Uses of the Round Towers of Ireland, fyc. 



291 



of semicircular arches, arranged in two stories, resembling very much the 

 churches sculptured on the marble fonts in Winchester cathedral, and in the 

 neighbouring one of East Meon, as figured by Dr. Milner and others, and the 

 lower of these arcades is carried round the southern tower. Internally the side 

 walls are decorated with similar arcades, except that, in the nave, the arches 

 do not spring from columns, but from square pilasters. These pilasters have 

 impost mouldings resting on billets, and are ornamented with the lozenge, hatched, 

 checked, star, and other mouldings, characteristic of the Norman style; and the 

 arches exhibit the zig-zag moulding both on their faces and soffits. Above 

 these arcades the north and south walls of the nave are ornamented with a 

 series of stunted semicolumns, resting on a projecting string-course chamfered 

 underneath ; and from the capitals of these spring square ribs, which support 

 and decorate the semicircular roof. 



The entrance doorways are also richly ornamented, both on their shafts, 

 capitals, and arches, and they present, moreover, very curious grotesque sculp- 

 tures on their lintels. The ornaments on the south doorway, which exhibits 



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