as it would also appear, that the space between the lines a 4 and c d 
At Salisbury Cathedral. 139 
was still reckoned as part of the presbytery. 
So that after all the arguments of Sir Gilbert Scott simply prove 
thus much :—that at the time of the compilation of the consuetudi- 
nary from which he quotes—and which of course was modified as 
occasion required under altered circumstances—the altar stood at 
some spot to the east of the line marked in our plan e¢ d. 
But still, we repeat, this question remains to be solved—Was this 
the original position of the high altar? May it not have stood 
elsewhere Jefore the date of the consuetudinary from which we have 
just quoted? And if so, are there any evidences that at all confirm 
the impression which the roof paintings undoubtedly produce, viz., 
that it once stood just below the figure of Our Blessed Lord, at the 
intersection of the choir with the lesser transepts, at the point g in 
our plan? For it could hardly have stood, consistently with this 
theory, at any spot eastward of the line ¢ d in the annexed plan, 
because then it would have stood in the portion of the Church 
marked, if we may so speak, as less holy by the roof paintings that 
adorn it. 
We think we are able to answer these questions in the affirmative, 
and venture to lay before our readers the result of our observations 
during our visit to the Cathedral in January last :— 
I. It may be observed, that not only does the figure of Our 
Blessed Lord seem to mark out the portion of the Church below 
it as especially the “ Sanctuary,” butthe ornamentation, as 
seen in the capitals of the pillars ¢ and d, also culminates at this 
point. The Purbeck marble shafts, which cluster round the main 
pillars throughout the Cathedral, are uniformly moulded, but the 
capitals of these Purbeck shafts, surrounding the pillars which support 
the arch above which the figure of Our Blessed Lord is painted, are 
not moulded but carved with foliage ; and, as far as our observation 
went, they are the only ones so decorated throughout the building. 
This fact may go for what it may be deemed worth ; but even apparent 
trifles have their weight. Of course, we are quite aware that our 
theory commits us to the admission that the portion eastward of the 
line ¢ d originally formed no part of the choir, or presbytery, at all. 
