A HISTORY OF DURHAM 



round the outer walls of both transepts, broken 

 only by the projecting angle turrets, and on the 

 west side of the south transept by a doorway, 

 now blocked, opening to the east alley of the 

 cloister. This doorway has a plain semi- 

 circular rear-arch and jambs and externally 

 the head is of two roll-moulded semicircular 

 orders springing from nook shafts with cushion 

 capitals. In the same wall further south is a 

 fireplace," opened out and restored in 1901. 

 The angle turrets contain vices to the triforium 

 and clearstory passages, access to which is gained 

 in each case from the transept by a plain doorway 

 with flat lintel and semicircular relieving 

 arch. 



In the north transept the end wall is almost 

 entirely occupied above the level of the arcading 

 by a large six-light window inserted by Prior 

 Fossor about 1355. The triforium and clearstory 

 passages are of course interrupted by it, but a 

 passage a little below the level of the former is 

 carried across the window by an arcade of six 

 bays coinciding with the muUions. The lights 

 are cinquefoiled and the tracery in the head is 

 composed of forms resembling five-leaved flowers, 

 the petals of which consist of elongated quatre- 

 foils. The six cinquefoiled arches which carry 

 the passage across the lower part of the window 

 appear to have been added late in the 15th 

 century or early in the i6th century by Prior 

 Castell ; this gallery gives the window from 

 the inside the appearance of being transomed, 

 though it is not visible from outside. The 

 window is thus described in Rites : ' In the 

 north end of y* allei of the Lantrene ther is a 

 goodlie faire larg & lightsum glass wyndovve 

 havinge in it xij faire long pleasant & most 

 bewtifull lights being maid & buylte w"" fyne 

 stone & glas w"^'' in the ould t)-me was gone to 

 decaie, and y* prior at that tyme. called prior 

 Castell, dide Renewe it, & did buylt )t all up 

 enowgh againe called the VVyndowe of the iiij 

 Doctors of y* churche w''^ hath vj long fair 

 lightes of glas in y* upper parte of y* said 

 wyndowe.' The gallery is described as ' the 

 breadth of the thickness of the wall at the 

 division of the superiour Lights from the in- 

 feriour . . . and is supported by the Partitions of 

 the Lighte made strong, and equally broad with 

 the Gallrey.' The original sill-string, which, 

 with the clearstory and triforium string-courses, 

 is continued round the vice-turret, is cut away 

 from the sill of the window. In the south 

 transept the end wall remains in its original state 

 up to the sill of the triforium except that a 

 modem opening has been made in the ground- 



" Here, perhaps, charcoal was kept alight for use 

 in the thuribles, and here may have been heated the 

 ' obley-irons ' for making altar breads. Greenwell, 

 Durh. Cath. 49. 



Stage to communicate with the slype. In this 

 portion of the wall is a large blocked window 

 with an internal semicircular head and shafted 

 jambs of two orders. The original sill-string, 

 which forms the bounding member of the 

 arcade beneath, remains. A large early 15th- 

 century window fills the two upper stages ; it is 

 of six lights with vertical tracery in the head, 

 and the jambs are pierced by the triforium pas- 

 sage. This window is described in Rites in the 

 following terms : — ' Also in y* southe end of the 

 allei of J* Lantren aboue y* clocke there is a 

 faire large glasse wyndowe Caulede the Te deum 

 wyndowe veri fair glased accordinge as eu'y verse 

 of Te deu is song or saide, so it is pictured in y* 

 w}-ndowe. . . .' The clock which formerly stood 

 beneath the window was removed in 1845. The 

 case was of carved oak, made originally by Prior 

 Castell, and at one time it stood, according 

 to Rites, at the south end of the rood-loft. Dean 

 Hunt in 1632 made several additions to it, but 

 much of Castell's work remained. The dials are 

 now set within the blocking of the lower win- 

 dow. 



The vaulting of the transept aisles corre- 

 sponds in every respect with that of the quire 

 aisles, the transverses having shafted responds 

 attached to the outer walls and to the main and 

 cylindrical piers of the transept arcades. In the 

 north wall of the north transept aisle is a 14th- 

 century window with modern three-light tracery. 

 Two coupled shafts and the west respond of the 

 original wall-arcade beneath remain, but the 

 arches have been removed, the internal sill of 

 the window being now at the level of the abaci 

 of the capitals of the shafts. The two east 

 bays of the arcading have been filled up, and in 

 the blocking are two rectangular aumbries ; 

 the eastern aumbry is probably of the 13th 

 century, while the western one appears to be 

 contemporary with the insertion of the window 

 above. The three semicircular-headed windows 

 in the east wall were all at one time filled with 

 14th-century tracery of three lights, but the 

 two northern ones were restored in the ' Nor- 

 man ' taste in the 19th century, the tracery 

 being removed. The two bays of wall arcading 

 beneath the northernmost window have been 

 thrown into one semicircular-headed bay in 

 which traces of painted decoration remain. 

 The other bays of the transept each contain three 

 bays of arcading ; that in the southernmost 

 bay has been renewed. The floor of the aisle 

 is raised three steps above that of the quire 

 aisle and transept, and an altar-pace is provided 

 along the east wall. Here were the altars of 

 St. Nicholas and St. Giles, St. Gregory, and St. 

 Benedict. In the south transept aisle the three 

 windows in the east wall are all modern ' Nor- 

 man ' restorations. The openings of the two 

 northern windows were enlarged internally, 



112 



