"Ye Chappell of oure Ladye" at S. Alban's is also a most elegant specimen of the buildings, dedicated to the blessed Virgin. The foundations appear to have been laid by John de Hertford, abbot from 1235 to 1260. But at the election of Hugh de Eversdone, in 1308, the walls had only reached the level of the underside of the window sills, a height of ten feet above the ground. During his rule he laboured so assiduously to complete the work, that in a short time he finished it. The building, at its dedication, was so rich in detail that it is described by ancient writers as "a magnificent sight." The work of Abbot Hugh included the exquisite carvings in stone, which represent about seventy different specimens of forms in nature. During its use as a Grammar School, from 1553 to 1870, the interior suffered much injury from the hands of the schoolboys, and was allowed to fall into a state of ruin and decay. Shortly after the removal of the School in 1870, a restoration was undertaken by the ladies of Hertfordshire, but their good intentions were not carried into effect, through lack of the necessary funds. Lord Grimthorp then generously came to the rescue, and through his munificence the Chapel has been thoroughly and judiciously restored. It now stands once more in all its glory, as a perfect gem of architecture and one of the most elegant Lady Chapels in Christendom. "Ye Chappell of oure Ladye" at Waltham Abbey is said to be one of the richest specimens of mediaeval architecture in Essex. The building has been greatly defaced since the suppression of chantries, but still bears traces of its original glory. "The Lady Chapel," says the late Professor Freeman, "must have been a most beautiful specimen of its style, but few ancient structures have been more sedulously disfigured." It was erected before A.D. 1292, as, during that year, Roger Levenoth, an inhabitant, endowed the chantry, with a house and 100 acres of land in Roydon. The Chapel was in a flourishing condition in the reign of Edward III., as we find from the return made in obedience to the royal order, which was issued to the master of the ceremonies of every guild and chantry in the King's dominions. In the Court language of that period, which was Norman French, Roger Harrof and John de Poley, the chantry priests, are described as "meisters de la petit compaignie ordeigne al honor de Dieu et ure Donne seyncte Marie en la Ville de Waltham seynte croice." The architect selected, as the site of the building, the space formed by the easternmost bay of the south aisle of the nave and the western side of the south transept. This peculiar position indicates that it was not the work of the monks, but that of the parishioners, who were allowed the use of the nave as their parish church from the days of King Harold II., the founder. A well-known antiquarian writes: "It seems to have been built by the parishioners, and not by the abbot and convent, and its