208 



Lacock Abbey. 



completion of the chapel, viz., twelve years from the date of the 

 writing, which was " Done a Lacoke le Jeody procheyn apres la 

 f este seynt bartolomeu lan du regne le roi Edward fllz au roi Edward 

 neofyme," i.e., 1315. 



It will be seen from the above that the manner of building this 

 addition formed no exception to the usual mediaeval system of 

 almost completing the new work before any alteration was made to 

 the original building. When the document was drawn up certain 

 of the new windows were finished and the others were begun, but 

 the older wall of the church was not interfered with. There were 

 to be two arches of connection with the church in the old south 

 wall as large as could safely be constructed between the buttresses, 

 and continued down only as far as the string-course under the 

 windows, and not to the ground ; 1 the reason being that the 

 canonesses' stalls would occupy the blank wall below the string- 

 course; and by this arrangement their disturbance would not be 

 necessary. As there were only two arches to be made, and the 

 new chapel was equal in length to three bays of the original 

 church, the eastern bay must have remained unaltered. This was 

 possibly done for two reasons : — the first, so that the new arches 

 might have a good abutment ; and the second, so that the sedilia 

 and lockers in connection with the high altar, which would occupy 

 this bay, might not be interfered with. 



The new roof was to be well ceiled and painted, and would be 

 parallel with that of the church, and finished at the east and west 

 ends with gables. In each gable was to be one window and in the 

 south wall two windows, all well glazed and barred with iron. 

 Between the two south windows, and occupying the centre bay, was 

 possibly the monument of Sir John Bluet, 2 which was provided 

 for from the first. A large block of foundation was found 



1 The same arrangement of arches occurs across the transepts of the canons' 

 church of Newark, in Surrey, but formed part of the original design and was 

 not an insertion. 



2 In unblocking the east procession door there were found some small but 

 very beautifully carved fragments of a monument of early fourteenth century 

 work which may have belonged to this tomb. 



