232 The Churches of Purton and Wanborough. 
sacristy. These seem to suggest that an altar stood before the 
archway. There is a beautiful little Transitional window in the 
west wall peeping out clear of the north aisle. 
Fifteenth century. Though the works next in order of date were 
probably proceeded with soon after—if not actually in continuation 
of—those last described, they were not apparently completed until 
early in the fifteenth century. These alterations were very extensive: 
the upper part of the walls and the arches of the nave arcades were 
taken down, the Early English piers and responds raised about 5ft., 
but the original capitals retained, and new arches possessing the 
mouldings of the time, erected on them: the arches, however, do 
not grow happily out of the piers, the centres from which they are 
struck being below the springing level. The former height of the 
piers is easily discernible from the different character of the masonry, 
and the clumsy way in which the new stones are fitted to the old. 
The mouldings of the capitals appear to have been partially altered 
to meet the change of style. 
The north and south aisles were re-built, and the south porch 
erected at this time, and in the work here many Decorated features 
still linger; for instance, the tracery of the west window of the 
north aisle, the doorway and niche in the porch, and the rich jamb 
and arch-mouldings of all the windows, as well as that inserted then 
in the south wall of the’ chapel—these all possess the “ feeling ” of 
that period in a marked degree. 
The south aisle, which is the wider of the two, possesses its 
original roof of span form and high pitch. 
The south porch is large in size and rich in detail. The outer 
doorway is, however, a plain one of two orders of chamfers with 
label over. A moulded stone arch of flat form is carried across the 
porch from west to east, supporting the floor of the priest’s room 
over, and dividing the porch into two bays. On the outside of the 
east wall there is a buttress to receive the thrust of this arch (the 
stair-turret on the west side renders such a provision unnecessary 
there), and there are diagonal buttresses at the south-west and 
south-east angles: it is remarkable that, with the exception of these 
and the angle buttresses of the later western tower, there are no 
