"This sketch is given to shew what is left of the old Abbey Church of the twelfth century, and looking to the fact that it was not too reliable a structure to begin with, as regards foundation and settlements (not forgetting the "earthquake"), it certainly is wonderful what extraordinary liberties have been taken with the old fabric, and what really great risks have been incurred. Look at and consider this sketch with reference to the building as it now stands, and excepting in the aisles of the Choir, the north aisle of the Nave, and part of the Chapter-Room, where the original vaulting remains, it will be seen that it is a _mere shell_, the walls have been pulled about in the most reckless manner, and in all directions, and in the Choir they have actually been pared down and an outer casing has been entirely removed--large pieces have been cut out of the piers for the introduction of monuments (mediaeval, not modern!), window heads have been removed to make way for the more recent works, and nearly the whole of the Cathedral has been covered with a sort of applique work of mullions and tracery, erected chiefly in the fourteenth century (see sketch on plate 4). The large central Tower (forty feet square on the leads) has been built on the old Norman walls; new walls, new vaulting, and new roofs have been erected on old foundations; and, strange to say, scarcely a settlement of any kind can be seen in any of the building operations which have been undertaken since 1200! It is not too much to say that a man of the present day who would even suggest such works as have been here successfully accomplished, would be most severely condemned; but in those days the Abbots had only themselves to please, there were no well-educated reporters and writers to discuss their doings in morning papers: they felt, therefore, quite at their ease, hoping for the best, and in this instance succeeding admirably, not only as regards their own wishes and intentions, but in leaving for posterity a splendid architectural history in stone." "The plan of the building is cruciform, and consists of a Nave and Choir, with Aisles on the north and south sides of each; North and South Transepts, at the intersection of which with the Choir rises the Tower; and at intervals round the Choir Aisles are four small apsidal Chapels. At the east end is the Lady-Chapel, prior to the erection of which, a fifth Chapel, similar in form and dimensions to the other four, existed at the east end; as may be seen in the plan of the Crypt." [Illustration: NORMAN REMAINS