=Exteriors.=--Unlike the French cathedral, which is apt to be crowded upon by other buildings, the English usually stands amid smooth lawns and shade trees--a secluded spot known as the “close,” around which are the houses and gardens of the dean and canons. Cloisters also frequently add to the spirit of quiet. Durham is superbly set upon a steep bluff above the River Wear. In harmony with the charm of the setting a noble picturesqueness characterises the English cathedral. Flying buttresses, it is true, are little in evidence, owing to the comparative lowness of the structure and to the fact that they are often concealed in the aisles, but the façades, because of length of transepts and additions of Retrochoir, Lady Chapel, Chapter House, Cloisters, Chantries, and so forth, are more irregular than in the French. There is greater variety of points of view; frequent surprise of vistas, while from near and far the great central towers are features of impressiveness and grandeur, and the occasional spires, the most beautiful of which is =Salisbury’s=, are singularly sublime. On the other hand, the west fronts have not the special splendour of the French cathedrals. Yet there are a few exceptions. That of =York Minster=, for example, with its immense window and twin towers, is in respect of size, decorativeness, and proportion a magnificent façade. Those, again, of =Lichfield= and =Wells= are grand and beautiful, while the west fronts of =Lincoln= and =Peterborough= are strikingly imposing and picturesque. Both the latter are virtually screens pierced with deeply recessed openings that include windows above doors. The designs are arresting and boldly picturesque, but arbitrary in invention. For the façades, being applied to the building and not growing out of its internal purpose, lack the dignity of logical arrangement and, moreover, are deficient in proportion of parts and harmonious unity. =Interiors.=--Grand picturesqueness, also, rather than ordered grandeur, characterises the English interiors. Lower and narrower than the French, and longer, they have not their stately unity and sublime simplicity. But their very length and the closer intercolumniation of the pillars and the ampler size of the transepts present a greater variety of vistas. And the picturesqueness is also increased by the variety and superior elaboration of the vaulting and the profusion of decorative features, the frequent use of black Purbeck marble in the cluster columns, the number of fine mouldings on the arches, the richness and variety of design in the triforium and clerestory, the wealth of carved ornament in the wooden screens and choir-stalls, and the marble enrichments of the numerous tombs. On the other hand, though an English Cathedral is more decorative architecturally, it lacks the warmth and colour that the embellishments of a Roman Catholic ritual impart to the French examples.