The second window is in memory of Archdeacon Allen and Prebendary de Bunsen. The figures are St. Oswald and St. Aidan. The scenes represent St. Aidan preaching to the Northumbrians, with King Oswald interpreting; and St. Aidan at Lindisfarne, teaching in his school, where St. Chad is one of the scholars.

The third window is in memory of Dean Bickersteth. The figures are Archbishop Theodore and St. Ovin, and the scenes St. Chad teaching his clergy, and St. Ovin listening to the angels who were calling St. Chad at his death.

The fourth window is in memory of Prebendary Gresley. The figures are Oswy, King of Northumbria, and Diuma, the first bishop of Mercia. The scenes are Bishop Jaruman promising to build a church at Lichfield, and the institution by King Æthelwald of prebendaries.

The fifth window is in memory of Prebendary Finch Smith. The figures represent Archbishop Higbert of Lichfield, and Thomas Cantelupe, Bishop of Hereford, formerly prebendary of this cathedral. The scenes are Bishop Aldulf at the Council of Cloveshoo, renouncing the metropolitan powers in favour of Canterbury, and Bishop Roger de Clinton building a new cathedral in honour of St. Mary and St. Chad.

The Library is immediately above the chapter-house, and is of the same octagonal shape. The arrangements also are similar, but the room is less lofty, the carvings less elaborate, and there is no reading. Otherwise, we find the same central pillar, from which similar vaulting ribs spring, with corbels in the walls to receive them. It is not known for what purpose this room was originally intended, but certainly, until recent years, it was not used as a library. The old library, of which there are pictures by Hollar and King, stood to the north of the north transept in the close, or, as it is recorded in the Capitular Acts, vol. 3, "ex parte boreali in cimeterio." Dean Heywood gave £40 to build the library, and though it was not begun in his time, it was completed in the time of his successor, Dean Yotton, who also subscribed to its erection. This was at about the commencement of the sixteenth century, and the building remained until the middle of the eighteenth, when it was demolished.

The extent of the library has been increased by opening a doorway into the room above the vestibule. This room, it has recently been decided, was the old chapel of St. Peter. Though an upstairs chapel was not usual, yet it is not by any means unknown, and chapels were even sometimes to be found in the rood lofts of cathedrals. No trace can be found of the fresco, mentioned by Stukeley, of "St. Peter crucified with his head downwards, and two other apostles, etc." He tells us that the chapel was in his time used as a place for storing scaffolding and ladders, and that here was placed the mutilated remains of St. Chad's tomb.

The place still shows signs of its ill-usage, little having been done to repair the ravages of the Civil War. The vaulting is much broken, and the walls cracked: these facts strengthen the belief in the tradition that it was on this building, together with the choir, that the great central tower fell during the siege by the soldiers of the Parliament.

The library has had many generous donations of books at various times. Under the will of Frances, Duchess of Somerset, the cathedral received the library of her late husband, the Duke, who succeeded his grandfather as Earl of Hertford, and was restored to the family dukedom at the Restoration. The duchess was the daughter of the Earl of Essex who was the favourite of Queen Elizabeth, and whom she afterwards had beheaded. These books numbered about one thousand, and included many rare old Black-Letter chronicles and histories printed in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Many others have contributed to the library, amongst whom are Archdeacon Davies, 1763; William Smallbroke, 1771; Canon Lamb, 1770; Richard Hurd, 1777; Bishop Cornwallis, 1783; Rev. Henry White, 1786; Dr Pegge, the well-known antiquary, who, amongst other things, wrote an account of the life of Bishop Weseham, and who left the library, by his will, one hundred books out of his own library; Andrew Newton, who left his books to the cathedral, and built the college in the close for the widows and orphans of the clergy, besides spending large sums on educational purposes; and Sir Brooke Boothby, 1815, who gave the "History of the Abbey of Herckenrode," referred to in the account of the glass now in the Lady Chapel. There have been besides many recent benefactions, including a valuable set of drawings, by herself, of most of the churches in the county of Stafford, left by Mrs Moore, the widow of the Archdeacon of Stafford. There is also in the library a fine old picture of the Duchess of Somerset, as well as an engraving from Sir Joshua Reynolds' picture of Dr Johnson.

Among the most valuable manuscripts and books in the library are the "Gospels of St. Chad," of which more immediately; a fine folio manuscript, on vellum, of Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales," but without the doubtful Ploughman's Tale; the initial letters, especially those at the commencement of each tale, being richly coloured and gilt; the "Valor Ecclesiasticus of Pope Nicholas IV."—this is an account taken of the value of ecclesiastical property in the time of Edward I., from which the tithe granted to the Pope could be ascertained.

Other notable volumes are, "Dives and Pauper," a MS. treatise on the Decalogue—this treatise was one of the earliest books printed in England; "Orders generally to be observed of the whole household of the prince his highness," a large folio, marked with the sign-manual of King Charles I. at every ordinance; and a collection of recipes by Sir John Floyer, physician to Charles II. There is also a volume of MSS. already often referred to, superscribed, "Cantaria Sancti Blasii; Ordinatio Majistri Thomoe Heywood decani Eccles. Lich de et super Cantaria Jesu et Sancta Anne in parte boreai eccles. Lich et de pensione Capellani ibidem perpetuo celebaturi et aliis articulis, etc." Besides these, there are many rare Bibles:—Cranmer's Bible, 1540; the "Breeches" Bible; the "Vinegar" Bible, and many others.

But to many the most interesting volume in the library will be a copy of South's Sermons, published in 1694. It belonged to Dr Johnson, and was used by him in the compilation of his Dictionary. His method, apparently, was to put a letter in the margin opposite the word whose particular use here he intended to quote; and it is interesting, Sermons in hand, to test his method with the dictionary. On one page a "K" in the margin is opposite the word "Key." In the dictionary will be found under "Key" the expected quotation from South, "that every man should keep the key of his own breast."

The most valuable book in the library is the Textus S. CeddÆ, generally known as "St. Chad's Gospels." This is written on vellum, and contains the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Mark, and a small portion of the Gospel of St. Luke. It is undoubtedly an Irish MS., probably about the end of the seventh century. There is a page in the book which, with its tesselated work enclosing a cross, recalls to antiquarians similar work in the famous Irish Book of Kells, and in the Gospels of St. Columba which are preserved at Dublin. The connection of an Irish MS. with St. Chad is not difficult of explanation, since, after being taught by St. Aidan at Lindisfarne, he is supposed to have gone, as so many other earnest priests did at the time, to Ireland, to one of the noted monasteries there. The MS. is in Latin, and, with many remarkable variations, follows closely the Codex Amiatinus of St Jerome. But its marginal notes are not the least interesting part of the book; from these, which are sometimes in Celtic and Anglo-Saxon, and sometimes in Latin, we learn something of its history, which is remarkable. The cathedral of Llandaff seems to have acquired it indirectly in exchange for a horse, and there is a note in Celtic, "underneath the record of this transaction, which is witnessed by Aidan; whether or no this is the Northumbrian bishop is not known." Another entry, on the page devoted to a picture of St. Luke, shows that the MS. was still at Llandaff at the end of the ninth century; but on the first page of all is a faint but legible signature which reads "Kynsy" or "Wynsy Praesul", both names of bishops of Lichfield at the end of the tenth century, so that it had probably arrived at its present home not so far short of a thousand years ago. There are other notes connecting it with Lichfield. All these have been printed many times in the pages of learned publications. It owes its escape at the time of the Civil War to the vigilance of William Higgins, Archdeacon of Derby, who was precentor of the cathedral. He abstracted it and kept it until the troubles were over. It now lies in a glass case in the library, side by side with the beautiful "Canterbury Tales." So marvellous are some of the decorations, that it is no wonder that, in an age more faithful than ours, popular belief declared some of them to be "the work of angels."