XXVI. On the south side of the Lady-chapel a _porch_ opens to a staircase leading to the _crypt_. The porch (which is finely recessed) is, like the crypt, of the same date--Early English (see § XVIII.)--as the Lady-chapel, under which it extends. The crypt extends under the whole of the Lady-chapel; and is the solitary example in an English cathedral of a crypt constructed after the end of the eleventh century[43]. It is lighted by plain lancets, and consists of a nave and aisles 50 ft. long, and divided by plain clustered shafts. The crypt was repaired in 1497 by Andrew Jones, “Mercator hujus civitatis,” whose altar-tomb,--covered with an incised slab of large dimensions and elaborate decoration, representing the merchant and his wife--remains in the centre. This crypt is called the “Golgotha”--from its having been used as the charnel or _domus carnaria_--the place appropriated for the decent reception of disinterred fragments of the bodies of the defunct, and special services for the repose of their souls. Adjoining Worcester, Norwich, and some other cathedrals, a chapel, separated from the cathedral itself, was used for this purpose. The _east end_ of the Lady-chapel was, it must be remembered, rebuilt by Mr. Cottingham, (§ XVIII.) The gable above the five lancet windows is by no means an exact reproduction of the original, and the work is not too good. The Audley Chantry (§ XIX.) projects very picturesquely on the south side of the Lady-chapel. The side pinnacles were reproduced by Mr. Scott from old drawings; the finials are original, having been preserved in the crypt. The existing _west front_ of the cathedral is, as has already been said, a composition of Wyatt’s, and is unworthy of notice. The total exterior length of the church, including the buttresses, is 344 ft. XXVII. On the south side of the Lady-chapel is the entrance to the _College of Vicars Choral_, (incorporated in 1396,) a very picturesque quadrangle, with an inner cloister. It is for the most part Perpendicular, (_circa_ 1474). A long cloistral walk (109 ft.) leading from the quadrangle of the college to the south-east transept of the cathedral has the oaken beams of its roof very finely carved. The _episcopal palace_ lies south between the cathedral and the river Wye. It is almost entirely formed out of an ancient Norman hall with pillars of timber, and is consequently of considerable interest. In the Deanery is preserved a small reliquary, of Limoges work, dating from the early part of the thirteenth century. On it is represented the martyrdom of St. Thomas of Canterbury: on the lower part the murder, on the upper part the entombment of the saint. It no doubt contained a relic of the Archbishop. Similar reliquaries, with the same subjects, exist in the possession of the Society of Antiquaries, and of Sir Philip Egerton. HEREFORD CATHEDRAL. PART II. History of the See, with Short Notices of the principal Bishops.