3l6 COMPARATIVE ARCHITFXTURE. by William of Wykeham and his successors (1394-1486) with a veneer of Perp. on the Norman core and crowned with a vaulted roof, E. E. rectro choir, the largest in England, and Dec. stalls. Compare Gloucester. Tombs and chantries. Wood vaulting to choir. 30. * Worcester (Nos. 114 d, 118 a). — A level situation on the banks of the River Severn. Norman crypt, north and south transepts and circular chapter house, the only one in England. E E. choir. Dec. and Perp. nave, cloisters and central tower (196 feet high). Intetesting monuments. The Royal chantries of King [ohn and Prince Arthur (No. 145) are fine specimens 31. York (Nos. 115 a, 117 b). — The E.E. transepts are remarkable for the ' ' classic beauty of their mouldings " (Street). The five sisters — a name given to the lancet windows of the north transept — are each 50 feet high and 5 feet wide. The nave and the octagonal chapter house, without central column and covered with a wooden roof, of Edwardian Gothic (Dec, 1261-1324). Perp. tower. No cloisters. It is notable as the largest in area and width (being no less than 106 feet within the walls) of any English cathedral. The height of the nave is second only to that of Westminster Abbey. The nave and choir are covered with a wooden imitation of a stone vault. The west front is of the French type. In spite of the size of the cathedral it compares unfavourably with Durham for grandeur, strength of outline, and grouping. (For a description of S. Paul's Cathedral, London, see page 57I-) Note. — For a comparison between English and French cathedrals, which will enable their various characteristics to be understood, see page 378. MONASTERIES. (See page 276.) PARISH CHURCHES. " The portals of the ."-acred pile Stood open, and we entered. On my frame At such transition from the fervid air, A grateful coolness fell, that served to strike The heart, in concert with the temperate awe And natural reverence that the place inspired : Not raised in nice proportions was the pile, But large and massy, for duration built ; With pillars crowded, and the roof upheld By naked rafters, intricately cross'd Like leafless underboughs, 'mid some thick grove. All withered by the depth of shade above.
The floor Of nave and aisle in unpretending guise, Was occupied by oaken benches, ranged In seemly rows ;
And marble monuments were here display'd Thionging the walls ; and on the floor beneath Sepulchral stones appeared, with emblems graven, And footworn epitaphs ; and some with small And shining effigies of brass inlaid." — Wori).svok rir. The typical Parish Church, such as S. Andrew, Heckington (No. 130), was not of the cruciform plan, but consisted of a nave
