At Lincoln, the rebuilding of the Cathedral had given rise to a local school of art, influenced no doubt by, but independent of, the greater school at Westminster. The master builder of this school at the time was Richard de Stowe, sometimes called “de Gaynisburgh,” evidently a man of local birth and training, whose tombstone is still to be seen in the cloisters of Lincoln Minster. To him was entrusted the erection of the cross at Lincoln, but some finer decorative work was done by the Westminster artists. William of Ireland furnished the statues and the ornaments so frequently mentioned in the accounts as the “virgæ, capita et annuli,” and special mention is made of payments to him for their carriage to Lincoln. The construction of the tomb over the remains of Eleanor in the Cathedral was entrusted to Dyminge de Legeri, with whom was especially associated Alexander of Abingdon. This tomb for long supported a replica of Torel’s effigy of the Queen at Westminster made by that artist’s own hands. The monument constructed to contain the heart of the Queen in the Church of the Black Friars in London, must have been elaborately beautiful. Walter of Durham expended his utmost art in its decoration, and in addition special effigies of the Queen were placed on this monument, which were made by Alexander of Abingdon, Dyminge de Legeri, and William of Suffolk. Richard Crundale’s design for the Memorial Cross consisted of a solid pillar, surmounted by a cross, following in principle the more ancient crosses existing throughout the land; but with his greater skill in construction and more developed artistic feeling the simple column was surrounded with new architectural features. The area on which the cross stood was covered with stone pavement, on this pavement a smaller platform, attained by a varying number of steps, was built, from this platform arose the cross proper. The architectural decorations surrounding the column were arranged in three stages. The first stage presented three, six, or eight faces, arranged in panels; in these panels were carved shields, emblazoned with the Queen’s heraldic bearings, giving the coats of England, Castile and Leon, and Ponthieu.[41] The second stage consisted of a platform for displaying the statues of the Queen, the number of statues corresponding to the faces of the cross—three, four, or more, as the case might be. Protecting the statues was arranged an elaborate system of “tabernacles,” giving to the passer-by the impression of a shrine. The third stage showed the continuation of the solid column, probably in most cases surmounted by a cross. The whole of the monument was ornamented with the decorations characteristic of Early English decorated architecture. The work was done at the best period of this school, and shows how beautifully the artistic ideas of the time could be utilised for monumental purposes. Footnote 41: