AN EXCURSION. 131 



The first thing that a visitor notices on entering the 

 church is, that the floor slopes upward from West to East, 

 and the capitals of the columns are not parallel to the present 

 floor, but this is not unusual in Brittany and in Devonshire ; 

 the question remains " Did the Architect intend it to slope ? " 



(On making a more leisurelv examination to try and clear 

 up this point, I (G. T. D.) find (February, 1903) that the 

 capitals of all the columns in the North arcade are on the 

 same level one with the other, so are also those in the South 

 arcade, and that they are horizontal ; but the pillars decrease 

 in height in regular succession from west to east. The 

 first, the one which is built into and supports the east wall of 

 the tower on the south side, measures 10 ft. from the moulding 

 at the capital to the moulding at the base ; the next measures 

 9 ft, 3 in., the third 8 ft, 6 in., fourth 7 ft, 9 in., fifth 7 ft., the 

 sixth 6 ft, 3 in. So it is evident that the floor always sloped 

 as at present, the decrease in height measuring the slope. 



But on taking these measurements I made a most 

 unexpected discovery, viz., that the pillars on the south side 

 are all 6 inches longer from moulding to moulding than the 

 corresponding one on the north. The capitals are on a higher 

 level on one side than the other ; it makes one imagine that 

 the original flooring also sloped from north to south. The 

 sills of the windows are at different levels.) 



The building was most probably erected under guidance 

 from monks connected with the parent church in the Bay of 

 Mont St, Michel. Anyone acquainted with the neighbouring 

 French coast notices immediately that Channel Island churches 

 favour the Breton style of architecture. Mr. Lee thinks that 

 most likely the stones for the windows, especially the tracery, 

 were prepared in the neighbourhood of Morlaix ; some ex- 

 perienced mineralogist might decide if the stones employed 

 come from that neighbourhood or from Chausey, which is 

 usually credited as their place of origin. 



The church consists of a nave with two aisles and a 

 chancel. Mr. Lee is of opinion that the whole was erected 

 at one time, according to one design, though some archaeolo- 

 gists (as may be seen from Mr. E. T. Nicolle's observations 

 in the last paragraph) maintain that the Tower is more ancient 

 than the body of the church. He points out the similarity of all 

 the buttresses ; they are alike in form and covering. Notice 

 how peculiarly those in the Tower and in the church are set 

 across the corner of the masonry they support ; again, the top 

 windows in the Tower are a reproduction of one in the church 



