There is a nave of nine bays, a space under the tower, a choir opening eastward of it and two transepts (each of four bays) with aisles opening north and south. The choir from the screen to the high altar occupies six bays; a retro-choir of two bays lies behind the altar; and beyond it again is an apsidal Lady-Chapel. The west front has been much admired, but some critics consider it too heavy for the short towers that abut on it. The windows of the nave and transepts are Decorated. The windows of the choir are more ornate, although in the same style, and those of the Lady-Chapel are still more so. The central tower (Perpendicular) is entirely covered with panelling. There is no spire. On the south side large cloisters open from the south-western tower and from the western aisle of the south transept; but there are only three walks, there being none on the north side. The Chapter-House is approached from the north side of the choir by a short passage and a flight of steps: a crypt lies under it. A beautiful porch, with parvise, opens into the sixth bay of the north aisle. From the eastern aisle of the north transept the Chain-Gate passes to the Vicars’ College, a double row of picturesque houses, dating from 1360. “The Chain-Gate, in its association with the Chapter-House and the Vicars’ Close, is unique. The incline of the steps, easily to be distinguished from without, gives the corner a character quite its own. And the entrance to the Green by this gate, with the Cathedral on one side, balanced by the varied gables and roofs of the houses opposite, is particularly striking. The exterior of the Chapter-House comes into full view; the great central tower stands boldly up against the sky; the eastern gable presents its curious apex, and the Lady-Chapel below stands like a thing separate from the rest. Beyond, and under the Chain-Gateway, an arch admits to the Vicars’ Close--a charming street, lined on either side with diminutive dwelling-houses, once the separate residences of the vicars choral. At the top of the close is a small Perpendicular chapel with a library above. The interior is profusely--almost grotesquely--decorated in a manner to remind one to some extent of those strange little oratories so frequently met with in other parts of Europe. But to many it will possess a certain charm, despite its florid adornments, not often realised in this country. The Vicars’ Hall, a considerable portion of which is of the Fourteenth Century, with additions of a tower and other features, probably by Bishop Beckington, stands at the bottom of the street and communicates through the gallery of the Chain-Gate with the Chapter-House staircase, and thus with the cathedral. By this gallery the choristers passed into the church.”--(A. A.) The celebrated =West Front=