In August, 1089, an earthquake damaged the then existing building. Eleven years later (1100), in the last year of the reign of William Rufus, “the church,” as Florence of Worcester wrote, “which Abbot Serlo, of revered memory, had built from the foundations at Gloucester, was dedicated (on Sunday, July 15th) with great pomp by Samson, Bishop of Worcester; Gundulf, Bishop of Rochester; Gerard, Bishop of Hereford; and Herveas, Bishop of Bangor.” It is thought that part of the church was finished for the dedication, such as the presbytery, choir, the transepts, the Abbot’s cloister, the chapter-house, and the greater part of the nave. The Saxon Chronicle tells us that in 1122, while the monks were singing mass, fire burst out from the upper part of the steeple, and burnt the whole monastery. Between 1164 and 1179 one of the western towers fell down. Repairs were consequently necessary. Offerings at the Tomb of Edward II. were a great aid in providing funds. “Instead of going on with Abbot Morwent’s rebuilding of the nave, the monks now turned their attention to the central tower. The tower was of no use as a lantern, for the lierne vault of the choir had been carried beneath it. So it long remained unaltered. But in the days of Abbot Seabroke (1460-1482), it was rebuilt under the superintendence of a monk named Tully, to be in character with the new exterior of choir and transepts. A very imposing tower it is; fully able, from its massiveness as well as from its height, to gather together the masses of the building--all the more so because the transepts are so short. It succeeds where the central towers of Worcester and Hereford fail; in fact, it is as effective in its way as Salisbury spire. The pinnacles, again, bear witness to the love of these later artists for harmony and unity; each pinnacle, with its two ranges of windows, is a repeat of the two stages of the tower below. “Then--after the tower had been erected--it was decided to rebuild the Lady-chapel. So an immense detached building was constructed to the east of the great window of the presbytery; without aisles, but with little transepts; almost one continuous sheet of glass, and with a superb vault. This Lady-chapel had to be joined up to the presbytery, but the great east window was in the way. However, the difficulty was got over by a series of ingenious shifts and dodges, which must be seen to be appreciated (1457-1499). “And so ended this great building-period at Gloucester (1330-1499), which turned the course of English architecture; so that the Curvilinear style of 1315 to 1360 did not find its natural development in Flamboyant, as on the Continent, but was switched off to Perpendicular and Tudor design.”--(F. B.) Let us see what the “shifts and dodges” referred to above consisted of.