352 JOUENAL OP THE PLYMOUTH INSTITUTION. 
Mitre. The inn was entered from the street through a low arched 
doorway, having on the eastern side a cloister, supported by twisted 
or spiral pillars ; at the end of this a staircase led to apartments, 
Oliver says, formed out of the church, the lower part having been 
used as cellars for merchandise.* 
Unassisted by a new licensing act, the Mitre declined from 
its high estate, and at the commencement of this century the whole 
of the building was let out to as many persons as there were rooms. 
The church of the Franciscans — first a tavern, and then a common 
lodging house ! 
Harris says that the building in 1805 extended from Woolster 
Street into Seven Stars Lane, and the ground, which was square, 
was almost wholly occupied by buildings. On the north-east there 
was then an ancient doorway, which is supposed to have led to the 
garden. The quadrangular court on the inside appears to have been 
surrounded on three sides by cloisters. The columns were twisted or 
spiral, and said to be very beautiful; over the colonnade were rooms, 
and the spaces between the columns had been filled up so as to form 
other rooms. The fourth side was occupied by the chapel. At the en- 
trance to the chapel were two piers of masonry, built of stone similar 
to that in the buttresses and quoins at St. Andrew's church, and 
over were two niches, in which were formerly images. Harris's 
account of these and other remains is very tantalizing. He says that 
this, the chapel front, was "a neat, lively front for that style of 
architecture!" without giving the slightest clue as to what that 
style might be. He says that the chapel was a small building, 
with an ancient ceiling, and there were cornices all around, on 
which were shields supported by small human figures, and on the 
shields were letters and fleurs-de-lis alternately. The letters on each 
shield were different. There was no appearance of an altar. The 
walls were wainscoted almost to the top, the upper part divided 
into many compartments, about three feet by one foot six inches 
each, and there were about thirty such compartments. Below 
were a number of arches carved out of solid wood. The compart- 
ments were filled with panels, on which were paintings represent- 
ing the sacred story from the first to the second Adam, the figures 
in quaint costume, and from the mouth of each proceeded a label 
with an inscription. There were thirty-three of these panels ; 
the last remaining was that containing a figure of John the Baptist. 
* " Monasticon," p. 157. 
