104 NOTES ON ASHBURNE CHURCH. 
molding, and the roof raised externally, the old oak ceiling 
being at the same time retained. 
It seems desirable, in the first place, to give a brief description 
of the Church as we found it. , 
The two passages of the nave and south aisle had been 
ingeniously arranged so as wot to be on the site of the ancient 
alleys, and consequently on lines quite out of harmony with what 
should be the centre and guiding point of every church—I mean 
the altar. The stone flagging of the passages rested upon brick 
flues, raised about ten inches above the original level of the 
Church, and the pews were placed five inches above the flags, 
hence the congregation stood on the same level as the chancel, 
even after the latter had been considerably raised by the late 
Sir G. G. Scott. Then the hacked and battered bases of the 
arcade columns were altogether concealed from sight, and where 
any substantial portions remained, they had been utilised as 
convenient supports for the timber joists, and had been mutilated 
accordingly. 
The font, after having been moved to three different positions 
in succession, stood in a singularly unsuitable place in the south- 
western transept. The western doorway—a grand specimen of 
Early Decorated work—had been ruthlessly destroyed in 1840, 
and a huge elongated window, 35 feet high, having taken its 
place, was silently but surely pushing the nave walls out of the 
perpendicular. The interesting semi-arch, which was designed 
to give access to the nave through the north transept, was utterly 
obscured and blocked up by a clumsy coke cellar and staircase ; 
but the most serious damage to the building had been inflicted 
by the cumbrous galleries ; huge iron girders had been inserted 
in the walls on either side, splitting the stone work in every 
direction, and in some cases shattering the jambs and shafting of 
the nave windows. 
The capital of the westernmost pillar had been cut away, and 
the wood-work of the galleries fitted around it; fortunately a 
small portion of the carved foliage remained as a guide for 
restoration. String courses had been chopped down flush with 
