The church was used as a refuge and fortress by the people of Ripon when the Scots invaded it in 1317. Many necessary repairs were made under Archbishop de Melton (1317-1340). The central tower fell in 1450 and had to be rebuilt; also the east side of the south transept and the south side of the choir. The present rood-screen and canopied stalls were erected at the end of the Fifteenth Century. Then the nave was rebuilt; but progress was delayed by the outbreak of a plague in 1506. St. Wilfrid’s Shrine was demolished by Henry VIII. In 1593 the central spire was injured by lightning. During the Civil Wars the Parliamentary soldiers shattered the splendid glass of the east window and did other damage. In 1660 the central spire fell and injured some of the canopies of the choir-stalls; and, therefore, in 1664, the western spires were removed for fear that they might fall also. Many repairs were made in 1829. Restorations on a large scale were undertaken by Sir Gilbert Scott in 1862-1870. The =West Front= is Early English. It has two square towers and a central gable. String-courses divide the façade into four stages. In the first are three doorways adorned with gables and crosses. The central door, which is larger than the others, consists of five orders and five triple shafts. The two others have three orders and three shafts. Some of the mouldings are filled with the dog-tooth ornament. All three doors open into the nave. Between the gables spouts issue from the heads of animals. Above the doors comes a row of five lancet windows and above them a group of three small lancets placed very high. The towers are ornamented with arcades and lancets, buttresses, parapets and pinnacles. The ten bells hang in the south tower. The =Central Tower= is interesting because it is composed of two styles of architecture. On the north and west sides it is Twelfth Century and on the two others Perpendicular. The windows on all sides are round-headed. The dog-tooth ornament appears in the moulding. Ripon, though finely proportioned, is somewhat cold and severe in general appearance. The north transept with its round-headed windows and its interesting doorway, with a rather curious inner arch and capitals of carved foliage, is a good example of the Twelfth Century. The south side of the nave is preferred to the north side by critics. In the south transept we have Archbishop Roger’s work again. The doorway is elaborate. The foliage on the capitals of the columns approaches the Early English style. The lintel is square. The south side of the choir is partly hidden by the Chapter-House with the Lady-Loft above. The buttresses that follow are of the Twelfth Century. The three western bays are Perpendicular; the others, Decorated. The two flying-buttresses are like those on the north side. Gargoyles appear at intervals along the string of the roof. The east end is Decorated. Its chief feature is the splendid window, of which the tracery alone remains.