YORK: WITH A FEW NOTES ON BEVERLEY. 85 
western end, and gradually carried through, instead of which they 
left at least half of the Norman Choir interspersed between the 
tower and the extreme east, the result being, as anyone who knows 
anything at all about such matters would expect, when they 
decided to pull down this intermediate portion, they found (to 
express the difficulty in simple language) that it would not fit. 
Now, let me show you the result. The western arch of the tower 
is not at right angles with the others, and it will be found upon 
measurement that the north side of the tower is a foot narrower 
than the south (but this is put right before it pierces the roof, by 
corbelling over). Then the axis of the Chapter House is not 
parallel with anything else. This was because the House was 
built before the Vestibule, and you will also note that the centre 
line of the Choir and Presbytery is not lineable with the centre line 
of the Nave. Asa matter of fact it is two feet six inches further 
northwards. This has caused the organ (or rood) screen to be 
built with the central arch out of the centre, and with a larger 
number of panels on the right hand, or south side, than on the 
other. Again, the eastern portion, that is, the Choir, Presbytery, 
and Lady Chapel, gradually swell out, so to speak, towards the 
East end, which is at least two feet six inches wider than at the 
West end. These are some of the peculiarities of the plan that do 
not come in an everyday description, but it is wonderful how the 
difficulties have been bridged over and hidden from the casual 
observer. 
The filling in between the arch piers in the North and South 
Transepts was done to resist the thrust caused by the heightening 
of the tower, which pushed the transept arcades out of the 
perpendicular. 
The extreme dimensions of the Minster are, in length 518 feet, 
and the internal width across the transepts 223 feet. 
The extreme West end, so far as the Nave is concerned, is of 
the Decorated period. I am bound to say, that in spite of its size, 
the cathedral is somewhat disappointing in general effect as 
compared with other cathedrals. Our cathedral of Lichfield is 
much more striking, and Beverley Minster is far before it. This 
