DurhaTR Cathedral, by Rev. William Greenwell. 71 



perpendicular tracery in the windows has been destroyed. The 

 screens dividing the transepts from their aisles, and the clock 

 case, which had been originally erected by Prior Castell, and still 

 contained much of his work, have all been removed. 



The central tower, which was struck by lightning in 1429, was 

 so much ruined in 1456 that it was almost entirely rebuilt, and 

 was not finished in 1474. This only refers to the building above 

 the great tower arches, which themselves are the work of Bishop 

 Carilef . The last work I shall have to mention is the tabernacle 

 work of the stalls of the choir. This was put in after the 

 restoration in the time of Bishop Cosin. Cromwell confined the 

 Scotch prisoners in the church after the battle of Dunbar, and it 

 is said that in order to keep themselves warm they used the 

 wood work for fires. Bishop Cosin also put up a solid oak choir 

 screen, which, though some people did not like it, was, neverthe- 

 less, a handsome piece of work of great boldness in its carving, 

 and I much regret its removal. There was in ancient times a 

 screen between the two western tower piers, which separated the 

 church into two parts. In fact, the building was originally con- 

 structed for two churches, the one in the choir for the monks, the 

 other in the nave for the people. The throwing open the whole 

 church I cannot but regard as a mistake. It is quite impossible 

 to utilise a building of such vast proportions for one service. If 

 the church were divided as of old, then week-day services might 

 be held in the choir, and the Sunday service in the nave. I 

 have to regret another piece of wood work, of much interest, 

 which has also been swept away. Eound the shrine of St. Cuth- 

 bert there was, until lately, a screen of oak, which was probably 

 put up during the time of Queen Mary. It was a handsome 

 work of its kind and did not interfere in any way with the general 

 effect of the building, but rather enhanced it, and in addition it 

 marked an epoch in the history of the church. During the reign 

 of Henry YIII. the building passed from the monks into the 

 hands of the Chapter, which was established by that king ; but 

 during Mary's reign the old religion was restored, and again 

 possessed the Cathedral. There can be little doubt that the wood 

 work which surrounded the Shrine of the patron Saint corres- 

 ponds with the time of the re-introduction of the monks, and it 

 was, therefore, one of the historical facts connected with the 

 Cathedral Church of Durham. It is ever to be regretted that it 



