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THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



[November, 



strengthened with privileges, some of which are enjoyed by the inhabitants 

 of the parish to this day. It is clear that the present church is only part of 

 a much larger structure, and we shall endeavour to give some idea of its 

 former extent and its present remains. On entering from Smithfield, a nave 

 and two aisles, about 90 feet long, extended to the door of the present church, 

 opening under the great tower, on each side of which was a transept. The 

 nave was continued into the choir, the part now used as a parish church, and 

 which is surrounded by a series of aisles and chapels. On the right or south 

 of the nave were the cloisters, and attached to the east wall of these, and 

 extending from the south transept, were a hall standing over a chapel, and 

 latterly used by the nonconformists and Wesleyans, and a refectory, also, 

 with a crypt underneath. Behind the east end of the choir was the prior's 

 house. The whole length of the church was about 220 feet. Of these 

 buildings the nave, the transepts, the greater part of the cloisters, the chapel, 

 the chapter-house, and the upper part of the tower are destroyed. The 

 church, itself, we shall describe subsequently. We may observe, however, 

 that the entrance to the south aisle of the nave exists, and forms an entrance 

 gateway from Smithfield. This relic is most deservedly admired, and is 

 composed of a pointed arch, consisting of four ribs receding one within 

 another, and beautifully decorated with numerous zig-zag mouldings and with 

 roses. The south wall of this aisle is also in existence. The eastern cloister 

 is the only one of which there are any remains, though the lower part of 

 them is buried in the soil. A recent visitor 2 says that it has suffered much 

 of late years from the fall of the roof and part of the wall, and consists of 

 live arches more or less entire on the eastern side, ' and one on the west, 

 besides a portion attached to the church, which is complete, but is walled 

 up. The workmanship is said to be very line, the breadth about 15 feet, and 

 the length about 95. The refectory is also described by the same writer. 

 "It is now occupied as a tobacco manufactory, and a large portion of it still 

 forms but one apartment, roofed over with oak of the finest kind and con- 

 dition. There are now two or three stories, hut, after a careful examination 

 of the general arrangement of the multitudinous timbers of the roof of the 

 highest story, we cannot but express our opinion that the whole has been open 

 from the first tloor to the roof, and that the latter has formed one of those 

 oaken coverings of which Westminster Hall is so magnificent an example, 

 though most probably of a ruder character. All appear to show that there 

 was but one siory, one room : and a glorious room it must have been, mea- 

 suring some forty feet high, thirty broad, and a hundred and twenty long." 

 The crypt under this magnificent hall is of the same extent, but crossed by 

 an arched passage. It has a double row of aisles of pointed arches, and is 

 in an excellent state of preservation. The prior's house is now used by a 

 fringe manufacturer, and is an ancient building in pretty good preservation. 

 The length is about 83 feet 



The external appearance of the church requires no description, being muti- 

 lated with facings of brick and stucco. The interior is, as we Lave said, 

 composed of the under part of the tower and the choir, surrounded by aisles, 

 separated from the choir. 



The tower was formerly attached to the transepts now destroyed, and is 

 formed by four arches, two of them, the one opining to the choir and the 

 one opposite t<> it, circular, the transept arches being uf less span and pointed, 

 as shown in the accompanying illustration, (Plate XIV, Fig. 1,) so that the 

 four form an oblong tower. They are all in good preservation except the 

 western round arch, which is slightly shaken, and seem of the same age, as 

 far ;is can be judged from the external inspection. The pointed arches are 

 rather ruddy formed. The whole four arches have, however, the same zig- 

 zag moulding, Fig. 4 ; the two cir- 



cular arches spring from corbels 

 (Figs. ."' & 6). In each of the span- 

 drils close to the angles, there are 

 smaller arches, nearly at right angles 

 to each other ; one of them is shown 

 at large in Fig. 2 ; with a peculiar zig- 

 zag or indented border, and a column 

 in the augle. There are also in the 

 spandrels small lozenge-shaped panels 

 remarkable for their singularity, the 

 ornaments of three of them, shown 

 in Tigs. 7, 8, & 9, are something 

 similar to the Grecian honeysuckle. 



Fig. 5. 



» London • No. 29, p. .30. Charles Knight. 



i ennant, London, p. 199, says eight arches in his time. 



This part of the church is of the Fig. G. Section of arch. 



greatest interest, the mixture of the 

 pointed and round arch seems to 

 point to the contemporaneous use of 

 the two styles at the period of the 

 transition, and has been the subject 

 of much controversy, and Mr. Britton 



(Chronological History of Christian Architecture in England) says " The 

 cause is evident ; for those sides of the tower being much narrower thau the 

 east and west divisions, which are formed of semicircular arches, it became 

 necessary to carry the arches of the former to a point, in order to suit the 

 oblong plan of the intersection, and at the same time make the upper mould- 

 ings and lines range with the corresponding members of the circular arches." 

 Whether this be the cause or no, it is not easy to determine, but the two sets 

 of arches seem almost without question to be of the same age. 



The choir, which is in continuation of this tower, is in three stories; the lower 

 part is in the Norman style, resembling some parts of Winchester cathedral. 

 On each side are five round-headed arches, ornamented with a billet moulding, 

 a peculiarity connected with which is that it is in some places carried over 

 the cap of the column to the next arch. The second story consists of a tri- 

 foriiuu of five arches corresponding with the lower story. Each opening is 

 divided into four by small columns and round-headed arches. On the south 

 side one of the openings is occupied by a beautiful oriel window, Fig. 10, 

 built by Trior Bolton (about 1500). Above the triforium is a clerestory of 

 pointed windows, and the piers are pierced longitudinally so as to form a 

 gallery all round the upper part of the choir. The roof is of timber and not 

 very remarkable in its construction or very handsome. The east end is of 

 modern workmanship by Mr. Blyth, who repaired the church lately, and 

 contains in the lower part a range of round-headed arches. In repairing this 

 part, the stone wall behind it was found to be painted in water colour of a 

 bright red spotted with black stars. ' We think it a great pity the church is 

 not so painted now, instead of the abundant supply of whitewash. 



Behind the altar is a chamber, supposed by Mr. Godwin to be the chancel, 

 the interior of which well merits inspection, and which it is desirable should 

 be thrown open to the church. 



The aisles are about twelve feet wide, arched in the simple Norman style, 

 lighted with windows of various dates. Over the south aisle is a school- 

 room, or vestry, containing a beautiful Norman arch. The vestry which is 

 attached to the south aisle seems to have been anciently an oratory dedicated 

 to the Holy Virgin." 



The choir and aisles contain many ancient and interesting monuments, the 

 most remarkable of which is that of Prior Habere, the founder, which we 

 have selected for one of om* illustrations (Kg. 3, plate 11). "We find the 

 monument of the founder in the north-eastern corner, almost immediately 

 opposite the beautiful oriel window which Prior Bolton there elected, in 

 order, perhaps, that when he sat in it the home of the ashes of his illustrious 

 predecessor might be for ever before him. This is a work in every way 

 worthy of the man whom it enshrines. It is one of the most elegant speci- 

 mens of the pointed style of architecture, consisting mainly of a very highly 

 wrought stone-work screen, enclosing a tomb on which Raherc's effigy ex- 

 tends at full length. The roof of the little chamber, as we may call it, is 

 most exquisitely groined. At what period the monument was erected is 

 uncertain ; but the style marks it as of a later date than that of the founder's 

 decease. But it was most carefully restored by Bolton (about 1500), and 

 the fact is significant of its antiquity. As the latter found, no doubt a labour 

 Df love in making these reparations, so time itself seems to have seconded 

 his efforts, and to have shared in the hopes of its builders that a long period 

 of prosperity should be granted to it, by touching it very gently. Here and 

 there the pinnacles have been somewhat diminished of their fair proportions, 

 and that is pretty well the entire extent of the injury the work has experi- 

 enced. The monument, it must be added, is richly painted as well as sculp- 

 tured, and shows us the black robes of Itahere and of the monks who are 

 kneeling at bis side — the ruddy features of the former, and the splendid coats 

 of arms on the front of the tomb below."' There are also other monuments 

 of interest as those of Sir"Walter Mildmny, and Archbishop Waldcn, Lord High 

 Treasurer, remarkable for his patriotic resistance to the See of Rome. 



As to the dimensions of the edifice great uncertainty prevails. .Mr. Cud- 

 win has given no measurement. Malcolm gives it as 138 ft. long, 60 ft. 

 broad, and about 10 high. Osborne as 132 ft. long, 57 broad, and 17 high. 



■'• Churches ol London, by G. Godwin. Jun. and John Britton. 



> Malcolm's Londinium Redivivum, Vol. 1. ~ Knight's London. 



