Page:A History of Architecture in All Countries Vol 2.djvu/169

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Bk. VI. Ch. III.
153

Bk. VI. Ch. III. PIER ARCHES. 153 pier arches, and the other divided equally between the clerestory and triforium. If the latter had been glazed externally, as was the case at Westminster Abbey and elsewhere, and made to look like l>art of the church, the whole might be considered as satis- factory. As it is, the area of the clere- story is so much less than that of the tri- forium, that the pro- portion is not quite agreeable, though the solidity and re- pose which this ar- rangement gives to the roof is above all praise. All these objec- tions were obviated in the three bays of the choir at Ely, which were rebuilt by Walsingham at the same time as the octagon. Here the triforium and clere- story are equal ; but the upper window is so spread out, and so much is made of it, that it looks equal to the compartment below. The pier arch below is also subdued to less than half the whole height, so as to ^__ give value to the up- ^^3 per division. These proportions are de- 585. Choir of Kly Cathedral. (Cath. Hb.) nved from the very beautiful Early English presbytery beyond ; but they are here used with such exquisite taste and such singular beauty ot detad that there is perhaps no single portion of any Gothic building