DALE church: ITS STRUCTURAL PECULIARITIES. 179 



The aisle is plainly of a different date ; its masonry does 

 not correspond with the preceding, and its east wall abuts 

 against the chancel. The windows are more decisive : their wide 

 internal splays and general appearance indicate that they are 

 the lower portions of Early English lancets, their upper 

 portions having been removed when the story above was 

 added. The blocked-up west door is of the same date, 

 which Mr. Kerry fixes as about 1250 — unnecessarily late, I 

 think : they may be as early as 11 90. 



The next alteration seems to have been the insertion of 

 the two large chancel windows, which doubtless replaced 

 Norman lights. The only guides to their age — their present 

 tracery being more recent — are the wide internal splays and 

 base-mouldings of the engaged shafts of the east window. 

 These are unmistakably Early or Geometric English, and 

 their date would fairly accord with Mr. Kerry's 1250*. That 

 these windows have also been cut down, will be seen in a 

 moment. 



At every turn the upper story has forced itself upon our 

 notice as a later addition ; and nothing is more patent than 

 that the walls of the older structure were generally lowered 

 and brought to a common level to render them a suitable 

 basement. This explains the decapitation of the aisle windows. 

 The chancel windows were similarly treated, but their heads 

 were rebuilt lower and their tracery was replaced with new, 

 and the new work being in dark gritstone, may readily be 

 distinguished from that of the thirteenth century. The effects 

 of the alteration on these windows are more marked inside 

 the church. The engaged shafts of the east window, which 

 Mr. Kerry believes to have supported an inner drop-arch 

 beneath the head, were cut through below their capitals, 

 and were continued as a moulding along the new arch ; 

 but instead of this moulding being mitred into the shafts, 

 it was left clumsily abutting against them. The tracery 



* Possibly Ihey were introduced by the builders of the choir of the Abbey. 



