The very first glimpse of the nave, as one enters by the west door, reveals the superb proportions of the interior. In spite of all statistics of its size, the outward appearance of the building hardly impresses the spectator with the fact that Winchester is the largest cathedral in Northern Europe, and it is not until one is within the walls that the great length of the cathedral begins to become real and its majesty is properly appreciated. The total span, from end to end, of 556 feet, compared with the 537 feet of Ely, the 525 of York, the 524 of Lincoln, and the 516 of Canterbury, would not alone produce the effect of almost infinite vastness, and is certainly not realised either in a distant prospect from the hills or in a nearer view from the cathedral precincts. But when once the nave is entered, owing partly to the open and comparatively low choir-screen, the magnificent vault of nearly 400 feet may easily be understood to have few rivals in the world. Certainly neither of the two buildings in England which are practically equal in size to Winchester Cathedral give the peculiarly overwhelming sense of length produced here. The old epithet of "Royal" may be said to apply as fitly to the cathedral as to the town, and it certainly is a worthy shelter for the bones of half-forgotten dynasties, and as fine a monument of an earlier England as Westminster is of later periods in the development of the country.

Of course, as in all English cathedrals, a lack of colour and a sense of coldness and emptiness modifies any unqualified admiration which one might at first feel. But Winchester could well afford to admit far more than the most captious critic could utter against it, and yet claim to be the most stately nave that England can show. Despite the late recasting, the proportions are Norman, and the very core of the pillars is still the original Norman stonework. Notwithstanding the changes wrought by Edingdon and Wykeham, all the more petty detail of the Decorated period is lavished on a colossal structure planned with the simple magnificence of those that "builded better than they knew."Perhaps it is not quite fair to the later architects to attribute all the excellence of the work to the earlier builders, for the graceful columns of the nave's eleven bays which rise unbroken to where the roof-groining springs from their capitals are made by Wykeham to fulfil a new duty which entirely alters their whole aspect. The general effect has been said to be as if a Norman architect had expressed himself in the more refined idiom of the early fifteenth century. Yet the work of Edingdon and Wykeham was ruthless in its way. The original Norman nave of Walkelin consisted of the normal three storeys, of equal height in this case—the main arches, triforium, and clerestory. At the present day the main arches are fully half as high again as they were in the Norman cathedral, while the base of the clerestory has been brought down to meet them, so that the triforium appears to have vanished or rather to exist merely as a balcony over each arch. As a matter of fact, however, it was the old clerestory which was entirely removed and replaced by the present upper storey. On p. 35 we see on the one hand typical Norman work, of the character still existing at Romsey Abbey and Christchurch Priory—to mention only the two large churches nearest to Winchester. During the conversion of the nave the bases and capitals of the grouped shafts of the main arches were removed, together with all the masonry above them. This is not mere conjecture, for the Norman shafts and capitals which still remain on the north side of the nave, in the second bay from the crossing, where they were covered by the ancient rood-screen, show that the pier-arches of the nave sprang from the same height as those of the transepts; the Norman main arch of the triforium still exists in every compartment over the vault of the side aisles to prove that the triforium of the nave was practically on the same level as that of the transepts, and the tops of the Norman shafts yet remaining above the nave-vaulting are additional evidence that the nave was to all intents and purposes uniform with the transepts in its general arrangement. In the south aisle, moreover, there is to be seen the lower extremity of a Norman shaft, once covered by some votive altar or shrine which was removed during the destructive period of the Reformation. "It may be readily noted," says the writer of a recent article on Winchester Cathedral, "how the new ashlar was brought down to the level of this vanished altar, and how Wykeham's vaulting-shaft has been made to end in foliation where it once rose in receipt of prayers and wax-candles vowed in return for mercies vouchsafed." In the seven westerly piers of the south aisle, the Norman stonework has merely received new mouldings; while flat Norman buttresses can be seen outside between the clerestory windows, also on the south side.

On the division into two, in place of the usual three, storeys, it may, perhaps, be of interest to quote some remarks of Willis in the "Proceedings of the ArchÆological Institute." "The compartment of Wykeham's nave," he says, "is divided into two parts vertically instead of three; for although it has a triforium gallery, yet this is so completely subordinated to the clerestory window that it cannot be held as a separate division of the composition, as in the Norman work where the triforium compartment is of all importance and similar in decoration to the other two, although not exactly like them. In Wykeham's work, on the contrary, we find above the lofty pier-arch what at first sight appears to be a clerestory window divided at mid-height by a transom, and recessed under a deeply-pointed archway. But it is above the transom only that the real window is formed by glazing the spaces between the monials. Below the transom these spaces are filled with panels, and two narrow openings cut through the latter give access from the roof to a kind of balcony which projects over the pier-arches. In each compartment this balcony exists, but there is no free passage from one to the other. This mode of uniting the triforium and clerestory by the employment of a transom dividing the stone panels of the former from the glazed lights of the latter is common enough at the period of Wykeham's work and before it, but the balcony is unusual."

It is needless to add any further explanation, since the diagram fully explains both the present state of the nave and the manner in which the transformation from the original Norman design was brought about; but it may be worth while to quote an architect's verdict on the general effect of Wykeham's work in the nave. "If we cannot admire all the details," says this writer, "we can but bear tribute to the conception of the whole. Its lofty arcades give no space for triforium, and the proportion between the clerestory and the arcade is somewhat unsatisfactory. If we except the vaulted roof, and the chantry of the great Wykeham himself, and his predecessor Edingdon, this portion of the church may, with reason, be considered simple in its character, and bears distinct evidence of having been grafted on earlier work. The Norman columns still remain in one or two places towards the east end of the nave arcade, but with the exception of these and of the Norman masonry existing in the piers on the south, and perhaps portions of the aisle walls, all is transformed to Perpendicular detail" (The Builder, October 1892).

Altogether there are, between the western doors and the piers supporting the tower, twelve arches on each side, one of each series being included in the choir. Hooks and brackets may be seen in the face of the piers at about three-quarters of their height; these were formerly used for the suspension of arras on occasions of great festivity.

It has been practically established that the sculpture at least of the nave and its vault was not finished for nearly half-a-century after Wykeham's death. We find Cardinal Beaufort's arms and bust, and his device, a white hart chained, as well as Waynflete's lily, intermingled with the arms and bust of Wykeham. Under the triforium gallery is a cornice, in each compartment of which are to be found seven large sculptured bosses, representing a cardinal's hat, a lily, roses, etc. Of the compartments of the clerestory in the nave we have said that they have the appearance of a very fine Perpendicular window. All, however, except the upper part of the centre of these seeming windows is really panel-work. The old Norman main arch of the triforium may be seen behind this panelling, under the present clerestory windows.

Until recently the mass above pressed very heavily on the nave-vaulting, but during the last and preceding years (1896-7) the strain has been relieved by the insertion of new supplementary timbers above the original Hempage Forest beams, which can still be seen by those who wish. The cost of this work of repairing the roof and vault has been about £9000, and so far has not at all exceeded the original estimate. In August 1897 a large amount still remained to be subscribed. As seen from below each division of the vault is "bounded by two vaulting-shafts, which rise to the level of the clerestory window-sill and send out from above the capital nine diverging ribs to the ridge-rib, by which the whole vault is divided into a series of bisected and interlacing lozenges, as the basis for all the groining" (Woodward).

The general effect of the nave can be gathered from the illustrations, which bring out well the appearance of height which is bound to impress the spectator standing near the central western door. In the nave aisles also a fine view may be obtained, the comparative narrowness counteracting the lessened height. As one looks down the church towards the west, it will be noticed that the western interior wall is practically entirely filled by the great window, for not only does this stretch across the whole width, but the mullions also are carried right down to the floor-level, a double series of panels occupying the space below the sill of the window. The glass in the window proper is, for the most part, very old, and, as is pointed out elsewhere (see p. 94), is arranged in patterns after the fashion of a kaleidoscope. This arises from the fact that the fragments of which it is composed are entirely disjointed, and probably incapable of being pieced together.

The monuments and objects of interest in the nave are numerous, but chief perhaps are, on the north side, the Minstrels' Gallery, the old grill-work, and the font; and, on the south side, the chantries of Bishops Wykeham and Edingdon. But, first of all, though not on account of pre-eminent merit, should be mentioned the bronze statues of James I. and Charles I. to the north and south of the main west door, against the interior wall. They were executed by Le Sueur, the artist who executed the fine equestrian figure of Charles I. at Charing Cross. A note on the sculptor's payment for these bronzes may be seen in the "Record of Exchequer," from which it appears that he received £340 for the two, with a further £40 for "carrying and erecting them" at Winchester.

In the north-west corner stands the Minstrels' Gallery or Tribune, the work of Edingdon. It is supported by two flattened arches springing from the pier shafts, and is panelled on its face and spandrels The panelling is decorated with flowered cusps, and the central bosses bear the arms of Wykeham. This gallery appears to have been intended for use on State occasions; now, however, it is merely used as a room in which the episcopal registers may be stored. In height it extends half-way up the neighbouring piers.Near this, at the western end of the north aisle, is a door made up of four pieces of iron Grill-work, which originally stood at the top of the steps leading up from the south transepts to the retro-choir. The place where it used to be is still pointed out, and indeed marks are visible in the piers to which it was secured. A paper read to the Society of Arts by Mr J. Starkie Gardiner, describes the door as being, from its style, "the oldest piece of grill-work in England. The design is composed of sprays formed of two rolls of scrolls, welded to a central stem, like a much-curled ostrich feather, with lesser scrolls in the interstices and the major scrolls, each terminating in an open-work trefoil, or quinquefoil. The large scrolls are 5½ in. in diameter and rather stout, the grill possessing great resisting powers, though it would not be hard to climb.... There is, unfortunately, no means of fixing the date, since no other grill resembles it; but, from the position indicated in the cathedral, it may well have been made as long ago as the eleventh or twelfth century." It was originally intended to keep the miscellaneous crowd of pilgrims to the shrine of S. Swithun from penetrating farther into the church by way of the south transept. They were obliged to enter and depart by the Norman doorway in the north transept.

It will not be necessary to record all the monuments and the brasses which so abundantly cover the walls, but those of the greatest interest will be alluded to. In the fifth bay of the north aisle are two memorials of very different dates, those of the "Two Brothers of Avington" (1662), and of the novelist, Jane Austen, the youngest daughter of the rector of Steventon in Hampshire. Her monumental brass is affixed to the wall below the other, which records how the two brothers were "both of Oxford, both of the Temple, both Officers to Queen Elizabeth and our noble King James. Both Justices of the Peace, both agree in arms, the one a Knight, the other a Captain."

In the next bay, opposite the Norman Font, is an inscription relating to Mrs Montagu, the founder of the "Blue Stocking" Club. It is to this effect:—"Here lies the body of Elizabeth Montagu, daughter of Matthew Robinson, Esq., of West Layton, in the County of York, who, possessing the united advantages of beauty, wit, judgment, reputation, and riches, and employing her talents most uniformly for the benefit of mankind, might be justly deemed an ornament to her sex and country. She died on the 25th August, 1800, aged 81."The Norman Font, which Milner called crux antiquariorum, is situated on the north side of the nave between the fifth and sixth pillars from the west front. It is one of a group of seven found in England; of which four are in Hampshire, at East Meon, S. Michael's (Southampton), S. Mary Bourne, and Winchester; two in Lincolnshire, in the cathedral and at Thornton Curtis; and one at S. Peter's, Ipswich. Of four similar fonts on the Continent, that at Zedelghem, near Bruges, is most like the Winchester example, and also illustrates the same legend. The material of which these fonts are made is a bluish-black calcareous marble, such as is still worked at Tournai in Hainault. The font before us is a nearly square block of marble supported on a solid central column ornamented with horizontal mouldings, with four disengaged pillars of lesser diameter, with "cable" mouldings, at each corner. The spandrels of the top are decorated with carved symbolic subjects, leaves and flowers on two sides, and on the other two doves drinking from vases out of which issue crosses, typifying baptism, it is said. It is rather curious that the artist has disregarded the usual symmetry, and filled his spaces without reference to the corresponding ones. On the north and east faces of the font are three circular medallions with symbolic doves and salamanders. On the south and west are scenes from the life of S. Nicholas of Myra, as was fully demonstrated by Milner; the north side showing the saint dowering the three daughters of a poor nobleman, while on the west he restores to life a drowned person, probably the king's son in one of the stories of his life, and rescues from death by the axe three young men who are about to be slain either by the executioner or by a wicked innkeeper, for there are two versions. Some authorities would find four scenes represented on the west side; but on what grounds it is difficult to see. There only appear to be two figures of the saint, and the two scenes are divided by what looks like a short vertical bar indicating a difference of subject (see p. 117). The cult of S. Nicholas of Myra grew rapidly in the twelfth century, being popularised by the crusaders. In this century it is known that the carved work at Tournai, whence it is probable that the black marble came, was remarkable for its symbolism. The font has been thought to be older, on account of its archaic figures, but, as the Dean of Winchester pointed out in a paper read before the ArchÆological Association in 1893 (to which we are indebted for much of this account), the mitre which S. Nicholas is represented as wearing was not recognised as part of a bishop's official dress until the very end of the eleventh century; in fact, the particular form of mitre depicted appears to have been late twelfth century. The conclusion naturally arrived at is that the font is of Belgian origin, carved at Tournai between 1150-1200, and its presence at Winchester may well be due either to Henry of Blois or to Toclive.

On the north side of the steps leading up to the choir is a brass tablet on a pillar, recording the merits of the "renowned martialist," Colonel Richard Boles, who fought on the king's side at Edgehill, and died bravely in a small action at Alton, Southampton, in 1641, his party of sixty being surprised by a large force of the rebels. "His gracious sovereign hearing of his Death gave him high Commendation, in that passionate expression,—Bring me a Moorning scarf, I have lost one of the best Commanders in the Kingdome." Between the ninth and tenth pillars on this side is the tomb of Bishop Morley, with an epitaph written by himself at eighty years of age. By the next pillar is the monument of Bishop Hoadley, with a good medallion-portrait of him on it.

On the south side of the nave we find two remarkable tombs, of which the first is the Chantry of William of Wykeham, called by Timbs "one of the best remaining specimens of a fourteenth century monument." It stands, where Wykeham erected it, "in that part of the cross (formed by the church) which corresponds to the Saviour's pierced side," and occupies the space between the piers which enclose the fifth bay from the west end. The site is said to have been previously occupied by an altar dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, Wykeham's patroness. He left directions, moreover, that three monks should celebrate masses thrice daily in his chantry, receiving for this one penny a day, while the boys who were to sing there nightly were assigned 6s. 8d. a year. Needless to say, his wishes are not now carried out. The stone-screen which surrounds the chantry is of beautiful and elaborate workmanship, the effect of which has been compared to lace, while above graceful shafts support a canopy, of which the pinnacles rise to the level of the triforium gallery. At the east end are traces of an altar and credence table, and close by is a piscina. Above are two rows of canopied niches, which, however they were originally occupied, have for long been untenanted until quite recently. During the early part of 1897 the pedestals have been filled with ten statues of modern worksmanship2 A row of five empty niches runs along the western wall. The vault of the chantry is richly groined with lierne work; it is tinted a vivid blue on the back-ground, and the bosses on the groins are gilt. The ironwork in this chantry is also noticeable. The tomb within has fortunately suffered but little from time, and, thanks to the courage of one of the pupils in Wykeham's foundation at Winchester, Colonel Nathaniel Fiennes, the Parliamentarians left both this monument and the college buildings untouched. On the tomb itself lies the figure of Wykeham with his hands folded across his breast, habited in Episcopal robes and mitre, his crozier on his shoulder. Three small figures of monks praying kneel at his feet, while his head is slightly raised up by supporting angels. A little arcade runs all round the tomb, with a series of shields in the spaces, containing his arms and motto "Manners Makyth Man" and the arms of the see of Winchester. His epitaph, on a slip of red enamelled brass in a chamfer round the edge of the tomb, has been thus translated:—

As one proceeds along the nave toward the east, the choir is reached by two flights of four steps each with a landing between, over which formerly there extended a rood-loft from pillar to pillar, bearing on it Stigand's great cross. To the south of these choir steps and adjoining the intermediate landing is the Chantry of Bishop Edingdon, the earliest in date of the chapel-tombs at Winchester. The chantry is very plain in comparison with the others in the cathedral, and apart from the tomb there is only a slightly raised platform at the east end, without an altar. A shaft of the large pillars runs down the centre of the east and west interior walls. On the tomb lies the figure of the Bishop in pontificalibus, his stole bearing the symbolic and much-disputed "Fylfot" cross, which has been interpreted as a sign of submission. Edingdon's curious Latin epitaph, given on page 107, is on a blue enamelled strip of brass on the edge of the tomb.

Close to Edingdon's chantry is the Nave Pulpit, which is in itself a good piece of Jacobean work, though not happily situated in the nave of Winchester. It stood formerly in the chapel at New College, Oxford, and did not appear at Winchester until 1884, when it was presented by members of the Mayo family. If one stands facing east in the aisle to the right of this pulpit, one of the most picturesque views in the cathedral lies before one, through part of the south transept and up the southern ambulatory of the retro-choir to the bright colours of Langton's chapel window at the end. It will readily be noticed how out of the perpendicular are the piers of this ambulatory as one approaches the east end of the church. This seems to have arisen through a slight subsidence of the ground here.

The original rood-screen exists no longer, and in its place we have but a modern copy, by Sir Gilbert Scott, of the work in the Decorated choir stall canopies. This oak Choir Screen, which is all that breaks the view between west porch and reredos, has not met with much approval, and the pallor of its wood does not contrast agreeably with the rich colour of the old choir stalls. This, however, cannot with justice be made a ground for complaint against the architect, who modelled his work as far as possible on the original.As one enters the Choir, which is raised above the level of the nave by the two sets of four steps, the stalls above-mentioned will be found to reach on either side from the eastern piers of the central tower to the first piers of the nave. They are of carved oak and are possibly the best existing examples of their date in England. The style is Early Decorated, and Willis points out the similarity between their canopies and gables and those of Edward Crouchback's chapel in Westminster Abbey. The details are varied and graceful, with the design of each pair coupled under a pointed arch with a cinquefoil in its head, which is again surmounted by a high crocketted gable. The oak has turned a superb hue with age, very different from the colour of the modern screen which is banked by the reveals of the old bishop's throne. The misereres below are much earlier in date than the canopies, but do not go quite so far back as those at Exeter, which may be assigned to about 1230. The desks and stools of the upper tier show the date 1540 and bear also the initials of Henry VIII., Bishop Gardiner, and Dean Kingsmill. The pulpit on the north side of the choir was given by Prior Silkstede, whose name it bears, and is also of finely carved work. Above the choir stalls on the northern side is the organ, which was repaired this year.

Toward the east end of the choir stalls, in the centre of the pavement, lies the much-disputed Tomb of William Rufus. It is a plain coped tomb, constructed of Purbeck marble. Since it was known that William was buried originally beneath the tower, this tomb was assumed to be his, and in Cromwell's time it was violated, when, as Milner relates, there was found therein, "besides the dust, some pieces of cloth embroidered with gold, a large gold ring, and a small silver chalice." The very fact of these discoveries, however, tend to prove that the grave was not that of Rufus. It is now frequently held that it is that of Henry of Blois, who is known to have been buried "with much honour before the high altar"; Rudborne records that he was sepultus in ecclesia sua coram summo altari. Yet others suppose that he still lies in the space before the altar. The ring found in Cromwell's time, set with a sapphire which denotes a bishop, may be seen in the cathedral library. When the contents of the tomb were last examined, on August 27, 1868, the remains, though much disturbed by the previous violation, indicated a man of about 5 feet 8 inches, and fragments of red cloth with gold embroidery were to be seen. It was also gathered that the body had been wrapped in lead, as Henry of Blois was said to have been.

The vaulting of the presbytery, which is of timber carved to imitate stone, is remarkable for its very fine and brilliantly coloured bosses, forming a quite unique collection of designs. Milner mentions as the chief among these, "the arms and badges of the families of Lancaster and Tudor, the arms of Castile, of Cardinal Beaufort, and even of the very sees held successively by Bishop Fox. The part of the vaulting from the altar to the east window bears none but pious ornaments: the several instruments of the Saviour's Passion, including S. Peter's denial, and the betrayal in the Garden of Gethsemane, the faces of Pilate and his wife, of the Jewish high priest, Judas kissing Jesus, Judas' money-bag, the Veronica"—this is immediately above the place of the cross on the reredos—"the Saviour's coat, with the Cross, crown of thorns, nails, hammer, pillar, scourges, reed, sponge, lance, sword with the ear of Malchus upon it, lanthorn, ladder, cock, dice, etc." Under the tower the vaulting is of wood, dating from 1634. Before this year the choir-lantern was visible from below, with its striking late Norman stonework divided into two tiers. It has been proposed to re-open the lantern, but this would necessitate the removal of the bells from the tower, a matter of considerable expense. It would also be a pity to take down the vaulting with its various devices, including the arms, etc., of Charles I., his queen, and the Prince of Wales, a medallion of the two former, the Scotch and Irish arms, and those of Archbishop Laud, Bishop Curie, and Dean Young. The central emblem is that of the Trinity, with a "chronogram" indicating the year 1634 thus:—sInt DoMUs hUjUs pII reges nUtrItII regInae nUtrICes pIae. The larger letters, picked out in red, serve as Roman figures which added together make up the required number.

From the commencement of the choir to the high altar are eleven steps, making nineteen in all from the level of the nave. This elevation, of course, much enhances the imposing effect of the altar and reredos as seen from the lower plane. It is due to the existence of the Norman crypt beneath, and can be paralleled both at Canterbury and at Rochester. The raised platform includes the presbytery with its aisles and the retro-choir, and extends under the central tower to the second pillar beyond. The nave and transepts are thus on a lower level. Before the altar are rails which date from the reign of Charles I., while the Altar Books were presented to the cathedral by Charles II.The great Reredos, which separates the presbytery from the feretory and the eastern end of the church, is, to judge from its style, late fifteenth-century work. It has been attributed to Cardinal Beaufort, and to Bishop Fox and Prior Silkstede, but no inscription or armorial details can be discovered to confirm either of these suppositions. It is similar in character to the altar-screens of Christchurch Priory, Hants, and S. Mary Overy (S. Saviour's, Southwark); but, less fortunate than the former, it was despoiled of all the statues which once filled its niches, while it has not "the exquisite grace of detail which marks the choir of angels at Southwark." The reredos at S. Albans, in the same style, though not so large, was erected between 1476 and 1484; and, as at Winchester before 1899, shows a cross-shaped space where, according to legend, a huge silver crucifix was placed. Now once more, as in the sixteenth century, there is a figure on the great cross. It is curious to note an attempt, during the rage for pseudo-classic architecture in the last century, to beautify the reredos by placing sham funeral urns in its niches. These were fortunately removed in 1820, and in recent years they have been replaced by a series of statues intended to reproduce as far as possible the original effect. In the Builder for October 10, 1892, a large reproduction was given of a very interesting drawing by the late Mr J.W. Sedding, showing the whole screen completely restored; but this scheme was unfortunately not used. A large oil-painting, "The Raising of Lazarus," by Benjamin West, purchased in 1782 by Dean Ogle, till 1899 hung immediately over the altar. Before 1818 a huge wooden canopy in Jacobean style, freely enriched with gold, covered all the central portion of the screen. This was due to Bishop Curie.

The reredos is so large that it occupies the whole of the space between the choir piers, and, being constructed of a very white stone, is the prominent feature of the choir. The work is very elaborate, the whole screen being arranged in three tiers with canopied niches containing eighteen large statues, while smaller figures—kings, saints, angels, etc.—occupy the splays between. The pinnacles are pierced and crocketted, and there is a central projecting canopy over the place of the original crucifix. On either side of the high altar is a door leading to the feretory at the back of the reredos, and these have in their four spandrels interesting groups of fifteenth-century sculpture, representing various scenes in the life of the Virgin, the Annunciation, and the Visitation of S. Elizabeth, still showing traces of colour. The fact that these carvings have escaped destruction, just as the lower tier at Christchurch escaped, is only to be explained on the assumption that they were hidden behind some panelling since removed, for of all images which provoked iconoclastic fury those representing the Virgin were the most certain to be attacked. The whole is crowned by a triple frieze of leaves, Tudor roses, and quatrefoils, at a height little short of the corbels which support the arches of the roof.

The eighteen larger statues were, and are now, since the restoration of the reredos, arranged in the following order. In the uppermost tier, to the left and right of the head of cross, were S. Peter and S. Paul, who were the patron saints of the church. Two on either side of these were the four Latin Doctors, SS. Augustine, Gregory, Jerome, and Ambrose. "Below these, on the middle tier, we had two great local bishops, S. Birinus, first occupant of the see, standing beside the figure of the Virgin, and on the other side S. Swithun, the benevolent bishop, patron-saint of the church: beyond them, over the two doors, were SS. Benedict and Giles,[3] the one founder of the Order to which the Priory belonged, the other the Hermit Saint, who always pitched his tabernacle just outside the walls of medieval cities; he is here set in honour to commemorate S. Giles' Hill, and especially S. Giles' Fair, from which the Convent reaped great benefit" (Dean Kitchin: "Great Screen of Winchester Cathedral"). Outermost on this tier stand the statues of the two deacons, SS. Stephen and Lawrence. In the lowest tier, on either side of the altar, stand SS. Hedda and Ethelwolf, two of the most famous Anglo-Saxon bishops of the see of Winchester. Next these saints there is the doorway on either side and beyond these doors are statues of King Edward the Confessor, and S. Edmund the King. Between the figures of SS. Swithun and Birinus, stand statues of the Virgin and S. John, while above the arms of the Cross are the four Archangels, Uriel, Gabriel, Michael, and Raphael. In all there are now fifty-six statues on the screen, the smaller figures including famous kings, bishops, women, and a representation of Izaak Walton.

Above the altar it is said that there was once "a table of images of silver and gilt garnished with stones." These images are conjectured to have represented Christ and his disciples, possibly at the Last Supper; but no traces remain of them. From 1782 till 1899 West's picture, "The Raising of Lazarus," now in the South Transept, hung here. The place is now more happily occupied by a representation of the Incarnation.

The most recent feature of the screen is the great central figure of Christ Crucified, the gift of Canon Valpy and the work of Messrs Farmer and Brindley. The final restoration of the screen by the filling of the space left vacant for three centuries was commemorated by a solemn dedication service, held at the Cathedral on March 24, 1899.

On the reredos as a whole, one authority has said that "no description could do justice to the beauty and effect of the whole work." But another has declared that "a huge screen of this uncompromising squareness of outline is a flagrantly artless device which in previous periods (to the latter half of the fifteenth century) would have been impossible." Milner again describes its "exquisite workmanship" as being "as magnificent as this or any other nation can exhibit." Doctors most certainly differ here.It will perhaps be most convenient to deal at this point with the Transepts, of which the western walls are almost level with the choir-screen. Having been but little injured by the fall of the tower in 1107, they still remain to a great extent what they were when originally built by Walkelin. We therefore get the massive and rugged early Norman walls still divided into the three nearly equal storeys which in the nave have given place to two. Where the fall of the central tower necessitated a partial rebuilding, the difference between the Early and the Late masonry is very evident. That of the transepts generally is coarse and very thick, as is the case with all Early Norman stonework. The new masonry, on the other hand, recalls what William of Malmesbury says of the Later Norman masonry at Salisbury, when he speaks of "the courses of stone so correctly laid that the joint deceives the eye, and leads it to imagine that the whole wall is composed of a single block." The juncture of the two works at Winchester can be easily traced. Of the general style of the transepts, Willis says: "The architecture is of the plainest description. The compartment of the triforium is very nearly of the same height as that of the pier-arches, and the clerestory is also nearly the same height.... Each pier-arch is formed of two orders or courses of voussoirs, the edges of which are left square, wholly undecorated by mouldings. This is the case with the pier-arches of Ely transept, but in the arches of the triforium at Ely, and in every other Norman part of that cathedral, the edges of the voussoirs are richly moulded. In Winchester transept, on the contrary, the arches of the triforium and clerestory are square-edged like those of the pier below and hence arises the peculiarly simple and massive effect of this part of the church." Between the tower-piers and the terminal walls of each transept there are three piers, making four compartments, the farther two of which from the nave and choir open into the terminal aisles. The arches were all originally plain, semi-circular, and square-edged, and are supported by shafts with the cushioned capitals so characteristic of the ruder Norman style, and the bases are simple with a chamfer and quarter-round, very different from the ornamental Late Norman bases, such as may be seen at S. Cross, Winchester, for example. Where the Later Norman work has taken the place of the original, we find stronger piers. The vault above is groined, but there are no ribs. Nothing, however, can now be seen of the vaulting above the level of the side-walls, since a flat wooden ceiling, painted in "Early Tudor" style was put up in 1818, by which, among other things, the rose-window in the gable of the north transept was hidden, though in Britton's view, which we give on page 59, we have the transept previous to the timbering. Each transept has an eastern and a western aisle, while at the extreme ends there are aisles rising to pier-arch level, consisting of two arches, which a triple bearing-shaft supports in the centre. A kind of gallery is formed at the terminations of the north and south transepts, over and beyond which may be seen the triforium and clerestory windows. This can best be appreciated by a reference to the illustration, Plate XV. Possibly this platform or gallery was not originally so bare as it appears at the present day, but there is no doubt that it was built in order that processions might pass round on the triforium level.

It has been mentioned that when the tower was rebuilt the columns nearest it in the transepts were strengthened. They now, indeed, present a singularly massive outline to the eye, and contrast strongly even with the remaining Norman pillars in the transepts. The arches also are changed. All were once semi-circular, but the rebuilding necessitated a change of the first and second from the actual tower-pier into the stilted or "horse-shoe" form. They are doubly recessed (except those supporting the end platform, which have but one soffit), and present quite plain and unadorned square edges.

In each transept there is at the eastern angle a spiral staircase leading up to the roof.If we take first the North Transept, there will be found at the southern end, against the side wall of the choir, and between the two great tower-piers, the Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre, a small compartment which contains some interesting and still distinct mural paintings on the roof and walls, representing scenes of the Passion, etc. The most striking is a large head and bust of Christ on the easternmost division of the vaulting. One hand holds the Gospels, with the inscription Salus Populi Ego Sum. On the wall beneath are the Descent from the Cross and the Entombment. The Nativity and Annunciation also appear on the roof, while on the walls are the Entry into Jerusalem, the Raising of Lazarus, the Descent into Hell, and the Appearance to Mary Magdalene in the Garden.

Two of the Norman piers on the eastern side of this transept have received very elaborate canopies of the Decorated period, under which it is probable that there were at one time altars. Some Early English work may be seen in the heads carved on some of the larger shafts and the caps of the subsidiary pillars, a noticeable figure being "a monk crouched in a caryatidal attitude and holding a chess-board."

The modern entry to the crypts is in the south-east interior wall of this transept, the old means of entrance, through the "Holy Hole," having been blocked up.

The large tomb in the north transept is that of Prebendary Iremonger. On the western wall, at the end of the transept, are very faint traces of mural paintings, representing S. Christopher carrying Christ, etc., and it is probable the transepts were once thus decorated throughout.

The South Transept has received far more additions to its interior decorations than has the north. In the back of the choir-wall is recessed Sir Isaac Townsend's memorial, not a very noteworthy object. Just under it there now stands the old oak settle which was once used by the Norman monks. In the central space of the transept itself is a large monument to Bishop Wilberforce, showing beneath a canopy a life-sized figure, with mitre, cope, and staff, on a slab borne by six kneeling angels. A Latin inscription records his birth on 1st September 1805, and his death on 19th July 1873. The monument is the work of Sir Gilbert Scott, and has met with some severe attacks. It certainly is out of place in its Norman surroundings. The aisles of the south transept are divided up into six chambers, of which the larger of the two westernmost is used as a chapter-room, and does not betray its age by its present appearance; the one next the body of the church, Milner's "ancient sacristy," but now known as Henry of Blois' treasury, serves as a boys' vestry. The Norman work over the door must not be overlooked. The chamber to the extreme south is the entrance lobby to the south door, which leads into the "slype" or passage running between the church and the old chapter-house. Leading out of it is the ancient "calefactory," where the fire for the censers and thuribles was preserved. Panelled oak screens enclose this room on both sides. Next it comes Silkstede's chapel, the central of the three easterly divisions of the transept aisles. The prior's rebus, in the form of a skein of silk, is evident among the carvings, and his Christian name Thomas may be seen on the cornice with the MA, the monogram of the Virgin, standing out distinctly. The screen in this chapel is worthy of remark, and is divided into four compartments, the upper part of each being open-work and arched with pierced quatrefoils in the spandrels. In this chapel traces of painting were discovered in 1848, beneath the whitewash on the eastern wall, the subject apparently being Christ upon the water, calling to him S. Peter, who, in an attitude of hesitation, holds the prow of the boat. Fine canopy-work surmounts the whole. Originally there were eight canopies enclosing figures, but little except the canopies remain, the distemper-painting having almost vanished. On the floor of the chapel may be found a black marble slab, the tomb of Isaak Walton, with Bishop Ken's often-quoted inscription, which, however, it is perhaps pardonable to quote again:—

Next to Prior Silkstede's chapel comes the "Venerable" chapel, which serves as a vestry for the minor canons of the cathedral. The screen of this fills the whole archway, the six canopies extending beyond the sweep of the arch. Down each side are untenanted niches, and the openings of the tracery show some beautiful and elaborate iron-work, dating from the Renaissance. A similar screen, though without canopies, divides the Venerable Chapel from Silkstede's.The Library is approached from an old wooden staircase in the south aisle of this transept. It is a "long, low room, with oaken presses curiously carved and ornamented with gilded knobs, after the fashion of the latter half of the seventeenth century." It contains three or four thousand books, most of which are the gift of Bishop Morley, and there are many fine MSS.; but its chief treasure is a Vulgate of the twelfth century, in three folio volumes on vellum. The gorgeously illuminated manuscript is the best work extant of the Winchester school, and the fact that it was never finished renders it only the more interesting, since thereby the whole process from the first outline to the final touch of colour is evident. A legend concerning Hugh of Avalon, afterwards Bishop of Lincoln (associated with this book), is worthy of mention. Henry II., who founded the Carthusian Monastery of Witham, in Somerset, had appointed Hugh prior in 1175 or 1176, and finding that his monks needed MSS. to copy, and in particular a complete copy of the Bible, promised to give them one. To avoid expense, he borrowed this superb Vulgate from Winchester and sent it to Witham. A chance visit long afterwards of a Winchester monk revealed what had happened, and on the matter becoming known to Hugh, he returned the volume without the king's knowledge.[4] Among other important MSS. in the Library are an eleventh century copy of Bede's "Ecclesiastical History"; a twelfth century "Life of Edward the Confessor," by S. Aelred, Cistercian Abbot of RiÉvaulx about 1160, containing a portrait of the king within one of its initial letters; a copy of the "Promptorium Parvulorum"; a charter of Æthelwulf, King of Wessex, dated 854 and bearing the signatures of the king, his young son Alfred, and S. Swithun. There are also the chapter-books for 1553-1600; the cathedral statutes, with the signatures of Charles I. and Bishop Laud; the original charter of Henry VIII. to the cathedral, on the dissolution of the priory; and many interesting documents and printed books, some with the original chains which were fastened to their covers. Here also are kept the great seal of Henry V., the pastoral staff from Bishop Fox's tomb, his ring, those of Bishops Gardiner and Woodlock, and the one, set with a sapphire, which comes from the tomb of "William Rufus"—probably, as we have said, belonging to Henry of Blois. The library was built in 1668 A.D.

We may now return to the body of the cathedral and pass to the surroundings of the choir.The Feretory, where the feretra or shrines of the saints were placed, lies behind the high altar and reredos, and the two doors in the latter give access to it. At one time, before the erection of the reredos, the feretory must have been visible from the choir. Behind the doors is a raised platform, seven feet in breadth, extending right across. The upper surface of this is now only three feet above the ground level, but originally it must have been far higher. Four steps give access to it. Before it is a hollow space with stumps of piers, demonstrating the ancient presence of an arcade in front of the platform. The feretory is without internal decoration, but the exterior of the east wall is adorned with nine rich Decorated tabernacles, with the yet legible names of saints and king who once occupied the eighteen pedestals within them. This inscription is to be found here:—

The floor beneath the platform is supported by a small vault, "the entrance to which (to quote Willis) is by a low arch in the eastern face of the wall under the range of tabernacles." This vault is that which was designated as the Sanctum Sanctorum or Holy Hole. The feretory is used as a receptacle for the carved work found at various dates about the cathedral, including portions of statuary once belonging to the great screen. Here lies a really marvellous lid of a reliquary chest, presented in 1309 by Sir William de Lilburn, with events in the life of our Lord and various saints vividly portrayed in colours, and decorated with the donor's armorial bearings. The "Holy Hole" has been used as a receptacle for fragments of various kinds since the end of the fifteenth century, before which it was visible from the choir, for no reredos intercepted the view. Milner states that in 1789 the whole passage and vault was so choked with rubbish that the attempt to enter it had to be abandoned. A more recent observer records that there appears to be no space for a crypt or receptacle for relics within the "Holy Hole," the chest of bones, etc., being placed on the platform over the arcade. The fragments now in the feretory are often very fine, but are most of them sadly mutilated.

The north and south sides of the feretory are flanked by the chantries of Bishops Gardiner and Fox, into which it opens. Gardiner's Chantry, in the Renaissance style, was much damaged by the Reformers, the head being knocked off the figure lying in a long niche on the outside of the chantry, and other indignities committed. Of the tomb nothing now remains, but there is an altar with figures at the back, after Italian models, representing, according to one tradition, Justice and Mercy, while others say the Law and the Gospel. At the east end is a small vestry used as a repository for fragments. The details and the mouldings of Gardiner's chantry are of the Renaissance style, and Britton has described the chapel as "bad Italian and bad English." This is true of the eastern end of the compartment, but there are redeeming features amid the curious mixture of styles. Below the floor-level of this chantry may be seen the base of one of the Norman apse piers, the sole remaining feature of the Norman east end except the crypt.

Bishop Fox's Chantry is a far finer piece of work and is certainly the most elaborate chantry in the cathedral. It displays no fewer than fifty-five richly-groined niches, all different in pattern; only two of them are tenanted, and these by very recent figures, on either side of the door. There is a great amount of wonderful undercutting to be seen in the spandrels to the arches, and the upper part of the erection shows open tracery with niches and canopies, under a cornice of running foliage and Tudor flowers, surmounted by panelled pinnacles. Fox's "pelican in her piety" alternates on the pinnacles with small octagonal turrets. At one time, moreover, all the arches, etc., contained stained glass, but this has now vanished. Within there is no tomb, but, as in Gardiner's chantry, there is, in an arched recess at the side, the ghastly carved figure of a corpse so frequently introduced in monuments of the period. The altar is surmounted by a small reredos in a sunk panel, now unoccupied, crowned by a band of angels bearing emblems of the Passion. Over the altar is this inscription in Latin:—

O sacrum convivium in quo Christus sumitur.There is here, as was the case with Gardiner's chantry, a small room at the eastern end. In this are chests in which relics were kept.

The interior part of the choir aisles have received "Wykeham" windows, four on each side, though from the exterior only three can be seen. The westernmost on the north side has two lights partly looking into the open, while two are unglazed and the top of one looks into the northern transept. On the south side all are glazed, but only three get any light from outside. These can be seen from the close at the junction of transept and retro-choir. All these windows have blank panelling or arcading below. It looks as if Wykeham or his successors meant to reduce the width of the Norman transepts, so as to bring them into better proportion with the eastern arm of the church.

Between the presbytery and the side aisles, extending from pier to pier, are screens of pierced stonework, erected by Bishop Fox, whose motto frequently occurs on them, together with his initials and Cardinal Beaufort's. On the top of the screens are six painted chests (see p. 95), in which are collected the bones of saints and kings of the Saxon period; the original collection being made by Henry of Blois. These Mortuary Chests were desecrated by the Cromwellian ruffians when they broke into the cathedral, and the bones were hurled through the stained glass of the west and other windows. Afterwards they were collected once more and replaced in the chests where they now lie. Among the relics are the bones of Edred, Edmund, Canute, William Rufus, Emma, Bishops Wina, Alwyn, Egbert, Cenwulf or Kenulf, Cynegils, and Ethelwulf, and there are the old inscriptions to indicate whose remains were originally enclosed within the boxes, though there is now no warrant that the bones within correspond at all to the names without.

Among those who have been buried in the presbytery aisles is Bishop de Pontissara, of whom Rudborne says that he was buried ex aquilonari plaga majoris altaris. Accordingly we find his monument on the north side. Close by him, and still nearer the altar, was laid Hardicanute, the last Danish king, who was brought hither from Lambeth for interment. His death was attributed to "excessive drinking." In the southern aisle are Richard, the Conqueror's younger son; Edward, eldest born of Alfred the Great; and Bishop Nicholas de Ely's heart.Eastward of the feretory the building is known by the name of the Retro-choir, and presents a very old and pure example of Early English work from the hands of Bishop de Lucy. The aisles are said to have been used as a model in the building of Salisbury Cathedral. Similar processional aisles may be seen also at Hereford on a minor scale. This part of the cathedral is lower and consequently appears broader than the more westerly portion. There is a considerable amount of wall-space, only interrupted by the numerous imposing chantries erected on the floor. The lower part of the walls is remarkable for some fine, though simple, blank arcading, dating also from De Lucy's time; while light is given by pairs of lancet windows, the rear arches being borne on groups of detached shafts. Many of the original chased tiles of the pavement remain to this day, and, in fact, there has been little interference with De Lucy's work. Unfortunately, however, as has been remarked, much of it has settled considerably, throwing the south-eastern angle altogether out of the perpendicular, one vaulting-shaft having in this manner been bent back and cracked in half. The effects of the subsidence can easily be seen in the photograph of the south aisle of the retro-choir looking toward the east.

As one passes beyond the feretory through the retro-choir, the Chantry of William Waynflete stands to the north of the central alley. The canopy is very elaborate and beautiful, and plentiful traces of the original colour still can be seen, especially on the groining. On each side are three flat-headed arches, those at the east end being closed, while on each side of the piers adjoining the west end there are narrow open arches. Corniced and battlemented screens fill these arches to mid-height. The figure on the tomb is a modern restoration, very elaborately clad in full pontificals, while the hands are clasped about a heart, representing the sursum corda, or lifting up of the heart. The chantry is kept in repair by Magdalen College, Oxford, which Waynflete founded. Its situation, like that of the companion tomb of Cardinal Beaufort, makes it very impressive. There is no altar now. At the east end is a blank wall surmounted by three empty canopied niches, while at the other are two open gratings.In the corresponding position to the south is the Chantry of Cardinal Beaufort, now kept in repair by the Dukes of Beaufort. In Britton's time, as he tells us, there had fallen a "horse-load of the pinnacles in the canopy of Cardinal Beaufort's chantry." Owing, however, to the extreme elaboration, the effect is hardly impaired by this loss. The plan of the tomb is two groups of four clustered piers at each end, supporting a mass of canopies, niches, and pinnacles, which "bewilder the sight and senses by their number and complexity," as Britton quaintly says. The screen at the west end is closed, that at the east end open. The vault displays some elaborate fan-tracery. The body of the cardinal is presented in his scarlet official robes and the tasselled and corded hat, and the serenity of his face suggests very little the traditional portrait of him, as represented, for example, in Shakespeare's "Henry V." His death-bed moments, it is well known, have been much misrepresented. The inscription originally on his tomb has been destroyed, but Godwin quotes one sentence of it thus:—Tribularer si nescirem misericordias tuas.

Against the north wall, not far from Waynflete's chantry, is an unknown tomb with part of an effigy, to the east of which is the grave of one William Symonds, "Gentleman, of Winchester twice Maior and Alderman," as his epitaph of 1616 relates. The last four lines of the inscription run as follows:—

Between the same chantry and the wall lies the tomb of Bishop de Rupibus, while in the space between the chantries of Beaufort and Waynflete lies the only ancient military effigy in the cathedral, a genuine relic of the fourteenth century. It is commonly known as William de Foix, and represents, in a slightly mutilated form, a knight in surcoat and complete ringed armour of the thirteenth century. His legs are crossed[5] and the feet rest on a crouching lion, while the head is supported on two cushions which were formerly held up by angels. The right hand grasps the sword hilt, and the pointed shield, one of the earliest examples of a quartered shield, bears "quarterly, in the first and fourth, the arms of Bearn, two cows passant, gorged with collars and bells; in the second and third, three garbs; over all a cross." On the front edge of the slab Mr F.J. Baigent discovered the name Petrus Gavston or Gauston twice encised, but to this "scribbling" Mr Weston S. Walford, who has a note on this tomb in the fifteenth volume of the Archeological Journal, does not attach much importance, for it may merely record the engraver's conjecture as to the person here buried. The body of Edward II.'s favourite, Piers, was moved from Oxford to King's Langley in Hertfordshire two years after his execution, and buried there on January 2, 1314, in the presence of the king. It is not known to have been moved since. It seems probable that the effigy here is that of the father of the Piers known to us, a Sir Arnold de Gavaston, a record of whose interment at Winchester in May 1302 we possess, with the additional fact that Edward I. sent money and two pieces of cloth of gold to the funeral. Such respect would naturally be paid to the father of Edward II.'s foster-brother. Mr Walford suggests that the garbs on the shield are a canting allusion to the name Gabaston or Gavaston, for the spelling varies very much—Gaveston, Gaverston, and Gaberston being also found. The date of the tomb Mr Walford places between the death of Arnold in 1302 and the murder of his son in 1312. The tomb itself is adorned with five Decorated arches with the Gavaston arms on the shield, together with those of England, of France, and of Castile and Leon.

West of this are the tombs of Bishop Sumner and Prior Silkstede. The latter's grave, according to Woodward, was found, when opened, to contain the complete remains of a body robed in black serge, with the "funeral boots" yet on the bones of the feet. The body seems to have been removed hither from Silkstede's chapel in the south transept.

Next the western end of Beaufort's chantry is the tomb of William de Basynge, prior of this church (quondam Prior istius ecclesiÆ), as his inscription states, promising 145 days' indulgence to whoever prays for his soul three years. He died in 1295.

On the south wall facing the same chantry is a marble monument of the Royalist, Sir John Clobery; and near this is a large slab in the floor, in memory of Baptist Levinz, Bishop of Sodor and Man, and prebendary of Winchester, who died in 1692.

On the end wall of the ambulatory, to the left of the entrance to the Chapel of the Guardian Angels, is a fine monument, somewhat mutilated, to Ethelmar or Aymer de Valence, half-brother of Henry III., who was so unpopular a bishop at Winchester. Only his heart is in the cathedral, having been conveyed hither from Paris, where his body was buried. The facts are commemorated by the following inscription on the presbytery wall:—

Corpus Ethelmari
Cuius Cor Nunc Tenet
Istud Saxum Parisiis
Morte Datur Tumulo
Obiit A.D. 1261.

When Winchester was attacked by the so-called religious zeal of the Puritans, Ethelmar's heart was disturbed, as is recorded by a writer of the period, who says that "when the steps of the altar were levelling with the rest of the ground one of the workmen accidentally struck his mattock on this stone and broke it; underneath which was an urn wherein the heart of this Ethelmar was, being enclosed in a golden cup, which thing ... being conveyed to the ears of the committee-men they took the cup for their own use, and ordered him to bury the heart in the north isle, which he accordingly did." The heart, he goes on to say, was "so entire and uncorrupt" that it was "as fresh as if it had just been taken from the body, and issued forth fresh drops of blood upon his hand. This I had from the mouth of the workman himself, whom I believe." The slab which once covered the heart shows, within the symbolic vesica, "in a trefoil canopy the half-length figure of the Bishop, mitred and in his episcopal robes, his uplifted hands holding a heart, his pastoral staff represented as resting on his left arm." Below are his arms and the inscription in Lombardic letters, + Ethelmarus. Tibi Cor Meum Dne.

The Lady Chapel, due in part to De Lucy and in part to Priors Hunton and Silkstede, is of rectangular shape, the easternmost portions being added about 1524. It should be noticed that in De Lucy's work the central aisle is but little higher than the laterals, which still have their eastern walls, whereas the actual material of the Lady Chapel east wall was erected by Hunton. The north and south walls exhibit De Lucy's Early English arcades and lancets, while they become Perpendicular at the eastern end, and the east window is of the same period. This large seven-light window shows "transom and tracery of a peculiar kind of subordination, or rather inter-penetration of patterns, well worth a careful study" (Willis). The stone work of the interior is quite plain, but a large portion of the wall space is concealed by some richly-carved wooden panelling added by Bishop Fox. Seats, desks, and screen are also of fine workmanship. Where the walls are not hidden by wood-work are the very faint remains of some curious old mural paintings of the miracles of the Virgin, executed under the direction of Prior Silkstede in 1489. These frescoes are decidedly archaic, but they are extremely interesting. Starting from the south side the nineteen pictures represent:—

1. Miracle of an image of the Virgin bending its finger to prevent a young man taking off a ring which he had placed on the image that it might not be lost or injured while he played at ball. By this the young man was won to monastic life.

2. Protection and honour conferred by the Virgin on an ignorant priest, who knew and could sing only one mass, which was in honour of her.

3. Prior Silkstede kneeling before Virgin, saying: "Benedicta tu in mulieribus." Beneath is the following:—"Prior Silkstede also caused these polished stones, O Mary, to be ornamented at his expense."

4. Jewish boy, after receiving the Eucharist, thrown into a furnace by his father, but delivered from the flames by the Virgin.

5. Famous portrait of the Virgin, carried in procession by Pope Gregory to allay a fearful pestilence. During the procession the destroying angel is seen sheathing his sword.

6. A widow receives back her son who had been kidnapped, and thereupon restores the silver image of the child Jesus, which she had taken from the image of the Virgin on losing her son.

7. Virgin assisting woman taken ill on pilgrimage.

8. Virgin enables boys, with ease, to raise that which strong men could not.

9. Nun brought to life to confess a sin not confessed before death.

10. Virgin saves a monk from drowning, and from two evil spirits, with instruments of torture, one who had lived an immoral life.

11. Two BrabanÇons seized by devils and killed for throwing stones at an image of the Virgin.

12. Deliverance at sea effected by the Virgin.

13. Mass of the Virgin celebrated by Christ himself, with saints and angels, on an occasion when the priest was unable to do so.

14. S. John's (of Damascus) arm restored; thereby establishing his innocence of having corresponded with unbelievers.

15. Virgin delivering from the gallows a thief who had always venerated her.

16. Virgin commanding the burial of a clerk of irreligious life in consecrated ground, because he had been her votary.

17. Virgin assisting a painter to paint the devil "as ugly as he knew him to be," in spite of all the devil could do to prevent him from completing it.

18. The Annunciation—over door, which formerly led to a particular sacristy.

19. How, by praying to the Virgin, a robber-knight was delivered from the clutches of the devil.

The altar is flanked on the north by a memorial of Bishop Brownlow North, representing him kneeling in adoration. The vault above, though not so elaborate as that of Langton's chapel on the right hand, is a fine example of lierne work, and the shafts are noticeable for their capitals and bases. Among the devices are T and the syllable HUN, followed by the figure of a tun; and T and the syllable SILK, followed by the figure of a horse; signifying Thomas Hunton and Thomas Silkstede respectively.

The southern window of the Lady Chapel has recently been filled with a memorial window to the late Bishop Thorold, whose tomb lies in the cathedral precincts just below the new window. In pre-Reformation times this window, like those on the north and east, was glazed with fine painted glass, of which a few fragments still remain in the tracery. The remaining portions of the old work have been worked in with the new by Mr C.E. Kempe, the designer and executor. The memorial glass presents scenes in the life of Christ, while above appear S. Birinus, Pope Honorius, S. Swithun, S. Alphege, and other saints. The dedication ceremony took place on August 7, 1897, two years after the burial of Bishop Thorold at Winchester.

Of the two chapels which flank the Lady Chapel, that to the north is the Chapel of the Guardian Angels, once the chantry of Bishop Adam de Orlton, of whom no memorial here exists, though he is buried in the chapel. This compartment is sometimes called the Portland chapel, owing to the fact that it contains on the south side the tomb of Richard Weston, Earl of Portland, who was treasurer to Charles I. A recumbent bronze statue by Le Sueur adorns the tomb, while in the wall above are four tabernacles, three of which contain mutilated busts, probably representing members of his family. A mural monument of Bishop Peter Mews, who is also interred here, is marked by a crozier and mitre. On the north side, too, there is in the wall an aumbry with a shelf, having

a curious square head within a trefoil. The early vaulting of this chapel has, between the ribs, figures of seraphim, which are very fresh in colour.

The corresponding chapel to the south is Bishop Langton's Chantry, though the work is partly De Lucy's, including the walls and the early vaulting shafts. The defaced front-screen and the oak-panelling all round are very rich examples of late Gothic, and the stone vaulting has been compared in point of elaboration with that in the chapel of Henry VII. at Westminster. On the groining, at the junction of the ribs, is carved Bishop Langton's rebus, consisting of the musical sign for a "long" upon a tun, while his motto Laus tibi Christe also occurs. It is supposed that the magnificent carved vine on the upper part of the oak-panelling which runs round the chapel originally formed the rebus of Langton's see, the tun from which it sprang being now lost. The woodwork, which is certainly one of the most striking things in the cathedral, is unfortunately mutilated, as is also part of the heraldic work on the entrance door. At the east end of the chapel above the former altar there is a row of seven tabernacles, under which is a cornice which was originally gilt and painted. The statues which once occupied the tabernacles are no longer extant. The central tomb here is that of Bishop Langton himself. Queen Mary's chair now stands in this chapel; it is in a wonderful state of preservation for its age, and the woodwork is still sound.The entrance to the Crypts is in the north transept, as was noted above. They are three in number, the main division stretching from the eastern tower-piers to the first piers of the retro-choir. It consists of a central room divided by a row of five columns in the middle, with an apsidal eastern termination, and is flanked by two aisles with square eastern ends. The well here is said to be considerably older than the building above it. From this opens out a narrower crypt, which also has five columns down the centre, while its apse reaches to the eastern end of the retro-choir. These crypts cannot, as some have supposed (and the tradition still survives), form part of the old Saxon church, since it has been fairly established that the site of this was not that of the present building. The plan of the chambers is in perfect accord, as Willis says, with that of Norman churches in general. The main crypt shows by its circular apse what was the form of the east end in the old Norman church. The actual work is strikingly like that of the transepts, the peculiar thin square abacus, combined with a round capital, being a noteworthy point in both these portions of the building. The third crypt, which is narrow like the second, is rectangular in shape, and its vaulting rests on columns. It is Early English in architecture, and is contemporary with De Lucy's work in the upper part of the church. In 1886 the crypts were to a great extent cleared out to their original level, a vast quantity of rubbish being removed. Many fragments of early work still remain, though in too mutilated a form to indicate where they originally stood.The stained glass at Winchester can, perhaps, best be treated separately from the windows which it occupies. Most of the information may be found summed up in a paper addressed to the ArchÆological Association in September 1845, by Mr C. Winston. Two circles of Early Decorated glass are to be seen in the west window, but they are merely composed of coloured pieces arranged in geometrical patterns. The general arrangement of the great window is, as has been already said, kaleidoscopic, the fragments which compose it being too scattered to admit of being put together again in their original form. The effect, however, is striking, particularly at some distance from the west end. There are remains of the original glass in the west windows of the aisles and in the first window from the west in the south aisle, but the Edingdon windows in the north aisle have lost their glass. The glass in the above windows consists of the heads of canopies, though in the west window some of the original figures are still to be seen. This is the earliest Perpendicular glass in the cathedral, and may date from Edingdon's time. Next in date is the glass in the other windows of the nave aisles and clerestory windows, a little later than that in the west window, and of the same character as that at New College, Oxford, in the north, south, and west windows. Of this glass, apparently four figures and part of their canopies have been removed to the first window from the east in the choir clerestory. The heads of the three westerly windows, to the north of the choir clerestory, showing canopy-work and cherubim, come next in date, with eight canopied figures in the upper tier of the two easterly windows on the south of this clerestory. The latter seem to have come originally from some other window, being too short for their present situation. Their date may be about the end of the reign of Henry VI. The east window of the choir may be a little earlier than 1525, and has introduced in it Bishop Fox's arms and motto, Est deo gracia. This window has been much disturbed, the top central light being filled with glass of Wykeham's period, while little of Fox's glass seems to be in its original position. To Fox also may be attributed part of the aisle windows north and south of the choir, and some canopies in the side windows of the choir clerestory. Some late glass, much mutilated, may be seen in the east window of the Lady Chapel. Warner says of the two large windows, that "the great east window is remarkable for the beauty of its painted glass, which contains the portraits of saints, and of some bishops of this see; it is whole and entire, the west window is magnificent, but much inferior to this."

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