ON THE PERPENDICULAR OF SOMERSET. 17 



share of it than at RedclifFe. This is still more conspicuous 

 Avithln, owing to a cause which I shall mention when I come 

 to speak of the internal architecture of tlie churches. 



Bath Cathedral appears also to have aped Redcliffe to its 

 own prejudice in another respect. It involves, I trust, no 

 lack of respect for what, I suppose, we may safely call on 

 the whole the most magnificent parish church in England, 

 to say that the position of the tower and the narrowness of 

 the transepts at EedcliiFe are decided faidts. A church of 

 that size, and one which, in every other respect, affects the 

 cathedi'al type, ought unquestionably to have exhibited the 

 genuine cross form, and the predominant central tower. Next 

 to that, a pair of westei'n towers, like LlandafF, would have 

 been desirable ; next to that, one vast tower at the west 

 end, like Boston or St. Michael' s, Coventry ; anything 

 rather than the tower thrust into a corner, depriving the 

 church of all outline, and throwing the remainder of the 

 west front into the most ludicrous insignificance. But, the 

 tower being banished to this stränge place, — not, be it 

 obaerved, by the fault of the Perpendicular architect, — it 

 was thought good to make a wonderful display of height 

 and narrowness in the transepts. In this case of EedclifFe 

 the freak was comparatively harmless, both because the 

 tower had been thus banished, and because the addition of 

 transept aisles prevented the notion of narrowness from being 

 pushed to an extreme. But our Bath friend again imitated 

 RedclifFe with still less success ; he made his transepts as 

 narrow or narrower than his model, though there was to be 

 a central tower, and no aisles to the transepts. Hence the 

 narrowness is ludicrous without, and absolutely painful 

 within, and that stränge shape is given to the tower on 

 which I have already commented. 



I am incllned, on the whole, to set do\vn the nave and 

 1853, PART II. 



