ROCHESTER CATHEDRAL-THE TRANSEPTS-THE TOWER.

in the angles of the west front. This is surmounted by the clerestory, or upper range of three light windows, which, with the windows of the side aisles of the Nave, are supposed to have been erected so recent as the time of Henry the Seventh. The great western window is considered to have been inserted some years preceding. In different parts of the Nave all the endless variety of Norman ornament, such as billet chain, lozenge, nailhead, single chevron, embattled cable, and escalop may be detected, together with numerous quaint corbel heads.

In the Nave, amongst other monuments, are two somewhat showy ones, composed of groups of full-length figures, to Lord and Lady Henniker. The first of these is by the younger Bacon. All the brasses that were formerly ranged along the pavement of the Nave have disappeared from time to time, and but few only of the sockets now remain.

From the Nave we proceed to the North Transept, which has the reputation of being considered one of the most beautiful portions of the building. At the north end is a triforium, and beyond are lancet windows, with elegant screen work in front, supported by slender pillars of Petworth marble. Various corbel heads at the imposts of the arches, as well as the pendent bosses of the roof, show the advancement made during the twelfth century in this department of architectural decoration. In the eastern wall the visitor will notice a handsome pointed arched recess, beneath which formerly stood the altar of St. Nicholas, the Boy Bishop, to whom the church north of the Cathedral is dedicated.

We now pass beneath the Great Tower, taking care to observe its painted roof, designed by Mr. Cottingham, and erected by him during his late judicious restoration of the Cathedral. The effect would have been more favourable, were it not for the extravagant proportions of the pendent bosses, which are most unpleasantly apparent, even at the great distance from whence they are viewed.

The general architectural features of the South Transept greatly resemble those of the northern, and differ from them merely in detail. The North Transept is, however, deficient in that elegant lightness, which is the main characteristic of this portion of the building. On the southern wall may be traced the remains of

ST. MARY'S CHAPEL-THE CHOIR-CURIOUS PAINTING. some fresco painting, and various monuments will be observed adjoining. That curious bust of a grey-bearded old man, coloured after the life, represents Richard Watts, the founder of the hospital in the High Street, which we shall see by and by, and the loyal entertainer of Queen Elizabeth, when she visited Rochester, during one of her Kentish Progresses. The adjoining memorials are chiefly of churchmen connected with the diocese of Rochester, whose fame has not extended beyond its circumscribed influence. The most interesting of them is a bust of Dr. Franklin—not the renowned natural philosopher, but some less distinguished divine— by Joseph, the sculptor of the Wilkie Statue in the National Gallery.

An archway in the west wall opens into the Chapel of St. Mary, where the Consistorial Court holds its sittings. The architecture of this chapel is in the perpendicular style.

We now return beneath the Great Tower, from whence a flight of steps leads us into the Chair, which, from the entrance to the opposite extremity, is tolerably uniform in character. The style is early English. The roof presents a good specimen of plain groining, and the windows, with the exception of those adjoining the altar, are of the lancet shape, decorated in parts with Norman mouldings. This has given rise to the supposition that the "walls of the Choir, as far as the bishop's throne and pulpit, are only altered and adapted portions of the ancient Norman work said to have been destroyed by the fire in 1179." The corbel heads and groups in various parts of the Choir should not be passed over without notice being taken of their characteristic features. throne and pulpit have been carved from designs by Mr. Cottingham, in the decorated style. When the former pulpit was removed to give place to the new erection, an ancient painting on the wall was brought to light, which gave rise at the time to many conjectures. One supposed it to represent the martyrdom of St. Catherine; another the allegory of dame Fortune; and a third saw in it an allusion to the rise of Bishop Gundulph. The reader, perhaps, may be able to discover for himself a new meaning totally at variance with all of the foregoing suppositions.

The

Perhaps one of the most interesting monumental effigies that Rochester, or indeed any other English cathedral can boast of, is

EFFIGY OF JOHN DE SHEPEY-ST. WILLIAM'S CHApel.

that of John de Shepey, Bishop of this see, and Lord High Treasurer of England from 1356 to 1358. This valuable relic was discovered during the restorations and repairs of the cathedral in 1825, amongst a mass of brickwork in the Choir, behind which it had long lain hidden from public view. The figure of the bishop is tolerably perfect, but a portion of the mitre has been broken off, and the nose, upper lip, and chin have been injured by blows with some sharp instrument. The head rested upon two richlyembroidered cushions, with gold knots, or tassels, at their corners; the face, hair, eyes, &c., are depicted as in life, the hands are joined in the act of prayer, and the feet rest upon two couchant dogs, apparently of the Danish breed; the latter are decorated with scarlet collars and bells. The effigy of the prelate is represented robed in a magnificent ecclesiastical costume, richly decked out with gold and colours, and interspersed with precious stones.

From the Choir we pass into the Chancel, and, proceeding to the communion table, a plain stone chest is noticed on the southside, wherein repose the remains of the famous Bishop Gundulph. Under the adjoining window is a tomb surmounted by the effigy of Thomas de Inglethorpe; and in an opposite recess is that of Laurence de St. Martin: westward, too, is the shrine-like monument of Gilbert de Glanville; three prelates who were all bishops of this see.

mass.

Near the communion rails are three sedilia, formerly used by the priest, deacon, and archdeacon, during the celebration of high On the front of this triple seat may still be seen the arms of the episcopal see, and of the priories of St. Andrew and Christchurch. Formerly, beneath the shields, were the figures of three mitred bishops, with some devout sentiments engraved in ancient characters.

To the north of the Choir is St. William's Chapel, a famous resort of the pilgrims ere the shrine whereat so many miracles were wrought had been defaced. Some idea may be formed of the number of these visitors from the condition of the steps that lead to the pointed arched doorway, in the middle of the dark narrow aisle, which contains the tomb of the famous Hamo de Hythe, and a memorial to William Shenton, nine times mayor of Rochester, sadly defaced during the civil wars. Along this aisle the pilgrim

THE DEATH AND CANONIZATION OF ST. WILLIAM.

herd approached, with superstitious reverence, to make their offerings at the tomb of the baker-saint, for St. William was only a wealthy burgess of Perth of this homely calling, who had undertaken a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, but found his death ere he had journeyed beyond Rochester, at the hands of his servant, who accompanied him, and who was tempted by the valuable property his master had in his possession. The remains of the murdered pilgrim were interred in the Cathedral church, and shortly afterwards the monks, who were on the look out for some novelty, spread a report abroad that miracles were daily wrought at his tomb. The communication with the Crypt below can still be traced, and here no doubt the crank was turned that produced these marvellous effects. Crowds of visitors hurried to the spot, and, as was usual, those with "fat purses" made large offerings at the unfortunate pilgrim's shrine; and when the monkish coffers were brimful to overflowing, a part of the proceeds were appropriated towards the expense of rebuilding the eastern portion of the cathedral, which was then in a dilapidated state. To sustain the pilgrim's reputation, which a lapse of years had allowed to flag, some half century or so afterwards, the Scotch baker was canonized; and Pope Innocent IV. granted indulgences to all those who, smitten with a religious ardour, made pilgrimages, and sufficiently liberal offerings to the shrine of the newly invested saint. The stone on which the shrine stood is pointed out by the verger, and is easily recognised by the six crosses marked upon it. In a recess in the northern wall stands the stone coffin, which formerly contained St. William's remains; above it is to be seen some ancient coloured ornaments—a rich assemblage of flowers and birds. Adjoining, beneath a canopied recess, partly composed of gothic tracery of an early date, intermingled with the crude ornament of the seventeenth century, lies Bishop Walter de Merton, the founder of the Oxford College, still bearing his name. A chancellor's robe covers his body, and a mitre ornaments his head—an inconsistency only reconcilable by the supposition that the sculptor designed to represent him in the possession of the two appointments which he actually held at the same time. The tomb of Bishop Warner, the founder of the College at Bromley, may be seen in the eastern aisle of St. William's Chapel.

ST. EDMUND'S CHAPEL-HAMO DE HYTHE'S DOORWAY.

To the south of the Choir is the Chapel of St. Edmund, boasting an unique horizontal roof, possibly the most valuable specimen of the kind in England. Under a niche in the northern wall lies a defaced headless statue, the presumed effigy of John de Bradfield, a bishop of Rochester in the thirteenth century. On an adjoining buttress was recently discovered the remains of a painting of the Virgin and Child, of gigantic proportions, being upwards of twelve feet in height. In the east wall is a handsome flamboyant window; and close by is the magnificent doorway which leads into the Chapter House, supposed to have been erected in the thirteenth century, at the time the famous Hamo de Hythe was bishop of the see. The two statues in the lower compartments have been thought to represent Henry I. and his Queen Matilda; but more recent suppositions consider them as typical of the rise of the Christian, and the downfall of the Jewish Church. The first is expressed by the male figure, which evidently represents a

bishop, holding a crozier in his right hand and a church in his left. The opposite figure is a female blindfolded; in her left hand is a broken staff, and in her right is the law of Moses reversed; a crown has fallen from her head. Above are figures of the early fathers. The figure standing beneath a canopy in the centre of the arch is supposed by some to represent a soul in purgatory, for which the surrounding an

gels are interceding, and by others, the Saviour, whom they

are glorifying with their praises.