REPORT, XXV 
chapter house, with unusually rich detail, and most minute 
carving. Date about 1293. The doorway from the north aisle, 
leading into it, first demands attention ; it is divided in the centre 
by a Purbeck marble shaft—the shaft and the capital being carved 
out of one piece of marble—and stone carving. The remaining 
portion of the main arch is filled in by a trefoil, in the lower 
portion of which there is a bracket for a figure which has, un- 
fortunately, been destroyed. We next pass on to the cloister 
leading to the Chapter House. This is perhaps one of the most 
remarkable features of the church, the double row of columns 
being very unusual in England. It seems as though it had 
been intended that the arches should be open, as the carving 
is continued through. The arches themselves are Early English 
in character, and by some have been thought to be of an earlier 
date than the Chapter House, but the reason for this, suggested 
by Mr. Petit, is that the architect’s intention was to make the 
transition from the Early English to the Decorated as gradual as 
possible. The high roof was destroyed at a subsequent period, 
the wall raised, the square-headed windows on the eastern face 
inserted, and the whole covered with a flat roof. This brings us 
to the door of the Chapter House, one of the most beautiful 
specimens of Gothic architecture in England. It is divided by a 
slenderly moulded pillar, with a capital carved with delicate foliage, 
supporting two foliated arches, the remaining portion being filled 
with a circle containing a quatrefoil. The outer mouldings of the 
principal arch are filled with delicately-carved leaves, the under 
cutting being unusually deep, and in many parts the openings are 
so small that it would seem that the chisels could have only been 
worked underneath with great difficulty. In the jambs of the 
doorway are introduced Purbeck columns, four on either side, 
their capitals being carved with natural foliage. The Chapter 
House is octagonal and vaulted, like that at York, without any 
centre pillar. A stone seat runs all round, and above this is 
arcading, forming stalls, five in each bay. Each arch is surmounted 
by a crocketed canopy, the spandrils of each being filled in with 
leaves and flowers, the canopy terminating in a finial, which 
