Cathedral, splendidly crowning the hill on which the city is built, may perhaps claim to be the finest church in Great Britain. Other cathedrals equal or surpass it in certain points; but in the combination of size, delicacy of detail, effectiveness of both interior and exterior, good preservation and grandeur of position, it has probably no rival. Of the original cathedral, built at the end of the eleventh century, the tower, a portion of the west front, and part of first bay of the nave remain. The Norman cathedral was injured by an earthquake in 1185, and its restoration was at once undertaken by Bishop Hugh, called "St. Hugh of Lincoln" (1186-1200), who finished the choir and east transepts—the earliest piece of Early English work of known date. The west transepts and chapter-house were completed soon after, and the nave, including the west front, by about 1250. The upper story of the central tower, which dates from about 1240-50, was added between 1300 and 1320. The upper parts of the west towers are late Decorated, dating from about 1380. Among the more noteworthy external features are the fine central and west towers, and the west façade, in spite of its mixture of styles and the fact that it is in some degree merely a screen. The choir of the interior is the oldest known example of the Early English style, and is separated from the nave by a decorated screen (1320) surmounted by the organ. Though the vaulting is too low the entire interior is harmonious and imposing.

WELLS CATHEDRAL

WEST FRONT

Winchester Cathedral is a stately edifice, incorporating every style of English architecture from the Norman to the Perpendicular. It was founded on a more ancient site in 1079. The choir and transepts were finished in 1093. The conversion of the nave from Norman to Perpendicular was begun by Bishop Edington before 1366, and the whole was completed in 1486. The builder of the greater part of the nave was Bishop William of Wickham, the renowned architect and statesman, who occupied the See from 1366 to 1404. The church is the longest in England, measuring 560 feet in all. The west façade, with its spacious portal, was begun in 1350, finished in the fifteenth century, and restored in 1860.

PLATE XCVIII

YORK CATHEDRAL: WEST FRONT

Ely Cathedral is architecturally one of the most interesting in England. It occupies the site of an abbey founded by St. Ethelreda in 673. The existing building was begun in 1083 by the first Norman abbot, and the last half at least was completed in its original form when the see of Ely was created in 1109. The west part of the nave, including the west tower, was finished about 1180, and the west porch was added before 1215. The east end was added between 1229 and 1254. The central tower, which belonged to the original church, fell in 1322, and advantage was taken of this opportunity to construct the beautiful decorated octagon. A new spire was erected on the west tower at the end of the fourteenth century, the weight of which may have caused the collapse of the northwest transept, though some authorities think the latter was never finished. The whole building has been carefully restored. The most striking